tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-236659062009-11-09T14:48:19.795ZPractising Buddhism and meditation in Hertfordshire since 2001. This is the news, discussion and notice board page of the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order in Letchworth. FWBO Letchworth is a branch of FWBO Cambridge, Registered charity 297894Jayasiddhihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17380238406411659317noreply@blogger.comBlogger95125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23665906.post-17277590476650923872009-10-26T19:13:00.002Z2009-10-26T19:20:19.358Z

September 2009 – Holy Island Retreat. Pain and Pleasure This was the first of a series of talks during the week and covered the Buddhist concept of Dukka. Our lives, in the west, are relatively easy compared with other regions of the world. Our climate is temperate, we have mineral wealth and plenty of food. I think that a direct result of this general wealth is an abundant supply of what I shall

Andy Spragg - Re-Vitalisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08244795214616494332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23665906.post-89245094292564821902009-10-22T22:51:00.002+01:002009-10-22T22:58:45.047+01:00

It was just lovely to be back at the Sangha this evening. To see everyone and settle down to a meditation in our new home. Denise and I have been missing for a couple of months. Sickness in the family and challenges at work always seem to happen on a Thursday. But we are back now and (fingers crossed) Denise will hopefully be there next week two. Thanks to everyone tonight for welcoming me back.

Andy Spragg - Re-Vitalisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08244795214616494332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23665906.post-67984604353971704302009-10-01T10:37:00.000+01:002009-10-01T10:37:50.122+01:00

Our Autumn retreat looms large and if you're coming but are not sure of how to get there, here's some directions. Actually, it's pretty simple, just skoot up the A1 for 40 minutes and you're there! View Directions to Buckden Towers in a larger map

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12733512749050949833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23665906.post-28408026555614101042009-09-04T17:05:00.002+01:002009-09-04T17:09:13.667+01:00

Last night was the first sangha in our new location at Howgills, the Friends Meeting House. We marked the occasion by a small dedication ceremony followed by a puja. It was great! If you weren't able to make it, please come along next time as it has a great vibe. Drinking tea from a mug was a pleasant change too. Howgills and its car park are not very obvious from the road, so I've updated the

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12733512749050949833noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23665906.post-60049047196996530602009-08-25T18:09:00.003+01:002009-08-25T18:32:25.748+01:00

Dear friends,Just a reminder that we have our Autumn retreat coming up at our usual venue of Buckden Towers. The dates will be Fri 16th -Sun 18th October. We will start at 6pm on the Friday and finish at around 3pm on the Sunday.The theme will be: 'Going for Refuge to the Three Jewels....what does it mean?'. On the retreat , we will have a chance to explore what it really means to be a Buddhist,

Aryadharahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05227173251368203024noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23665906.post-27505122975529059592009-08-24T18:21:00.002+01:002009-08-24T18:25:49.934+01:00

Jayarava will again be our guest on the 10th September to continue his talk on Evil (or "Things I don't believe and why").Please come along if you can!

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12733512749050949833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23665906.post-57997812667506403682009-08-18T13:47:00.002+01:002009-08-18T13:54:00.250+01:00

Rob made a great post over at the Hertford Sangha blog introducing the poems of Ryōkan to a wider audience. I thought I would do likewise because his poems are beautiful.My house is buried in the deepest recess of the forestEvery year, ivy vines grow longer than the year before.Undisturbed by the affairs of the world I live at ease,Woodmen’s singing rarely reaching me through the trees.While the

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12733512749050949833noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23665906.post-87238638345917195672009-08-18T11:37:00.002+01:002009-08-18T11:40:53.920+01:00

So, the 20th of August is to be our last Sangha at our home for nearly 8 years! We'll be having a meditation/puja evening to see off the old place, so please come along if you can. If you can't, that's ok.Remember, no Sangha on the 27th and then we're meeting in our new home on September 3rd.

