It is with great joy that we announce the official launch of the BODHI TREE FOUNDATION in May 2024, whose main goal and mission is to create a hermitage for monks and nuns of the Buddhist Forest Tradition in Poland. Such formalization of our activities is a necessary step on the way to its establishment, but this is not the first step we have taken in this direction. We have been walking this path for a long time, although the goal was not as clear and explicit from the beginning as it is today.
How did it all begin?
Buddhist ideas had been with us for a long time – they interested us, attracted us, inspired us. It was not easy for us to reach the original teachings of the Buddha, which we considered crucial. Theravada was not (still is not) very popular in Poland. There were local groups, but we felt alone in Silesia. Nevertheless, we did not want to go any other way. We read available publications, listened to the monks’ talks – but we had no way to verify whether our understanding of the teachings was correct, whether our practice was sensible and headed in the right direction.
A breakthrough moment turned out to be a meeting with Ajahn Kondañño, organized by the Wrocław Theravada group in 2019. It became clear then what a great value (in fact, a necessity in order to grow on the path) is contact with a living teacher – the opportunity to ask questions, get guidance, deepen understanding and wisdom. We didn’t quite know what to do about it yet, but the seed was planted…
We started by looking for other people interested in Buddhism in Gliwice. No group was active here. So what was to be done – we created one on our own and began to gather people around us, sharing the same values. We knew we were doing something important, but all the time we felt that we were on the way, that we were looking for and needed something more. We then gathered our most important questions about the practice and wrote an email to Ajahan Kondañño, hoping that he would be willing to support us and dispel various doubts about Buddhist teachings. It came as a great surprise when Ajahn responded by inviting us to a series of, as it turned out over time, twelve online meetings, during which he wholeheartedly guided us toward understanding and deepening our practice. By then we knew for sure that without monks – people fully committed to the practice – our personal growth and development of Theravada in Poland would be very limited.
With small steps to big goals
From word to word, from meeting to meeting, and it turned out that Ajahn Kondañño’s thoughts and plans also revolved around launching a hermitage in Poland. When these two coherent visions met – there was no other choice – we had to start acting!
Since then, we have been taking consistent, small, deliberate steps towards launching a hermitage for monks and nuns of the Theravada Forest Tradition in Poland. At the turn of 2023/24, we organized a WINTER SHELTER with Ajahn Kondañño in Czarków, Poland. Nearly 50 people took part in it, over a period of 2 months. It was a kind of test to see if Poles were ready to support a Sangha that would have a permanent place in the country. We passed it!
That’s why we dared to establish the Bodhi Tree Foundation, so that we could officially and formally take the necessary steps to realize our goal. It is a grassroots, independent, non-commercial, sincere and free initiative, created with the cooperation of many people from the Theravada Silesia group and beyond. The Foundation’s Program Council includes Ajahn Kondañño, Ajahn Nyanamoli and Ajahn Phasuko. This will ensure that our activities are consistent with the ideas we hold so dear. We are fully aware that this “project” creates a completely new, unprecedented, fresh quality in Poland. We want to carry it out with due diligence, attentiveness – but also with the joy we have in our hearts, knowing that we are opening wide the door to the Buddha’s teachings for anyone who will want to draw from them.
The Foundation works only because of the people who support it every day – with their time, money, dedicated work. Here is our big “Sadhu!” for this and a kind request for more! Together we can go further, more, more beautiful – but also more peaceful, lighter and easier. Therefore, we invite you to cooperate and help us, not only foundations that have goals consistent with ours, but also any person who is willing and able to support us on the path.
What are we actually up to here?
We are very fortunate that Ajahn Kondañño, a monk of Polish descent who donned ochre-colored robes in 2008 at Amaravati Monastery in the UK, has been involved in our mission from the beginning. Since then he has divided his monastic life between Asian and European monasteries. He currently resides in Slovenia at the forest monastery of Samanadipa. This is the place that serves as our inspiration for creating a hermitage in Poland. We resonate with the values Samanadipa espouses – modesty, minimalism, tranquility, simple living. A value that cannot be overstated is Ajahn Kondañño’s willingness to return to Poland and build the Sangha in the country. Recognizing the unique potential in the Sangha’s permanent presence in our country, we feel inspired to move forward.
We have just started another pioneering project – Vassa (rainy season retreat) in Poland. Ajahn Kondañño will spend it with us and those who have volunteered to participate and support with their presence, dana and daily commitment. We will not only be able to deepen our practice, but also gain further valuable experience in organizing such events, learning about the principles of monk life and getting used to them. So that we are as well prepared as possible to introduce them permanently into our Polish reality.
Every big, strong tree grows from a small seed. Ours we have sown and are nurturing. It gives us great joy to watch it grow, slowly becoming a place of respite and refuge for others.
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