Greetings,
We're delighted to invite you to Aranya Refuge's sixth temporary monastery from Monday, February 2 - Sunday, March 29, 2026. Following the success of our 2025 program, we are returning to Tugwell Cottage in Sooke, BC—two adjacent homes on adjoining properties in a rural setting approximately 1 hour west of Victoria.
Monks from Metta Forest Monastery (Wat Metta) will be in residence throughout the program, with two monks present in February and two different monks present in March. You can offer a meal, visit for the day, or stay for one week as an overnight guest.
Whether you're new to monastery practice or returning from 2025, we welcome you to make merit, support the monastics, build community, and deepen your practice.
Click here for more information.
🏠 The Monastery Experience
The schedule follows that of a typical monastery in the Thai forest tradition: early morning group meditation, morning meal, and free time to meditate in solitude for most of the day. Evenings include a Q&A session with the monks, followed by chanting, group meditation, and a recorded Dhamma talk.
Lay visitors benefit from direct contact with the monks who have devoted their lives to the practice of the Dhamma and Vinaya. Guests help in the daily preparation and offering of food, and assist with the upkeep of the facilities. There is plenty of time for meditating in the meditation hall (sala) or in the forest.
There is no charge for room, board, or teachings. Everything is provided in the spirit of generosity (dāna) by the monks and supporters of the monastery.
🌲 The Monastery Setting
The monastery will be at Tugwell Cottage, a large log cabin with stained glass windows in rural Sooke, BC—one hour west of Victoria. The two houses on adjoining properties provide an amenable setting: one for the monks' residence, and the other serving as the sala, kitchen, dining area, and gathering place for lay guests.
A wood stove creates a warm, welcoming atmosphere during cool days. A stream runs between the buildings, and connecting trails weave through the property. The surrounding evergreen forest offers abundant opportunities for walking meditation, and the large exterior deck provides ample space for outdoor practice.
The property is within driving distance of Mystic Beach and East Sooke Regional Park, where participants can practice among dramatic coastal cliffs and crashing waves—a setting appreciated by many during our 2025 program.
👥 Visiting Monks
We're pleased to share that monks from Metta Forest Monastery (Wat Metta) will be in residence throughout the program:
February: Two monks will be present
March: Two different monks will be present
Details about which monks will be attending will be confirmed and shared when schedules are finalized.
Visiting and Staying at the Monastery
🛌 Overnight Guests
Eight week-long cohorts are available for Overnight Guests for Monday to Sunday stays, from February 3 through March 30, 2026.
Accommodation options include single rooms and shared rooms for two people of the same gender.
Click here for more information.
☀️ Day Visitors
Day Visitors are welcome from February 2 to March 29, 2026.
Day Visitors can join the daily schedule, such as offering food in the early morning, meditating in the meditation hall, engaging in self-directed practice on the grounds, and joining the group meditation gatherings.
We especially encourage those new to a monastery experience to drop in for the morning meditation and participate in the morning meal offering that we all share. Or come for unstructured time in the afternoon, or the Q&A, meditation and recorded Dhamma talk in the early evening.
Click here for more information.
🥘 Meal Offering (Dāna) to the Monastics
We welcome anyone who wishes to bring food for the monks from February 2 through March 29, 2026.
Click here for more information.
📋 Please click to learn more about:
Aranya Refuge's Monastery Etiquette and Visitor Guidelines
View photos from our successful 2025 Monastery for Two Months here.
We're grateful to offer this wilderness refuge for practice on Vancouver Island, and we warmly invite you to join us in whatever way feels meaningful—whether offering a meal, visiting for a day, or staying for a week.
Questions?
Please email us at info@aranyarefuge.org
Anumodana for supporting the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha to take roots in a wilderness home on Vancouver Island.
Aranya Refuge Board of Directors: Than Ajaan Geoff, Brock Brown, Jacqui Balfour, Russ Callaghan, Irfan Pirbhai, Tiara Letourneau, Kiko Brown, June Fukushima (in loving memory)
Monastery for Two Months ‘26 Volunteer Team: Brock Brown, Kiko Brown, Suzan Denis, Irfan Pirbhai
““Ajaan Lee tells of the many lessons you learn by looking in the forest: how trees survive, how the animals survive. The main lesson Ajaan Lee picked up from the forest was heedfulness. You have to be very watchful. You can’t be complacent. To survive in difficult situations, you have to learn to be quiet. When you go to a new place, always be quiet. Watch. See what you can learn. If you go in with the attitude that you already know everything you need to know—and this applies to all areas of life—all the lessons that are there just waiting to be picked up get ignored. So go both to give and to receive, to contemplate.””
Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu | Wilderness Lessons | March 06, 2008