After the poignant memories of the transformative 8-day residential retreat at Belsey Bridge back in 2018, we had eagerly planned another at the beautiful Belsey Bridge Centre in 2022. However, when the Centre unexpectedly ceased operations at the last minute, we had to adapt and host an online retreat instead…which we have been doing ever since.
Now, six-years from the last residential retreat, we are thrilled to offer an in-person retreat with Ajahn Brahm! His dedication is unwavering and he is generously returning for a second time to the UK this year!
Joined by Ven Canda, Ajahn Brahm will be offering a series of Dhamma talks in various cities across the UK, and two retreats in the tranquil surrounds of Oxford this November. The highlight of this tour is undoubtedly the 5-Day Residential Retreat.
Due to the lack of retreat venues and high cost of hotels, we are being adventurous and hiring a Scouts Centre, which involves catering for ourselves. We have found active participation serving in this way on retreat to be extremely strengthening for the meditation practice and hope that you will willingly participate! Be sure to register early so you don’t miss out on this rare opportunity – we just do not know if an opportunity for a residential retreat with Ajahn Brahm in UK/ Europe will happen again! Priority is given to our volunteers.
Live Bookings Links:
Tues 18th Nov 19:00 – 21:00: Dhamma Talk: “The Nature Of Perception” (details TBC in next letter, London)
Wed 19th Nov19:00 – 20:30 Dhamma Talk: “Forgiving Ourselves With Compassion” (details TBC in next letter, Sheffield)
As ever, Ajahn is coming to the UK for one reason only- to support Anukampa Grove Bhikkhuni Monastery. This year marks another major milestone, as Ven Canda trains two anagarikaas at Anukampa Grove – and a samaneri ordination will likely be happening during Ajahn Brahm’s tour! To sustain this lofty pursuit of growing bhikkhunis, your continued support is essential.
All proceeds from the tour will help cover venue hire and other arrangements. Any surplus funds will go be used for administrative costs. There will also be a chance to donate towards the Sangha’s requisites, building projects and ongoing running expenses of Anukampa Grove. We strive to keep costs as low as possible, thanks to the heartfelt efforts of volunteers who generously give their time and energy as an act of pure charity and love.
Anukampa residents and volunteers at our recent London Insight day retreat 🙂
Ven Dhammasami, Retreats & Thai Restaurants ~ by Ven. Candā
Never a dull day passes at Anukampa Grove ~ unless, that is, one may consider our weekly silent meditation days dull. For me, those “stoppings” are deeply relished as we enter the busiest time of our years’ cycle ~ demanding of energy yet benevolently serenaded by birdsong and the rustling of delicate new leaves.
My main activities have included organising the upcoming tours for Ajahn Brahm, newsletter composition, creating a colourful new leaflet with (the now) An. Chie, updating our visitors guidelines with An. Upacalaa, and excitingly, (very lightly) assisting Erik in producing an Anukampa Podcast channel! When not standing at the computer desk, I am of course mentoring my new anagarikaas, and introducing them to the various aspects of the project including how Mailchimp, our bookings systems and website’s events pages work. And, of course, how to keep a large white robe on one’s shoulders!
Our new leaflet is being designed, ready for Ajahn Brahm’s June tour!
Quiet meditation, Dhamma inspiration and lots of laughter is our fuel, and our visitors ~ those who drop by and those who stay for a while ~ bring richness, learning and the warm spirit of service. Torben, one of my very first non-Indian, non-Nepali teachers in the Goenka tradition, stayed for two full days, with a mission to pressure wash the entire sandstone patio which had become quite slippery over many years. Task completed, he gave our conservatory (walking meditation room) a thorough hose down too! The tile shade has brightened many tones and everything looks sparklingly new.
April brought the special gift of Sayadaw K Dhammasami’s visit to the UK from Myanmar. Formerly known as “Oxford Sayadaw” he is generally based in Myanmar at the International Buddhist University of the Shan State. He was across for just two weeks, which included teaching in Hungary and Gloucestershire, so the two meetings we had felt all the more precious. The first was his impromptu visit for tea at Anukampa Grove, accompanied by Ven Pannyavamso. The first thing Sayadaw wanted to do was have a photo taken under our gorgeous blossoming cherry tree ~ and who can blame him?!
