Yesterday I rose from my sick bed – it’s only been flu – and paid my first visit to the Thai temple at Kings Bromley where I chaired a meeting of the Theravada Buddhist Sangha in the UK (TBSUK). We had a very good turnout with Bangladeshi, Burmese, English, Indian, Sri Lankan, Thai and Nepalese monks and nuns attending from a number of temples dotted around the UK. And we were very well looked after by Phra Kru Panyasudhammawithet and the monks and novices of the Buddhavihara Temple at Kings Bromley.

There are some more photos on the TBSUK page, the last tab on the right at the top of the page.

Twenty years ago today on the eighth of the eighth, eighty-eight, Venerable Sayadaw U Thilawunta (Aungming Aung Sayadaw) and his assistant monk completed the building of our pagoda after eight days of building. It still had to be painted and the relics brought by Aungming Aung Sayadaw, as well as the Buddha rupas and earth from the Shweh Dagon Pagoda in Rangoon that I had brought back with me the year before, had yet to be enshrined. I don’t keep a diary so I can’t remember how long after it was that the Tih on the very top was formally installed.

In Burma on that day too, twenty years ago, on the 08/08/88, began a series of demonstrations against the tyrranical and dreadful Burmese military government, a regime that we were reminded only a few months ago will stop at nothing to remain in power.

Our Pagoda was named The English Shwe Dagon Pagoda and was dedicated to the welfare and happiness of all beings. Today let us remember all those who were murdered and imprisoned in Burma at those peaceful demonstrations twenty years ago and may we continue to hope that peace, happiness and prosperity will one day return to the Golden Land.

My birthday this year fell on Asalha Puja or as we call it for the prisons, Dhamma Day, on July 17th. As it’s one of the three festivals recognised by the Prison Service as special festivals that Buddhist prisoners can celebrate I went that afternoon to Gartree prison and afterwards to Stocken. In both prisons we managed a short celebration and for the Gartree group I took them a rather fine Buddha Rupa for the shrine that is set up every week for their group meeting.

The picture shows me setting off.

Later when I got back we had a mini invasion of former Warwick students fresh from their graduation accompanied by friends and family. Dr Pie had his PhD robes with him so I had a birthday photo with him in full regalia and we got a quick snap of Dr Boy, sorry, Dr Ant.

Gill came to see me this evening and brought the following sheet about Simon’s funeral on Tuesday.

Simon Bromwich

Simon’s funeral will take place on Tuesday 29th July at 3:00 pm at the Oakley Wood Crematorium, Bishops Tachbrook, Leamington Spa, CV33 9QP (directions attached).
In recognition of Simon’s beliefs, the service will be led by Luangpor Khemadhammo, Abbot of the Buddhist monastery where Simon attended. As you may not have attended a Buddhist funeral before, I thought it would be helpful to tell you the order of service.

1. Evening chanting – led by Luangpor
Please sit and experience the calm of the chanting.
2. Address from Luangpor Khemadhammo
3. Memories of Simon – led by Luangpor and followed by family and friends who would like to speak of Simon.
If you wish to share your thoughts or memories of Simon, please let me know and I will ensure that you have the opportunity.
4. Forgiveness Meditation – led by Luangpor where we can meditate
and receive Simon’s forgiveness and offer forgiveness to him, so
that we can part from him in peace.
This is an opportunity to let go of any regrets or misgivings.
5. The placing of incense, flowers and a candle on Simon’s coffin.

There will be offerings of flowers, incense and candles available at the time which you are invited to place on Simon’s coffin.
There will be flowers from the direct family only. If you would like to make a donation to the Monastery in memory of Simon, there will be the opportunity at the crematorium or send cheques, payable to “The Forest Hermitage” to the undertakers John Taylor Funeral Service at 178 Warwick Road, Kenilworth. If you wish to include your name and address we would like to be able to thank-you.

If you would like to join us after the service, we will be at Lapworth Village Hall, Old Warwick Road, Lapworth, B94 6LD from 4:30 pm (directions attached). If you could bring a small plate of food (sandwiches, cakes, etc.) to share with others, this would be much appreciated. There will be tea, coffee and soft drinks.

