RetreatThe June retreat went very well. The new short-weekend format seems to be much appreciated; there are already bookings for November. We may experiment with over-booking because sickness, work, family and such meant cancellations which meant we could have accommodated more. Even so we were at least 30 on Saturday. Very nice.
AGMOur meeting went very well with a new committee elected. photo It will take some time but the minutes, including the various reports, will be posted on the site – as have past minutes: (see: history). We welcome two new committee members – Harsha Weerakoon and Kim Seng and we look forward to working with them over the next year or more. We farewell Linda who has been on the committee for five years but increasingly finds herself busy with career – and life in general. We very much appreciate her commitment and participation. Thank you. The only other item considered was the library conversion. There was some useful discussion but no conclusion was reached. More to come on this. Many thanks to all members and to those of you who attended the meeting.
Anagarika OrdinationEthan and Bryce will take the anagarika precepts as part of evening puja on Tuesday 30th; the new moon day. They have been preparing for this for quite some time and we are delighted to be able to invite them into the sangha. You are all welcome to join us to celebrate this significant step in their life. Sadhu!
VassaThe full moon is on the 16th and vassa formally starts the next day. With Ajahn Naen’s visa still unprocessed it looks like we will start with a sangha of three monks and three anagarikas. Our three stewards plus a few lay friends will form our group into a very comfortable team for this period of retreat. The first week, 17-23, will be quite unstructured (no pujas; except Sunday evening; 21st). The 2nd week, 24-30, will be a group meditation retreat. You are all welcome to join all or a part of this. There will then be a series of self-retreats with some minor changes to the schedule – check the calendar. You are always welcome to come any time during the day – just that accommodation is very limited. This is a very special time for the community and we thank you all for your ongoing support of the monastery without which this would not be possible. Anumodana.
Wednesday + SundayGenerally the schedule change is working well. It will take a while for everyone to get used to this so here is the plan again:
Wednesday – regular evening puja, 8 precepts, talk, discussion.
Sunday – regular evening puja (6pm), 5 precepts, talk, discussion.
That’s the easy part – every week, Wednesday-Sunday. The variable is every 2nd Sunday we sit until midnight. This is marked on the calendar as “Sunday Puja++”. The added variable is the vassa when some bits may change; check the calendar.