Invitation to Luang Por Sumedho
Published Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Luang Por!
On behalf of the monastic and lay community of your disciples, I would like to ask you to accept our heartfelt and unreserved invitation to return to this country at any time that you should wish and to stay at any of the monasteries that you have founded, especially here at Amaravati.
In addition we would like to let you know that we are comitted and eager to provide suitable accommodation for you either within or near each monastery, or indeed anywhere else in the country, as would be supportive and useful to you.
I feel it is safe to say that none of us would be here today were it not for your great generosity of spirit, your dedication to the Dhamma-vinaya, and your unflagging resolve to practice and teach in the manner embodied by the wisdom of Luang Por Chah. We therefore feel an immeasurable gratitude for having received so much from you and we wish to act in accordance with that.
In this spirit of kataññu-katavedhi, it is not just our duty but also our delight to offer you our wholehearted support during your retirement. We also recognize that gratitude to one’s teacher is best expressed by actually doing what he instructs, so we wish to express our gratitude both by offering this sincere and open invitation for you to return, and in our own commitment to live and practice according to the standards you have extolled and encouraged over these many years.
There are many other things that I could say but, for now, on behalf of everyone gathered here, I will say no more than to humbly request that you accept our invitation.
Ajahn Amaro