A New Monastery – Anukampa Buddhist Vihara
We are delighted to share the news that after a long search, Venerable Candā and the Anukampa community have secured our first property, near the River Thames in the beautiful University city of Oxford. This is an enormous accomplishment, as it is the first monastery dedicated to developing a Bhikkhuni Sangha (a community of fully ordained Buddhist nuns) in Britain - a place where full ordination has not been possible for women, until now. Here, it will be possible for aspiring Bhikkhunis to train, and monastics from around the world to visit, what a blessing!
This is an exciting and significant step both for the Bhikkhuni Sangha worldwide, as well as for the Anukampa community. It is a culmination of all the support from well-wishers around the globe, and puts us in an excellent position, aligned with our future vision of a Forest Monastery. We are very inspired and grateful, Anumodana - that means we rejoice in your goodness!
How to be Involved in the Monastery
More than 2,500 years ago, the Buddha established a radical relationship between the monastics and the lay community which continues today in Theravada Buddhism. The monastic code (Vinaya) requires the ordained Sangha to live in dependence upon the laity for all their physical needs. Monastics cannot grow or prepare their own food, and they can only accept food that is freely offered by laypeople. Lay practitioners support monastics with material requisites so they may dedicate their life to Awakening, whilst monastics share the Dhamma and provide spiritual sanctuaries (i.e., monasteries!) to help and inspire their supporters to deepen their Buddhist practice.
Generosity lies at the heart of the Buddhist Path and is the foundation for inner cultivation. The type of giving that yields most benefit are gifts offered with a serene, joyful heart for the purpose of "beautifying" and "equipping" the mind (with stillness and wisdom) AN:8:31. We would very much like to give our supporters the wonderful opportunity to practice generosity (dana) by offering meals and/or other requisites and household items to the Sangha. There are various ways of doing this, whether you live locally, or far away. To schedule any of the below, or find out more information, please email team@anukampaproject.org.
- Lunch dana. Bring a prepared hot meal to offer for the main meal, which is at 11:00 each day. (Prepared food can also be brought the evening before for the following day’s meal). You can check the Lunch Dana Calendar to look for available dates, and to find out how to schedule or get more information.
- Invite Venerable Canda for a meal.
- Shopping deliveries and veggie boxes. You can send groceries on a one-time or recurring basis, which lay visitors can use to prepare meals for the monastic Sangha.
- Monastery household items. The Needed Items List contains various household items that would be beneficial for starting up and maintaining the monastery.
- Offer to provide for other needs. You can always invite the resident Sangha to let you know if there are other items or transportation needed. Please let the team know your approximate spending range the time frame of your offer (e.g., for the next 3 months, etc.)
- Gift vouchers. Example stores include Dunelm, M&S, John Lewis, Sainsbury, Robert Dyas and other food, home, and hardware stores relevant to the Oxford area.
- Come and stay for a visit! Spending a few days or more at the Monastery is a beautiful way to serve and support the Sangha. To apply for a stay, please email team@anukampaproject.org to request the booking form, which also shares some details about the daily schedule, duties, etc.
- Volunteer time for specific types of tasks, as needed. You can watch for details of what’s needed in the newsletter, or write to team@anukampaproject.org with your interests, skills, and availability.
Offering Funds via a Regular Standing Order
Standing orders are particularly helpful in allowing us to plan ahead. All donations of any size are gratefully received.
If you would like to set up a standing order please arrange it with your bank using the following details:
From the UK:
Account Name: Anukampa Bhikkhuni Project
Account Number: 91826271
Sort Code: 40-20-24
From Overseas:
Account name: Anukampa Bhikkhuni Project
IBAN: GB97HBUK40202491826271
BIC: HBUKGB4112G
Bank name and address:
HSBC Bank plc, 54 High Street, Epsom, Surrey, KT19 8DS, United Kingdom.
Beneficiary address:
Anukampa Bhikkhuni Project, 16 Blenheim Close, Shepreth, ROYSTON,
SG8 6PT, United Kingdom.
If you would like to donate using a credit card or via PayPal, please go to our donations page here.
We rejoice in your generosity!
"Bhikkhu(ni)s, in three cases one may be understood to have faith and confidence.
What three? When one desires to see those of virtuous behaviour;
when one desires to hear the good Dhamma;
and when one dwells at home with a mind devoid of the stain of miserliness,
freely generous, openhanded, delighting in relinquishment,
devoted to charity, delighting in giving and sharing.
In these three cases one may be understood to have faith and confidence."
(AN3:42)
“Bhikkhu(ni)s, if beings knew, as I know, the result of giving and sharing, they would not eat without having given, nor would they allow the stain of meanness to obsess them and take root in their minds. Even if it were their last morsel, their last mouthful, they would not eat without having shared it, if there were someone to share it with. But, bhikkhus, as beings do not know, as I know, the result of giving and sharing, they eat without having given, and the stain of meanness obsesses them and takes root in their minds.”
Iti.26 (Giving).
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