NW Dharma News

Thanks to Sanghas for Support and Good Ethics

These are interesting times, to say the least. The past year has been both exciting and challenging. Buddhist communities across the region continue to grow, with new meditation groups, new temples, and many projects in cities and in rural areas.

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Compassionate Action

Pacific Northwest Peace Pagoda Finally Blessed

Rev. Kuniaki Onishi, who traveled from the Buddha's birthplace in Lumbini for the peace pagoda blessing, prepares incense sticks at the altar just before the attendees started circumambulating the pagoda to the sound of peace drums
Rev. Kuniaki Onishi, who traveled from the Buddha’s birthplace in Lumbini for the peace pagoda blessing, prepares incense sticks at the altar just before the attendees started circumambulating the pagoda to the sound of peace drums.
Photos by: Lisa Eastop, Rev. Senji Kanaeda, Steve Wilhelm

Forty five years after it was first launched, The Pacific Northwest Peace Pagoda was inaugurated with a sacred Buddhist ceremony, or Rakkei Shiki, on May 23, 2026, in Poulsbo, Washington.

Ninety monks, nuns, and supporters of the Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist order came from around the world for the ceremony. Approximately 350 people attended, and here is a video of the event.

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Dharma Education

Honoring the Legacy of Ven. Polwatte Pagnananda: A Builder of Unity Across Cultures

Senior Theravāda monks lead by Devananda Thero, and the current abbot Punnasiri Thero, bear the casket of Venerable Pagnananda during the final procession in honor of a revered teacher
Senior Theravāda monks lead by Devananda Thero, and the current abbot Punnasiri Thero, bear the casket of Venerable Pagnananda during the final procession in honor of a revered teacher.
Photos by: Courtesy of Sarana International Buddhist Center, Gayani Perera

Buddhist communities across the Pacific Northwest are reflecting on the life and legacy of Most Venerable Polwatte Pagnananda Nayaka Thero, longtime abbot and founder of Sarana International Buddhist Center (SIBC) in Tukwila, Washington. He passed away March 27, 2026, at age 73.

Venerable Polwatte Pagnananda’s passing marks the end of a remarkable chapter in Northwest Buddhist history. For decades he quietly built something rare: a thriving Theravada Buddhist community that brought together Cambodian, Sri Lankan, and Western practitioners under one roof, while preserving the traditions and spiritual heritage of each.

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Dharma Healing Arts

Buddha Jewel Thrives in Upgraded Monastery

Buddha Jewel Monastery in Shoreline hosted its annual Buddha Bathing Ceremony on May 17, drawing visitors from across the Pacific Northwest.
Buddha Jewel Monastery in Shoreline hosted its annual Buddha Bathing Ceremony on May 17, drawing visitors from across the Pacific Northwest.
Photos  Courtesy of Buddha  Jewel Monastery

This spring Buddha Jewel Monastery welcomed visitors from throughout the Pacific Northwest, to participate in its annual May 17 Buddha Bathing Ceremony. The monastery is located in Shoreline, a city just north of Seattle.

The traditional Buddha Bathing ceremony commemorates the birth of the Buddha, and included sutra chanting, meditation, lamp offerings, bathing of a Buddha statue, and vegetarian food prepared by volunteers and dharma supporters from the community.

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Dharma in Canada

Clear Sky Center Finishes Fourth Retreat Cabin

Celebrations following early stages of mudding Orion cabin with clay and soil sourced at Clear Sky. From left: Thomas Fox, Jasmine Nathaniel, Qapel Achariya Doug Duncan, Catherine Pawasarat Sensei, Dean Nicholson, Jordan Allain and Maureen Smith
Celebrations following early stages of mudding Orion cabin with clay and soil sourced at Clear Sky. From left: Thomas Fox, Jasmine Nathaniel, Qapel Achariya Doug Duncan, Catherine Pawasarat Sensei, Dean Nicholson, Jordan Allain and Maureen Smith.
Photos by: Tony, Asimakopoulos, Duncan Cryle, Ava MacLean

Clear Sky Meditation Center is moving ahead in new ways, with the private meditation cabin Orion, the fourth on the property, soon to be available to people  seeking personal retreat.

When construction completes on Orion this year, the cabin in the British Columbia Rocky Mountains will offer practitioners a quiet space in nature for full-service personal retreats, or as part of a group retreat.

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Sangha News

Passaddhi Vihara Raising Funds for Property

Suvijjānā Bhikkhunī and Niyyānika Bhikkhunī at Soul Healing Center in Olympia
Suvijjānā Bhikkhunī and Niyyānika Bhikkhunī at Soul Healing Center in Olympia.
Photos by: Passaddhi Vihara, Cittanandā Bhikkhunī, Kate Hathirat, Alexandra Haynes, Doug O’Dell, Wanida Tucker

This year the Passaddhi Vihara Support Foundation began a fundraising campaign, to purchase a property for Passaddhi Vihara in the Pacific Northwest.

The vision is to create a bhikkhuni monastery that offers refuge from the pressures of modern life, supports full-time monastic practice, and provides a sanctuary for the wider community. The property will foster peacefulness, loving-kindness, wisdom, and the conditions for realization and awakening.

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