April 2021 Newsletter
Completion of the Building Work
March the 26th was the date by which the builders had agreed to complete all the work on the property, and we are very happy to report that all of the building work was successfully done by then. There was still a bit of plumbing work to finish off after that, but that has now been done too, and we hope to get our completion certificate fairly soon.
Below is a photo of the back of the meditation hall, with the new wall and alcove where the stairs used to be. At the bottom of the alcove you can see the line of new plaster where the old stairs were.
Most of the work in the last few weeks has been on the upstairs bathroom, which has now been divided into two shower rooms. This involved taking out all the existing fittings and removing the old tiling, and then building a dividing wall to form the two shower rooms. After this all the new pipework was installed, and then the two rooms were tiled ready for the new fittings to be put in. This was completed this week, and below is a photo of one of the new shower rooms, which will be for guests to use.
To finish it off we just need to tile the boxing and get some flooring for it, and then put up a mirror and a towel rail, and a few coat hooks.
Now that the building work has been completed we can start on redecorating the rooms. We hope to have the main rooms ready for when we are able to have guests again, which at the moment looks like it might be late June.
Forthcoming Events: The Festival of Manjusri Bodhisattva
On Saturday the 3rd of April we will be celebrating the Festival of Manjusri Bodhisattva. Manjusri is the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, usually portrayed holding the Sword of Wisdom that cuts through delusion, and riding “the Beast of Self which never sleeps”. Are we Manjusri or are we the beast? It may seem like we are divided between a good side and a bad side, between clarity and confusion, but we gradually come to see that Manjusri and the beast are not two different things.
When we come to understand the true nature of “self”, we see that the “beast” is what carries and supports Manjusri – and us. The wisdom which Manjusri embodies is not intellectual or conceptual wisdom, but the ability to see ourselves and the whole of existence with clarity. When we see clearly, we understand that we must act in the world in a way that is rooted in compassion for all beings.
We will be holding the festival over zoom so that Lay Sangha members can join in from where they are. I hope you will be able to join us, and full details will be sent out by email to Lay Sangha members prior to the festival.
A Big Thank You
Thank you to all those who have continued to support the temple whilst we are closed. This has enabled us to continue covering our costs during the recent months of the lockdown, and is very much appreciated.
Thank you to all those who are so generously supporting the temple through your financial donations and food donations, in addition to the support of your practice.
We look forward to welcoming you back to the temple as soon as we are able to.
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.
All donations are received with gratitude