After some Dhamma conversation over tea, with deep sincerity Sayadaw said that he felt “much much mudita (rejoicing or altruistic joy) for the hard work and efforts that have gone into our monastery.” As a touching gesture, he gave then anagarikaa-to-be Chie the small rosary he had carried with him and said with a twinkle in his eyes that the next time he visits he will listen to her Dhamma Talk…who knows?
The next week, I had the blessing of an hours’ Dhamma discussion with Sayadaw at Oxford Buddha Vihara (just 10 mins by taxi) centering on mudita, his main practice, and the insights it brings into non-self. Hearing how he applies mudita not only on the cushion but in developing student centred education ~ using mudita to develop positive empathy, disrupt top down models, instill a spirit of enquiry and heal trauma ~ was extremely inspiring and profound. When a person who lives in the most volatile of situations says: “there is a choice ~ you can focus on what is wrong in the world or look at what is beautiful and good,” it hits deeply. And to prove the integrity of his practice and humanity, his philosophy extends to his views about bhikkhunis. When I asked him his perspective he made three salient points:
1.He was at the Hamburg conference 2007 and realised that its not an academic problem but one of institutional tradition 2. You can be part of the problem or the solution and he wanted, in “whatever small ways he could,” to be part of the solution 3. It would be a loss for Oxford if I left and this is where I belong 🙂
In these three simple eloquent ways this noble-hearted monk expressed compassion, wisdom and spiritual integrity and I realised he had a lot to do with me being here. The first time we met, in 2019, he told his supporters who were present that he’s “rooting for me to stay in Oxford” which felt supremely welcoming. And here we are, happily abiding near Oxford, with good monastic friends just a short drive away at the Oxford Buddha Vihara 🙂
Other notable visitors of late have included Venerable Vimala (they/them) of Tilorien Monastery, Belgium, who it was a delight to spend sisterly time with. No one understands a bhikkhuni quite like a bhikkhuni, and our paths have been running parallel and interconnecting for decades. We met on a Goenka retreat in 2000 and subsequently both started bhikkhuni monasteries in our home countries. Within the week that they were here, they painted two bathrooms walls in cheery colours, plus diagnosed ~ and provided possible solutions for ~ many of our heating issues!
On a local walk through fields with friendly horses
We also hosted two women from South-East Asia, who flew all the way from Singapore and Malaysia respectively to practice with us for a while. Even in their home countries, there seems to be a lack of bhikkhuni monasteries for them to practice in, hence they travelled so far to be here. With all these budding nuns and only five bedrooms we will be full for aspirants in no long time and may (entually) need to send some of our metta-full home-grown nuns “outwards and unbounded” in the way true metta spreads, to plant more monastery seeds.
We have had a few big dana gatherings too. A UK-based Sri Lankan group who said they have been following us for many years offered a lovely lunch and impressed me with their knowledge of and respect for bhikkhunis. Long term supporter Amalsha (with her friend) was also present that day. If you have been following us for a while, you may remember that Amalsha kindly stored our retreat mats for many years at her home, before we got a base with storage space. It has been so satisfying to to meet her and other good friends like Hiranthi, Samantha, Paul and Richard again recently and be able to show them around the beautiful house and grounds that they helped bring into being.
Last but not least, a big shout out to our local Thai supporters, Mali, Mukh and Achala. Mali invited me and all my visitors to her Thai restaurant, in nearby Eaton village for Songkran, Thai New Year ~ and put on a feast. As her friends said “Mali does not know how to do small!” After a delicious meal at The Eight Bells, we were invited to participate in the traditional water ceremony which involves chanting blessings whilst having water poured over our hands, which we then splash on those willing!
This was our first invitation to a Thai restaurant and we are very grateful to Mali for making it so special.
