The Forest Hermitage has a new gate.

Actually it’s the old one made so that you can’t see through and inside. This gate started life as quite a modest barrier but because of trouble had soon to be made bigger. Now again, after recent weeks of disturbances almost nightly and sometimes several times a night, from young yobs we’ve had no alternative but to go to the expense and trouble of increasing it again. Fortunately it’s only at night and when the farmer drives his sheep past that it has to be shut and perhaps many of you won’t notice it. But there it is, these days we have to live with a culture of disrespect.

Celebrating Visakha Puja in various places towards the end of last week I several times described how the Birth, Enlightenment and Passing of the Buddha had each not only occurred on a Full Moon of the ancient lunar month of Visakha but also they had all taken place out in the open, shaded by great trees. Then last Sunday, for our Visakha Puja Celebration here at The Forest Hermitage, so glorious was the weather that after we had circumambulated the Image of the Buddha beneath the tree three times, we felt compelled to stay seated in the open, not all of us too well shaded, but just as it had been for the events we were celebrating, in the open, for the remainder of our celebration, the Dhamma talks and the blessing.

Today we had our meal early and then set off for London and Leicester Square where we were to join the Bathing of the Baby Buddha Celebration organised by the London Fo Guang Temple. This is an annual event and as I said in my short speech, it’s one of the highlights of my year. This time I took the opportunity to reveal one of my latest ideas, one that has become a dream that I would love to see come true. In this great and marvellous city, in London, which isn’t just the capital of the United Kingdom but a major city of the world, we as yet have no major building that honours the Buddha. We have a few that dishonour him, the Buddha Bar etc, but no place of national importance where Buddhists can gather, where celebrations like this one in Leicester Square could be held and where the great festivals of Buddhism could be given the national significance and respect they so richly deserve. I said that I had thought to call for the building of a Buddhist cathedral but then I had come round to thinking that cathedrals can be pretty deadly places and that what is really wanted is a Buddhist powerhouse. Which led me to think of the place that once supplied London with electricity. Wouldn’t it be marvellous if Battersea Power Station could be transformed into a Buddhist powerhouse!

Lord Avebury also attended and my old friend from far off theatre days, Victor Spinetti, perched himself outside and listened before signalling that he was off home and would see us later. Victor lives nearby in a little flat overlooking China Town and that’s where we repaired to afterwards for jasmine tea and to be marvellously entertained with anecdotes and tales from Victor’s rich and varied past.

We got back to the Forest Hermitage just in time to see that all was ready for our celebration tomorrow.

This was the scene at the end of our meeting on Monday of the Armed Forces Buddhist Chaplaincy Endorsing Authority. From the left, Lama Jampa Thaye, Rev. Saido Kennaway, myself, Dh. Sunanda and Colin Ash. We met as we so often do in the London Fo Guang Temple near Oxford Circus. They’re very kind to us there and look after us very well with tea and refreshments.

The purpose of this group as it was originally conceived is to endorse and support the Buddhist chaplain to the Armed Forces. It was properly constituted as an independent body and successfully lobbied for the original part time appointment of the Armed Forces’ Buddhist chaplain to be upgraded and become full time. Unfortunately there was a totally unconstitutional attempt to get rid of four of us and reconvene a new committee with a different membership. That was of course unacceptable to us but apparently not unacceptable to the Ministery of Defence despite the two successive ministers concerned repeatedly saying that the provision of a Religious Endorsing Authority for the Buddhist Civilian Chaplain to the Armed Forces is a matter for the Buddhist communities to agree on. Although by now it should be plain that we do not agree with the MoD’s appointment of Ron Maddox as the Buddhist Religious Adviser to the Armed Forces they stubbornly insist on retaining him. More importantly this whole business brings up the vital question of how the Government and its agencies contact and consult with the Buddhist communities. It is plainly ridiculous to hang on to the Buddhist Society, a lay organisation of limited membership, run by a small inner circle in SW London, as the recognised primary point of contact. I think I only know three people who belong to it and probably most of the Thais, Burmese and Sri Lankans who come here have never heard of it.

Most of our time on Monday afternoon then was occupied with how we might resolve the current impasse and move things forward.

You can find more details under the tab Forces Chaplaincy.

At last I’ve begun to get back up to speed. For the first two weeks after we got back from Thailand I couldn’t do very much because of the weather, then I got some sort of virus that I seemed to shake off pretty quickly, but that was followed by trouble with a tooth and when I went to the dentist I came away minus two old friends that must have been with me for well over fifty years. The next day I felt dreadful and so then I had more than a week of coping with an infected cavity. But that’s all over now and the last ten days have been pretty active.

