VassaWe are now nearly three weeks into our vassa, winter retreat. We are four monks and four lay stewards in residence and are flowing along nicely having just finished a week of group practice. There are still a few ongoing projects but nothing too demanding (see below). With no short-term overnight guests the energy in the monastery is very stable and peaceful. Those guests that do come are old friends and their familiarity with our routines adds to the stability. Dana continues to come regulary and we are all extremely grateful for your kindness in this. Anumodana. Ajahn Narado and Aunty Suan are both on self-retreat at the moment and others in the community will take a turn with this later. Most regular activities continue as scheduled. You are very welcome to come and join us for any of those events or pujas or, just come and enjoy.
Ajahn DtaAjahn arrived just before vassa and has been settling in well. Aside from the cold weather (coming from Thailand), one of the main factors of adjustment for him is language as his English is quite limited. We have shared a couple of work projects and his skills have slowly been revealed. Working together is an easy and fun way to establish communication threads and is increasing his vocabulary. Key words for welding and electrics are well in place. view photos We are all enjoying having him here.
AGM ReportThe AGM went very smoothly. There was not a large attendance but enough to give a balanced range of thought to the matters presented. The minor constitution change was agreed and a committee was elected. Unfortunatly Sachini is not able to continue as Treasurer and we would like to thank her for all her efforts managing our finances. One item – confirmed from last year – was making the minutes of AGMs publicly visible. There are AGM minutes – at page bottom. This annual meeting is a time for general reflection and one consistent theme was that of gratitude. You are one of so many people who support this monastery. We thank you.
Sacred RocksWe now have a small display of the rocks collected from various special, sacred places from around the world. As a result of Ajahn’s trip to UK in May many of the Ajahn Chah branch monasteries are included. Do you have any rocks the could be added to the collection? They will all be interred under the moonstone at the entrance of the new stupa forecourt.
Renovation ProjectsThe stupa forecourt is by far the biggest. The stone work is the main element and the rock walls are almost complete. Once this is done further landscaping will be needed to set final ground levels and then some planting around the perimeter. An extra step will be added and the main area gravelled. We will then await the arrival of the moonstone and entry-step from Sri Lanka. This will hopefully be late August-November so by the time we get those two stones up the hill and allow for xmas/new year we plan to have the dedication ceremony in February 2018. More on this later.
The other project is the Chao Khun kuti. Renovations are always fiddly and Bruce has been wonderfully persistant and his efforts are paying dividends with the final result almost there. The plumber comes tomorrow, blinds for the main window, and… that could be the end? There are often final tweaks before the furniture moves back in but – it is ready for your inspection. Do go and have a look.
Builders’ RecycleA combination of regular tidying up and a frugal use of ‘what we have here’ means that we now find many of our building material stores are nearly empty. If you are doing a renovation or rebuild we could use some of your (better quality 🙂 left-overs. Timber is by far the most useful but we use all sorts of: plywood & press-board (cut/full sheets), bricks, tiles, roofing, plumbing, paint, steel (angle flat rod), windows, doors, electrics… etc. If you have something you think might be useful here please let us know. Do allow that we have to be selective and may not have space for everything.