Interview with Bhante Sujato

Grumpy the Cat in front of a burning house

It’s the End of the World??

Bhante Akāliko wants some answers!

So here we are, two monks from the forest tradition, lost in the suburban jungle of Sydney’s Harris Park. What on earth are we doing? Let’s start with the basics…

Bhante Akāliko: What is the meaning of Lokanta Vihara?

Bhante Sujato: It literally means The Monastery at the End of the World in Pāli.

BA: What where you thinking about when you named it that?

BS: There are three different meanings I was thinking about. The first references the Rohitassa Sutta where the Buddha likens Enlightenment to reaching the end of the world. The second is that we are living in an age of climate change which means the world as we know it is pretty much ending. The third is about our location, in the Sydney suburb Harris Park, which many people might think is in the middle of nowhere; even the end of the world!

BA: Is this some sort of Buddhist Doomsday Cult type situation?

BS: No. Definitely not. Or maybe, perhaps… yes.

BA: Aren’t monks supposed to live a forest? Why are we in an apartment?

BS: I’ve lived in the forest for nearly 25 years, and now I’m not. We’re in a small 2 bedroom flat, and what do you know? I like it! It’s simple and easy.

Many times, when living in conventional monasteries, life is very beautiful, and the place is a delight and a refuge for many people. But there is also a cost, one that is not so obvious. Living in the forest, especially in modern times, takes a lot of time and effort and funding. At this time in my life, I want to put my main efforts into SuttaCentral.

BA: Tell us more about the vision for Lokanta Vihara.

BS: We want to make this a place we can practice and grow in our monastic life, while serving the Buddhist community.

We’re looking to keep the good traditions of Buddhist monastic life. We go for alms-round (piṇḍapāta) each day, accepting invitations to eat in houses only on the weekends. As far as possible, all the furnishings are second-hand, maintaining the paṁsukula tradition, of using robes from the rubbish heap. We will not accumulate belongings here, remembering that it is all impermanent, and we will be moving on.

BA: What types of things are we going be doing here?

BS: We have already started doing some teaching and now have a regular Friday night session at the Harris Park Community Centre. We have a Monday Morning Meditation by the Parramatta River down at Queens Park Reserve. We are looking at doing some activities for young people, too. I’ve been developing some different ways of presenting the Dhamma including Dhamma Drops which is a short form talk with a postcard to take away.

BA: How can people find out more about our activities?

BS: We have a lot of ideas for the coming weeks and months. We’ll be using this blog as a primary web hub, so check back in to see what we’re up to. People can also see our daily event listings on our Lokanta calendar