May 2025 Newsletter
The Festival of the Buddha’s Birth
The highlight of our calendar in May is always Wesak, the Festival of the Buddha’s Birth, and this year we will be celebrating Wesak on Saturday the 17th of May.
Wesak will be a full day event, from 10am to 4pm. The festival and Dharma talk will both be in the morning, so you can come just for those if you would prefer. There will then be the option to stay on for a bring-and-share lunch and a social afternoon, which will also include a meditation period followed by tea and biscuits. Rev. Alicia from Sitting Buddha Hermitage in Derbyshire is planning to join us for the day.
Any lay Sangha members who would like to come to Wesak in person would be very welcome to do so, and we will also be holding the festival over zoom so that lay Sangha members can join in from where they are. Please could you let us know if you will be coming in person, as it is really helpful to know in advance how many people will be here. Details of the day will be sent out by email nearer the time.
We hope that you have a joyful Wesak, however and wherever you celebrate it.
New Head of the Order
Many of you know that the temple is part of a larger organisation called the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives (OBC). Last Autumn the previous Head of the Order stepped down from that position after twenty years in the role, and over the last few months the senior monks of the order have been having online meetings leading up to the election of a new Head of the Order.
That process has now come to a conclusion, and I am happy to be able to let you know that Rev. Master Koten Benson has been elected as the new Head of the Order, and officially took up the role at a meeting of the monks of the order on the 9th of April.
Rev. Master Koten is the prior at Lions Gate Buddhist Priory in Canada, and was ordained by Rev. Master Jiyu, the founder of the order, in 1978. He trained at Shasta Abbey for several years, and moved to Vancouver, Canada in 1985. He established the priory in Vancouver the following year, and in 2003 they purchased a rural property near Lytton, which is where Lions Gate Buddhist Priory is now based.
We wish Rev. Master Koten every success in his new role as Head of the Order.
New OBC Newsletter
The OBC has just started producing a quarterly Newsletter which you can find here:
https://newsletter.obcon.org/
The newsletter is a successor to the Journal, which is no longer being produced. On the newsletter website you can subscribe to it, and then you’ll receive each one as soon as they are published.
Spring Day Retreat in Nottingham
On Saturday the 12th of April we had a very nice day retreat at the Chilwell Community Centre in Nottingham. Nine people came for the morning and seven for the afternoon.
The main room we use for meditation is quite large, and we also have a couple of other rooms and a small kitchen, giving us plenty of space to arrange things for the day.
Thank you to all those who helped organise it and make it happen, and for all your support and donations in many different ways. We hope to hold another retreat at the same venue in the Autumn.
Spring Flowers
The plants in the temple garden seem to have enjoyed the warm, dry weather that we have had during April, and we have had a lovely display of spring flowers, from snowdrops and crocuses to hyacinths, daffodils and tulips. The photos below were taken in mid-April.
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.
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