A week ago Saturday we had an Angulimala Workshop that was very well attended and which appeared to go extraordinarily well, especially as there was no guest speaker and they had to put up with quite a lot from me. One of the things we discussed was the creeping appropriation of Mindfulness practice and techniques by psychologists, psychotherapists and the like. I was at pains to point out that what Buddhism teaches is Right Mindfulness which is mindfulness skilfully directed and invested with Wisdom and Virtue.

On Monday I visited a Regional Secure Unit for a meeting about a patient who I know there.

On Tuesday I had an early meal then set off for Send Prison in Surrey where at 11:15 there was to be the opening of the new Multifaith building. Fortunately we managed to avoid a traffic problem on the M40 and arrive in good time. The guest of honour who was to cut the tape was Penelope Keith. When I got to have a chat with her I asked her if she had seen Felicity Kendal lately. They had both starred together in a well-known series years ago and even further back I had known and worked with Felicity. Well that led on to a discovery that we’d had one or two other mutual friends. I got away from there around one o’clock and soon after getting back I took my wonderful old cockerel to the vet who it seemed was able to sort him out. Larry the cockerel had been poorly for a few days and had had an earlier trip to the vet the week before. Then in the evening I went to Grendon and Springhill prisons.

On Wednesday afternoon I had a meeting of TBSUK (Theravada Buddhist Sangha in the UK) at the Birmingham Peace Pagoda Temple in Birmingham. That went quite well and was well attended. The main subject of discussion was the new Immigration Points Based System (PBS) which means that temples wishing to invite monks and nuns from overseas or renew visas for those already here must register as a sponsor with the UK Borders Agency. There have been mixed experiences with this. Afterwards I chased down to Heathrow to meet Ant who has been working in France and who that evening was off to Thailand for a computer science conference on Phuket. I had some things for him to take for Sister Khema who is now in the NE of Thailand.

On Thursday it was off to Holloway where our Prison Service Chaplaincy Council was to meet in the afternoon. Holloway was one of the first prisons I went to back in the summer of 1977. It’s changed a bit since then. The meeting was not a happy one and not particularly productive. Afterwards Rob and I drove through Hampstead past some of my old haunts of many years ago.

On Friday I didn’t have to go anywhere which was nice and I did little apart from some tidying in my kuti.

On Saturday morning I let my dogs out as usual and opened Larry’s hutch. He was sitting there looking very comfortable and looked at me. He had been gradually recovering and the previous day had been out walking about and eating. I came back in and a few minutes later I was disturbed by a noise that I took to be a squirrel trying to pinch his food. I went out and discovered that it had been Larry’s last struggle. My poor wonderful cockerel was dead.

On Sunday after the meal I was presented with an electric toothbrush. Then I wrote an update for the section of this site that you’ll find under the Forces Chaplaincy tab. It is a brief summary of the ongoing problem with the MoD and includes a copy of a recent letter from Kevan Jones, the Minister. Do take a look.

And later today I have to go to Holme House Prison near Durham.

We came out in time to be at Wat Pah Pong for the Ajahn ChahMemorial Day on the 16th. After that we stayed on at Wat Pah Nanachat for a few days and visited a few friends and favourite places. Then we moved down to Wat Ratanavan near Kow Yai for a couple of days, then it was back to Bangkok. On Sunday we went out to Ajahn Jundee’s wat at Chonburi for Patimokkha and on Monday most of the day I spent at a very smart hospital for a check-up. Then Tuesday we came to Sri Panwa on Phuket. I’ve posted some pictures here.

We’re off tomorrow and should be arriving in Bangkok in the afternoon of the 14th, then going to Ubon to Wat Pah Nanachat the following day for the Ajahn Chah Memorial Day at Wat Pah Pong on the 16th. After that we’re not too sure what we’ll be doing but we’re booked to return on the 1st of February. If I can I will blog some news of our trip as it unfolds.

This was the scene at The Forest Hermitage on Saturday last when Ven. William Noblett, the Chaplain General to the Prison Service, commenced his presentation before taking questions and participating in a challenging dialogue with those present at a very well attended Angulimala Workshop.

And this was the moment when William very firmly told me that a Spirituality programme drawing on various faith disciplines and practices that Prison Service Chaplaincy HQ is developing had been discussed at meetings of the Chaplaincy Council that I had attended after I had claimed that prior to an announcement at a meeting in November I had known nothing about it. Afterwards I checked the minutes of Chaplaincy Council meetings and not finding it mentioned I was relieved to form the conclusion that perhaps I’m not quite gah gah after all.

It was late, pretty dark and very icy along our lane by the time people got on their way home and poor Samacitta and passengers didn’t get very far before almost ending up down in the Fulbrook of Lower Fulbrook. Fortunately no one was hurt but the car had to be towed away.