Visits to the temple from the 4th of July

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.

So for the temple this means that there will now be three different ways that we can meet:

1. Our existing Zoom meetings for regular events.
2. Up to six of us from any households could meet in the garden.
3. People will be able to visit individually (or more than one person if from the same household), to meditate or just come round for a chat.

So what we are proposing is that from the 4th of July:

• The regular temple events in the mornings and evenings that we have been having during lockdown will continue as they are, as virtual-only zoom meetings.
• There will generally be a festival on the first Saturday of the month, and the Renewing the Precepts Ceremony on the third Saturday (both also via zoom).
• On the other Saturdays the temple will host a “socially-distanced tea” in the garden, from 2pm-4pm, which up to five others would be able to come to at a time. These will be a great way of connecting with each other in small groups again (weather permitting!), and we hope that existing Sangha members will come along and join us if they feel able. You will of course need to call or email in advance to arrange your visit so that we don’t exceed the maximum number at any one time.
• Each Sunday will be a “Personal Practice Day”, with a schedule similar to our previous Sunday Meditation Days, when people will be able to come for one of the double meditation periods (starting at 10am, 11.30am, 2pm and 3.30pm), either to sit, to have a chat, or both. Again you would need to call or email in advance to arrange your visit.
• If you would like to come individually but Sundays don’t work for you (or they are booked up) you can contact the temple to arrange another time to visit.
• This also means that we will once more be able to have Introductory Sessions to introduce people to the practice, again by prior arrangement.

This is what we will start with, but of course it may change as things unfold, and also as we see what works in practice and what doesn’t, and which ways people prefer to visit (or not!). (And of course all of this depends on a local lockdown not being imposed on Leicester, which is currently being discussed in the media!)

We hope you will be able to come and visit, and we look forward to being able to welcome you to the temple again.

For the time being, you will need to book in advance before any visit, to make sure that we don’t exceed the guidelines. We realise that this may sound rather restrictive, and it is quite different to how we have done things in the past, but this is just what we need to do if the temple is to start to reopen again.

And we shouldn’t forget that these measures are to safeguard the health of everyone who visits the temple, and we will also be doing our bit to help restrict the spread of the virus in the population as a whole.

Forthcoming Events: The Festival of Achalanatha Bodhisattva

On Saturday the 4th 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.

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 prior to the festival.

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Shed Renovations

Work on renovating the shed at the bottom of the garden has continued. With the outside re-cladding complete, attention has turned to insulating and lining the inside, so that furniture and other items can be safely stored in the shed without deteriorating.

Fitting the boards has been a bit of a challenge, as the different sections of the walls and ceilings don’t quite meet at right angles, so many of the boards have needed to be cut as parallelograms rather than rectangles!

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A Big Thank You

Thank you to all those who have continued to support the temple whilst we are closed. This has enabled us to continue covering our costs during the recent months of the lockdown, and is very much appreciated.

Thank you to all those who are so generously supporting the temple through your financial donations and food donations, in addition to the support of your practice.

We look forward to welcoming you back to the temple in the coming weeks.

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Some Garden Photos

After the very dry weather in May, the plants have been appreciating the rainfall and strong sunshine in June.

Here are some recent photos.

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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