Awk PansaOctober 1st. A traditional S.E. Asian ceremony to mark the ending of vassa. A day of festivity as a preparatory approach to the Kathina season celebration.
KATHINA SEASON CELEBRATIONOctober 15th. We will be celebrating the end of our vassa retreat on Sunday 15th. A joyful gathering to share in the virtue of Dhamma and to express our gratitude to the Buddha, his teachings and the ordained community. A time to meet with old friends and look to meet new. We aim to begin at 9:45am. The main robe offering will be immediately after the meal. All are welcome.
Kathina Working BeeThe events committee have been busy planning details for our Kathina season celebration. There are quite a few things to do in preparation and we are having a working bee on Sunday October 8th. This will involve putting up the marquee, getting carpets down from the roof, decorations, and generally putting the various elements in place. There is something for everyone. This will be after the meal. We aim to start about 12:30.
New BooksWe have just received a new shipment of books with several new titles. These will be on display for Kathina. Part of the delivery is the 2018 calendar. These will be given out by the sangha on the 15th. We are very blessed to have such generous sponsorship for all these publications. Anumodana.
Stupa ReportWe hope that we can all circumambulate the stupa as a part of our Kathina season celebration. But…
the weather continues to frustrate. The main stone work is almost complete view photos There has been no news of the moonstone and entry-step in Sri Lanka and we hope that this is on track.
West Side Story
The stone for the reclining Buddha rupa has arrived at the factory view photos and it is not easy to imagine an elegant statue emerging from such a lump. There has been ongoing discussion over details but the work is on schedule and (roughly) due for completion around the end of the year. Bruce has made a plywood model which is currently on display in the kitchen. We will try to get photos of progress as the stone is carved. We have a source for the terracotta mural and are in the process of finalizing the design. Again, there has been much discussion on design. Here is a view photos of the latest concept (probably without the sitting rupa). This work has been sponsored by a group of friends in Thailand which is a joy – not just financial but for the dhamma and community connections it creates. Sadhu, Sadhu, Sadhu, Anumodana.
Monks AboutThe end of the vassa is a common time for monks to move about. Venerable Thanavaro, a Hungarian monk, currently at Chithurst Monastery in U.K., has be given a visa to stay with us for a year. He will be arriving some time in November and we look forward to having him join our sangha. Venerable Kusalacitto will be returning from Oz, also in November. Ajahn Narado will be heading back to UK at the end of December. Venerable Phasuko has applied for a visa extension to stay with us for another year. Ajahn Dta is here at least until next vassa. The Residents page on the website has been (almost) brought up to date.
PHP CodersThere are many options as regards the future of our current donor software. The system we have (built using SilverStripe) will, at some stage, need to be replaced – or given time. Another option is to build anew. The specs are not hugely complex and a simple, easily maintained structure could be the answer. Another option is to use commercial services. Does anyone know of a good charity-oriented donor-donation-receipting service? The 21st century is cloud based and we haven’t quite found the one with the silver lining :-] Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. Contact Ajahn Kusalo.