Welcome home! Please contact lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site. New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days. Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.
I just thought I'd share....
federica
Seeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
After some degree of difficulty, I finally managed to get in touch with someone at the Amaravati Theravada Buddhist Monastery in Hemel Hempstead, and I enquired about Taking Refuge, 'officially' so to speak.
To my delight, I received the following response....
So on the 19th of May, I shall Take Refuge, and be a 'Legal Buddha-Babe!!'
I just wanted to share this with you all....!
:bigclap: :ukflag:
:om:
To my delight, I received the following response....
Greetings,
It would be most auspicious for you to take refuge on Vesakha Puja which will be on Monday, 19 May. Our Vesakha celebrations start at 10am on Sunday, 18 May, so please feel free to join us for this day of celebrations. Many people will come and you will have an opportunity to offer rice into the bowls of all the monks and nuns before taking part in the Vesakha meal yourself. There will be a Dhamma Talk by Ajahn Candasiri in the afternoon as well.
Sincerely
Aloka Bhikkhu
So on the 19th of May, I shall Take Refuge, and be a 'Legal Buddha-Babe!!'
I just wanted to share this with you all....!
:bigclap: :ukflag:
:om:
0
Comments
Joe
Congratulations. Let us know how you get on.
I wish you could all be there with me.
maybe I'm making too big a thing of it... but to me, it feels very special.
No...I don't think I am.
I took refuge by myself a few years back.
but I guess this is just 'bigger'...isn't it....?
I think that the monk who presided over my own refuge ceremony went on a pilgrimage in Thailand with one of 'your' monks. I think that makes us Dharma cousins!
All best wishes, in the certainty that benefit will accrue.
I liked reading the quotes in your signature.
Thank you for your kind words.... actually, with regard to the signatures, I'm going to have to change a couple of them....one of the quotations is slightly...."awry"....
But I'm glad you like them.....!
SO:
Whatever the time zone, wherever you may be, and however you are celebrating - I wish you all Joy, happiness, a wonderful day, and peace in your hearts - to you, your families, and your friends....
May you all have a wonderful, wonderful day!!
I arrived well ahead of schedule, which was just as well...!
I made my way to the kitchens to hand over the bits and pieces I had brought with me, and then took a wander around the grounds, and saw the bunting, flags and decorations the Monks, nuns and volunteers were busy puting up everywhere...
I took a walk around the splendid stupa in the meadow, then made my way to the temple and found myself a 'ringside seat' (on account of the accoustics not being ideal, and incipient deafness creeping up on me slowly but inexorably....)
The Abbot finally took his 'seat' at the front, surrounded by the Sangha, and welcomed one and all. The Temple was packed to bursting. They had anticipated the attendance of possibly two, maybe three hundred people... Wrong.....Estimates gave up at just over 500....!
The Morning preparations began, and I rapidly realised that even with a booklet, I was hopelessly lost... The chanting was so swift and melodious, it was difficult to keep up.
But then, came the moment...
I, together with at least twenty others, there specifically for the purpose, began to recite the Triple Gem Refuge, in Pali... then we were led in the 5 Precepts.....
...And that was it.
Without pausing, the Abbot and the Sangha, continued the morning offerings, and I merely sat and permitted the melodic, mesmerising, almost hypnotic chanting to flow over me, like a humming wave....
At first, I felt somewhat awkward that I was unable to follow it... a bit self-conscious of my non-involvement.... but then, of course, I knew that simply being there was involvement.... We sat, each one holding their hands together, and bowed as appropriate...
It was all just right, and peaceful....
Afterwards, we left the temple, and were all given a dish with some rice upon it, to distribute to the Sangha.... this took quite some time, as so many people were participating.... Suffice to say the Monks and Nuns ate well, today....!
Then we all entered the sala, (dining area) in a long, steady and seemingly endless queue, to dine on some absolutely wonderful food...I was stunned at the huge diversity of dishes available... of course, while much had been prepared by the volunteer cooks at the Monastery, many dishes had also been brought by visitors...hence the mix of lasagne, curry and fried eggs....!
At 2:00pm, we returned to the Temple, (although many visitors had left by now...) to listen to a Dhmma talk by Sister Ajahn Candasiri, on the Buddha's Birth, Enlightenment and passing into Parinibbana... and then we ajourned for tea...
The day drew to a close, and people began to drift off....
I have not yet received my Dhamma name, but I spoke to the Abbott, who advised me to think a while upon my commitment, and possibly confer with a nun or monk...perhaps to seek a mentor and Dhamma guide... who would then assist with selecting a name.
Sounds ideal to me....
What a day....
Hmm. A name. What about that thing we talked about long ago, about trust and trustworthiness? Just a thought.
trust-deed samappaṇapaṇṇa (nt.)
trustee āyuttaka (m.), paradhanapālaka (m.)
trusteeship āyuttakadhura (nt.)
trustful saddahanasīla (adj.)
trustfully vissāsena (adv.)
trustless avissāsiya (adj.), asadheyya (adj.)
trustworthy saddheyya (adj.), okappaniya (adj.), paccayika (adj.)
trusty saddheyya (adj.)
It's appointed by the Monastery, and apparently (I have no idea why!) because I was born on a thursday, my name will begin with a B, a P or an S.
I'll keep you all posted...
I can think of several names begining with those letters.
Politeness forbids me from venturing giving them - !!
We shall see....
But apparently, the naming is also influenced by how the Monastery 'views' you in your practice.
Not in a judgemental way, but merely perceiving the way in which you apply yourself....
All I can say for the present, is "Watch this space".....
It sounds like a lovely ceremony. I'm so happy for you.
I know that the Chinese tend to really pay attention to the exact time of birth, but I didn't realise that the Thais were the same way! I got my mom to look it up in my baby book (and have since forgotten it again!), don't know if it affected the name Fashir chose for me though!
If you just put 'calendar *year of your birth*' in the search engine box and hit return, you'll get it in no time! (I put calendar 1957 and here it was....! But Actually, I already knew it....)
Don't know how you can improve on near-perfection, but I imagine that you'll find a way.
It's great that you've taken refuge in a formal way. Now a very great part of your burden will be taken up by a great soul.
How very auspicious your day sounded! It was good to see your accounting of it.
Best of Regards Ever,
N
I had the pleasure of entering into a delightful discussion with a young bikkhuni after the main Dhamma talk in the afternoon, and I was expressing my gladness at the lessons learned, that everything in the Dhamma could be brought down to the 4, the 8 and the 5...and she replied,
"Yes, and better than that, we can reduce it even further, down to the one: Mindfulness!"
So If I truly learnt anything this day, it was :
To be Mindful, and Simplify.
"A lotus for you, a buddha to be."