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 6th 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.

This festival day will run from 10am to 4pm, with the Festival and Dharma Talk both in the morning so that people can come just for those if they would prefer. There will then be the option to stay on for a bring-and-share lunch and an afternoon of meditation, followed by tea and biscuits and an opportunity to ask questions. I hope you will be able to join us for this joyous occasion.

In addition to welcoming visitors to the temple for the festival (please book in advance), we will also be holding the festival over zoom so that Lay Sangha members can join in from where they are. Full details of the festival day will be sent out by email to Lay Sangha members prior to the festival.

Visit to Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey

by Rev. Aiden

Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey in Northumberland is our order’s main monastery in the UK, and it was very nice to have the opportunity to visit for a weekend in mid-November.

I also gave a lift to Rev. Master Leandra, who lives near Cambridge, and it was good to see both her and the members of the monastic community at Throssel. The drive up was rather difficult as there was heavy rain almost all of the way, but fortunately it was sunny for the return journey.

This visit was the first time that I had seen the new paving blocks that they now have outside the Guest Department office and cloister, and a photo of the area is below. It is a big improvement on the gravel that was there before, which used to get ground down to sand by the car wheels and had to be replaced periodically.

On the Sunday morning there was a memorial for Brian Gay, a lay minister of the order who died recently and who some of you may have known. He lived for many years in Malaysia, close to Chen Hoon Teng temple in Malacca. This the temple where Rev. Master Jiyu (the founder of our order) was ordained as a Buddhist monk, on her way to Japan. A photo of the Ceremony Hall at Throssel is below, as well as a close-up of the altar set up for the memorial.

Throssel runs a full programme of residential retreats throughout the year, and we have some printed copies of their 2026 calendar available at the temple. You can also find out more information from their website.

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Improvements to the temple:
completion of the new conservatory

Last month’s newsletter had some photos of the new conservatory base which had been finished at the beginning of October, and at that point we were expecting the fitters to come later that week to install the uPVC and glass sections and complete the work.

Two fitters were here for three days and made a lovely job of the conservatory. Fortunately the weather stayed dry for those three days, which was very helpful, and we have had a few sunny days since then to help the conservatory dry out a bit before we head into the colder and darker winter months.

Now that the conservatory is complete and the concrete floor and interior brickwork are protected from the weather, they will need to dry out for about three months before we can lay any flooring. We have a dehumidifier running in there part of the time to help with that process. Although this means we won’t be able to make full use of it for a while, it wouldn’t have got that much use during the coldest and darkest months anyway. It will really come into its own when the weather starts to warm up in the Spring.

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Alms Bowl Requests

Donations of Food
Offering food is a traditional way to support a monk, and all donations of vegetarian food are most welcome. In particular:

• porridge oats
• peanuts or other nuts
• peanut butter
• fresh fruit and vegetables (except garlic or peppers)
• dried herbs
• cheese, eggs and yoghurt

Any other suitable items would also be appreciated.

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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