July Newsbyte

JUNE NEWSBYTE 2026
 

Trust all is well!

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All Past Tips


For calendar and assistant opportunities, see below.

Tip o' the Day



End Game

Bhante Bodhidhamma

(Difficulty reading text? Press Ctrl +)

Assistants Needed!!!
From 15 August onward
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If you have a devotional heart, download the Buddhist Compass App.

Calendar for Autumn is also open for Applications

Full Moon Celebration Sunday 05 July

Diary (Nóirín) 

Just a week after Buddha Day we celebrated the opening of the new Shrewsbury Vihara where Bhante now lives.
We started in the traditional way, passing a ball of string around the room so we could each hold a thread to symbolize connection to one another and the Vihara. Clare poured water to symbolize 'sharing of merits' as we chanted the metta sutta. 

       
Bhante then spoke about his motivation for moving out of Satipanya which he has written about again in this month's Tip. He invited people to use the vihara as somewhere to come for meditation or simply for some peace and quiet, e.g. during a day's shopping or business in Shrewsbury. Contact him beforehand to arrange.  
Jim Tibby (Chairman of the Trust) thanked Bhante for his wonderful work over the past 20 years, transforming Satipanya from a simple family house to a thriving retreat centre. Watch a video of Jim's speech here.
Just before we broke for lunch, Bhante offered each of us bracelets along with the Blessings of the Three Buddhas.  It was a joyful occasion as we wished Bhante well in his new home and new phase of life. 
       

Announcements

Compassionate Inquiry: Ayya Anopama is a Theravada Buddhist nun who has trained in Mahasi as well as other meditation practices. Ayya is now training in Compassionate Inquiry (CI) and from July to September 2026 will be offering free one-to-one CI sessions which can be held in in English, Spanish and German.  For more information or to contact Ayya see here.

Daily Life Course: This years on-line course is titled "Rooted in Mud" and looks at the many ways our path to liberation can spring from the mud and mire of deep sorrows as well as the minor miseries of everyday life. The course includes suggested exercises for home practice and the opportunity to share your reflections with other students on the Satipanya Forum. The first run of the 7 week course started mid-May and it  will run again in October. For further information or to register please contact Noirin. 

Personal Retreat: Our house in Bishops Castle "Sativasa" remains open for personal retreats. Suitable only for those with a well-established meditation practice. Come for a week or longer. Retreats are self catering so the first day might need to be spent shopping, cooking etc. See here for more info. To apply email Bhante or Noirin.

Sharing the Path, Satipattthana Studies Part 1 has been published as an ebook, kindle, paperback and can be dowloaded as a PDF. Based on Noirin's Daily Life courses over previous years and supplemented by students' reflections, the book offers a study-practice guide to the Buddha's teaching on Mindfulness of Body, Feeling and Mind. Many thanks to Therese Caherty for editing. Further info here.

Meeting in London: Satipanya London Sangha is a small but growing community of friendly and supportive meditators meeting in person at a peaceful community garden near King's Cross station for group sits and lighthearted discussions.

If you'd like to attend upcoming meetings in London and practice vipassana in the tradition of Mahasi Sayadaw then email Maz and ask to be added to the mailing list.

Regular Online Meetings:

Meditation Hall on Zoom: Join us for your daily meditation -  Info.

Satipanya Spiritual Companions: An informal meditation group meets on a monthly basis via Zoom for a full day of meditation. Email Magda for details at [email protected]

Online Study Group: This collaborative online group studies various dhamma topics across multiple traditions — so, not just Mahāsi practice. Carl says: We warmly extend an invitation to any practitioner who would like to join us. Currently meeting on the second and fourth Sundays of each month at 10:20am - around midday. Please contact Carl at [email protected] for further information.

Full Moon Celebrations: Join 20.00 to 21.00 on the Sunday closest to the Full Moon. Bhante gives a short dhamma talk, followed by a 30-min sitting, refuges and precepts and we end by reading and chanting the metta sutta.  For date of next Celebration.   
 
Opening to the Impact of the Climate Emergency:  Following on from the Zoom with Gwen Sanderson and Bhante Bodhidhamma in 2023, there are two options for ongoing engagement:
  • Gwen Sanderson is facilitating monthly Climate and Dhamma Conversations which are held using Zoom. Email Gwen for further information or to register. 
  • Noirin Sheahan has set up a Satipanya Forum focussing on the Six Maxims (ethical training to prepare for the social and environmental consequences of climate change). Contact Noirin for further info or to register.  

