Hall Building

The first meditations on the land happened in the open air, in a little clearing under the branches of large cedars and fir trees or in small individual meditation tents sent over from Thailand.

So that we could have meditation on the land in a more consistent way, an old student designed a simple “temporary” dhamma hall, about 400 square feet. For 6 weeks in the summer of 2009 a number of volunteers came for 3 day weekends to work on the building project.

There was no electricity, so the beginning construction of building floor panels was done at a neighboring meditator’s land. The panels were then loaded on to a pickup truck and driven up the long winding country driveway to the large clearing at the top of the property, where they were installed on large stumps to form the floor. We rented a generator to complete the walls and roof. This beginning building will eventually be replaced by a permanent Dhamma hall.

Volunteers camped out and swam in a nearby river after working all day in the hot sun. Both lunch and dinner were cooked in a small cottage, and served in an open-air tent. There was amazing camaraderie and cooperation!

A wood stove was later added to the meditation hall, so that it can be used for the cooler months of the year for day sittings and other meditation sessions. Trust meetings are also held there – a very nice place to gather together for these events.

 

The hall can accommodate about 40 students. It was packed for the first day sitting held in September 2009. Meditators came from Washington, Vancouver, and from many parts of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. It was a very special day to inaugurate Dhamma Modana.