April 2018 Newsletter
The New Temple Property
We are pleased to be able to let you know that we have now moved to the new property in Chadderton Close, and thank you to all those who helped us make the move from Lamborne Road. The property purchase was completed on Friday the 9th of March, and on Saturday the 10th about ten people kindly came along to help at various times during the morning, with quite a few vehicles. There were about six or seven people in the afternoon as well, and by the end of the day we had moved the contents of the Meditation Hall, Common Room and kitchen, as well as items from the attic and garage.
On Sunday morning six people came to help, and we managed to move the contents of all the other rooms, with just a couple of items left over.
Several people came along again on the following Tuesday, and as well as moving the remaining items we were able to thoroughly clean the house at Lamborne Road ready to hand it back to the landlord. This we did on the Thursday, and the agent commented on how clean it looked. Thank you to all those who helped in so many different ways.
The Meditation Hall on a sunny afternoon
Shortly before the property purchase was completed, our mortgage provider questioned whether we are allowed to function as a Buddhist Temple with the current residential use class that the new property has. They have asked us to check this with the council, and not to use the property as a Buddhist Temple in the meantime.
Rev. Aiden is currently able to use the property as a residence, but we have suspended our calendar of events on the website for the time being, and we will continue to have a notice saying that we are closed for moving until we have followed this up.
We hope that we will be able to resolve this before too long, and will let you know when the calendar of events is reinstated on the website.
In the meantime, the main room has been set up as our Meditation Hall, and is much more spacious than our previous one - see photo above.
Part of the Common Room
We are very grateful for the large donation of furniture and other items which Rev. Aiden recently travelled to Leeds to pick up. Amongst many other items, these include a large dresser unit, a fridge-freezer, a tumble dryer, two beds, a dining table and many chairs, as well as the rugs that are shown in the photo above, in our new Common Room.
Visit to Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey
Over the weekend of Friday the 16th to Sunday the 18th of March a group of twelve of us travelled up from the East Midlands to our main monastery, Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey, in Northumberland. There were seven lay Sangha members from Nottingham, three from Leicester, plus Rev. Alicia from Sitting Buddha Hermitage in Derbyshire and Rev. Aiden. We hired a seventeen-seater minibus for the weekend, which gave us plenty of space even with all our luggage.
Five of the lay Sangha members were visiting Throssel for the first time, and took part in the Introductory Retreat that was being held that weekend. The remaining five have visited Throssel before, some of them many times, and joined in with the monastery's regular daily schedule.
Part of the reason for going in March rather than earlier in the year was to avoid bad weather. Unfortunately, that weekend was very cold and snowy, with the winds from Siberia reasserting themselves. Perhaps about six inches of snow fell over the weekend, as you can see from the photo below.
Throssel courtyard in the snow
Our journey up to Northumberland had been fairly uneventful. We phoned up to check on conditions when we were part way there, and were told that it was already sleeting, so we took a lower road to the Abbey rather than going over the high route at the head of Weardale. By the time we got to Throssel the weather had improved, and we didn't meet any falling snow or sleet.
Overnight there was quite a bit of snow, however, and the next day there were frequent snow showers which added to the depth of the lying snow. The minibus was parked up by the main buildings, and there is quite a long steep lane down to the road below. This can be very tricky when there is snow or ice on the ground, as there certainly was on Saturday afternoon:
The view down the snowy lane - it's a long way down!
On Sunday morning the snow showers still continued, and we weren't sure whether we would be able to leave. The monastic community at Throssel had done a great job clearing the lane, all the way up to the minibus, but the bottom road was still quite slippery. Tractors had been by, but apparently even Land Rovers were sliding around as they drove along, so it certainly wouldn't have been safe for a minibus.
The early afternoon seemed the most promising time to try to leave, and we decided that if the bottom road had been ploughed by then we would have a go. Otherwise we would stay until the Monday, when the weather was forecast to warm up a bit.
Fortunately the bottom road was ploughed at about noon, so at about 1.30pm we started to climb aboard the minibus, although it was still snowing even then.
Climbing aboard in the snow
Once everyone was aboard we slowly inched down the lane - see the photo below - as we didn't want to pick up any speed on the steep slope. Fortunately the snow was melting from below, and we had two clear tracks for the tyres to run in. Rev. Finnan very kindly followed us for several miles in a four-wheel drive vehicle, until we reached a clear stretch of road, and as we headed down the valley the roads gradually improved.
Driving away down the lane, but taking it slow
We took quite a diversion via Newcastle to make sure we stayed on the lowest roads, but even so we were still back in Nottingham by about 6.45pm, and back in Leicester by about 8pm. Although the travel was a bit more involved than we had hoped, everyone seemed to enjoy their weekend at the Abbey, and we hope to organise other trips at some point in the future. Although we might be tempted not to go in March again, the weather was very unusual, even for Throssel, and another year it might be lovely and warm and sunny, with daffodils!
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 all donations of vegetarian food are most welcome. In particular:
- peanuts or other nuts
- porridge oats
- fresh fruit and vegetables (except garlic or peppers)
- fresh or dried herbs
- yoghurt and eggs
- brown 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.