Forthcoming events
The Festival of the Buddha’s Enlightenment will be held on Sunday 8th December. There will be a meditation period at 9.45 and the ceremony will start (after a brief rehearsal) at around 10.30. This will be followed by a Dharma talk and discussion, with coffee and stollen. Please contact Rev. Leoma if you would like to attend.
The Priory will be closed 23rd – 28th December (inclusive). There will be a Sangha Morning on Sunday 29th. After being closed on Monday 30th, the Priory will hold a Meditation and Contemplation Day on Tuesday 31st December, 10.00am – 4.45pm. This won’t be shared online, but the evening’s schedule will be. There will be a Meditation Evening at 7.00pm (with two meditation periods), including the New Year Ceremony at 8.30pm, followed by a short social tea until 9.30pm. On New Year’s Day, there will be a Sangha Morning with Renewing the Precepts. There will not be a Dharma Evening on Wednesday 1st, but there will be an Evening Meeting on Thursday 2nd. The Priory will be closed again 4th – 13thJanuary, while Rev. Leoma makes a visit to Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey.
Recent events
We celebrated our 11th anniversary on 3rd November, with a ceremony to express our gratitude for the life and teaching of our founder, Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett. The Dharma talk and discussion afterwards focussed on a passage from ‘The Wild, White Goose’ which illustrated the importance of letting go of our opinions, so that we can follow the teaching, however it presents to us. Below is a photo of the Sangha after the ceremony.
We held a five-day sesshin in the last week of November. Seven of us sat the whole of the retreat (six in person and one online), with others joining for parts of the schedule. The intensive retreat was held in silence and included nine meditation periods each day, as well as the daily ceremonies. We also ate breakfast and lunch formally in the meditation room. The Dharma talks during the retreat centred on one of our core scriptures, the Sandokai. The schedule allowed for working meditation and time for reading or quiet contemplation. It is always special to be able to set aside a few days for a retreat and to focus on meditation. I am grateful to everyone who attended and who contributed to the smooth running of the sesshin, especially to the cook who oversaw the preparation of the meals.
Front garden project
During the autumn, two trainees have been working away at a major project to improve the front garden. There had been concern that soil from the bank at the edge of the garden was gradually falling away and spilling onto the road and our drive. After much deliberation, with input from others in the garden group, it was decided to shore up the base of the bank with treated boards. The two trainees have worked with cheerful, steady, careful and diligent enthusiasm for many hours and the first phase (taking the boards up to the Priory’s steps) is now complete. It has been a tricky process to get angles and slopes just right (it seemed like three-dimensional chess at times), but the result is marvellous. The boards will not only do a fine job of retaining the soil, but they enhance the appearance of the bank, helping to make the approach to the Priory much smarter. The plan is to continue the boards up to the house and on either side of the steps, but this can wait until the spring! My heartfelt thanks for the time, effort and bright-mindedness that have been offered to this project. Below are a couple of photos showing the early stages of the work and the end of the first phase.
With best wishes and in gassho,
Reverend Leoma