Nottingham Day Retreat in Chilwell

It was lovely to meet with members of the Nottingham group for a day of meditation and practice at the Day Retreat in Chilwell on Sunday the 21st of September. There were twelve of us there altogether, and the building was nice and quiet as the library which shares the building with the community centre is closed on Sundays.

The main room at the community centre, which we use for meditation, is very 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.

The photo below shows the main room during one of the meditation periods.

As well as meditation periods we also celebrated Morning Service together, which is an opportunity to offer incense, make bows to the Buddha, and recite the Scripture of Great Wisdom and the Ancestral Line. Mid-morning we stopped for a tea break and Rev. Aiden offered a Dharma Talk which was followed by a good discussion. Thank you to Estelle for taking the photos.

Following a bring-and-share vegetarian lunch we had another couple of meditation periods in the afternoon, and the day ended with an opportunity to ask questions whilst we drank tea together.

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 next Spring.

Improvements to the temple:
work starts on the base for a conservatory

Many of you will know that last year we were fortunate to receive a substantial donation from Reading Buddhist Priory, which sadly had closed earlier in the year. We used part of this donation to pay off some of our mortgage loan, but we also wanted to put some of it to use by making improvements to the temple. The first project, which we have now started, is to have a conservatory built at the back of the property, where there is currently a patio.

The back of the property faces West, and the photo below shows the area of the patio where the conservatory will be built. One end will be just this side of the kitchen door, which is open in the photo, and the other end will be about half a metre inside the far fence. The internal width will be almost exactly the same as the width of the patio.

We received planning permission for the conservatory, which was needed as it will be built on the back of an extension to the original building, in early September, and the builders arrived to start work on Thursday the 18th. As of the time of writing the base of the conservatory is now almost complete, and should be finished off in the next day or two. The photo below shows the progress that has been made, compared with the original patio.

Once the base is complete the conservatory company will come and measure it accurately, and then have the top part manufactured to those dimensions. It will take a few weeks for the uPVC and glass sections to be made, and we hope that they will be fitted some time in October or early November.

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Forthcoming Events:
The Festival of Great Master Bodhidharma

On Saturday the 4th of October 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.

The festival day will start with two periods of meditation at 10am. These will be followed by the Festival Ceremony and a Dharma Talk and discussion, ending at 12.30pm.

In addition to welcoming visitors to the temple for the festival (please book in advance), we will also be holding the festival over zoom so that Lay Sangha members can join in from where they are. Full details of the festival will be sent out by email to Lay Sangha members prior to the festival.

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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