A long time ago in Harare, in the days when I first walked home from school alone, without siblings or any older person, I remember how being alone heightened my sensory experiences of the tropical atmosphere. The sunlight seemed brighter, the shades cooler and the tree foliage above so dense. One of these trees was a yellow magnolia with a strong fragrance. In fact, I often paused and stood beneath it, feeling enveloped by the scent and also mystified about its origin. Until one day, I noticed the fallen flowers on the ground and the air filled with pollen and petals. Connecting the dots, I understood the source of the musky and sweet tones. I also decided that although it was like a beautiful perfume, I would hold my breath as I passed under it because the same pleasant scent could also feel overwhelming.
This childhood memory has some parallels with my recent reflections and interpretation of recent events. After the anagarika “ceremony,” I feel much the same in many ways. I like to reflect on the blessings in my life as usual (taking a pause to look away from strife for some time) and take in those blessings like inhaling a fragrant flower. However, one thing that has changed is the type of blessings and the intensity of those that are the same. For example, I used to appreciate having parents and elders, friendships, education, and employment, as well as being in a safe geographical location and in my own space. I still have parents, elders, and friendships, but now also a teacher and sister renunciates – and instead live in the heart of a Buddhist community, in a safe monastery for female monastics. The apparent differences are that my learning no longer exists within an educational system and my decisions are a little less influenced by familial pressures and expectations. There’s more flexibility within the friendships and the safe space I live in isn’t “mine” but “ours.” There’s more of a sense of being free and less of a sense of “me.”
If the blessings are comparable to a scent, I think these changes mean it’s a simpler, lighter and a more delicate one – I don’t feel I need to hold my breath, cautious that the intensity of the beauty will be too overpowering and complex. It’s fragrant, inhalable and I can breathe it in fully. I hope that with this year and season, the blessings and smells gently uplift us all.
On Sunday 20th April, whilst many people were celebrating Easter with family members, our spiritual family grew. It was an occasion to be remembered forever ~ personally and as the first time a British woman had taken up the anagarikaa precepts with a view to bhikkhuni ordination ~ yes, yet another first!
It took an evening to shave Chie’s head, owing to the care needed to ensure that her hair was kept in good condition as a precious donation for cancer patients ~ our friend Karin told us that afro hair donations are in short supply in the UK. This intention gave the shaving ceremony additional meaning and Chie’s exuberance at the end, as she touched her freshly shaven head ablaze with sensations, was a sight to behold!
“I can feel everything!” “Its like having a whole new limb!” “I never knew I had so much head!!” were some of her humorous and jubilant exclamations 🙂 The metamorphosis from lay woman to nun had begun!
The next morning she already seemed comfortable with her baldness and there was a purposeful buzz in the air, as we went about preparing our largest room, the danasala, for the visitors coming later. All our available parking space was booked, with some of our most devoted supporters and eight members of Chie’s family. Inspiringly, one of her elder sisters had flown with her family all the way from Zimbabwe (where they spend most of the year) for just two or three days to show a loving supportive presence.
An. Chie requesting and taking her anagarikaa precepts, with a view to going forth 🙂
Traditionally, the aspirant enters bearing a tray of gifts for her preceptor, which she presents before requesting the eight precepts. This tray contained a beautiful hand drawn picture of Ajahn Brahm and I, at my bhikkhuni ordination, surrounded by English wildflowers! It was very supportive for me personally, to have the presence of Venerable Vimala (visiting from Belgium), as well as Anagarika Upacala, as I must admit to feeling slightly overawed!
Amazingly, neither An. Chie nor I shed a tear during the recitation, probably because we had already done that in the lead up several times! The ceremony is relatively simple and short, yet there was a powerful sense of joy and inspiration that continued building as An. Chie received her visitors’ blessings and gifts ~ including a gigantic box of “Dazz” washing powder from her family, which made us chuckle!
