When you study this Saṅkhitta Sutta or discourse (AN 8.53, A iv 280) carefully, you will see what kind of Dhamma or doctrine the monastic personnel who live homeless lives should carry out and put into practice in their walks along the path to enlightenment or Nirvana.

On one occasion, the Bhagavā (a common title of the Buddha) was dwelling at Vesāli, in the Great Forest, in the Hall with the Peaked Roof. Then, Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī approached the Bhagavā; having drawn near, she paid homage to the Bhagavā and stood on one side. Standing on one side, Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī addressed the Bhagavā thus:

– It would be good, Bhante, if the Bhagavā taught me the Dhamma in brief, so that, having heard the Dhamma from the Bhagavā, I may dwell solitary, secluded, diligent, ardent and resolute.

– Of these dhammas, Gotami, of which you may know: 'These dhammas are conducive to passion, not to virāga; conducive to being fettered, not to being unfettered; conducive to accumulation, not to diminution; conducive to mahicchata , not to appicchata; conducive to dissatisfaction, not to satisfaction; conducive to socialization, not to solitude; conducive to laziness, not to application of vīriya; conducive to being burdensome, not to being non-burdensome', you can definitely hold: 'This is not the Dhamma, this is not the Vinaya, this is not the instruction of the Teacher'.

Of these dhammas, Gotami, of which you may know: 'These dhammas are conducive to virāga (eradication of lust or sensual pleasures), not to passion; conducive to being unfettered, not to being fettered; conducive to diminution, not to accumulation; conducive to appicchata (moderation and modesty), not to mahicchata (greater desires and ambition); conducive to satisfaction, not to dissatisfaction; conducive to solitude, not to socialization; conducive to application of vīriya (effort), not to laziness; conducive to being non-burdensome, not to being burdensome', you can definitely hold: 'This is the Dhamma, this is the Vinaya, this is the instruction of the Teacher'.

At Sumter Forest Temple, we run the temple by accepting donation from the faithful Buddhists and the public to cover our business expenses. We do not sell goods or services and never get involved in secular employment. We never charge or collect a membership fee. The subscription for membership is not required for our temple and/or attending our religious services. Anybody of any sex, race, and religious belief can visit the temple, seek the spiritual help, and receive services. Donation is not mandatory; we motivate people to make donation to our temple upon their availability of funds and pleasures. We do not require the community members and the public to regularly make the financial contribution to us. We encourage them to save money for their necessities first and then donate to the temple if there is some remaining. We do not want to be burdensome to the laity and we intensively follow the principle of modesty as honored by the Buddha. We already paid off our mortgage in September 2011, so we only need a little funds to cover our utility bills and general expenses. We had been burdensome to members and the public for several years out of the $140,000 loan we took for the construction of our current office, so we want to take a break and give the comfort to our community members. We have enough food, food supplies, and household supplies donated by the community members. We want to live a simple life and focus on modesty to free ourselves from worldly collections. We live among the minority of Thai people in a small state with a hardship of livelihood and low income, so we do not want to push an additional burden to our supporters. The laity give the patronage to us in terms of funds and materials, we want to give them back the seed of virtue and enlightenment. We must live simply and modestly to be an exemplar of the community.

It was Sunday, September 30, 2018. Today we started our religious services at 10:30 a.m. Five monks and one assistant preacher led the devotees in paying tribute to the Triple Gem (Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha), chanting, and practicing meditation. Then, the laity took the five precepts, said the words to present their offerings, listened to the monks' chanting, offered lunch the monks, ate lunch when the monks finished, and listened to a sermon. This is the same process we do in all the services. At the end of services, some persons preferred to stay a few hours to talk with the monks and socialized with friends, whereas some people left for their home or business immediately after the services.