Gill and Alex

Daughter Alex with Simon at Visakha Puja

On Tuesday afternoon as I was on my way into London I had a call to say that Simon Bromwich, a long time Forest Hermitage supporter and committee member who had just the previous Friday flown to Vietnam with Gill and their daughter for a holiday, had had a massive heart attack in Hanoi and died.

This has come as a tremendous shock to us all, not least of course to Gill and Alex to whom our hearts go out to. They are both home now. They got back on Saturday morning and Simon’s body arrived on another flight soon after, and in the evening they came to see us.

Simon had no history of heart trouble and seemed a pretty fit forty-niner. Only the other day he completed a twenty something mile walk with Tahn Manapo as a recce for a fund raising walk they were thinking of organising. And then he was at Bhavana Dhamma for a weekend retreat. This was totally unexpected and just goes to show how you can never be sure of anything.

Sad as it is, I hope – and I’m sure Simon would have hoped too – that this might be a wake-up call to not take our time for granted and not to waste it.

Simon’s funeral will be at 3 pm on Tuesday, July 29th at Oakley Wood Crematorium, the South Chapel.

A week ago Saturday three friends from Thailand stopped by for the meal here on their way up north. Ven. Ajahn Jundee is a senior disciple of Ajahn Chah and the Abbot of a very beautiful monastery where I sometimes stay, to the east of Bangkok in Chonburi. Ven. Ajahn Nyanadhammo is from Australia but has lived for many years in Thailand and was for five or six years the Abbot of Wat Pah Nanachaht. He’s moved from there now to a new monastery that he’s built on the edge of Kow Yai National Park. These two senior monks were accompanied by Tahn Moshe and with them from Amaravati came Ajahn Vimalo who back in Hampstead days was known to us as Paul Windmill. They were driven by Alan Yearling who was once Ven. Aranyapo. After the meal we walked over to Bhavana Dhamma and had a cup of tea there before strolling back to see them back into their car and on their way. It was a lovely occasion and I was so pleased that they found the time to visit.

Years ago when I started going occasionally to the old Thai Temple at East Sheen, not far from Richmond, the monks used occasionally to take their guests to Kew Gardens. I’d never been until two days ago. We have someone staying from Thailand, Kew was mentioned and so on Monday, straight after the meal off we went. What a marvellous place and what a wonderful afternoon.

The picture is of me under a Ginko Biloba that Queen Mary planted in, I think, 1927. It looks like they’re pretty slow growing so the little one that I can see from my window back here at the Forest Hermitage has a long way yet to go.

What a great place is Kew for a forest monk to wander in.

At last week’s Angulimala Workshop there was almost universal dismay when I announced that because the importers had gone out of business we had no Buddha Rupas for chaplains to take away and offer their Buddhist prisoners. The next day I decided something had to be done. So I sat down to some determined Googling and eventually turned up a site that displayed a picture of a Buddha Rupa that looked identical with the type that Security at the Prison Service gave their blessing to and which we have been giving out for a number of years now. I rang the lady and learnt that they were expecting a container delivery of these and other things from Thailand on Wednesday. On Friday we went to have a look and discovered a wonderful Aladdin’s Cave of fabulous Buddha Rupas of all shapes and sizes as well as other treasures mostly from Northern Thailand. And only an hour and a half from here! As you can see from the pictures Roots Emporium is only a little shop, but next to it there is a lean-to building and both were crammed, floor to ceiling with hardly space to move around and look at the fabulous things they contain. What was remarkable too was that it hardly felt as if you were in a commercial establishment. That meant a lot to me because I really don’t like seeing people making money out of Buddha Rupas and Dhamma books. Not only that but we were offered a very generous discount. And so we came away laden with small Buddha Rupas of the kind we were looking for and some much larger ones for Buddhist shrines and multifaith rooms in some of the prisons.

As I said in my last post, last week was big for Buddhists throughout the world and a pretty busy few days for me too. As you might have read in the previous post, on Saturday, May 17th, we joined the London Fo Guang Temple for their annual celebration in Leicester Square and then raced back to make sure everything was ready for our big event the following day. Thankfully, Samanain and a few trusty helpers had done a great job and apart from a few last minute adjustments the next morning all we had to do was hope that the weather would buck up, dry up and the sun would come out.

