On Sunday, September 13th, we held our annual celebration at the Buddha Grove in Spring Hill Prison. This was the first and by far the finest and most ambitious of the various Buddha groves and gardens that have been created in a number of English prisons. Some unfortunately have not lasted very long and have been dismantled or damaged but this at Spring Hill was built to last and has been in place since 1992, when on a bitterly cold night at the end of October, a large gathering that included the then Director General of the Prison Service assembled for its opening and dedication. Having sampled the soup that the prisoners made to warm everyone up, the Thai people that evening asked if in future they might be allowed to do the food and so ever since our celebration has included a marvellous Thai vegetarian meal for all the prisoners and guests as well as the Buddhist prisoners in the adjacent Grendon Prison. This year our Thai friends and supporters cooked for four hundred.

On Sunday, just as he was seventeen years ago when we opened the Buddha Grove, our Patron of Angulimala, Lord Avebury, was there to grace the occasion with his inspiring example of selfless service and dedication to the relief of those who are oppressed and in trouble and as usual offered us some wise words to reflect upon.

We were fortunate too to have the support and presence of monks from the Thai Buddhapadipa Temple in Wimbledon, the Oxford Vihara, the Kings Bromley Temple, Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey and of course the Forest Hermitage. And we were delighted that Professor Richard Gombrich was also able to be with us.

In in my speech I once again told how the Buddha Grove came to be built. Then as I try never to miss an opportunity to tell the story of Angulimala, after whom our Buddhist Prison Chaplaincy is named, I related how this awful mass murderer was tamed and converted by the Buddha, not by violence but by persuasion and especially by example. This amazing story reminds us that whatever terrible things someone might do or have done, it is not only that that they do and that that they’re capable of. People can and do and will change and everyone bears within them the seeds of an Enlightened being.

It was a marvellous occasion and I am so grateful to Peter Bennett, the Governor, to the prison staff, to the inmates, to everyone who worked so hard and who went to so much trouble and especially to Khun Yod and all the Thais who gave of their time and expertise and who worked so generously all afternoon in that kitchen. Anumodana!