Traditionally, the aspirant enters bearing a tray of gifts for her preceptor, which she presents before requesting the eight precepts. This tray contained a beautiful hand drawn picture of Ajahn Brahm and I, at my bhikkhuni ordination, surrounded by English wildflowers! It was very supportive for me personally, to have the presence of Venerable Vimala (visiting from Belgium), as well as Anagarika Upacala, as I must admit to feeling slightly overawed! Amazingly, neither An. Chie nor I shed a tear during the recitation, probably because we had already done that in the lead up several times! The ceremony is relatively simple and short, yet there was a powerful sense of joy and inspiration that continued building as An. Chie received her visitors’ blessings and gifts ~ including a gigantic box of “Dazz” washing powder from her family, which made us chuckle!
Since that special day, An. Chie’s radiance has only increased. She looks so ready for this step, this renunciant path, and wears her white robes like a natural, their multiple folds continuing to soften around her.
As for me, I can barely believe my good fortune. Our community now has two excellent anagarikaas, whose easy-going natures, genuine love of practice and readiness to serve make them super-easy to train. The conditions at Anukampa Grove are ripe and the Dhamma-Vinaya (the teachings and their application) is our unsurpassed guide.
Since that special day, An. Chie’s radiance has only increased. She looks so ready for this step, this renunciant path, and wears her white robes like a natural, their multiple folds continuing to soften around her.
As for me, I can barely believe my good fortune. Our community now has two excellent anagarikaas, whose easy-going natures, genuine love of practice and readiness to serve make them super-easy to train. The conditions at Anukampa Grove are ripe and the Dhamma-Vinaya (the teachings and their application) is our unsurpassed guide.
Messages from the community:
“I’m beaming with mudita for Anagārikā Chie! It’s an honour to have such a steady, kind-hearted anagārikā sister to grow with on this path. I feel so blessed to be a part of this community!” Anagarika Upacala
“Dear Chie, Sending you very much metta for Sunday. And for many thousand mornings afterwards as you follow the Buddha’s path. I hope you find the poem’s I’ve marked in Mary Oliver’s poetry book inspiring. You are fulfilling your life’s purpose and that of Anukampa Grove, which brings great joy to so many people. Many Blessings with love.” Lynne
“Dear Chie, I don’t really know what to say on such a great occasion as its definitely a very new one for everyone. I feel extremely privileged to meet you, to witness a part of your spiritual journey, to share giggles and occasional eyeroll, lol. Thank you for letting me be a part of this day that will change our lives and officially open doors to ordination to women! I feel very proud of you, in awe of your commitment to the path, and I cherish your friendship, kindness and wisdom. Wishing you all the best and I can’t wait to observe the next leg of your spiritual journey. With lots of love & metta” Karina
“Dear Anagarikaa Chie, I am back home now, and still deeply moved by yesterday’s events. It was such a privilege and blessing to witness this milestone on your spiritual path and in the Anukampa and UK Bhikkhuni history. I could not think of anything to say, that sounded ‘good enough’. I hope you did not mind me speaking with your mum instead. My mum would have felt the same, probably not come or shown this level of composure. I also got caught out on the present side. I did not realise it was allowed. Therefore, to be entrusted with your hair feels even more special. When I had my hair cut off for my first chemo in 2012 I did not know about this charity. I left some outside for the birds’ nest building. Until I send it off, your hair is on my main shrine. I have looked at the form, which I can fill in for you. They will want to email you a certificate. Therefore, I need the name you wish to appear on the certificate and the email address you want them to use. I will then do the form and post it securely with your hair to them. With much metta and blessings for you.” Karin
“I think there is so much positiveness, gentleness and cleanliness of both the place and, I think, the aura in there ~ love it! I will be learning more on meditation. You look like you where even born there lol ~ so perfectly fitting to who I have known.” Chie’s Sister
Welcoming 2 Aspiring Bhikkhunis To Anukampa’s Community!
