March 2017 Newsletter
Forthcoming Events:
Festival of the Buddha’s Renunciation
On Saturday the 4th of March we will be celebrating the Festival of the Buddha’s Renunciation. Renunciation, or letting go, lies at the heart of all Buddhist practice, and the story of the Buddha’s Renunciation is a way of conveying the importance of this aspect of training. This festival day will focus on renunciation and letting go, and how we express this within our daily life.
The day will start at 10am with a meditation period, followed by the ceremony. After the ceremony there will be a Dharma talk, and at about 1pm there will be a bring-and-share vegetarian lunch. In the afternoon there will be two periods of meditation from 2pm, followed by tea. You are welcome to come for any part of the day.
Ceremony of the Spring Equinox
On Tuesday the 21st of March, 7.30pm - 9.30pm, we will be celebrating the Ceremony of the Spring Equinox. The evening will start with a meditation period, followed by a short ceremony known as the "Mindful Recitation at the Shrine of the Seven Buddhas".
This ceremony is an opportunity to rededicate ourselves to the practice as we mark the changing seasons, and it includes the recitation of the Scripture of Great Wisdom, the Names of the Ten Buddhas and the Invocation for the Removal of Disasters.
There will be another meditation period after the ceremony, followed by tea and biscuits, and everyone is welcome.
For other events in March, please see the events calendar.
Update on our recent Steering Morning:
Finances and Looking for a Property
We had a steering morning at the temple on the 11th of February, and the following is a summary of what we discussed.
Finances
After having not quite covered our costs in November, our income in December and January was significantly higher. Our net core income in each of these months was over £150, despite the increased heating costs due to the cold weather. Below is a graph of our core income and core expenditure, which shows both this increase in expenditure due to the cold weather and also the variability in our income.
More extensive details of our income and expenditure and financial position can be found on the Finances page of the website, which also has additional graphs to help visualise the information.
Properties
The main thing that we discussed was the possibility of buying a property to give the temple a long-term home.
The background:
We have been looking for some time for another rented property that would give us slightly better facilities at a reasonable rent, but without success. However, whilst a better rented house would be good, the longer term goal for the temple is to buy a property. This is partly so that we could adapt it, but also because as tenants we could be asked to move at short notice.
The temple’s funds are slowly increasing, but we haven’t yet saved enough for a deposit on a property. However, we have been offered a long-term interest-free loan, which together with what the temple has, would give a deposit of nearly £30,000. It looks like this could be enough for a deposit on the sort of property we would be looking for. (With a large room that isn't on a party wall, a downstairs toilet, and another reception room or sizeable kitchen.) It also seems that our current monthly income may be just enough to cover mortgage repayments. In addition, we would invite gifts or loans towards the purchase, and investigate applying for any grants.
As well as looking at regular houses, another option would be a non-domestic property that we could adapt. This would allow a larger meditation hall, and would probably be cheaper to buy (per sq. metre) as it would be to a lower standard of decoration and fittings. It would need renovating/refitting, but that could be done gradually over time. Finding somewhere suitable in an appropriate area is a challenge. One possibility is that we could ask the city council whether they have any suitable properties that they would consider selling to a community group.
A number of people have also expressed interest in the idea of a "practice community" with a number of individual houses or flats that people could rent or buy and with the temple as a central part of it. For this we would need to find a large enough property with the space to do that, which might be difficult. It is possible that the temple would have to make another move first, with that larger project coming later.
As long as the temple was in a residential area, however, people would also have the option of moving close to the temple. This would still give the sense of a practice community, but arranged differently.
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Our discussion:
Those who were present agreed with the logic of trying to buy somewhere if we can. There was interest in the idea of a practice community, and we discussed the other issues described above, including location. There weren't any strong views on whether we focus on domestic or non-domestic; this was just an initial discussion after all, and people were open to finding out what might be possible.
Some practical steps and things to consider that have been suggested:
- Set up a specific fund, so that there is something that people could donate to.
- Ask if anyone would like to make a pledge of support, as either a loan or gift.
- When assessing feasibility, factor in possible rises in interest rates over the period of any mortgage/loan. (Although we hope that the temple's income will also rise over that time.)
- Draw up a list of features we would be looking for, particularly for approaching the city council.
There weren't any particular conclusions as such, as this was more an opportunity to air and discuss the many different issues.
It seems good to look into the non-domestic possibilities, as the possibility of a larger meditation hall than we would get in a house is attractive. People were supportive of the suggestion that this might be something to investigate first, especially as it is much more of an unknown than the housing market.
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Next steps:
We are very much in a "feasibility study" phase at the moment, and the temple trustees are discussing the practical steps that we could take to explore this a bit further. These include contacting estate agents, looking into mortgages and researching possible grants.
Any thoughts or comments that you have on the idea of buying somewhere, or on the different options, would be very welcome. As always, donations towards this project will be entirely voluntary, and all the ways in which Sangha members already support the temple are very much appreciated.
Alms Bowl Requests
Thank you to all those who have donated items to the temple. We are very grateful for donations of any household or other items that the temple might be able to use. Please contact Rev. Aiden if you have an item to offer but are not sure whether it would be useful.
Donations of Food
Offering food is a traditional way to support a monk, and any donations of vegetarian food are most welcome. In particular:
- fresh fruit and vegetables (except garlic or peppers)
- porridge oats
- yoghurt and eggs
- peanuts or other nuts
- rice and pasta
Any other suitable items would also be appreciated.
Donations
The temple is dependent on donations for its continued existence, and any financial support you are able to offer is greatly appreciated. Details of how to offer support can be found on the Donations page of the website.