Birken Upāsikā Secluded Study Program

Program Structure:

For over 2,500 years, the four-fold assembly of Buddhist monks, nuns, laywomen and laymen have closely supported each other on the Buddha’s path to liberation. The Pali term “upāsikā” (laywoman) or “upāsaka” (layman) can be translated as “one who sits close by”. It has come to refer to dedicated lay Buddhist practitioners who join with monastics in the practice of the Dhamma and who commit to the Three Refuges and Five Precepts.

Building on models established at other Western monasteries in the Ajahn Chah Thai Forest Tradition, Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery (‘Birken’) established the Birken Upāsikā Program for Dedicated Lay Buddhist Practitioners in 2015 to provide a formal training structure for lay people to practice and study together under the mentorship of Ajahn Sona (with over 30 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) and in close relationship with the monastery. Graduates of the first three onsite training cohorts (2015/16; 2016/17 and 2018/19) and our 2021 and 2022 online trainees are now known as Graduate Upāsikās and continue to meet online through a dedicated alumni website. In January 2023, Birken will launch our new pilot program for upāsikā trainees through our Birken Upāsikā Secluded Study Training Program for Dedicated Lay Buddhist Practitioners Around the World.

The central teaching theme of this one-year training program is a systematic study and practice of The Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path, using a core text by Bhikkhu Bodhi (“The Noble Eightfold Path: The Way to the End of Suffering”) and corresponding Dhamma talks by Luang Por Sona. Beyond this central theme, monthly assignments deal with the broad topics of meditation, sutta study, chanting, online and monastery etiquette, forms and conventions of the Thai Forest Tradition, and the symbiotic relationship between the monastic Sangha and lay practitioners. Meditation instruction highlights Luang Por Sona’s methods for meditation on the breath (anapanasati), death (maranassati), loving-kindness (metta), and walking meditation. Luang Por Sona also weaves in other essential teachings and relevant aspects of Buddhist history, with an emphasis on understanding samatha and vipassana practices in a historical context.

Participants are encouraged to foster a close relationship with Luang Por Sona through his teachings as their spiritual mentor during the first year of the program. After completing the initial year of Upāsikā Secluded Study training, new upāsikās are encouraged to join existing Graduate Upāsikā groups around the world that are affiliated with Birken, as well as participate in the Graduate Upāsikā website for continued study and community sharing.

Program Objectives:

• To provide dedicated lay practitioners with a formal spiritual training structure that will aid in the deepening of individual practice and self-discipline.
• To cultivate lay practitioners’ conceptual and experiential understanding of the Teachings of the Buddha, as well as the forms and conventions of Birken and the Theravada Thai Forest Tradition of Ajahn Chah.
• To strengthen the symbiotic relationship between Birken’s ordained Sangha (Luang Por Sona) and affiliated lay practitioners (upāsikās).
• To foster a supportive community of ‘kalyānamittas’ (spiritual friends) for like-minded lay people affiliated with Birken.

The Upāsikā Commitment:

By committing to the Birken Upāsikā Secluded Study Program, participants will aspire to:

• • Take the Three Refuges and the Five Precepts as the foundation of their spiritual life (see below).
  • Take the Theravada Thai Forest Tradition (Ajahn Chah lineage) as the focus of their Buddhist practice.
  • Commit to Luang Por Sona’s teachings, modes of practice, and guidance for the duration of the program.
  • Commit to practice formal meditation daily.
  • Designate one ‘Day of Observance’ per week, on which a heightened importance is given to their spiritual practice (e.g. following the Eight Precepts (see below) and making more time for meditation on the weekly lunar days and/or the selected ‘Day of Observance’).
  • Commit to actively engage with the online monthly assignments (recorded Dhamma talks, assigned chants, and assigned readings).
  • Provide support to the Sangha, according to their means and abilities.
  • Commit to complete the full one year of Upāsikā Secluded Study training.
  • After the successful completion of this first year of this training, participants will then have the opportunity to join established Graduate Upāsikā groups and continue their online studies at the Graduate Upāsikā  website.

Taking the Three Refuges and Five Precepts:

Three Refuges:

• • 1. To the Buddha, I go for refuge.
    2. To the Dhamma, I go for refuge.
    3. To the Sangha, I go for refuge.

Five Precepts:

• • 1. I undertake the precept to refrain from taking the life of any living being.
    2. I undertake the precept to refrain from taking that which is not given.
    3. I undertake the precept to refrain from sexual misconduct.
    4. I undertake the precept to refrain from false and harmful speech.
    5. I undertake the precept to refrain from consuming intoxicating drinks and drugs which lead to carelessness.

Eight Precepts:

• • 1. I undertake the precept to refrain from taking the life of any living being.
    2. I undertake the precept to refrain from taking that which is not given.
    3. I undertake the precept to refrain from any kind of sexual activity.
    4. I undertake the precept to refrain from false and harmful speech.
    5. I undertake the precept to refrain from consuming intoxicating drinks and drugs which lead to carelessness.
    6. I undertake the precept to refrain from eating at inappropriate times.
    7. I undertake the precept to refrain from entertainment, beautification, and adornment.
    8. I undertake the precept to refrain from lying on a high or luxurious sleeping place.