On Sunday 16th March, Anagarikaa Upacala renewed her training precepts with me as her teacher, which also meant formally joining the Anukampa community as my first trainee. This step marks a pivotal point for Anukampa as we now have another long-term resident at the monastery ~ a precious new kalyanamitta (spiritual friend) for everybody here! It is also a turning point for Buddhism in the UK, because this is the first time that a woman has been able to take up anagarikaa training with a wide open path ahead to becoming a full member of the monastic Sangha as the Buddha prescribed, with no glass ceilings limiting her growth within that Sangha. In other words, she can train as a bhikkhuni who will eventually be empowered to train her own nuns, meaning there will be more well-trained bhikkhunis to spread the Dhamma far and wide! My heart is full of mudita for An. Upacala, as well as gratitude towards the countless good hearts who helped create the conditions to make this possible.
Establishing monasteries is always hard work. Navigating the extra challenges intrinsic to an environment where bhikkhunis face discriminatory attitudes and the entrenched view within some Buddhist traditions that monks are a greater “field of merit” than nuns, makes it far harder still. Some people non-sensibly argue that women don’t “need” to be fully ordained and train in adhisila (higher virtue) as the Buddha recommended, yet support fully ordained monks without question! It is therefore understandable that some of our early supporters (and I) underestimated the challenges involved in establishing a Bhikkhuni Sangha in England, and I commend those for whom the challenges served to strengthen your resolve.
I am so happy that I never gave up! Serving Anukampa means so much to me, not only because it serves female renunciates but also because it offers a me way to express my immense gratitude and respect for Ajahn Brahm’s teachings and the sacrifices he made to enable women (like me) to be fully ordained. His unconditional friendship and support have been a constant source of inspiration that kept me going when times were tough. Not only have we now established a beautiful monastery, I’ve learned things I’d never have otherwise learned ~ about myself, and by extension the human mind ~ that have helped me grow in wisdom and compassion. I am continually learning how much resilience, courage and tenderness is required in a leadership role ~ a willingness to break and be stitched back together again, (and again and again) ~ in order to continue against the odds. I’ve learned to ask for help, as well as to extend a strong supporting arm to others.
Witnessing budding aspirations developing in young women has been another huge energy source. I knew there may be women who, like me, sustain a strong aspiration to practice as renunciates and search for an opportunity to ordain, yet I didn’t know who they might be. In retrospect, it was a bit like giving metta to a stranger or invisible being. I trusted they existed (somewhere out there!) and I wanted it to be easier for them than it was for me. I have also come to realise that as we speak, there are women who may not know they have a monastic calling ~ because such a choice has never felt real. How can we choose a vocation ~ mundane or spiritual ~ when it is not even on our radar of choice? With so few bhikkhuni monasteries worldwide (and the array of wrong views that regard female monastics as lesser than, or “fortunate guests” of, monks), there is no wonder the Bhikkhuni Sangha is sparse. And obviously this has consequences for the accessibility and reputation of Buddhism. I’ll never forget the Chinese student who came to our previous Vihara and whose eyes melted with tears, as she uttered: “I never knew this could be possible for me,” or the young Norwegian man who said: “Bhikkhunis are redeeming Buddhism.”
In the years before we had a Vihara, I met women for whom the idea of monastic life was novel, yet remote. I started realising that, given the necessity of playing an upfront role in strengthening the systems that support female alms mendicants, before they can go forth, my first aspirants would need considerable maturity in meditation coupled with a deeply compassionate, sustained intention to serve. Did such women exist and where? I also appreciated, by putting myself in their shoes, that it could be challenging to train with a single senior nun and no peers. Wasn’t all this a long shot? At large monasteries with established communities, an anagarikaa or junior nun would have ample pre-existing support, few responsibilities and many sisters in robes. Taken together, these realities meant we needed great patience and trust, and I thank you all for yours.
Imagine my delight today. Conditions have finally conspired to bring us together in such a way that I have not one, but two excellent aspirants! I could not imagine nor wish for a finer pair and I am stoked that they have each other as peers. There also exists a beautiful dynamic of three-way support ~ respectful yet relaxed, allowing for fun. Our current Polish guest Joanna said the energy between us reminded her of the story of Anuruddha, Kimbila and Nandiya ~ three monks in the Buddha’s day who “blended like milk and water,” regarding each other with loving eyes (paraphrased from Upakkilesa Sutta) ~ and that’s how it feels to me.
