Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery (Sītavana)
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    About the Monastery

    Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery (‘Birken’) is a Canadian Theravada Buddhist monastery following the Thai forest tradition of Ajahn Chah. In 1994, Canadian-born Abbot Ajahn Sona returned from monastic training in Thailand and established a primitive shack monastery in the coast mountains of British Columbia, naming it “Birken” due to its proximity to the Birkenhead Lake Provincial Park. As the community of monastics and lay supporters grew, Birken was reborn in its second, larger location near Princeton, B.C. In 2001, Birken relocated to its current and final resting place in a secluded forest location just south of Kamloops, B.C. The monastery is also known by its Pali name ‘Sītavana’, translated as ‘cool forest grove’.

    The Birken residence (vihara) provides nearly 10,000 sq.ft. of comfortable, green living space, including a spectacular meditation hall overlooking the surrounding forest, marsh and bird sanctuary. Due to its remote location, Birken operates entirely off-grid, with solar panels supplying power for most of the year. Over the years, many improvements have been made to bring the monastery to a very high level of energy efficiency and a model of simple, green monasticism. The basement of the main building contains a walking meditation hall, library and dining area. The main building also contains a large kitchen, several guest rooms, and four shared bathrooms. The monastics and many of the resident lay stewards live in small cabins (called ‘kutis’) a short walk away from the main building.

    For over 2,500 years, the monastic tradition has survived solely through the generous support of the lay community. Theravada monks and nuns must refrain from growing, cooking or storing their own food, and are prohibited from handling money. To this day, lay communities in countries around the world generously provide monastics with their basic requisites of food, clothing, lodging and medicine. In return, monastics offer laypeople the highest gifts of Dhamma teachings and spiritual mentorship. Birken is supported entirely by donations and the voluntary labour of resident lay stewards. Guests from all walks of life are welcome to visit the monastery and experience the liberating teachings of the Buddha for themselves.

    Resident Monastics

    Ajahn Sona (Abbot)

    Ajahn Sona is a first-wave Western Theravada ordained monk and the Abbot of Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery (‘Birken’). With over thirty years in the robes, he is now referred to as ‘Luang Por’ (‘Venerable Father’) by his closest disciples – a traditional honorific for senior monks of the Thai Forest Tradition.

    After several years of practice as a lay hermit, the young Bhikkhu Sona took full monastic ordination in 1989 with Bhante Henepola Gunaratana Mahathera at the first Theravada forest monastery in the United States (The Bhavana Society, West Virginia). He later switched to the Thai Forest Tradition and trained at Ajahn Chah’s monasteries in northeastern Thailand for several years. Ajahn Sona now draws on both the Sri Lankan and Thai scholastic and meditative traditions in his teachings, in addition to his modern western sensibilities. His pre-monastic education in philosophy, humanities, and classical Western music have aided him in understanding the Western psyche and in establishing paradigm bridges between East and West.

    Ajahn Sona is also deeply interested in the ecological movements of this environmentally critical time, both at the practical and philosophical levels. The off-grid monastery, which he has carefully curated over the last two decades, employs the latest in green design technologies and principles.


    Discover Ajahn Sona’s latest Dhamma Talks on:

        


    Learn more about Ajahn Sona’s personal journey into monastic life:

    Ajahn Sona: 20 Years a Monk on YouTube

    Ajahn Jotipalo

    Jotipālo Bhikkhu is a Buddhist monk, born in 1965. He ordained at the Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery in Redwood Valley, CA, USA in June 2000.

    As a monk, he has lived at Wat Pah Nanachat (Thailand), Arrow River Forest Hermitage (Thunder Bay, ON, Canada), Vimutti Buddhist Monastery (New Zealand) and the Pacific Hermitage (White Salmon, WA, USA); the majority of his time has been at Abhayagiri.

    Prior to ordination, he lived for one year at a Hindu ashram called the Kripalu Center in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and one year at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts.

    He is a graduate of Wabash College (class of 1988) where he majored in Art and Classics.

