* Photo taken at Passaddhi Vihara rented Duplex apartment in Olympia.
Meal Offering (Pacific Standard Time)
In keeping with the tradition laid out by the Buddha, bhikkhunis are dependent on supporters providing meals. This helps to create a system of mutual support. By offering food (and other requisites), lay supporters provide the necessities for monastics to continue their practice, and monastics have the opportunity to share the fruits of that practice.
💥 Click here to go to the meal offering calendar to sign up. 💥
💥 Click here to go to the meal offering calendar to sign up. 💥
Sign up on the meal dana calendar to offer in person, by pickup at restaurant, delivery to vihara or to schedule an alms round.
💖 Health Update 💖
One of the bhikkhunis needs gluten free offerings. Both Bhikkhunis need cooked green vegetables, rather than raw vegetables, except lettuce can be raw. Both Bhikkhunis cannot digest melons and cucumbers.
New Hours for Fall/Winter
(November 3rd to March 8th)
The bhikkhunīs follow the tradition of finishing their meal before solar noon. With the change from Daylight Savings to Standard Time, this means they finish eating by 12 noon.
To facilitate this they are happy to pickup meals at local restaurants or homes near the 41 bus line that are open at or before 11 am.
Ways of supporting:
- Come in person and offer a meal at the vihara, at or before 11 am.
- Purchase a meal (or gift card) through a nearby restaurant for pickup or delivery.
- Meet the bhikkhunīs on almsround.
Meal pickup along the 41 bus route.
Purchase a meal (or gift card) through any of the following restaurants (or any other within a five minute walk of the 41 bus line that is open anytime before 11 am) – if pre-ordering meals ask for a pickup time between 9 and 11:15 am. When ordering please consider the health needs of the bhikkhunīs above.
If the pickup time is around 11 am, generally, the bhikkhunīs will sit at the restaurant to eat the meal or in a nearby park, depending on weather.
Note: If you would like to select the food to be offered, many of the restaurants do best by getting a direct call in the morning or right at their 11 am opening time. If you only go through Doordash, or another service, the meal request is often delayed.
Another option is a giftcard. The monastics would then call or order in person and eat the meal at the restaurant or a nearby park. Wayside Cafe is happy to hold the gift card there for our pickup. Some other restaurants have links for card ordering.
- All About Pad Thai – opens at 11 am, Any days [they also offer the meal at alms round on Tuesdays]
- Da Nang – opens at 11 am, Tue – Fri
- Far East – oopens at 11 am, Tue – Fri
- Hash – open at 8 am, Any day except Mon
- Mekong Thai Restaurant – opens at 11 am, Tue – Fri
- New Moon Cooperative Cafe – open at 8 am, Sun, Mon, Fri and Sat (ONLY ordering Gift Cards works for this cafe, they don’t take credit cards over the phone )
- QB Restaurant – opens at 11 am, Any days
- The Park Side Cafe – opens at 9 am, Any days (also egift cards available)
- Vics Pizzeria – opens at 11 am, Mon-Sat
- Wayside Cafe and Deli – opens at 11 am, Tue – Sun (gift cards available)
Grocery gift cards that can be used for reheatable meals and general pantry items are also useful. Olympia Food Co-op, Safeway, Grocery Outlet, and Trader Joes are all useful options.
Meal Dana Frequently Asked Questions
In keeping with the tradition laid out by the Buddha, bhikkhunis are dependent on supporters providing meals. This helps to create a system of mutual support. By offering food (and other requisites), lay supporters provide the necessities for monastics to continue their practice, and monastics have the opportunity to share the fruits of that practice.
Meal Offering Q&A
What should I offer when I bring a meal to the Vihara?
A well balanced meal should aim to be heavier on vegetables and protein and less dependent on carbohydrates. A side dish of cooked veggies in addition to a main dish is always welcome. Protein sources can come from many food items that you might not initially think of, such as eggs, greek yogurt, nuts/seeds and beans. In addition, items such as yogurt, eggs and seeds/nuts, seed/nut butters and fruit can be consumed by the Ayyas for breakfast, which will be offered on your behalf earlier in the morning by a phone offering.
What is a phone offering?
A phone offering is simply done by making a phone call (usually at or before 7am). This is to offer the food in the vihara on behalf of the people that offered it on a previous day. The person calling to make the offer says, “I offer the foods and medicines in the vihara to the Sangha at Passaddhi Vihara,” or similar wording.
When someone signs up, the monastics will contact them with the phone number to call.
Some monastic communities in the Theravada tradition have taken this phone offering as an option in order to make daily contact with a person from the lay community. Some days there will also be offerings made directly into the hands or bowl for the main meal. Although this is a symbolic offering of the food and medicines, it is important to keep that daily contact.
Do the Ayyas have any food allergies or restrictions?
One of the bhikkhunis needs gluten free offerings. Both Bhikkhunis need cooked green vegetables, rather than raw vegetables, (except lettuce can be raw.) Both Bhikkhunis cannot digest melons and cucumbers. The bhikkhunis are not vegetarian/vegan, though they appreciate a more vegetarian diet.
What is allowed for the bhikkhunis in the afternoon?
Examples of useful afternoon allowable items for the Vihara are cheese, dark chocolate (without dried fruit or nuts), ginger, soy milk, and seaweed. Some nuts and seeds are allowed for medicinal purposes.
How much food should I offer?
If you live close enough to make the occasional trip, you can consider offering the meal for more than one day, as the Ayyas can use the food for additional meals if there is enough. The food will be placed in the fridge or freezer and included in a future phone offering. One could bring two or three meals worth of offerings and sign up for two or three days on the calendar.
Can a group come to the vihara to offer?
Yes. More than one person or a group may offer a meal or bring several meals to be used later.
This might be an opportunity to carpool and bring supplies to the vihara as well.
Come up with creative ideas. For example: put the world out and connect with new people in your area to set up a day to offer at the vihara together.
I don’t live nearby, how can I offer a meal?
If you live close enough to make the occasional trip, you can consider offering the meal for more than one day, as the Ayyas can use the food for additional meals if there is enough. The food will be placed in the fridge or freezer and included in a future phone offering. One could bring two or three meals worth of offerings and sign up for two or three days on the calendar.
In addition to offering in person, one can also offer gift cards to local restaurants or the local Food Coop, or can order food to be picked up by the Ayyas on the day of the offering. Another lovely way to support the Ayyas if you live further away is to call in to offer the morning meal and the weekly allowables, around 7 am each morning – you can sign up to do so on the meal calendar.
What if for the date I would like to come to the Vihara to offer the meal, someone else has already signed up?
Email [email protected] if this happens.
- Days marked “pre-offered” are often flexible.
- If there is enough notice, a person (people) already signed up for a restaurant pickup may be able to choose a different day.
- If the person (people) are coming to the Vihara, it is possible to have more than one person or group offer on the same day. We would let the first donors know that you would be joining in that day’s offering.
How do I sign up to offer on a particular day?
Note your name on the Meal Offering Calendar for the day you wish to offer.
Examples:
(first image shows the examples starting point =>)
Signing up to bring a meal to the vihara
Called restaurant for monastics to pick up the meal the day of the offering
Meal will be delivered the day of the meal
If you offered a gift card or extra food to be used on a future date, the monastics or the dana steward will put a day on the calendar when that food will be used.
Sign up to make the morning phone call offering
Tuesday Almsround
Alms Round at West Central Park on Tuesday’s @ 10:45 am.