Season’s Greetings
Season’s Greetings.
Wishing you all a very merry festive season and best wishes for 2023.
Thank you all for your support throughout the year, which is very much appreciated.
Category Archives: Newsletters 2022
December 2022 Newsletter
Forthcoming Events:
Festival of the Buddha’s Enlightenment
The understanding that the Buddha came to during his enlightenment is the basis for the whole of Buddhist practice, and on Saturday the 10th of December we will be celebrating the Festival of the Buddha’s Enlightenment to mark this important event in the life of the Buddha.
In the story of the enlightenment, the Buddha had spent many years following ascetic practices in his search for the truth. Close to death as a result of these hardships, he realised that this was not the way, and after eating a meal decided to sit in meditation as he had done naturally as a child. As he sat in meditation, many thoughts, feelings and memories arose which could have distracted him from his purpose, but the Buddha continued to sit. As the morning star arose he gained a deep insight into the nature of existence.
Continue reading →November 2022 Newsletter
Forthcoming Events: The Festival of Founders Day
On Saturday the 5th of November we will be celebrating the Festival of Founders Day. This festival is an opportunity to offer our gratitude for the life and practice of all those who have practised Buddhism, from the far distant past to the present day. In particular we celebrate those in our own lineage who have passed on the teaching from generation to generation for over 2,500 years, and are the founders of this temple. These include Rev. Master Jiyu (the founder of our order), her master Koho Zenji, Great Master Dōgen(1200-1253) and Great Master Keizan (1268-1325).
October 2022 Newsletter
Forthcoming Events: The Festival of Great Master Bodhidharma
On Saturday the 1st of October we will be celebrating the Festival of Great Master Bodhidharma. Bodhidharma is an important figure within Zen, as he is credited with bringing the meditation school of Buddhism from India to China. His emphasis on “pure meditation”, and the need to spend time “just sitting” facing a wall, are still central to our tradition. This festival is an opportunity to celebrate the life of Bodhidharma and to focus on some of his important teachings.
September 2022 Newsletter
Funeral for John Ferris
In early August we were very sad to hear that John Ferris, our friend and long-time Sangha member from Nottingham, had died. His health had been declining for some time, and we received a message from his daughter that he had been taken into hospital. Rev. Aiden and several Sangha members were able to visit him there, as were many of his friends and relatives, and John died a few days after being admitted.
John was in his early eighties and had been an active member of the Nottingham meditation group for many years.
Continue reading →August 2022 Newsletter
Regional Sangha Day in Leeds
It was lovely to see so many Sangha members in Leeds for the Regional Sangha Day on the 16th of July. The event was held at the Jamyang Buddhist Centre, a Tibetan Buddhist centre in the Holbeck area of South Leeds.
Three monks travelled down from Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey for the day; Rev. Mugo, Rev. Sanshin and Rev. Kanshin, and there were also three monks from the Midlands there, Rev. Saido from Telford Buddhist Priory, Rev. Alicia from Sitting Buddha Hermitage in Cromford, and Rev. Aiden. Altogether there were nearly 30 people there for the day.
The day started at 10am with a meditation period, followed by Morning Service and a Dedication of Merit Ceremony. We then stopped for a cup of tea, and this gave us all a chance to catch up with old friends, as many of us haven’t met since late 2019. After the break Rev. Saido gave a Dharma Talk on Ceremonial, which took place in the main hall at the Jamyang Centre, as had the meditation period and ceremony earlier in the day.
July 2022 Newsletter
Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey
50th Anniversary Celebrations
This year marks the 50th Anniversary of Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey, and on Sunday the 26th of June a festival day was held at Throssel to celebrate the occasion. Including the monastic community there were about 100 people there for the day, and the Ceremony Hall was very full for the Festival Ceremony and Dharma Talk, as well as for the meditation period which preceded them.
Rev. Berwyn, the vice-abbot of Throssel was the celebrant for the ceremony, and in the photo below he is making a first incense offering at the main altar.
June 2022 Newsletter
Celebrating the Festival of the Buddha’s Birth
The highlight of our calendar in May is always Wesak, the Festival of the Buddha’s Birth, and after two years of online-only celebrations it was lovely to be able to welcome people to the temple again for Wesak this year. There were ten people here in person plus 14 online from across the Midlands and beyond.
We started the morning with a meditation period, followed by the festival itself and then a Dharma talk and discussion. Rev. Aiden was celebrant for the festival, which took place in our newly redecorated Meditation Hall.
May 2022 Newsletter
The Festival of the Buddha’s Birth
The highlight of our calendar in May is always Wesak, the Festival of the Buddha’s Birth, and after two years of online-only celebrations we are very pleased that we will be able to welcome people to the temple in person again for Wesak this year. To maximise the possibility of good weather, and also to allow the covid infection rate to fall further, we will be celebrating Wesak a few weeks later than we usually do, on Saturday the 21st of May.
April 2022 Newsletter
Forthcoming Events:
The Festival of Manjusri Bodhisattva
On Saturday the 2nd 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.