    Ajahn Jotipālo arrived at Birken in June 2019 after having spent a year studying iconography at the Collegeville Institute in Minnesota. Last year he was on retreat using iconography as a meditation practice. Ajahn Jotipālo was fortunate to get his work permit extended for another two years until June 2021. He is using this time to help around the monastery with firewood, building some outdoor furniture, and also developing a meditation he is calling “Sauntering into Silence”.

    Since arriving at Birken, Ajahn Jotipālo has also been studying videography, and is making several videos a week. If a coronavirus vaccine has been approved by next summer, Ajahn Jotipālo hopes to do a two or three month long hike with some Catholic monk friends and film a documentary of their journey. His learning about videography is part of that project.

    You can see some of his icons at iconucon.com  and his videos at his YouTube channel, Sauntering into Silence.

    Tan Sid

    Born in the era of the secret war in Laos, Udaggo Bhikkhu (Tan Sid) is the tenth of twelve children. In his early years, he was adventurous and a daredevil. However, he was marred by misfortune, which lead to a lot of physical pain and suffering.

    Four years after the war ended he hoped to join his brothers abroad and ran away to Thailand. From there he traveled to Canada, where he attended high school before leaving to study music. He specialized in the guitar and quickly became an accomplished musician. His band was signed by GMM Grammy Thailand in 1996. They recorded the Thai album titled “The Exile” at Metalwork Studio in Toronto, Canada.

    In spite of all the band’s success, he was always uncertain and dissatisfied with himself. For years he felt as though he had no purpose in life. In search of true happiness, he started meditating at home and studying Buddhism. After five years of home practice he returned to Laos to officially become an ordained monk in 2013. He trained for three years at Wat Pah Nanachat (Thailand), spent the Vassa at the Abahayagiri Monastery (California), and now resides at the Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery in BC, Canada.

    Maechee Mon (‘Sister Mon’)

    Sister Mon is an Eight-Precept Maechee (Thai nun). After many years of practice and service in nursing, social work and Buddhist communities in Thailand, Sister Mon undertook monastic training with Ajahn Sona at Birken in 2001. Since then, Sister Mon has played a pivotal role in supporting the activities of the monastery in a variety of ways.

    Becoming a Theravada Monastic

    Please Note:  Birken is no longer ordaining any new monastics or anagarikas.  Those interested in ordination may wish to contact other monasteries (see below).

    The following are some of the monasteries we would recommend as suitable places for monastic training and for acquiring good basic instruction in the Theravada Vinaya (i.e. the rules of discipline for monastics). Other such monasteries exist in Britain and Europe, as well as Australia and New Zealand. This list offers a choice of those that can be found in the United States and Canada:

    • Abhayagiri Forest Monastery (CA, USA)
    • Aloka Vihara Forest Monastery  (CA, USA)
    • Arrow River Hermitage (ON, Canada)
    • Bhavana Society (WV, USA)
    • Dhammadharini Monastery (CA, USA)
    • Metta Forest Monastery (CA, USA)
    • Sati Saraniya Hermitage (ON, Canada)
    • Tisarana Buddhist Monastery (ON, Canada)

    We also suggest that you initially visit some of these places and find out all you can about the teachers, accommodations, facilities, schedules, monastery guidelines, etc. Requirements for ordination may vary. In most monasteries, the applicant will have to undergo a period of preliminary training as an Anagarika (Eight-Precept practitioner), followed by a period as a Samanera/Samaneri (Ten-Precept novice) before the full Bhikkhu/Bhikkhuni ordination is granted. After having visited some monasteries, you will have a better idea of where to embark on the monastic path. We suggest that you consult the teachers (and the resident monastics) in these monasteries about your plan to become a monk/nun. Take your time in making such an important life decision.

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    Support the Monastery

    Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery is a registered Canadian charitable society and is supported entirely by donations or ‘dāna’ (generosity). All teachings, accommodations, and meals are offered free of charge. It is left to the good will and discretion of visitors and well-wishers to decide how they might support the work of the monastery.

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    Contact

    Visit Enquiries:

    bookings@birken.ca

    General Enquiries:

    meditate@birken.ca

    Mailing Address:

    Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery
    7000 Smith Lake Forest Srv Rd.
    Knutsford, BC | V0E 2A0 | Canada

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