August 2021 Newsletter
Redecorating work continues
Now that our Meditation Hall and Common Room have been redecorated and are functioning again, attention has turned to the new entryway which leads to these rooms. The first parts to be decorated were the two WCs which are on the left as you come in the front door. These were painted in the first half of July, and the flooring was fitted on the 20th, so that these facilities are now ready for use when we start to have in-person events again.
Each of the WCs has a large mirror, which helps make them feel more spacious, and they are well lit by a ceiling light and a shaver light.
Each has a paper towel dispenser for day visitors, plus a rail for anyone staying overnight to hang their towel on. The plan is to add one or more grab rails to each one to help make them more accessible as well.
In addition to the redecorating work, it has been nice to make a few other improvements, including hanging some pictures from our new picture rail in the Common Room. The photo below shows the “Moon and Water Kanzeon” back in its previous position on the Common Room wall. It is a photo of a statue of Avalokiteshwara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, who is known as Kanzeon in Japanese.
Welcoming visitors back to the temple
Although the restrictions on the number of people who can meet indoors were lifted on the 19th of July, we have decided to stay closed for a little while longer whilst the prevalence of the virus is still so high. Although the reduction in case numbers for several days in the last week of July were encouraging, it is not clear whether the effect of the easing of restrictions on the 19th is showing in the figures just yet.
So for now we will be continuing with online-only meetings, as we have been doing for some time now. Hopefully the situation with case numbers and hospitalisations will become clearer over the coming days and weeks, and if if there is a definite downward trend we may be able to start having in-person events again at some point in August.
Once we do open, meetings will initially just be for a small number of people, and we will have to wait and see how the situation unfolds before we decide how things should progress from there. Whatever we decide to do, Sangha members will still be able to attend all events via zoom.
We hope that you are all keeping well and healthy, and that it is not too long before we are able to meet in person again.
Forthcoming Events: The Festival of Kshtigarbha Bodhisattva
On Saturday the 7th of August we will be celebrating the Festival of Kshtigarbha Bodhisattva. Kshtigarbha is usually depicted as a monk, carrying a staff and a “wish-fulfilling jewel”, and symbolises gentleness and the importance of offering.
It is traditional to make offerings of stones to Kshtigarbha; when we truly give ourselves to practice we find that this “ordinary pebble” we have offered, is in fact a precious stone. Anyone joining the ceremony is invited to have a small stone with them to offer during the ceremony.
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.
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