Season’s Greetings
Season’s Greetings.
Wishing you all a very merry festive season and best wishes for 2021.
Thank you all for your support during this past year, which is very much appreciated.
Category Archives: Newsletters
December 2020 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 5th of December we will be celebrating the Festival of the Buddha's Enlightenment to mark this important event in the life of the Buddha.
November 2020 Newsletter
Update on the Temple’s Building Project
Those of you who are in regular contact with the temple, or who have been following its progress in the newsletter, will know that we have been planning for some time to carry out some building work on the temple building. At a meeting of the temple charity’s trustees in early October, we decided on a firm of builders to carry out the work, and they hope to be able to start before the end of November.
October 2020 Newsletter
Forthcoming Events: Festival of Kshtigarbha Bodhisattva
On Saturday the 3rd of October 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.
September 2020 Newsletter
Forthcoming Events: Festival of Great Master Bodhidharma
On Saturday the 5th of September 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.
August 2020 Newsletter
Sad news of the death of Rev. Master Myfanwy
In early July we received the sad news that one of the senior monks of our order, Rev. Master Myfanwy, had died. Rev. Master Myfanwy was ordained at Throssel Hole by Rev. Master Daishin in 1983, and in 2002 moved down to the South West of England to start a temple there, which she named Dragon Bell Temple.
July 2020 Newsletter
Following the government’s recent announcement about the relaxation of the lockdown rules, it will be possible for people to visit the temple individually again from the 4th of July.
Places of worship can reopen for services from then, but the temple is not legally considered to be a Place of Worship, so the guidelines that apply to us will be those for a residential household. The guidelines are that from the 4th of July, people from any two households can meet indoors at one time, and up to six people from different households can meet outdoors.
June 2020 Newsletter
The Festival of the Buddha’s Birth
It was lovely to have so many people join our online celebration of Wesak, the Festival of the Buddha’s Birth, on Saturday the 9th of May. There were 20 of us altogether and we started the morning with two meditation periods, with walking meditation in between. For the festival itself, Rev. Aiden performed the role of celebrant in the temple’s meditation hall in the usual way, and we had a “backing track” which was played so that everyone could join in from where they were.
May 2020 Newsletter
Wishing you all a very happy Wesak
At this time of year we would normally be welcoming people to the temple to celebrate Wesak, the Festival of the Buddha’s Birth. Unfortunately, we will not be able to meet in person this year, due to the coronavirus restrictions, but on Saturday the 9th of May we will be holding the festival over zoom so that Lay Sangha members can join in from where they are. Details will be sent out by email during the coming week.
April 2020 Newsletter
Temple Closed
These are difficult and challenging times for all of us, and we hope that this newsletter finds you well.
As many of you already know, the temple has been closed since mid-March, due to the coronavirus restrictions, and we will be staying closed to all visitors until further notice. Scheduled events have been cancelled, and we are also closed to people coming individually to the temple.
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