Celebrating the Festival of the Buddha’s Birth

The highlight of our calendar in May is always Wesak, the Festival of the Buddha’s Birth, which this year we celebrated on Saturday the 18th. It was very nice to have fifteen people here in person to celebrate Wesak together at the temple (including Rev. Aiden, and Rev. Alicia from Sitting Buddha Hermitage), and another 6 people joined via zoom. The photo below shows most of those who were at the temple in person.

We started the morning with a meditation period, followed by the festival itself and then a Dharma talk and discussion. As part of the festival ceremony we had the traditional bathing of the Baby Buddha, and the photo below shows water being ladled over the Baby Buddha statue which was at the front of our Wesak altar.

The back garden was decked out with bunting to celebrate the festival, and we were lucky this year that the weather was warm and bright enough by the middle of the day to allow us to eat lunch outside. The rain held off during the afternoon as well, so that we were able to have tea together in the garden to finish off the day. Thank you to all those who helped make the day such a joyful occasion.

Visit to Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey

At the beginning of May, Rev. Aiden was able to spend a few days at Throssel, which coincided with Rev. Master Daishin’s 50th ordination anniversary. Several monks from around the country also visited, including Rev. Master Leandra from Cambridge and Rev. Leoma from the Norwich Zen Buddhist Priory, both of whom travelled up with Rev. Aiden, and also Rev. Favian from Portobello Buddhist Priory in Edinburgh.

We had a celebratory lunch on May the 1st to mark Rev. Master’s 50th ordination anniversary, and he was very grateful for the card that many people contributed to with greetings from lay Sangha members connected with the temple. All of the visiting monks appreciated the opportunity to spend some time with Rev. Master Daishin, and with the resident monastic community as well.

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Forthcoming Events:
The Festival of Achalanatha Bodhisattva

On Saturday the 8th of June we will be celebrating the Festival of Achalanatha Bodhisattva. Achalanatha, the “Immovable One”, represents commitment and determination in Buddhist practice. Achalanatha is portrayed sitting in meditation amidst the flames of the passions, and is not driven away from the place of meditation by them, however much they seem to burn. Achalanatha holds the Sword of Wisdom to cut through delusion, and offers us the rope of the Buddhist Precepts. To begin with the Precepts may seem like they constrict us, but as we go on in our practice we see that they liberate us.

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. This festival day will run from 10am to 12.30pm, and full details of the festival will be sent out by email to Lay Sangha members prior to the festival.

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Some recent photos of the garden

We have had a lot of wet weather recently, and not all that much sun, but despite that the flowers and plants in the garden are looking very good now that the sun has come out. Below are some recent photos.

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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