September 2020 Newsletter
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.
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.
Continuing our practice throughout lockdown
At the moment Leicester is still subject to additional local restrictions compared with most of the country. Most shops are now open, but different households still cannot meet together in houses or in private gardens. Although Places of Worship can open, the temple is not registered as a Place of Worship, and in our residential property it would be very difficult to follow all of the guidelines relating to cleaning and social distancing that Places of Worship are required to follow. So we will need to stay closed to visitors until the restrictions are eased so that different households can again meet together.
In the meantime we have continued to meet together via zoom, and in September, in addition to our regular events, we will be having a Steering Morning on the 12th, as well as a zoom social in the afternoon (unless the restrictions have eased by then and we can meet in the garden).
These are challenging times for all of us, and several Sangha members have said recently that they particularly appreciate our practice during these difficult times. As we deepen our practice, we find that we are more able to accept the situations that we find ourselves in, rather then complaining about them and trying to fight them, or deny them. And if we can do that, we are able to see that life is wondrous and full of potential. Even though it is still challenging and painful.
Some photos of life at the temple
First, a picture of the garden, with begonias and snapdragons that are in flower at the moment. They have been battered a bit by the rain and wind recently, but are still standing.
And then a couple of photos of the inside of the shed, which is now nearly finished. The workbench is in place – made from an old bed base and old kitchen base unit, and now we can move in the storage racks that are in the garage. Then much of the contents of the garage can move out to the shed, in preparation for the building work.
At the other end of the shed are some old wardrobes which have been adapted to provide storage. They have been cut down so they are not so deep, and have had shelves added to them.
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