Celebrating the Festival of the Buddha’s Birth

The highlight of our calendar in May is always Wesak, the Festival of the Buddha’s Birth, which this year we celebrated on Saturday the 17th. It was very nice to have ten people here in person to celebrate Wesak together at the temple (including Rev. Aiden, and Rev. Alicia from Sitting Buddha Hermitage), and another 9 or so people joined via zoom. The photo below shows the festival altar.

We started the morning with a meditation period, followed by the festival itself and then a Dharma talk and discussion. As part of the festival ceremony we had the traditional bathing of the Baby Buddha, and the photo below shows Rev. Aiden ladling water over the Baby Buddha statue which was at the front of our Wesak altar.

Following the festival ceremony we gathered in the Meditation Hall for a Dharma Talk and discussion, which was followed by a vegetarian feast. The photo below shows us in the Meditation Hall for the talk, with thanks to Aidan for taking this photo and the two previous ones.

The front of the temple and the back garden were both decked out with bunting to celebrate the festival, although this year the weather wasn’t quite warm and bright enough for us to sit outside. The photo below shows some of the festive bunting just outside the Meditation Hall windows, fluttering in the late afternoon sun (which came out eventually, after all the guests had left!). Thank you to all those who helped make the day such a joyful occasion.

Forthcoming Events:
The Festival of Achalanatha Bodhisattva

On Saturday the 14th of June 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 the Precepts may seem like they constrict us, but as we go on in our practice we see that they liberate us.

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.

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Some recent photos of the garden

Below are some recent photos after a warm dry 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