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12733512749050949833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23665906.post-45628912774346903952009-07-24T19:49:00.007+01:002009-09-04T17:06:33.944+01:00

August 20th will be our final meeting at the Letchworth Centre for Healthy Living and from September 3rd we'll be taking up residence at the Friends Meeting House in Letchworth: View Friends Meeting House, Letchworth in a larger map Please note that there is no sangha on the 27th of August as we take a short break to get ready for our new home. Some good things about the Friends Meeting

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12733512749050949833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23665906.post-26294005527439245582009-07-17T21:14:00.004+01:002009-07-17T21:26:45.178+01:00

Jayarava will be our guest on the 30th July. If you are able to do so, please come along as his talks are both highly enjoyable and very educational. Of course, I am biased as I spent a year studying the Dharma with him, but I highly recommend him and I look forward to his visit.

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12733512749050949833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23665906.post-41444926970463665332009-07-11T12:10:00.003+01:002009-07-11T12:17:28.981+01:00

As most of you know, we will be having our autumn reteat at Buckden Towers, starting around 5.30 on Friday 16th October, finishing after lunch on the Sunday.Aryadhara will be leading it, but no theme has been discussed as yet. When Aryadhara returns from his ordination retreat and completes his duties, he should be visiting us on a regular(ish) basis and so we will have the opportunity to discuss

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12733512749050949833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23665906.post-84236629362992122832009-07-08T15:47:00.007+01:002009-07-10T09:14:13.992+01:00

Rob Mew, a long established and valued member of our sangha, has taken over the running of the Hertford meditation and Buddhist study group, which now goes by the name of The Hertford Sangha.Last night (Tuesday) I had the pleasure of visiting the sangha and getting down to a couple of meditations. We also had a good discussion about various aspects of the Dharma.Rob is incredibly enthusiastic and

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12733512749050949833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23665906.post-9143256794417532062009-07-07T11:51:00.010+01:002009-07-07T21:24:14.139+01:00

A Raindrop fallsWill it feed a river, flower or creature perhaps?A thought trickles through the mindWill it feed fear, anger or compassion?Karma is bornWe are a landscapeThis article was inspired by an experience a couple of years ago now, on Holy Isle, the Tibetan Buddhist Island, just off Arran. I was running a Tai Chi and meditation retreat there and taking some time out to rest. There is a

Andy Spragg - Re-Vitalisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08244795214616494332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23665906.post-19152574748431807372009-07-03T11:54:00.003+01:002009-07-07T09:24:07.200+01:00

A little bit of undesirable news, I'm afraid. The Letchworth Centre will no longer be able to accommodate our class from August 27th and so we have to find an alternative location.It would be nice to keep it in the Letchworth/Hitchin area and it should have the following qualities:- Big enough to hold 10 to 15 people comfortably- Quiet- Has parking- Reasonably priced- Reliable- Long termIf anyone

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12733512749050949833noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23665906.post-70660001148489785742009-07-01T16:23:00.003+01:002009-07-03T13:12:36.813+01:00

Now, this is funny:

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12733512749050949833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23665906.post-1203783259055468592009-06-16T20:07:00.003+01:002009-06-16T20:22:42.708+01:00

Dear all,Our friend Rob was publically ordained on Monday June 15th in Guhyaloka, the retreat centre in Spain. His new name is Aryadhara - 'He who possesses nobility '.His private preceptor is Maitreyabandhu and he was publicly ordained by Saddhaloka.We all look forward to Aryadhara coming back and telling us about his experience in Guhyaloka.Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!

Jayamunihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09055047702049058413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23665906.post-74196899515361229372009-05-19T13:16:00.002+01:002009-05-19T13:35:15.454+01:00

Unfortunately, there won't be a Letchworth retreat at Buckden this Spring (there will be one in the Autumn though) but here's a great new initiative that you could consider instead:June 20-27, 40-plus FWBO Centres in four continents across the world will be joining-in the first ever FWBO International Urban Retreat. On an ‘urban retreats’ you carry on living and working in your normal

Jayamunihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09055047702049058413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23665906.post-34261264605208981812009-05-01T10:27:00.002+01:002009-05-01T10:34:47.438+01:00

Last night, Jayarava gave a great talk on The Fire Sermon. It is no exaggeration to say that this sutta is pretty much the root of Buddhist practice and is worth exploring in depth. It is deceptively short yet packs a mighty punch - I think for people who are new to Buddhism it is like being hit round the head with a 4 by 2! Jayarava did well to cover it as much as he did in 45 minutes, but in

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12733512749050949833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23665906.post-65655124730329357202009-03-30T11:46:00.002+01:002009-03-30T11:53:20.471+01:00

Just a reminder that Jayarava will be giving a talk on the 30th April. He will be speaking about the Fire Sermon as delivered by the Buddha shortly after his enlightenment. Please endeavor to be there as Jayarava really knows his stuff and it's sure to be very interesting.If you're not already aware, I keep a calendar showing what's coming up over at www.fwboletchworth.org.uk/diary. If you can't

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12733512749050949833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23665906.post-69122356261997079282009-03-26T22:41:00.002Z2009-03-26T22:46:02.666Z

That was a beautiful evening at the Sangha. This evening we said farewell to 2 very good friends. Jayamuni, who is off to France and China for new adventures and to Rob, who is heading off for ordination. Although Rob will be returning to us, he will, no doubt, come back changed.Although I am sad to see them both heading out, it warms me to think that all of us in the Sangha, in a way, travel

Andy Spragg - Re-Vitalisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08244795214616494332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23665906.post-10738796931238654342009-02-27T13:29:00.003Z2009-02-27T15:44:03.316Z

With the group's impending short-term loss of Rob and long-term loss of Jayasiddhi and Jayamuni, it has been decided that we need to make a few changes to our usual Thursday evening routine. So, without further ado...The first Thursday of every month will be a "Sesshin" style meditation double-header, with either the Mindfulness of Breathing in the first half followed by the Metta Bhavana in the

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12733512749050949833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23665906.post-64599930517992660072009-02-23T22:38:00.001Z2009-02-23T22:42:17.734Z

The Space betweenContemplating Metta, I consider the space between people. There are moments, when we are both calm and receptive, when I can really feel and begin to understand the space between my partner and I. In these moments, I feel, wisdom is born. I can really FEEL it. I have to emphasize that word FEEL because it is there and it is tangible. A beautiful thing. I want to reach out and

Andy Spragg - Re-Vitalisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08244795214616494332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23665906.post-62337481936215462062009-02-08T14:17:00.007Z2009-02-27T13:22:04.439Z

It's amazing where a teaching suddenly appears from, often from the most unexpected source. Here's a great quote I came across, spoken by Mr Spock in a 1967 Star Trek episode:"You may find that having is not so pleasing a thing as wanting. This is not logical, but it is often true."So there you have it, 2,500 years of teaching distilled down to 22 words spoken by some bowl-haircutted actor with

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12733512749050949833noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23665906.post-87028694789654606502008-11-29T18:37:00.003Z2008-11-29T18:58:03.833Z

Here is a great quote I just came across on the San Francisco Zen Center's website that really resonates within me:Our effort is to awaken in ourselves the bodhisattva spirit, the spirit of kindness and realistic helpfulness. This is how we offer our understanding of Buddha's Way.I like this a lot, it gives a real meaning to my practice. Sometimes, little teachings like this pop up which help

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12733512749050949833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23665906.post-63808233226295248392008-10-22T12:17:00.006+01:002008-10-22T12:47:38.359+01:00

Autumn is absolutely my favourite time of the year. I opened the back door this morning and saw this (click the photo for a bigger image if you want to).The leaves are golden, the grass in the fields fading to yellow, the rolling hills disappearing in the mist. The cloudless sky starts off white where it meets the hills in the distance ripening to a crisp blue above me. The moon looks down, the

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12733512749050949833noreply@blogger.com0