CYCLONE WARNING - 05 to 08 March 2025
- Dhammagiri
- Nov 2, 2024
- 3 min read
Due to Cyclone Alfred approaching Brisbane, we recommend people not to come to the monastery on Thursday 6th, Friday 7th and Saturday 8th of March. Travelling to the monastery would potentially be too dangerous.
As current at 09.00 am Sat 8th, there is no longer any prediction of dangerous winds for Sunday the 9th of March.
They do predict heavy rains, in particular very heavy rains from Saturday afternoon till Sunday noon. Roads to the monastery may be flooded, as may be many roads in the wider Brisbane area generally.
However, we do not want to deprive anyone of the opportunity to come to the monastery on Sunday, as the main danger of destructive winds is over.
Therefore, we will conduct our normal Sunday program:
10.30 am to 01.00 pm - Almsoffering, Shared meal & Dhamma Discussion
03.00 pm to 05.00 pm - Chanting, Meditation & Dhamma reflection
We still have enough food, and lay guests present to offer it.
Thus, please do not feel obliged to come for alms offering, if there is any danger or difficulty due to flooding and heavy rains.
Please assess yourself with publicly available information if you can reach the monastery on Sunday (and subsequent days) safely and easily.
If in doubt, or if you encounter flooding on the way, please better stay safe at home. We can manage, we still have enough food at the monastery.
On the other hand, if someone lives locally, or rains & flooding turns out not to be a problem from your location, we're open on Sunday (and following days), and will happily welcome anyone who likes to join our regular program 😊.
The following official QLD government website contains information about all known road closures due to flooding etc.:
If you do like to visit on Sunday or following days, Lake Manchester Road may well be flooded, just after the turn off from Mount Crosby Road.
One can bypass this flooded area via Banksia Drive in Mount Crosby, as indicated in the map below.
There are several lay guests staying at Dhammagiri, who have decided on their own assessment that they are safe and happy to continue their stay throughout the cyclone. We have sufficient food for quite a number of days, which the lay guests can offer to the Sangha, and we have solar systems with batteries both at the Dhammahall and on top of the hill at the Aggasālā. We also have gas cookers, plenty of flashlights and plenty of water.
Please don't worry about us, we are fine and calm and confident 😊
However, please make sure that you are yourselves well prepared to weather the cyclone!
And please don't take any risks by driving to the monastery, until the weather situation has normalized again.
In particular, please do not drive into flooded roads anywhere.
May the Triple Gem and all Devas, as well as the puññā & pāramī you have generated through your generosity and practice of virtue and meditation protect you from any danger.
May your faith in the Buddha and insight into Dhamma help you to face whatever difficulties you encounter with a calm, patient and equanimous mind.
May you be guided by mindfulness and wisdom in whichever situation you find yourself in, or for whatever difficult decisions you may have to make.
May you also be guided by loving kindness and compassion to all other beings, helping others wherever possible, supporting each other and the whole community in harmony and solidarity.
May we also consider carefully before we act, or speak, or post on social media, what impact your actions and words may have on others, and if they are truly beneficial, or perhaps rather not.
May we even be able to use this challenging situation to gain deeper insight into the unstable, changing, and out-of-our-control nature of the 4 elements earth, water, fire and wind.
Just as we can not own or control these 4 elements externally, so we also do not own or have perfect control over them internally.
May this insight help us to let go of attachment and clinging to the elements, and experience the resultant calm and internal freedom of mind.
