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.

Our property has worked out really well as a temple, but from the outset we knew that there were some modifications that it would be good to make. The main issue is that much of the property is accessed via the main room, which is our Meditation Hall. We intend to change the layout so that this room is no longer a thoroughfare, which will make it far more conducive to the practice of meditation.

In order to acheive this, the main items of the work include building a porch at the front, to give access between the downstairs rooms and provide space for two WCs, and moving the stairs so that they rise from the entry hall. We will also be converting the garage to provide downstairs accessible bedrooms and a shower room, and improving guest facilities upstairs by dividing the existing bathroom into two shower rooms. Taken together, these modifications will substantially improve the temple and allow it to function much better as a place of retreat.

The following photos show some of the main improvements that we are planning to make:

This is our Meditation Hall, showing the door to the kitchen on the left. This is the only way to get to the kitchen, which means that we have to walk through the Meditation Hall each time we need to carry things between the Common Room and Kitchen, which is far from ideal.

We close the curtain over the door for meditation, which is an improvement, but it would be much more respectful and appropriate to only go into the Hall for meditation, rather than using it as a corridor.

To give access to the kitchen we are planning to build a porch outside the front door, with the wall with the small window in it taken out to make one large entrance hall. The kitchen will then be directly accessed from this entrance hall.

The porch would extend up to the meter cabinets on one side, and to about one third of the way across the existing garage door on the other. The remainder of the opening would be bricked up, with windows in it for the rooms in the garage conversion.

At the back of the Meditation Hall is the access to the staircase (photographed before we moved in). Having this open means that in the winter we lose heat from the Meditation Hall to the upstairs, and it also means that any noise upstairs can be heard during meditation.

Again, putting a curtain across the opening during meditation periods helps somewhat, but it would be far more appropriate if the access to the staircase was from the entrance hall, as is more usual.

The opening at the back of the hall could then be closed in, giving much more of a sense of a protected safe space to practise meditation in. It would also have practical benefits in terms of heating the hall and moving around the property.

The total cost of the project will be about £69,500, and we are planning to have all of the work done in one go, so that we minimise the inevitable disruption that building work causes. If we can have the work done whilst we are forced to be closed anyway, due to the coronavirus restrictions, that would also be very helpful.

We are very grateful for recent donations and offers of interest-free loans, which mean that we now have about £40,500 to put towards the cost of the work. That leaves us needing to raise another £29,000 or so, and we have applied to a grant-giving charity who kindly supported us with a grant when we bought the property; we are hoping that they might help us with this project as well. We have also been offered a further long-term interest-free loan which will go some way to closing the gap, but we would still be grateful for any further donations, which would reduce the amount of money the temple would need to borrow.

We realise that these are difficult times in which to be trying to raise money for a project, but if you felt able to help the temple with a donation or interest-free loan of any amount, that would be very much appreciated.

If by any chance we raise more than needed, any extra will be used for the general purposes of the temple (and there will also be carpets and furniture etc. to buy).

Any help you feel able to give would be greatly appreciated.

Forthcoming Events: Festival of Founders Day

On Saturday the 7th of November we will be celebrating the Festival of Founders Day. This festival is an opportunity to offer our gratitude for the life and practice of all those who have practised Buddhism, from the far distant past to the present day. In particular we celebrate those in our own lineage who have passed on the teaching from generation to generation for over 2500 years, and are the founders of this temple. These include Rev. Master Jiyu (the founder of our order), her master Koho Zenji, Great Master Dōgen(1200-1253) and Great Master Keizan (1268-1325).

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 prior to the festival.

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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