Forthcoming Events: Festival of Vimalakirti Bodhisattva

This coming Saturday, the 6th of October, we will be celebrating the Festival of Vimalakirti Bodhisattva. Vimalakirti, whose name means "spotless reputation", is the main figure of the Vimalakirti Sutra. He is portrayed as the ideal Buddhist lay practitioner, and is said to have lived at the time of the Buddha. In the scripture he has encounters with each of the Buddha's most senior disciples, and debates with Manjusri Bodhisattva, all of which demonstrate his great wisdom.

Visit from Rev. Master Haryo, the Head of the OBC

It was lovely to welcome Rev. Master Haryo to the temple over the August Bank Holiday weekend. Rev. Master Haryo is usually resident at Shasta Abbey in California, but is currently visiting the UK, and is spending several weeks visiting a number of temples both in the UK and in the Netherlands.

Visit from Rev. Master Haryo, the Head of the OBC

Rev. Master Haryo, who is the head of our order, will be visiting the temple over the August Bank Holiday weekend, from Friday the 24th to Monday the 27th of August. Rev. Master Haryo is usually resident at Shasta Abbey in California, but is currently visiting the UK, and will be spending several weeks visiting a number of temples both in the UK and in the Netherlands.

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.

The Temple is Now Fully Open

You may remember from the April newsletter that shortly before the property purchase was completed, our mortgage provider had questioned whether we were allowed to function as a Buddhist Temple with the current residential use class that the new property has. They had asked us to check this with the council, and not to use the property as a Buddhist Temple in the meantime.

We are very happy to be able to let you know that this situation has now been resolved.

Setting up the New Property

There has been a lot to do to get the new property sorted out and organised after the busy week of moving in early March. There are still lots of boxes to unpack, but items are gradually being moved to the rooms that they need to end up in. Most of the things that need to go into attic storage, at least for the time being, have now been moved to the attic, freeing up space in other locations. There are still quite a few pieces of furniture in the garage, as well as other items, which are yet to be moved into place.

The New Temple Property

We are pleased to be able to let you know that we have now moved to the new property in Chadderton Close, and thank you to all those who helped us make the move from Lamborne Road. The property purchase was completed on Friday the 9th of March, and on Saturday the 10th about ten people kindly came along to help at various times during the morning, with quite a few vehicles.

A New Home for the Temple

We are very pleased to be able to let you know that we now have a date to move to the new property that we are purchasing, which is pictured above. The legal issue that was holding up the purchase was finally resolved in early February, and we have just heard that the completion date will be the 9th of March.

So after quite a delay we are now able to start planning for the move. The temple will be closed for a week or so whilst we move everything, and quite a few people have kindly offered help with vehicles and their time.

Forthcoming Events:
Festival of Avalokiteshwara Bodhisattva

On Saturday the 3rd of February we will be celebrating the Festival of Avalokiteshwara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. The name Avalokiteshwara is Sanskrit (Japanese: Kanzeon, Chinese: Kwan Yin, Tibetan: Chenrezig), and means “The one who hears the cries of the world”. To live with compassion is to hear the cries of suffering within ourselves and within all beings, and to be willing to respond, and the festival day will focus on this centrally important aspect of Buddhist practice.

Events on New Year's Eve

During the daytime on New Year's Eve there will be a New Year's Eve Meditation Retreat from 10am to 4.40pm, which will have the same schedule as the usual Sunday Meditation Day. The turning of the year can be a very good time to reflect on our life and practice, and the temple will be open if you would like to come and sit for any part of the day.

Then in the evening we will have the traditional New Year’s Eve Ceremony, starting with meditation at 7.30pm.

Season’s Greetings.

Wishing you all a very merry festive season and best wishes for 2018.
Thank you all for your support during this past year, which is very much appreciated.

Celebrating the Festival of
The Buddha's Enlightenment

The understanding that the Buddha came to during his enlightenment is the basis for the whole of Buddhist practice, and on Saturday the 2nd of December we will be celebrating the Festival of the Buddha's Enlightenment to mark this important event in the life of the Buddha.

Property Purchase Update

The process of buying the property in Chadderton Close has been continuing over recent weeks. Last week the survey was carried out, which went fine. There are always some minor items that are highlighted as needing attention, but overall the surveyor was very complimentary about the property, and was happy to value it at the price that we had agreed with the vendor, which is good news.

Property Search Update

We are pleased to be able to let you know that we have had an offer accepted on a property in Chadderton Close, pictured above. It is just down the hill from where we are at the moment, and is a modern detached house with a substantial extension. It was on the market for £310,000, and the vendor has accepted an offer of £295,000.

Visit to Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey

Rev. Aiden was very pleased to be able to visit Throssel briefly in late August. He was only there overnight, but was able to get a lift there and back, so it was a good opportunity to visit Rev. Master Daishin and the community there.

There have been quite a few improvements to the buildings and grounds over the Summer, and below are some photos of these.

Building Fund Update

We have continued to make good progress towards finding a long-term home for the temple, and in early July the Triodos Bank approved our mortgage (of up to £200,000). During June the Building Fund received donations totalling £27,937.50 (including the grant from the Inlight Trust), and at the moment we have sufficient resources (including personal loans that have been offered) to manage a purchase price of about £285,000.

Building Fund Update

There have been a number of developments over the past month, as we continue to work towards finding a long-term home for the temple.

As mentioned in the last newsletter, we had applied for a grant from a charity called the Inlight Trust, and we recently received a cheque from them for £25,000. That was very generous of them, and really helps us towards reaching the amount we would need for a deposit on a property.

Towards a long-term home for the temple

We have been looking for some time for a property to purchase to give the temple a long-term home, and we have now found a property that would suit us very well that is about half a mile from our present location.

We have set up a Building Fund to help raise money towards the purchase, and the temple website now has a Building Fund page, which has more details about the property, including several photos.