Daily Life Course 2025
This year’s course concerns the Four Noble Truths and provides an opportunity to study these truths in meditation and daily life.
Contact
Noirin Sheahan
for further information or to register.
New Satipanya Publication:
"Sharing the Path"
Teaching notes & student's reflections from Noirin's Daily Life courses over recent years now published - more info
here
.
Full Moon Observance
Sunday 06 April
Renunciation
The Path to LIberation?
Meeting in London
Maz, a fellow Satipanya meditator, is looking to see if others are interested in setting up a London based group once a month to meet in person and practice together in central London, or a location most convenient for those who are interested.
If interested email Maz and let him know which areas in London are most convenient for you to meet:
[email protected]
See below for Retreats
Treasurer's Report
Up until three years ago the running cost of the centre was very manageable. There were few overheads and all previous appeals were to build extensions and make this place as beautiful as possible. And it has cost over a million pounds! That is how generous donors have been. And I hope they are pleased with the results of their gifts. So now we only have to cover the running costs.
However, as we are all well aware, everything changes and Satipanya will be going through a radical change over the next few years. And these changes are going to raise running costs.
The first important change is to bring in new teachers and with them new energy. We already have Carl, Guus, Hui and Mark. This coming year we will be adding Sayalay Vajiranyani, a very experienced teacher. Next year there will be other teachers joining. The reason for this is very simple. Bhante will soon be 80 and he wants to bring his input down to a minimum such that if he were to die, heaven forbid, it would be no great financial loss to the centre.
We are, in fact, looking into buying a small bungalow in Shrewsbury which would double as Bhante's retirement dwelling, a Vihara, and a local Buddhist centre, extending Satipanya's reach.
All the teachers apart from one, Sayalay Vajiranyani, are lay people and you as lay people are well aware of the cost of living. The centre will cover their expenses and to ask for donations which are supportive of their living. The more financially secure a teacher feels through teaching, the more they are ready to teach and may lessen, even leave, their day job to do so.
The deposit, at present £20 a night, barely covers the basic costs as food and energy. The Trust want to keep that as low as possible so that people on low income can come and people can stay even up to twelve weeks, the standard time for a Mahasi Course.
On top of that, your donation covers the constant need to replace, renew and upgrade the property and its contents.
Added to all this is the extra cost of managers - one for the property and one for household. At this time Noirin will continue to manage the centre, asking only for food and lodging, but has requested that we also make preparations for her retirement in a few years time. To this end we have already hired Tomas Remiarz, a gardener who lives locally, to take care of the property which includes all the legal responsibilities such as organising the testing of water and electrical appliances. A household manager will be appointed at some future date and for their accommodation we have bought a house in Bishops Castle, which, of course, is another added cost.
With all these added expenses, the present deposit of £20 a night is not enough to cover ever rising basic costs. We have no plans to increase it for the time being, but we would ask applicants to consider paying more at their own discretion.
Many thanks, again, to all who donate at the retreats and all those who donate in support of the centre. The finances will be made public on Companies House and the
Charity Commission
website soon.
As always, a request for you to consider a regular donation if you have not given one before. And if you are already giving, a small addition would be gratefully received.
You can donate single and continuing gifts via PayPal:
http://www.satipanya.org.uk/donations/
£1.00 a week is a worthy gift!
However, if you prefer to offer by way of Internet Banking the details are below.
(Don’t forget to click on Gift Aid if you have a given us a form or wish to have your donation Gift Aided. You can download the form from the Donation page and email it. No need to sign.)
Metta
Richard Benjamin
Treasurer on behalf of the Trustees.
CURRENT A/C.
For a one-off donation:
Account Name:
Satipanya Buddhist Trust
Account Number:
11 44 54 05
Sort Code:
40 34 31
Bank Address:
HSBC, 42 Courtenay Street, Newton Abbot, Devon TQ12 2EB, UK
International Bank Account Number:
GB69HBUK40343111445405
Branch Identifier Code:
HBUKGB4166W
For regular donation no matter how small:
DEPOSIT A/C Bank Mandates only:
Account Name:
Satipanya Buddhist Trust
Account Number:
91 49 81 34
Sort Code:
40 34 31
Bank Address:
HSBC, 42 Courtenay Street, Newton Abbot, Devon TQ12 2EB, UK
International Bank Account Number:
GB32HBUK40343191498134
Branch Identifier Code:
HBUKGB4166W
Noirin here, emerging from the afterglow of the 70th birthday party Bhante kindly organised for me. I'd passed this milestone while on my winter retreat (in Portugal as a 70th birthday treat!) and it was lovely to have another celebration here with many friends I've met through Satipanya. Many thanks to all who sent cards and greetings, and especial thanks to Gwen, Wendy and Miranda for birthday cakes and to Richard for a surprise slideshow - he raided my photo album while I was on retreat!
We've just started the roll-on roll-off retreat which will continue till mid-September. Hoping you will join us for a week or more during that time. See
Bhante's Tip
from last month if you need persuading!
