Visit from the Head of the Order

In mid-October, the Head of our Order, Rev. Master Koten Benson, will be visiting the temple for about a week, and there will be an opportunity for lay Sangha members to meet with him on Saturday the 17th.

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.

Rev. Master Koten has been in the UK since early August, and led the two week Monastic Sangha Gathering at Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey in late September (see below). Since the gathering ended he has been visiting different temples of the Order around the country, and we are grateful that he will be visiting us here in Leicester before he returns to Throssel in late October.

Information about the event on the 17th has been circulated to lay Sangha members, and further details will be circulated nearer the time. This event will just be for existing lay Sangha members, as we don’t have room to accomodate all those who might wish to come along. Please contact the temple if you would like to attend in person, or if you have the zoom details you are very welcome to join that way.

Monastic Gathering at Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey

Our monastic Order has temples in the US and Canada, as well as in the UK and several European countries. Once every two years the senior monks of the Order get together at a ‘Monastic Gathering’, to discuss topics that are relevant to the Order and its future, and also to adopt any new Rules of the Order than have been proposed, or to amend existing ones. It is also an excellent opportunity for monks to meet with those from other temples who they may not have seen for some time. This year’s meeting ran for two weeks from Monday September the 14th to Sunday September the 28th.

In the past, the meetings have alternated between Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey in the UK, and Shasta Abbey in Northern California. This time however, due to various factors including the geopolitical situation, the cost of travel, and the fact that many monks are now in their seventies or eighties, it was decided to hold the event via zoom. As many of you know, zoom isn’t a perfect substitute for meeting with others in person, but it is certainly a lot better than not being able to meet at all, and we were very glad to have it available to us.

Although the meetings were being held over zoom, the abbess of Shasta Abbey and the abbott of Throssel Hole had each invited monks on their continent to travel to Shasta or Throssel to join in with the communities there. In Europe quite a lot of the monks from small temples travelled to Throssel, and for the meetings we all met together in the library, which was very nice to do.

The photo below shows the monks sitting in the library and reciting the Three Homages together: “Homage to the Buddha, Homage to the Dharma, Homage to the Sangha”. The Dharma is the Buddha’s teaching, and the Sangha is the community of all those who follow the Buddha’s teaching. We recited the Three Homages together at the beginning and end of each meeting.

Because of the time difference between Europe and the west coast of North America we needed to hold the meetings in the late afternoon UK time, from 4.30pm to 6.30pm. It was a challenge for us all to meet that late in the day, but it wasn’t easy for those in North America either, as the meetings started at 8.30am for them. This meant that they had to get up quite early to fit in morning meditation, morning service and breakfast before the meetings started.

We discussed many topic during these main meetings, including safeguarding, how to work with power differentials within teaching relationships, issues affecting the future of the Order and how we make the teaching accessible to those who come to practise with us. We also discussed different ways in which the various temples of the Order could keep in contact with each other and support each other, as well as how we are responding to current issues such as climate change.

In addition to the main afternoon meetings there were also meetings in the morning, for just the European monks, with the North American monks also having similar meetings in the afternoon (their time). At Throssel most of these meetings were opportunities to engage with the Buddha’s teachings rather than discussing practical matters; Rev. Master Koten gave several Dharma talks during the gathering, and there were also some very helpful Dharma discussions.

As well as the meetings, the two week period was also a good opportunity for the monks to practise together, and alongside one another, and the photo below shows everyone celebrating Morning Service together on the last day of the gathering.

This photo also shows a couple of the lay trainees who were staying at Throssel whilst the gathering was taking place. As the monks were spending much of the day in meetings, lay trainees had been invited to stay at the abbey during the gathering to help with things like preparing meals for all who were there. This was a very kind offering by all those who attended, which the monks were very grateful for.

The photo below shows a group photo taken at the end of the morning on the last day of meetings, and includes the lay trainees who were there then, together with all of the monastic trainees (and Rev. Master Daishin’s dog Meg!) Rev. Master Koten is standing in the middle of the back row (in line with Meg’s tail), with Rev. Master Daishin two places to the right.

We were very lucky to have a warm sunny day for the photo, but it was also good to have some rain during the period; Throssel’s water supply was running quite low and there were restrictions on water usage that had already been in place for several months over the summer.

The gathering ended with a memorial for the Founder of the Order, Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett, on the final Sunday. About twenty lay trainees from throughout the region travelled to Throssel for the ceremony and the Dharma talk which followed. The photo below shows monastic and lay trainees circumambulating the Ceremony Hall during the ceremony, whilst reciting Buddhist scriptures and invocations. In the photo, Rev. Master Daishin and Rev. Master Koten are about to offer incense at the main altar.

The gathering was a very worthwhile and joyful occasion for all who were there. The monks were very grateful to Rev. Master Koten for having organised and led the gathering, and also for the hard work of all the monks and lay people who made it possible, particularly at the two abbeys who were hosting many visiting monks throughout the gathering. The date of the next gathering hasn’t yet been set, but will probably be some time in 2028.

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Day Retreats in October

Many meditation groups within our Order hold day retreats at least a couple of times a year, often in the spring and autumn, and during October Rev. Aiden will be travelling to join three of them for their autumn retreats.

The first one will be with the Milton Keynes group, this coming Saturday, the 3rd of October, followed by the Nottingham group’s day retreat in Chilwell the following Sunday, the 11th. Later in the month the London group will be having a half-day retreat on Saturday the 24th, and Rev. Aiden will be joining them for that as well.

The photo below was taken during one of the meditation periods at a recent Nottingham group day retreat.

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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