February 2023
On Sunday 26 Feb the monks and representatives of Wat Phra Singh UK travelled to Wimbledon to attend the service to commemorate the 100 days since the passing of The Most Venerable Phrathepbhavanamongkol, the late Abbot of Wat Buddhapadipa.
Luang Por had always been a great supporter for our temple, and we had sought and received his permission when we were considering the challenging task of establishing a temple in Cheshire in 2011. His advice and support were invaluable to us, and we owe him a great deal. In his later years, and with failing health, he paid us the great honour of visiting our temple for which we are forever thankful.
Wat Phra Singh UK offers our congratulations and respect to Ajahn Laow of Wat Mahathat, Kings Bromley, who will now take on the role of Abbot of Wat Buddhapadipa, and we hope very much that we can continue to assist him in meeting our common goals and objectives.
We have had a couple of exceptional expenses this month, including the calendars and exhibition costs incurred by Than Thirasak in Chiang Mai, and the visa application costs for the two monks who we hope will join us in late March.
The revised structural and civil designs for the new hall are now complete, and the new building design package is in final review ready for issue in early March.
We should hear in the next two weeks whether or not our grant application has been successful, this would provide some funding towards the Peace Garden, and for environmental improvements to the existing temple.
We are in the fortunate position of being in a fixed rate energy deal that will expire in Dec 23, so are currently looking at alternatives. It is clear that whoever we choose our energy costs will increase dramatically, as they have for us all – these are indeed challenging times. We are therefore looking at ways to reduce our energy consumption, and have ordered a voltage optimiser that is forecast to give electrical savings of between 8~12 % giving a pay back of around three years.
We are celebrating Magha Puja at the temple on Sunday 5 March from 09:30, and you are most welcome to attend. Magha Puja is one of the most important ceremonies in the Buddhist calendar, and celebrates the spontaneous gathering of 1,250 Arahants, or Enlightened Buddhist Monks, before the Buddha. This event took place on the night of the full moon in the third lunar month. At a second similar event 45 years later the Buddha announced that he was to pass away in three months time. During Magha Puja it is traditional to celebrate the Triple Gem: The Buddha, The Dhamma or his teachings, and The Sangha, the order of monks and nuns who teach the Dhamma.
We continue to offer free guided meditation classes every Saturday from 14:00 to 15:00, and everyone is welcome.
As always, please let us know if you have any comments or suggestions,
With Metta (loving kindness)
