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 16th. It was very nice to have nine people here in person to celebrate Wesak together at the temple (including Rev. Aiden, and Rev. Alicia from Sitting Buddha Hermitage), and several others joined us via zoom as well. 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 (from a previous Wesak ceremony) shows Rev. Aiden ladling water over the Baby Buddha statue at the front of the 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 weather was quite bright and sunny in the morning, but not warm enough to sit out in the garden at lunchtime. However, the flooring in our new conservatory had just been put down a few days beforehand, and it was very nice to be able to sit in there as people arrived, and to have our lunch in there as well. A photo of the conservatory, set up in preparation for the festival, is below.

Thank you to all those who helped make the day such a joyful occasion.

Forthcoming Events:
Regional Sangha Day in Leeds

The main weekend event this month will be the Regional Sangha Day in Leeds, which will be on Saturday the 6th of June. The Leeds meditation group have kindly hosted this for many years, and it is always a very good event, with many lay Sangha members there from the North and the Midlands, as well as monks from Throssel and other Regional temples. Below is a group photo from last year’s Regional Sangha Day.

This year Rev. Master Berwyn, the abbot of Throssel, will be travelling down to Leeds for the event, and will be giving a Dharma Talk. Rev. Master Mugo from Telford will be there as well, as will Rev. Master Alicia from Sitting Buddha Hermitage and Rev. Kōjō from Throssel.

Rev. Aiden will be travelling up to Leeds for the day, and can offer lifts. Further details of the event will be sent out by email to Lay Sangha members during the coming week.

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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