So, last Sunday we held our celebration of the Birth, Enlightenment and Parinibbana of the Buddha. We had a good crowd, plenty of good food, and after the almsround and we’d all eaten we circumambulated one of the Buddha Rupas in the garden. In the picture we’re just setting off after I’ve finished trying to persuade everyone to be meditative, mindful and to please not get lost.

In the afternoon when it was all over we had a meeting of the committee of the Buddha-Dhamma Fellowship, that’s the outfit that formally looks after the place.

Then in the early evening Tahn Manapo and I jumped in the mean green machine that is the monastery car and set off for Oxford with Larry, who’d come to stay and drive for me for a few days, behind the wheel. We were going to a fund raising event for Save the Children in Burma that Aung San Suu Kyi’s son and a handful of Burmese and friends had organised at a school on the outskirts of Oxford. They’d asked me to say a few words which I did. I’ve heard since that they raised about £6000.

Monday was of course the actual Visakha Puja Day. I had accepted an invitation to join a celebration at Haverigg Prison in the evening, so I left Tahn Manapo to take the Monday sitting and shortly after 2 pm Larry and I set off for the southern edge of the Lake District. As you might imagine the M6 wasn’t much fun but the last part of the three and a half hour drive was quite beautiful. I got there just in time for the six o’clock start and I was made very welcome by the Governor, the chaplaincy and the men who packed the place out to enjoy the occasion and to hear me tell the story of the Buddha and afterwards the story of Angulimala and his meeting with the Buddha. It was a great evening but over all too soon and by eight o’clock we were back on the road for another three and a half hours.

On Tuesday, it was off to two more prisons, Gartree in the afternoon and Stocken in the evening.

Wednesday I didn’t do very much and Larry went back to Wales.

Thursday was again a quiet day pottering about in my garden and office. Then in the evening Nui took Tahn Manapo and I to a meeting of Warwick University Buddhist Society. It’s exams time and so attendance was practically rock bottom and it might have been the last meeting for this term and the academic year. A pity.

On Friday a very nice chap called Tom came to see me about helping with some driving and we agreed that he would start by taking me to Grendon and Springhill Prisons on Tuesday. So on that front, what with him and Larry, things are looking up at last. Then in the evening Maggie Dou, a very nice Chinese girl who used to be at Warwick Uni, came up from London to stay for a couple of nights at Bhavana Dhamma. She’s now qualified as a solicitor and later this year having joined a London law firm that has branches in China she will be going back to Shanghai. Our loss but Shanghai’s gain.

Not much happened on Saturday. Just the usual, a few phone calls and stuff to do with prisons and the Buddhist Chaplaincy for the Armed Forces Endorsing Authority.

And today Hema Hirani and her sisters came to see me. That was nice. Hema is also ex Warwick and formerly part of a fairly notorious group who used to run the WU Buddhist Society. They stayed chatting for a bit, then went over to Bhavana Dhamma for tea with Maureen. Later on they came back, said goodbye and then Hema successfully manoeuvred Mark’s little red car out of the carpark and down the drive and off they went back to London.

And that was the week that was!

After an early meal we raced down to London this morning to attend the Annual Buddha’s Birthday Celebration in London’s Leicester Square. Like last year we were delayed by the crowds converging on Wembley for the Cup Final and so we arrived too late for the procession through China Town. Actually we didn’t mind that as it was raining and we got wet enough nipping through the pedestrianised bit from where we had jumped out of the car in St Martin’s Lane. I had been asked to give a short address and I focussed mostly on the hope that the Buddha’s message brings us for a better and happier life. This, of course, is a big weekend for Buddhists throughout the world. Theravadans like us celebrate the Birth, Enlightenment and Passing of the Buddha, while for some other schools it’s the Enlightenment only and for our Chinese friends of the London Fo Guang Temple it’s the Birth that they celebrate at this time. And their way of doing it is to ceremonially bathe the images of the child who later grew up to leave his princely estate and eventually win full Enlightenment to become the Buddha. We were each of us invited to go forward and bathe an image. The images of the child prince show him pointing to the earth and to the heavens as he declared that this would be his last birth.