Completion of the Building Work

March the 26th was the date by which the builders had agreed to complete all the work on the property, and we are very happy to report that all of the building work was successfully done by then. There was still a bit of plumbing work to finish off after that, but that has now been done too, and we hope to get our completion certificate fairly soon.

Progress with the Building Work

The building work has continued to progress rapidly during February, and most of the work downstairs is now complete. Below is a photo showing the front of the property before and after the porch was constructed, and you can see that we now have the new front door, with a ramp in front of it to give easy access. The upstairs windows have also been replaced.

Progress with the Building Work

There has been a lot of progress on the building work in the last month, with the builders returning in early January and finishing off the roof of the porch. The new windows were installed on the 14th, and the photo below shows the porch in late January.

Events on New Year’s Eve

On New Year’s Eve we will be holding the traditional New Year’s Eve Festival, starting with meditation at 7.30pm. Unfortunately we won’t be able to meet in person for the ceremony this year, but we will be holding it via zoom.

Forthcoming Events:
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 5th of December we will be celebrating the Festival of the Buddha's Enlightenment to mark this important event in the life of the Buddha.

Update on the Temple’s Building Project

Those of you who are in regular contact with the temple, or who have been following its progress in the newsletter, will know that we have been planning for some time to carry out some building work on the temple building. At a meeting of the temple charity’s trustees in early October, we decided on a firm of builders to carry out the work, and they hope to be able to start before the end of November.

Forthcoming Events: Festival of Kshtigarbha Bodhisattva

On Saturday the 3rd of October we will be celebrating the Festival of Kshtigarbha Bodhisattva. Kshtigarbha is usually depicted as a monk, carrying a staff and a “wish-fulfilling jewel”, and symbolises gentleness and the importance of offering.

It is traditional to make offerings of stones to Kshtigarbha; when we truly give ourselves to practice we find that this “ordinary pebble” we have offered, is in fact a precious stone. Anyone joining the ceremony is invited to have a small stone with them to offer during the ceremony.

Forthcoming Events: Festival of Great Master Bodhidharma

On Saturday the 5th of September we will be celebrating the Festival of Great Master Bodhidharma. Bodhidharma is an important figure within Zen, as he is credited with bringing the meditation school of Buddhism from India to China. His emphasis on “pure meditation”, and the need to spend time “just sitting” facing a wall, are still central to our tradition. This festival is an opportunity to celebrate the life of Bodhidharma and to focus on some of his important teachings.

Sad news of the death of Rev. Master Myfanwy

In early July we received the sad news that one of the senior monks of our order, Rev. Master Myfanwy, had died. Rev. Master Myfanwy was ordained at Throssel Hole by Rev. Master Daishin in 1983, and in 2002 moved down to the South West of England to start a temple there, which she named Dragon Bell Temple.

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.

The Festival of the Buddha’s Birth

It was lovely to have so many people join our online celebration of Wesak, the Festival of the Buddha’s Birth, on Saturday the 9th of May. There were 20 of us altogether and we started the morning with two meditation periods, with walking meditation in between. For the festival itself, Rev. Aiden performed the role of celebrant in the temple’s meditation hall in the usual way, and we had a “backing track” which was played so that everyone could join in from where they were.

Wishing you all a very happy Wesak

At this time of year we would normally be welcoming people to the temple to celebrate Wesak, the Festival of the Buddha’s Birth. Unfortunately, we will not be able to meet in person this year, due to the coronavirus restrictions, but on Saturday the 9th of May 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 during the coming week.

Temple Closed

These are difficult and challenging times for all of us, and we hope that this newsletter finds you well.

As many of you already know, the temple has been closed since mid-March, due to the coronavirus restrictions, and we will be staying closed to all visitors until further notice. Scheduled events have been cancelled, and we are also closed to people coming individually to the temple.

Forthcoming Events:
Festival of the Buddha’s Renunciation

On Saturday the 14th of March we will be celebrating the Festival of the Buddha’s Renunciation. Renunciation, or letting go, lies at the heart of all Buddhist practice, and the story of the Buddha’s Renunciation is a way of conveying the importance of this aspect of training. This festival day will focus on renunciation and letting go, and how we express this within our daily life.

Forthcoming Events:
Festival of Avalokiteshwara Bodhisattva

On Saturday the 1st 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”.