July 2018 Newsletter
Forthcoming Events:
Festival of Achalanatha Bodhisattva
This coming Saturday, the 7th of July, we will be celebrating the Festival of Achalanatha Bodhisattva. Achalanatha, the "Immovable One", represents commitment and determination in Buddhist practice. Achalanatha is portrayed sitting in meditation amidst the flames of the passions, and is not driven away from the place of meditation by them, however much they seem to burn. Achalanatha holds the Sword of Wisdom to cut through delusion, and offers us the rope of the Buddhist Precepts. To begin with this may seem like it constricts us, but when we look more closely we see that it liberates us.
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 July, please see the events calendar.
Update on Recent Steering Morning
On the 16th of June we had a Steering Morning at the temple, and the first thing that was discussed was the temple finances. There have been a lot of changes to the finances in recent months, with the purchase of the property, and then starting to pay the mortgage.
There are many graphs on the finances page to try to visual the finances, and below is just one, which shows our overall net cash incomings. These are much lower now that we have started making mortgage payments, but we have managed to break even in the last couple of months.
We also discussed what we do at the Wednesday Dharma Evenings, following Evening Service and meditation.
I have been thinking about this for a while, and I suggested that:
- one Wednesday a month could be a discussion
- one could be a question and answer evening
- one could be looking at a Dharma text (we are currently going through "Trust in the Heart" by the third Chinese ancestor Kanchi Sosan)
- on one we could listen to a recorded Dharma Talk (probably by a monk of the OBC, although not necessarily)
This will start from the beginning of July, and I will put on the calendar which each week will be, so that you know in advance. I would welcome suggestions of topics for discussion, and also if Sangha members could suggest recorded Dharma talks to listen to.
The next Steering Morning will be in August. Please do get in touch if you have any questions or comments about any of this, or anything else related to the temple.
in gassho
Aiden
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:
- peanuts or other nuts
- porridge oats
- peanut butter
- fresh fruit and vegetables (except garlic or peppers)
- fresh or dried herbs
- yoghurt and eggs
- brown rice and pasta
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.