Building a Meditation Hall (English)
Developing Vingrom Buddhist Monastery
About a 20-minute drive from Lillehammer city centre, in rural and peaceful surroundings, lies Bodhibhumivana Vihara, also known as Vingrom Buddhist Monastery.
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The monastery, which belongs to the Thai forest monastery tradition, was established in 2019 by the Norwegian monk Ajahn Sindre Ajito.
Ajahn Ajito received his ordination as a Buddhist monk in 2010 at the forest monastery Wat Marp Jan in Thailand. There he spent several years as a disciple of Wat Marp Jan’s abbot, the renowned meditation master Ajahn Anan. Just over eight years ago, he decided to return home to continue his monastic vocation here in Norway.
Currently, there are two resident monks at the monastery, both with Western backgrounds.
The monastery welcomes visitors who wish to spend time in spiritual practice and who want to learn more about meditation and the Buddha’s teachings.
New Meditation Hall
As part of the monastery’s development, a project to build a meditation hall has been initiated. This hall will be central to the monastery’s daily routine and will be essential for meditation retreats. It will also serve as a gathering place for special occasions.
The building will have a floor area of 100 sqm. It will not be connected to the power grid, but will be heated by a large wood stove. Electricity for lighting will come from solar panels. The hall will be built with locally sourced, dense spruce, in the traditional Norwegian log construction style. Besides being environmentally friendly, this type of building requires little maintenance and is very long-lasting.
At this time, all the necessary timber has been sourced from the nearby forest areas. Building permits have also been received. The next step will be to engage experts in log construction and other contractors, as well as machinery for the groundwork. If all goes according to plan, the foundation will be laid in August this year, and the first logs will be laid in mid-September. This is costly, and to reach the goal, the monastery depends on financial support in the form of donations.
How Can You Contribute?
Donations can be sent directly to Bodhibhumivana Buddhistsamfunn bank account
1506 04 30028 (DNB) or via Vipps 510458. Please mark with “meditation hall”
Donations from abroad can be sent to
1506 04 30028 (DNB)
BIC/SWIFT: DNBANOKKXXX
IBAN: NO7115060430028
The construction of the log frame will start in mid-September and continue through the autumn. Besides the actual building work, there are many tasks that we need help with and that require no prior knowledge. This includes handling timber, planing logs with electric planers, picking moss, washing moss, placing moss on finished logs, cooking, making coffee, cleaning, etc. Those who already know the basics of log construction can also help with the construction work and perhaps learn something new at the same time. We plan to invite log builders for a log building gathering, where both those with little and much experience can participate. Contact bodhibhumivana@gmail.com or phone 92545676 if you wish to contribute with labour.