Karuna Book: Every morning at puja we call the names of those who are sick or dying, or are having a hard time.

Mudita Book: Every evening at puja we call the names of those who have something to rejoice.

Satipanya Courses

Vipassana as taught by the Mahasi Sayadaw of Burma

The Mahasi Sayadaw of Burma, one of the most influential vipassana insight meditation teachers of the last century, developed techniques to help us maintain moment to moment mindfulness from the instant we awake to the instant we fall asleep.

This leads not only to spiritual insights into our true, unborn-undying essence, but also, equally important, to the purification of the heart. So that we not only become wiser but more caring, generous, joyous and compassionate.

Applying the techniques on this retreat we follow a robust schedule, but meditators can modulate their practice to fit their level of experience, even absolute beginners. The accent is on relaxation and curiosity, rather than striving and concentration. And regular teacher contact, daily Q&A and personal interviews ensures students are supported throughout.

The retreat ends with advice on how to bring the practice into ordinary daily life to enhance our relationships and give spiritual meaning to our work and everyday tasks.

Assistants Needed

N.B. All the courses are serviced by assistants.

As assistant you have the opportunity to serve others. It can be a way of expressing gratitude for the gift of Dhamma. Although the morning is mainly taken up with breakfast preparation and cooking, the rest of day is for practice.

You can see the menus here (PDF).

As an assistant, we do not expect payment of the deposit or make a donation because you have kindly offered your time.

However, your commitment is essential, for the course would be very difficult to run without an assistant and may indeed have to be cancelled.

If you are interested, follow this link: Course Assistant

For info. about retreats and teachers see website: www.satipanya.org.uk
See drop down menus: especially About Us, Teachings and Retreats

Would you like to come and assist on a course?

See calendar on website for up-to-date assistant need.

Satipanya Calendar 2026


Please apply only when you are certain to come.

End Game

Bhante Bodhidhamma

I have retired. Well, sort of.

Ever since I turned 75, I felt it was time to exit my role at Satipanya and help the centre work without me. There were three important tasks – to bring in new teachers and a manager and to find somewhere else to live.

Happily, Noirin continues to manage and offer many weeks teaching. And I’ve been fortunate in finding other teachers as a glance at the Calendar will show. Next year I have another new teacher. I do mean to keep up three two week slots a year and I am ready to fill in if a teacher can’t come.

Again we have been very fortunate in our manager-to-be. Jim Tibby is chair of the Trust and many of you will have met him as an assistant or seen him cutting the lawn and looking after the property. We are in the process of buying a property in White Grit where he and his wife, Maureen, will live. In turn this will allow Noirin to retire.

As for myself, I wanted to live on my own. I can be quite solitary. Before I became a monk I lived on my own for four years. When I spent eight years at Kanduboda, although I was within monastic grounds, I did not live with the community of monks in the quadrangle but quite separately at the bottom end of the monastery. Ever since I was a child I liked to spend time on my own. I’ve been very fortunate that the Trust supported my idea of founding a Vihara, a dwelling place of a monastic which is also a place lay people can come to meet and practice.

I found a bungalow in Shrewsbury, in an area built for retirees. Many of the folk around me are elderly. Castlefields, as the area is called, is not only surprisingly quiet and but is also close to the River Severn. Within five minutes, I can be walking along the bank either towards the city, my normal path for exercise or into the countryside. It is a small bungalow with a small garden. My fingers are off-green!

I’ll be 80 next year and in an up-mood I’m in the Departure Lounge and in a down-mood I’m on Death Row! I shall be having an official Birthday Party (‘tis presumptuous of me to be so confident I’ll still be around!) in late March at the same time as our AGM. I hope to fill out how it has been for me since I joined the Sangha forty years ago.

Feel free to visit me if ever in Shrewsbury. Just email [email protected] or text 07 968 291 653 well in advance.

Till then …

 

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Many thanks.

Finally, please forward this email if you know someone who may be interested. Thanks.

Metta
Onward
Bodhidhamma

SATIPANYA  BUDDHIST TRUST
www.satipanya.org.uk
Directors Jim Tibby  Richard Benjamin  Noirin Sheahan  Mike Regan  Gwen Sanderson
Limited Company Number 05924965 Registered Charity Number 1116668
Satipanya Buddhist Trust Satipanya White Gritt, Minsterley Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY5 0JN United Kingdom
T: +44 (0)1588 650752
info: [email protected]

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