News & Musings

After we got back from London on the 19th there was a short and special Angulimala committee meeting here and when we'd finished just as she was going through the gate, Samacitta had the bright idea that perhaps she could take the Buddha Rupa for Foston Hall's Buddha Grove. Dharmachari Samacitta is the Buddhist chaplain to this women's prison in Derbyshire and the Buddha Grove there has been an ongoing phenomena for three or four years now. Samacitta had already pinned me down to a dedication ceremony on Buddha Day (Visakha Puja) so it seemed reasonable for the Buddha Rupa to go with her that night for everything to be ready in time. It was carefully loaded into the back of her car and off she went. On Visakha Puja Day itself, I with Tahn Manapo, a visiting monk from Australia, Elizabeth and Prang, who drove, sped off to spend the afternoon in Foston Hall where some tea and buns had been prepared for the guests, officials and few inmates who attended. It poured with rain a

Over the last few years I've made some friends in the Chinese community in London, some of them students and some who are not but all who share a love of the Dhamma. We've met when I've been at the annual Buddha's Birthday Celebration in Leicester Square, when I've spoken at the University of London Union Buddhist Association (ULUBUDA) last year, at Imperial College this year, and at again when I spoke at the Vesak Celebration at London Buddhist Vihara a few weeks ago. Some of them have been talking of coming to visit the The Forest Hermitage for some time and on Sunday they made it. They came with masses of wonderful food and a strong determination to make themselves useful. It was the Bank Holiday and what we used to call a typical Bank Holiday, it rained heavily. So they made themselves useful cleaning and polishing indoors. Here you can see themenjoying themselves and being busy. It was a very nice day. I'm so glad they came and I hope they'll be back so

Once again this year I was invited to the annual celebration in London's Leicester Square in honour of the birth of the Buddha, or rather of the baby who would grow up as a prince then leave it all behind to search for Enlightenment and become the Buddha. It's always a very friendly occasion this that the Chinese London Fo Guang Temple arranges. I love going to it and after all, as I said to my friend Victor later that day, I don't get to appear in the West End often these days. So on Cup Final Day down to London went Tahn Manapo and I with Prang doing the driving. Of course the match at Wembley meant more traffic and so we didn't arrive in Leicester Square until after the procession through China Town was well on its way. Never mind we had time to sit and catch our breath before they returned and the main ceremony began. All around the Buddha Image in the main tent was beautifully decorated and in my little talk I drew attention to this and the obvious love and respect

Again and again, I either see for myself or I am told of yet another example of the Buddha or Images of the Buddha being used to promote clubs and bars, or advertise things so contrary to the life and message of the Buddha. And if it's not that it's the image of the Buddha used as decoration or fashion item: candles, on place mats, on bags of rice, on shoes and swimwear. In the course of his life the Buddha was himself subject to abuse and taught that it should be endured, that in time it would pass and in any case that one should be glad that it hadn't been any worse. Not only that, but even if one were being hacked apart, limb by limb, one should not cease to have loving-kindness for one's abusers. But he also taught that to respect those worthy of respect was a great blessing and we Buddhists obviously believe the Buddha to have embodied the highest and best that any being can aspire to and therefore to have been the most worthiest of respect. The Buddha Image remin

I had accepted an invitation from Venerable Seelawimala to speak at the London Buddhist Vihara's Vesak celebration and so on Sunday down to Chiswick I went again. The title of my talk was The Challenge of the Dhamma. While I got a few laughs for them, the stories I told focussed on how the Dhamma challenges our defilements, our views and our conduct. And I spoke pretty directly on the importance of having the courage to rise to the challenges and always to do the right thing and to keep growing. Naturally, I spent some time on the Five Precepts, and encouraged my listeners to not be afraid of being particularly careful of the fifth. The questions that followed showed what a raw nerve that exposed. I assured them that doing the right thing and leading a moral and decent life is in the end always respected.

On May 2nd I chaired a meeting of the Theravada Buddhist Sangha in the UK (TBSUK) which was kindly hosted by my friend Venerable Seelawimala, the Acting Head of London Buddhist Vihara. This meeting was attended by representatives of 14 Theravada Temples and brought together monks from Burma, Sri Lanka, Thailand, India and Great Britain. The intention so far is for TBSUK to be a contact point and network linking the Theravada Sangha in the UK. I rather hope too that on occasions it will be a voice through which the opinion and expertise of the Theravada Sangha here can be heard. But it's early days and clearly time and patience are both needed for it to grow and succeed. I am grateful to Venerable Seelawimala for so warmly welcoming us and providing the venue and the tea.

A week ago we were asked if on Monday we would take our meal at the Thai Twig Thai restaurant in Leamington Spa and give it our blessing. Naturally we agreed and so yesterday morning shortly before ten a car came to collect and convey us to a corner of central Leamington that I don't recollect having seen before. This is an English owned but Thai staffed restaurant and it was the staff who were anxious that the traditional ceremony of merit making and blessing should take place. It was they then who greeted us and made us welcome before receiving the Refuges and Precepts and listening respectfully while we chanted the Parittas. Then they served us with excellent food. Afterwards I told them the true recipe for a successful restaurant: honesty; courteous and friendly service; and delicious food. And we concluded with the sprinkling of holy water. There are some more pictures in this album .