Spring-Summer Progress at Vihāra Pod Lasem: New Facilities, Green Screening, and Plans for a Kuti!

Dear Friends and Supporters,

It is with great joy and gratitude that we bring you another update straight from the emerging Buddhist Hermitage. Thanks to the hard work we put in together during the summer and autumn months of last year, as well as your invaluable organizational and material support, our Sangha was able to spend its first winter at the hermitage safely and in favorable conditions.

Spring and the beginning of summer have brought intensive work and further visible changes that we would like to share with you (you can see the results in the photos attached below).

Here is what we have achieved in recent months:

Infrastructure and Accessibility: In March of this year, we prepared a dedicated parking space and a pathway leading from it, which will make it much easier to reach the main building of the Vihāra.
Accommodation and Visitor Facilities: Before Easter, we received a donation of a 45-year-old caravan in very good condition! It will serve as accommodation for visitors to the Vihāra. To protect it from precipitation and excessive sun—which will significantly extend its lifespan and prevent the interior from overheating—we built a solid protective shelter over it. Additionally, thanks to the generosity and practical skills of one of our donors, a small compost toilet and a shower for lay visitors were also built. Anyone interested in staying can write to the Vihāra Pod Lasem email address ( viharapodlasem@protonmail.com ) to inquire about availability.
Green Screen: We carried out the first plantings of trees and shrubs. In the future, they will create a natural, green screen that will isolate the Hermitage space from the public road, ensuring appropriate seclusion.
Fewer Drafts: We replaced the entrance door in the main building. The new, airtight door will allow us to significantly reduce heat loss during the cold months.
Workshop Work: We are currently in the process of building a small shelter under the stairs, which will serve as a handy workshop for minor technical repairs around the hermitage.

Formal Work and Publishing Activities

Winter was also a time of work for us in another field:

Legal and Formal Matters

Throughout the winter, work continued on the statute of Vihāra Pod Lasem, which was required to submit the documentation necessary for registering the Vihāra Pod Lasem Buddhist Monastic Religious Association. The complete set of documents has already been sent to the ministry, and we are currently awaiting the review of the application, which so many of you signed.

Publication of “Dhamma within Reach”

In the winter, the translation of Ajahn Nyanamoli’s book was released, prepared by the translation team of the Bodhi Tree Foundation (Fundacja Drzewo Bodhi) and published for free distribution by Path Press Publications. So far, we have already sent over 100 print copies to individual recipients. According to information reaching us from the publisher, the electronic version of the publication is highly popular. The selection of available formats was completed with the creation of an audiobook, which rounds out the experience of this valuable book.

Upcoming Translations

Work is already underway on the translation of Ajahn’s next book, “The Only Way to Jhana”.

słoneczniki w Viharze Pod Lasem

Our Immediate Plans

We are not slowing down and are already preparing for the next steps:

Vestibule/Porch: We want to add a porch to the main building. It will provide additional sheltered space and—most importantly—minimize heat loss when opening the door on windy days, of which we have quite a few in our area.
Construction of a Second, Year-Round Kuti: This is our next project! We plan to build a small hut for a monk, measuring about 10–12 m², at the back of the property. We have already contracted a local carpenter from a nearby town to erect the wooden structure. Meanwhile, the filling of the walls with straw bales will be led by an experienced volunteer, who, with our help, will take responsibility for this stage. We will coat the interior with natural clay plasters, and a small wood stove will be used for heating.