Forthcoming events
There will be a day retreat here at the Priory on Saturday 8th October. It will consist of a morning session, 10.00am – 1.00pm, and an afternoon session, 2.00pm – 4.30pm, with a lunch break in between. You are welcome to join for all or part of the day, either in person or online. Please let me know if you’d like to come along in person – you will need to bring a packed lunch, if you’re planning to attend for the whole day. More details and the full schedule can be found on our calendar.
We’ll be holding a Basic Buddhism Course on Tuesday evenings, 7.00 – 9.00pm, from 11th October for eight weeks. This is suitable for anybody who is new to our practice, or anyone who would like to re-connect with it and have a refresher in the most important aspects. The course can be attended in person or online. The first session will be devoted to an introduction to our form of meditation, zazen, and this meditation will be a significant part of each subsequent evening. Topics that will be covered in the talks given during the course include: finding an end to suffering; acceptance; karma and the Precepts; discerning what it’s good to do; compassion; no separate self; and impermanence. More information can be found here. To make a booking, or for more details, please contact the Priory.
Recent events
Our four-day sesshin in July was a valuable opportunity to do some intensive meditation with other Sangha members. Several people joined for at least part of the retreat, either at the Priory or online. The silent schedule at the Priory throughout the day was much appreciated by those who attended. We are planning to hold two sesshins a year, one in the winter and one in summer.
It was lovely to have Rev. Kojo visit from Throssel for a few days at the end of July, which was her second time at the Priory. This visit was somewhat constrained because it coincided with the hottest days on record, but the opportunity to have some quiet and relaxed time was appreciated.
Thanks
Work on maintaining and enhancing the Priory, inside and outside, continues – my thanks to everyone involved with those tasks. One of the highlights of the garden this summer has been some extremely tall hollyhocks, which can be seen in the photo below, behind some of the garden group.
With best wishes and in gassho,
Reverend Leoma