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About Monks Stories about Buddhist Monks on PEI

🌻What a wonderful weekend in the sunflower field. 🌻Last Saturday was especially memorable. The wind was so strong that a...
09/21/2026

🌻What a wonderful weekend in the sunflower field. 🌻

Last Saturday was especially memorable. The wind was so strong that at times it felt as though our tent might lift right off the ground — and even the popcorn machine was knocked over! Still, before our official 2:00 PM opening time, people were already arriving. By 1:30, our first visitors were out in the field looking for their favourite flowers.

Because of the wind, many people stayed for only about half an hour, but that didn’t seem to matter. They happily cut armfuls of sunflowers, took photos together, laughed, and enjoyed what was left of this colourful field at the end of the season.

One of the sweetest moments came when someone suddenly began singing the old song “You Are My Sunshine.” Standing among hundreds of yellow sunflowers, it somehow felt like exactly the right song. 🌻🎶

We met people who told us they had lived on Prince Edward Island for many years but had never visited the monastery before. Many families brought their children, and some of the smallest visitors quickly discovered that tall rows of sunflowers make a wonderful place for an adventure — and even a little game of hide-and-seek. Several families brought their dogs too, making the afternoon feel even more like a relaxed community gathering.

There were many small acts of kindness as well. One visitor told us that a friend had been injured and couldn’t come, so they picked extra flowers to take to them. We also met visitors who had travelled from as far away as New York and Toronto. Before heading back on the road, they left with sunflowers in their arms and popcorn from the monks to enjoy along the way. 🍿🌻

This weekend was not a fundraiser, but we were deeply touched that visitors still chose to support End Hunger in PEI. By the end of the weekend, we had received $246.26 in donations. Thank you for thinking of Island families even while simply coming out to enjoy the flowers. That kindness meant a great deal to us.

For us, the nicest part was simply seeing people leave smiling — some carrying one flower, others carrying enormous bouquets.

Thank you to everyone who came to spend a little time with us and helped give the last sunflowers of the season somewhere to go.

We hope your flowers brought a little sunshine into your home — or perhaps into someone else’s.

Thank you for a beautiful weekend.🙏

See you next year! 🌻🌻🌻


🌻Free Sunflower U-Pick Weekend

Thank You, PEI! 🙏Thanks to the kindness and generosity of our Island community, our September 20 End Hunger in PEI fundr...
09/21/2026

Thank You, PEI! 🙏

Thanks to the kindness and generosity of our Island community, our September 20 End Hunger in PEI fundraiser at the Downtown Charlottetown Market raised a total of $770.56

Every dollar will go toward our Christmas Free Grocery Market, helping Island families bring groceries home for Christmas.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who stopped by, donated, and supported us. Your kindness means so much. 🙏❤️

We’re ready for a beautiful day Downtown Charlottetown Market!From 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM today, we’re raising funds for ou...
09/20/2026

We’re ready for a beautiful day Downtown Charlottetown Market!

From 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM today, we’re raising funds for our Christmas Free Grocery Market, helping Island families bring groceries home for Christmas.

Freshly baked dinner rolls, artisan breads, and special handmade crafts by the monks are waiting at our table — our little way of saying thank you for your kindness and generosity. 🍞🎁

Come visit us, say hello, and be part of something that brings our Island community together. Every little bit of kindness makes a difference. ❤️🙏

09/18/2026

🌻 Our FREE Sunflower U-Pick starts tomorrow!

If you’ve been thinking about taking a few sunflowers home, this is the weekend to come. 🌻🌻🌻

There are still flowers to cut, mature sunflower heads to take home, and plenty of stalks that can be used for fall decorating.

📅 Saturday & Sunday, September 19–20
⏰ 2:00–5:00 PM
📍 2741 Heatherdale Road, Montague

🌻 FREE Admission • FREE U-Pick

Bring your own scissors or clippers, gloves if you have them, and a bucket, bag or container for what you’d like to take home.

Come pick your favourites and help us make the most of the final days of sunflower season.

See you this weekend!🌻🌻🌻

Tomorrow is our first bread day since school started! 🍞The monks are happily back in the kitchen, making fresh bread rol...
09/16/2026

Tomorrow is our first bread day since school started! 🍞

The monks are happily back in the kitchen, making fresh bread rolls for the Breakfast Programs at three elementary schools near the monastery.

We often hear Islanders say, “We’d love to try the monks’ bread too!” 😊

This Sunday, you can!

End Hunger in PEI @ Downtown Charlottetown Market
📅 Sunday, September 20
⏰ 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
📍 2 Great George St., Charlottetown

The monks will be bringing freshly baked bread rolls and artisan breads. They’ll be offered as a little thank-you to those who make a donation toward our Christmas Free Grocery Market.

The Christmas Free Grocery Market is part of our End Hunger in PEI initiative, helping local families bring home groceries for their Christmas meals at no cost to them.

So if you’ve ever wondered what the monks’ bread tastes like, come see us this Sunday! 🍞

Please share and help us spread the word!🙏

🌻 Still Blooming…These photos were taken in our sunflower field today. 💛After weeks of wind and rain, the field is showi...
09/16/2026

🌻 Still Blooming…

These photos were taken in our sunflower field today. 💛

After weeks of wind and rain, the field is showing its age. The leaves are fading, some stalks have fallen, and many of the older flowers have already gone to seed.