Which brings me to Chie. Another beloved member of our community, who stayed with Ven Upekkha and I for many months last year, even completing the move with us to Anukampa Grove, Chie will take her anagarikaa precepts on 20th April, at 3pm. If she continues her training (and may it be so!) this will make her the first British woman to train right through from anagarikaa to bhikkhuni ordination in the UK! Not wishing to get ahead of myself, nor anyone else, the joy is in the voyage and I feel utterly blessed to have Chie on board.
I know that more learning, growth and challenges (not always immediately inviting!) lie ahead. And whatever is to come, we will face. I take heart knowing that together, as three kalyanamittas open to feedback, willing to be honest and vulnerable with each other, we can journey further on this path than we could alone, if not to the journey’s end. Going forth for the complete freedom from suffering and the highest happiness of Nibbana is the ultimate way of paying back our debt of gratitude ~ to the Buddha, our teachers and all those who support us in our aims. Thank you from the depths of my heart and on behalf of everyone who has benefitted from our work so far, for your inspirational, steadfast support. I hope you are rejoicing with us!
Post golden-hued ceremony, with Liz, Ginny and Nigel as special (local) guests
I share these touching messages of support from my Dhamma “big brothers” and sister:
Dear Ayya, Sādhu!!! This is great news! A real monastery taking shape in real time! Much metta and very best wishes to you and your new kalyānamitta, Ajahn Brahmali
OMG I am so happy for her! Ayya, you are doing an amazing job, and it was truly heartwarming to witness your community. May our sister Bluejay* fly free! with metta Bhante Sujato
Anumodana!!!! You both – us all – deserve it SOO much. Sabba dukkha nissarana – nibbana sacchi karanattha ya May your friendship bear great fruit. With muuuuch happiness (and a great deal of excitement) Ven Upekkha
And Ajahn Brahm, via Zoom, has pledged that: “You both have my full support.“
*Bluejay (or literally, “little sister bluejay” is the meaning of Upacala, who was also an arahant bhikkhuni and Ven. Sariputta’s middle little sister, in the Buddha’s day 🙂
Shrine to another female arahant, Patacara Bhikkhuni, alongside gifts and inspiring pics!
We have recently become aware that Anukampa Bhikkhuni Project, the BSWA, Ajahn Brahm and Ven Canda’s (Ayya Canda) name and images have been posted on a website called “Open Sangha Foundation”. We are not affiliated with “Open Sangha Foundation” in any way. We did not create any user profile nor account on their website.
Anukampa, the BSWA, Ajahn Brahm, and Ven Canda have not given permission for any account or user profile to be created, or for the use of Ajahn Brahm and Ven Canda’s name and images on the their website. Both have been done so without our permission.
Please be aware that our official channels are only those listed on our official website.
Your help is still needed us to make our vision of an inclusive, welcoming Buddhist community come true!
Ajahn Brahm’s visit this year was exceptional in many ways and most notably for an unexpected property find! On the long train ride back from visiting his extended family north of Liverpool, inspiration struck and we discovered an affordable prospective monastery property online.
Two days later, Ajahn, Ven Canda and volunteer Shel, went to view it and thought the layout and location ideal for a Forest Monastery – secluded yet accessible, with potential to expand. The prospective monastery is on Boars’ Hill just 5 miles from Oxford station. This location would enable us to stay near our main hub of support – and our friends, the Oxford Buddha Vihara monks – bringing the four-fold assembly to Oxford.
Happy volunteers with the Sangha at the end of Ajahn Brahm’s UK tour, 20.11.23 🙂
We and our loyal supporters have been running high on inspiration due your heart-warming response so far, in the form of donations, loan offers and messages of support. You have shown us that when intentions are aligned to Dhamma, they have power to spread the Buddha’s teachings and build safe, beloved communities. You have shown us how dedicated to practice you are. You have shown us that as a Buddhist community, we are ready to develop a monastery that will benefit us all – and so we celebrate and rejoice!
