|
(Difficulty reading text? Press Ctrl +)
Diary follows the Treasurer's report and has news about the Shrewsbury Vihara (including photos), the new manager, and Ayya Anopama.
Treasurers report 2026
The news from last year was that, in the July following my April Report, we were able to buy a bungalow in Shrewsbury for Bhante’s retirement. As seems to be the usual case, it took until 3rd March this year for Bhante to actually start living there. There was not that much work to be done on the property, but getting the trades people took a long time, and they often took their time. The electrician, although his work was excellent, took four months to do a week’s work!
The ‘Shrewsbury Vihara’ is also a place people can come and meet. The front room is a dedicated meditation room. It yet needs a shrine and a statue. Bhante hopes to have a blessing of the property within the next three months.
This year, to our great good fortune, another bungalow, not a minute’s walk away from Satipanya retreat centre, has come up for sale. The owners, Clare and Peter, have done a really good renovating job and smartening up of the house and garden and even installed PV Cells. The cost is £375K which is the sort of price you pay for bungalows in this area. White Grit is a well-to-do retirement village.
A New Appeal
Needless to say we wish to buy this property. It will be perfect for future managers of the retreat centre to live close by, and as such we are selling the property we bought in Bishops Castle, a semi-detached for which we are asking £295K. You will notice that this falls short of the money we need to buy the bungalow. We have got some of the money needed, but we may be short by just over £50k. So this is our new appeal. Any amount you can offer, no matter how small, will help us to buy the property, decreasing the amount we may have to take out as a loan.
The final bit of good news is that we have a manager. Jim Tibby, who is the Chair of the Trust and whom many of you will have met as the assistant and occasional gardener, will come with his wife, Maureen, to live in the new property and take care of the running of our treasured Satipanya.
So, it is all good news in a world on fire!
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, especially now when we are hoping to buy Poplar Cottage and we may need as much as £50+K.
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.
Noirin here. In early March, Bhante moved out of Satipanya. and is now living in the vihara in Shrewsbury - see photos below. A big change for Satipanya as well as Bhante, but so far so good. Bhante is settling in well to his new home, and hosted the Trust AGM there last Sunday. We got a lot of business done – Bhante's Builder's tea helped us through!
I am sure I speak for all of you in wishing Bhante much happiness in his new home and retirement from the leadership role he has played for Satipanya.
We issued a call for a Manager in January and are very happy to announce that Jim Tibby will take up the role. Jim has been involved with Satipanya for over a decade. He serves as Chairman to the Trust and regularly comes to assist retreats as well as to help with gardening jobs and tending the pond. Thus he is already an integral part of Satipanya and I very much look forward to handing over the management duties to him over the next two years.
Again, I'm sure I speak for all of you in welcoming Jim to the role and wishing him much benefit and joy from it.
Good news – our bid for Poplar Cottage – next door to Satipanya has been accepted. This is an ideal location for the new manager. To finance the purchase, Sativasa (our house in Bishops Castle) is now on the market and gets its first viewing this weekend. Sativasa's sale won't cover the full cost of the cottage and we are issuing a special appeal to bridge the gap - see Treasurer's Report above.
Until it is sold, Sativasa can still be used for personal retreats. Early in March we were happy to invite Ayya Anopama to stay for a 6-week retreat. Ayya ordained with Venerable Pa Auk Sayadaw and has practiced in the Mahasi tradition with several teachers including Sayadaw U Tejaniya from Burma and Joseph Goldstein. She teaches meditation at Gaia House and many other centres in Europe and America. I'm happy to say she has fallen in love with Sativasa and would love to stay there forever!
All is set for the opening of the Spring / Summer retreat this weekend, many thanks to all who offered help with spring cleaning.
The Shrewsbury Vihara
Shrine Room to be
Shrine Room to be
Front Garden
Back Garden
Bhante's Study
Announcements
Our house in Bishops Castle "Sativasa" remains open for personal retreats. Suitable only for established meditators. 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.
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.
Satipanya London Sangha is a growing community of friendly and supportive meditators meeting in-person every month in 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 join our WhatsApp group using this link and say hello, or email Maz if you have any questions.
Join us for your daily meditation - Info.
An informal meditation group meets on a monthly basis via Zoom for a full day of meditation. Email Magda for details at [email protected]
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.
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.
Every morning at puja we call the names of those who are sick or dying, or are having a hard time.
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.
Please apply only when you are certain to come.
If you fail to receive a monthly NEWSBYTE, please look in spam, or reestablish the
email by filling in the MAILING LIST form
at the bottom of the front page of the website.
Many thanks.
Finally, please forward this email if you know someone who may be
interested. Thanks.
|