Today we had five ministers and one assistant preacher officiating in our religious services because three ministers were absent due to off-site religious services. Ven. Chinnaphat Khotwong, the abbot, has been still staying and working at a Lao temple in Bridgeport, Connecticut to do the construction and maintenance of the temple's facilities. Ven. Preecha Sangngam has been sent to look after a temple in Gastonia, North Carolina because there is no permanent minister over there; he is being transferred to this temple permanently and the petition to change an employer is pending with the USCIS. Ven. Preecha Sangngam is required to temporarily over there to give the information when a USCIS field officer comes to inspect the temple because the lay members of the temple do not know much about the temple and role of monks. Ven. Surasak Chookunhom has been on a trip to visit his friends and attending his daily routine at an affiliated temple. He is going back to Sumter next week. Sister Vandee Nasungnoen has been back to Sumter Forest temple permanently after she was sent to coordinate with the founding members of a temple in Gastonia, North Carolina for two months.

The monks were sitting on the platform and waiting for readiness of other monks and the laity.

We proudly extend you an invitation to take part in our merit-making in the Kathina or robe offering ceremony, which will be held at our temple on Sunday, October 28, 2018. Enjoy this day with all activities in meritorious atmosphere. We will do a worship, chant, and meditate together before giving lunch to monks. The highlight of this event will happen in the afternoon when the assembly of ministers and congregants participate in the ritual of offering robe to the clerical assembly as the mainstream of the event.

***Schedule***

10:00 am Participants are expected to gather in the holy hall
10:00 am Paying tribute, Chanting in Pali, and Practicing Meditation
10:45 am Alms-Giving Ceremony
11:15 am Lunch break, lay people offer foods to monks
12:00 am Thai dance, Thai foods
1:00 pm Dharma talk
1:30 pm Presenting the Kathina robe and gifts to the Sangha assembly
2:00 pm Monks give blessing/End of the ceremony.

Contact/ติดต่อสอบถาม Ven. Vandee Nasungnoen (นางสาววันดี นะสูงเสิน) ฝ่ายต้อนรับ/receptionist โทร.910-309-5219

Illustration of Robe-offering Ceremony (Archived Photo)

Join us for making merit to person who pass away (Thai memorial day) ทำบุญสารทไทย ณ วัดป่าซัมเตอร์ เมืองซัมเตอร์ มลรัฐเซาท์แคโรไลน่า วันอาทิตย์ที่ 16 เดือน กันยายน พ.ศ. 2561 (September 16, 2018)

วันสารทไทยเป็นการทำบุญเดือนสิบถือเป็นคติและเชื่อสืบกันมาว่าญาติที่ล่วงลับไปแล้วจะมีโอกาสได้กลับมารับส่วนบุญจากญาติพี่น้องที่ยังมีชีวิตอยู่อุทิศส่วนบุญไปให้หรืออีกประการหนึ่งก็เป็นการเเสดงความกตัญญูกตเวทีต่อบรรพชนที่ล่วงลับไป ดังนั้นคณะสงฆ์วัดป่าซัมเตอร์จึงได้จัดงานทำบุญวันสารทหรือคนอีสานเรียกว่า "บุญข้าวสาก" เพื่อเปิดโอกาสให้ญาติโยมได้ทำบุญอุทิศไปให้ญาติที่ล่วงลับไปแล้ว (โปรดนำอัฐิหรือภาพของบุพการีมาด้วยเพื่อพระสงฆ์จะได้ทำพิธีบังสุกุล)

กำหนดการ

10.00 น. พุทธศาสนิกชนพร้อมเพียงกันณวัดป่าซัมเตอร์

10.30 น. สวดมนต์/เจริญจิตภาวนา

11.10 น. ถวายสังฆทาน/ตักบาตรพระสงฆ์/ร่วมรับประทานอาหาร

13.00 น. ฟังพระธรรมเทศนา 1 กัณฑ์

13.40 น. ถวายต้นผ้าป่าสามัคคี/พระสงฆ์อนุโมทนา/เสร็จพิธี

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