February 2025 Newsletter
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 just over a week during January. This year it was very cold and snowy whilst I was there.
I gave Rev. Master Leandra and Rev. Master Leoma a lift, and we arrived on the afternoon of Saturday the 4th. The snow started in the early hours of Sunday so we got there just in time. It snowed quite steadily until the middle of Monday, and by then well over a foot of snow had fallen. The photo below shows the courtyard between the Abbot’s House and the Meditation Hall, after a path had been cleared through it.
After the snow had stopped falling it was then frosty and sunny for the rest of the time we were there. It had been forecast to get as low as -11C one night, and -14C on another, but I think it only got down to about minus five or six.
Having done a good amount of snow-shovelling early in the week, we had to do quite a bit more clearing on the lane and up to the wooden building car park towards the end of the week, as they were hoping for a gas delivery to come. The gas had run rather low, so the Hall of Pure Offering and the Ceremony Hall and Meditation Hall buildings had to be put into hibernation somewhat, with hardly any heat, and restrictions on using hot water etc.
We all had to do meditation and morning service individually in our rooms, and the kitchen had to use electrical appliances as much as they could when cooking, to try to conserve the gas we still had. The gas was eventually delivered on the afternoon before we left, and the delivery driver said that it was so low that it probably would have run out that day. It was a relief for everyone to have the heating etc. back to normal again.
The photo below is a view of the main buildings, looking down the lane from Myrtle Bank.
It was good to spend some time at Throssel, and to see members of the community again. It was also lovely to see Rev. Master Daishin, who was staying at Throssel during January as well. During the month he gave some Dharma Talks to the community, and it was lovely to be able to be there in person for two of those meetings whilst I was there, and to join the remaining one via zoom once I was back in Leicester.
New Year’s Eve Festival and new Temple Bell
On New Year’s Eve we held the traditional New Year’s Eve Festival, with six people here at the temple in person, and another eleven joining online. During the ceremony we recite the Scripture of Great Wisdom, and a ceremonial copy of the scripture arranged in a fanfold design is “revolved”, symbolically showing it and offering it in all directions. The photo below shows the main altar set up for the ceremony, with the fanfold copy of the Scripture of Great Wisdom on a plinth at the front of the altar.
At the end of the ceremony it is traditional for every person who attends to then strike the temple bell. In previous years we have used the gong in the meditation hall, but this year for the first time we had a real temple bell to strike. The bell that we now have came from the Reading priory, and is now mounted in the inner hallway, just outside the meditation hall. In the photograph below, Rev. Aiden is striking the bell after the New Year’s Eve Festival.
The bell had been given to the Reading priory by one of the American monks of our order, who had had a small number of them cast in the late 1990s, using an original Chinese or Japanese bell to make a mould from. The ‘Dragon Bell’ at the back of the Ceremony Hall at Throssel is another of these bells. The photo below is a close-up of the intricate detail on the surface of the bell. We are very fortunate to have such a wonderful bell at the temple..
The Festival of Maitreya Bodhisattva
on New Year’s Day
On New Year’s Day we celebrated the Festival of Maitreya Bodhisattva, and this was a first opportunity to use the statue of Maitreya which also came from Reading Buddhist Priory. Maitreya is known as “the Buddha who is yet to come”, who will appear when the teaching of Shakyamuni Buddha has completely disappeared and been forgotten. The statue shows Maitreya in the traditional pose of having one foot lowered, ready to step into the world.
Forthcoming Events:
The Festival of Avalokiteshwara Bodhisattva
On Saturday the 8th of February we will be celebrating the Festival of Avalokiteshwara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. The name Avalokiteshwara is Sanskrit (Japanese: Kanzeon, Chinese: Kwan Yin, Tibetan: Chenrezig), and means “The one who hears the cries of the world”. To live with compassion is to hear the cries of suffering within ourselves and within all beings, and to be willing to respond, and the festival will focus on this centrally important aspect of Buddhist practice.
During the festival a wide variety of different images of Avalokiteshwara are placed around the walls of the meditation hall, and we circumambulate the hall and bow to each image as we pass it. This symbolises the fact that compassion can appear in many different forms, sometimes in a way that we least expect, and that if we want to know stability and contentment in our lives we must accept, and bow to, all these different appearances of the nature of reality. This is one way in which we ourselves express compassion for all living things.
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. This festival day will run from 10am to 12.30pm, and full details of the festival will be sent out by email to Lay Sangha members prior to the festival.
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.
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