A letter from a student

Dharma in the 21C. is changing with easier access to information and an ever increasing interest in the West. The availability of translated dharma materials outside of traditionally Buddhist countries has expanded greatly. Students or seekers today can have exposure to various traditions and from this vantage point, see the underlying or unifying principles across a broad spectrum of tradition.

Venerable Sudhammacara is an example of the possibilities of our modern age. His is a view of great breadth and depth. I was lucky enough to experience this recently while in a mindfulness meditation retreat at Deer Park in November. Venerable Sudhammacara brings experience from the Zen tradition, the Theravada forest tradition of Myanmar, and the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. His careful avoidance of Buddhist terms that can easily slip into jargon, made retreatants rethink or let go of Buddhist conceptualizations that we often automatically rely on, thinking we already understand the meaning without renewed consideration.

Venerable Sudhammacara's vast experience has shown him the pitfalls of commonly practiced meditations. Why do serious mediators not make progress after 10-15 years of devoted practice? The explanations were subtle and spare and so carefully considered. They were critically important to my understanding.

By rephrasing the questions with careful use or avoidance of terms/language, he helped me understand what I was doing in meditation and why. Venerable Sudhammacara is perhaps even ahead of his time. With respect and appreciation, I deeply commend Venerable Sudhammacara and Deer Park for their foresight and expansive vision.

I hope your onward travels go well.

Most sincerely...

With gratitude,

Sally