Appamāda

The Appamāda Association was founded with the purpose of supporting the study and cultivation of the path of the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha as reflected in the saying: “Not doing any evil, to be committed to the good, and to purify one’s mind” (DhP 183), following Ajahn Chah‘s approach and through his inspiration. This is in relation to the Israeli society and the Jewish culture in the spirit of “Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it” (Psalms 34).

In the course of following this path, we attach great importance to the building and nurturing of a communal space based on meditative practice and the principles of fellowship, generosity, friendship, patience, and tolerance. To this end, we opened Gilad House in Tel Aviv where we have regular meetings and teaching sessions.

The spirit and activities of Appamāda have been influenced to a great degree by the teachings and approach of the Israeli monk Ajahn Sukhito, who for the past decade, has been the Abbot of a monastery in the Forest Monastery tradition in Thailand. Several times a year, we invite Ajahn to be our guest in Israel, and during his visits we have daily sessions at Gilad House as well as longer retreats outside of Tel Aviv.

Alongside the connection to the Thai Forest Tradition and the International Sangha of Ajahn Chah, we cooperate with our friends in the Buddhist path here in Israel. More information about the diverse activities that take place in our country can be found on the Buddhism in Israel website, which unites most of the various Buddhist groups and traditions in Israel.  

And a little bit about the name

Appamāda is one of the central terms of The Path of the Buddha, who defined it as the one quality that is the source of all the wholesome qualities. As such, the term is quite significant and the essence of the meaning cannot be captured in translation.  

Put simply, Appamāda can be defined as ‘heedfulness’. But what does this actually mean? And why does the Buddha speak of it so highly? We invite you to come to join us and investigate this together.