Our finances team once again would like to thank you for all your generous loan offers, including that of the BSWA. Our Treasurer Manori will be getting in touch with you again soon with more updates. We are now inviting donations of any amount to bridge the critical difference between loans and costs, so we can put in a successful offer (there are two other parties putting an offer in too)! For options on how to donate, please visit https://anukampaproject.org/donate/
Trustees Elena and Manori with Ven Canda, close to the prospective new Forest Monastery! 22.11.23
Ajahn Brahm’s visit this year was exceptional in many ways and most notably for an unexpected property find! On the long train ride back from visiting his extended family and “scouser” (i.e. Liverpudlian) roots, inspiration struck and we discovered an affordable property online. Two days later, before the Bristol talk, Ajahn, Shel, and I went to view it. The layout and location ideal for a Forest Monastery – secluded yet accessible with potential to expand. The property is on Boars’ Hill just 5 miles from Oxford station. This location would enable us to stay close to our main hub of volunteers and supporters – and our friends, the Oxford Buddha Vihara monks!
Autumn on the River Thames in Oxford
Since then and during our last weekend retreat ending 19th November, an overwhelming amount of support has been pouring in from so many of you. Our local and international communities have mobilised to help put us in a position to make a cash offer using personal loans, (just until these can be repaid when we sell our Vihara). We will have more information on whether we can proceed with an offer very soon.
At this point, we can only accept a limited number of loans due to the time frame and paperwork involved. We are therefore encouraging contributions of any amount so that we can move forward at this critical juncture. We have been searching for a property like this for years and know how rare a find this is – a peaceful yet central place to fulfil our mission of growing a Bhikkhuni Sangha here in the UK and develop a welcoming and inclusive spiritual community around that, which you can be a part of!
The monastics and their loyal supporters have been running high on inspiration due your heart-warming response so far. You have shown us the power that Dhamma-aligned intentions have in spreading the Buddha’s teachings and how dedicated to practice you are. You have shown us that as a community, we are ready for a monastery that will benefit us all – and for that I celebrate and rejoice!
What You Can Do Next
If you would like to make a one-off donation, by bank transfer, PayPal, card, or to make a regular monthly donation, please visit https://anukampaproject.org/donate
For those of you who have so kindly offered loans, thank you! Manori will be in touch soon to update you on the next steps, or you are welcome to write to finances@anukampaproject.org if you have any questions.
When I first started my journey along the Buddhist Path, I was intimidated by monastics. They looked too grand and holy silently lined up in their orange robes on the early morning streets of Vientiane, Laos, where I live and work, or solemnly chanting unintelligible Pali blessings while sitting stone-faced at funeral ceremonies. I dared to get close enough only to drop a handful of sticky rice into their alms bowls, but not to make eye contact, much less start up a conversation about the Dhamma. I steered clear of these bald-headed figures as best as I could even after I started going to monasteries to practice and serve, afraid that I would say or do something improper, or otherwise disrespect them by accident. I rationalized that there was no need for me to associate with monastics anyway. I had my books of suttas and my daily meditation practice. Besides, in this modern day and age I could just pull up a talk by Ajahn Brahm on YouTube and watch from a safe distance. Surely I could do without direct interaction with monastics so long as I had the word of the Buddha and the internet.
Yet as anyone who has been fortunate enough to spend time around fellow practitioners has probably already discovered, there are a lot more layers to the Dhamma that come out when it is a living, breathing essence flowing through the lifeblood of a community of monastics and laypeople that is far more vibrant and nuanced than when it is exclusively absorbed from the pages of a book. If I had not started to figure this out for myself, I probably never would have ended up here at the Anukampa Vihara for the tail end of Ajahn Brahmali’s recent UK teaching tour in the first place. And if I had not realized the beauty of this treasured living Dhamma ahead of time, I certainly would have felt it when I arrived at the vihara in Oxford, at which time I was immediately swept up into the flood of peace, generosity, and metta that this community of Dhamma friends had been building up long before my arrival in the UK. The people I met who had joined Ajahn Brahmali’s retreat emanated auras of gentleness and tranquility, greeting me with the bright eyes and warm smiles of those who have been able to touch something deeper and kinder in themselves than any of us are typically able to reach on our own in our usual busy lives.
