Events on New Year's Eve

On New Year's Eve we will be holding the traditional New Year’s Eve Ceremony, starting with meditation at 7.30pm.

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. After this we all drink a glass of celebratory New Year juice together, making a wish for the peace and prosperity of the temple and the Sangha during the coming year.

After the ceremony there will be tea and cake in the common room, and the evening will end at about 9.30pm or so.

New Year's Day:
The Festival of Maitreya Bodhisattva

Then on New Year's Day we will have the Festival of Maitreya from 10am to 4pm. This festival celebrates the Bodhisattva Maitreya, known as "the Buddha who is yet to come". It is said that Maitreya will appear when the teaching of Shakyamuni Buddha has completely disappeared and been forgotten. Associated with new beginnings, the Festival of Maitreya is often celebrated on New Year’s Day.

The day will start at 10am with a meditation period, followed by the ceremony. After the ceremony there will be a Dharma talk, and at about 1pm there will be a bring-and-share vegetarian lunch. In the afternoon there will be two periods of meditation from 2pm, followed by a Dharma discussion and tea. You are welcome to come for any part of the day.

For other events in January, please see the events calendar.

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Closed Period in January

The temple will be closed to visitors for much of the first half of January, from Saturday the 4th to Monday the 13th inclusive, to allow Rev. Aiden to have some retreat time.

There won't be any events at the temple during that time; after the Dharma Evening on Thursday the 2nd, the next evening event will be the Dharma Evening on Wednesday the 15th. You will still be able to contact the temple by email during this period, but not by phone or text.

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Update on Building Plans

As many of you know, we have been hoping to have some building work done on the property, mainly so that we don't have to go through the Meditation Hall in order to get to the kitchen or the upstairs. To acheive this we hope to build a porch at the front of the property and change the layout of the stairs, as well as some other minor changes.

Below is a comparison of what the front of the property will look like, before and after the addition of the porch.

Over the past few months we have been working on the plans for these changes. We have had an architect draw up the drawings, and in mid-December we submitted our planning application to the local council. We hope to hear back by mid-February.

We will include some more of the drawings in future newsletters, so that you can get a better idea of what we are hoping to do. We currently have sufficient funds to carry out the first phase of the work, but we also hope to raise some additional funds in order to complete it.

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Wishing you all a Happy New Year

Thank you to everyone who has come and shared their practice,
and supported the temple in so many different ways,
throughout the past year.

Wishing you all a peaceful and prosperous 2020.
Let us offer the merit of our practice to all beings,
so that all may be able to realise the truth.

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Alms Bowl Requests

Thank you to all those who have donated items to the temple. We are very grateful for donations of any household or other items that the temple might be able to use. Please contact Rev. Aiden if you have an item to offer but are not sure whether it would be useful.

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
• 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.