And yet… look what is still blooming. 🌻

Bright yellow, deep gold, even a few beautiful red-and-gold sunflowers are still opening under the September sky.

It may not look like the sunflower field you remember from summer, but we’re happy that it still has something to give.

That’s why we’re opening the field for FREE U-Pick this weekend!

📅 Saturday & Sunday, September 19–20
⏰ 2:00–5:00 PM
📍 2741 Heatherdale Road, Montague
🌻 FREE Admission • FREE U-Pick

Take home fresh sunflowers, mature sunflower heads and seeds, or sunflower stalks for fall decorating.

Please bring your own scissors or clippers, gloves if you have them, and something to carry everything home.

Summer may be coming to an end, but these sunflowers aren’t quite finished yet. 🌻

Please share with anyone who might like to take a little piece of sunflower season home.🌻🌞🌻

Some people meditate in silence.🧘‍♂️Venerable Jimmy also meditates with a brush.🖌️Art has been part of his life since ch...
09/13/2026

Some people meditate in silence.🧘‍♂️
Venerable Jimmy also meditates with a brush.🖌️

Art has been part of his life since childhood. Over the years, he has studied painting, watercolour, and calligraphy. He also practised Tai Chi and, during his school years, served as president of his school’s Tai Chi club.

This 135 cm landscape painting took him five days to complete.

The scene captures the feeling of early autumn — mist drifting quietly through the valleys, layers of mountains fading into the distance, and maple trees just beginning to turn red. Through a traditional Eastern style of landscape painting, Venerable Jimmy wanted to express not only what nature looks like, but also how it feels to be surrounded by it.

Look closely, and you may notice the tiny human figures tucked into the landscape.

They are a small but meaningful detail, representing people who love nature so deeply that they seem almost absorbed in it.

That feeling is very close to Venerable Jimmy’s own heart. He enjoys spending time in natural surroundings, simply stopping to observe — the changing colours, the movement of mist, the shapes of trees and rocks, and the countless details created by nature itself.

Perhaps that is why nature has always been one of his favourite subjects to paint.

For Venerable Jimmy, painting and calligraphy are more than artistic practices. They are also part of his meditation — a quiet way to slow down, focus, observe carefully, and be fully present with each brushstroke.

Here on Prince Edward Island, nature has a very different landscape — open fields, forests, shorelines, wide skies, and seasons that are always changing. Yet the feeling is much the same: sometimes the most beautiful moments come simply from stopping, looking, and noticing what is around us.

For Venerable Jimmy, that quiet attention becomes meditation — and sometimes, a painting.

What is one place on PEI that always makes you stop and take in the view?

🌻 Sunflower UpdateThe sunflowers are still hanging in there, but the field hasn’t recovered enough for U-Pick to open th...
09/11/2026

🌻 Sunflower Update

The sunflowers are still hanging in there, but the field hasn’t recovered enough for U-Pick to open this weekend. 🌻

We’re hoping the days ahead will bring some sunshine and gentler weather, and that the flowers may have a chance to recover. 🌻

If you’d still like the possibility of visiting the field, please sign up for our Notification List. If conditions improve enough for us to open U-Pick, we’ll let everyone on the list know right away.

👉https://forms.gle/Uwcra6y82HkXfykGA

Thank you so much for continuing to cheer on our sunflowers. 🌻

Please share 🙏

The wind and rain finally eased a little today, and we were surprised to see that some people still came hoping to visit...
09/06/2026

The wind and rain finally eased a little today, and we were surprised to see that some people still came hoping to visit the sunflower field.

Unfortunately, as you can see from these photos, the field needs a little more time.

Many of the sunflowers were bent or blown over by the storm, and some of our signs, tables and displays were knocked down as well.

But among all of this, there are still many unopened buds. 🌻

So we’re going to give the sunflowers a little time and see what the next few days bring. Perhaps, with some better weather, a few more of them will still have their chance to bloom.

If the field recovers enough, we would love to welcome everyone back for a simple Sunflower U-Pick later on.

If you’re hoping to visit, please wait for our next update before making the trip. Please join our Notification List so we can let you know as soon as there is any news.
👉https://forms.gle/Uwcra6y82HkXfykGA

Thank you for caring about our sunflowers and for being so patient with us this year. 🙏🌻🙏

🌻 SUNFLOWER CARNIVAL — CANCELLEDDear Island friends,Sadly, after the strong wind and rain, the sunflower field has been ...
09/05/2026

🌻 SUNFLOWER CARNIVAL — CANCELLED

Dear Island friends,

Sadly, after the strong wind and rain, the sunflower field has been badly damaged. 💔🌻

For everyone’s safety, the Sunflower Carnival will NOT take place tomorrow, Sunday, September 6.

There are still many unopened buds in the field, so we’re not giving up on the sunflowers just yet. We’ll watch the weather and see what the coming days bring.

Want to know if the sunflowers bloom again?🌻🌻🌻

Please join our Notification List to receive the latest updates about the sunflower field, possible U-Pick opportunities, and other upcoming events.

Don’t miss the next update — sign up for our Notification List : https://forms.gle/YtBogR25rS521rHi8

Please share 🙏

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Montague, PE

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