Monastics at the Vihara
As I travelled with Ajahn Brahmali and the Anukampa community during the last week of talks, I experienced the same kinds of feelings for myself. From the first talk I attended at the Oxford Buddha Vihara to the day retreat hosted by London Insight Meditation at the Jamyang Buddhist Centre, and even back to the small community at the Anukampa Vihara itself, I found myself constantly surrounded by other people sincerely striving to reduce their own suffering and that of all other beings through thoughts, speech, and actions steeped in what is wholesome–moral sila, peaceful samadhi, and sharp wisdom.
It seemed that each new space I stepped into was awash in good intentions and the positive energy of all the people who inhabited them, allowing me to share in the peace, joy, and energy of a community that had come together to rejoice in the teachings of the very monastics who had once so intimidated me. The monastics were the core of the community, and the community pulled me to the very doorstep of the Dhamma. After years of practice during which I had mostly sat striving alone, holding onto some distant awareness of the breath through a raging sea of agitated thoughts, this community of practitioners proved to me what teachers like Ajahn Brahm, Ajahn Brahmali, and Venerable Canda had been saying all along. The practice is not an act of willpower, but a natural unfolding of mind that occurs when we incline ourselves in the right direction. Surrounded by so many people well-inclined towards kindness and letting go, my mind naturally followed suit. I finally felt like I was getting a taste of the true flavour of the Dhamma–not the spicy burn of forced effort, but the soft, sweet flavour of the natural underlying joy that all of us find when we put everything down and make space for it. It is one thing to read about such a thing and another thing entirely to be immersed in it at the centre of a crowd of spiritual friends, laypeople and monastics alike.
Lay guests at the Vihara with monastics
To watch the monastic life lived sincerely is to see echoes of the Buddha himself. It is true that many things have changed since the Buddha’s time. Now instead of walking barefooted down dusty paths, our retinue of monastics and lay supporters waited on a platform for our delayed train to Bristol, checking for updates on our smartphones while Ajahn Brahmali sat on a bench translating Pali texts on his laptop. Yet the heart of the monastic lifestyle remains the same. To travel and share the Dhamma lies at the core of monasticism, and for me, being able to witness this process in action was a priceless gift. Just as the Buddha and his supporters did more than 2500 years ago, still we were traveling from town to town, wherever there were people willing to lend an ear to the profound Dhamma and practice with good will and sincerity. I could tell that in spite of the whistles and bells of modern communication and transportation that I was witnessing Buddhism in its truest, oldest sense. It is thanks to the compassion and hard work of monastics like Ajahn Brahmali, Venerable Canda, and Venerable Upekkha that even after thousands of years, we still have the opportunity to witness this noble way of life in person to this day.
After a week of Dhamma talks, traveling, dana meals given and received, and quiet tea time with the monastics, I got to see not only the Dhamma as a logically sound philosophy or even as a strictly causal path that ultimately leads to cessation, but as something that was very much present and very much alive. Just as all living things, I also saw how the Dhamma was growing wider and deeper, putting its roots down in new territory. It is an amazing and wonderful thing to see the strong foothold this practice holds here in the UK, on a piece of land so far in time and geography from the land where the Buddha first taught, but where his teachings are just as valid and precious as ever. It was a special treasure for me to witness a room full of people discussing the integral importance of the bhikkhuni ordination as part of this tradition, a simultaneous return to the roots the Buddha himself laid down for women practitioners as well as an integral part of the new growth that is possible in the practice and in the community when all people have the opportunity to undertake the practice in its full scope.
Ven Upekkha, Ajahn Brahmali, and Ven Canda.
At his last talk, Ajahn Brahmali voiced his wish that the audience might see the monastics as cute and cuddly (cuddly from a distance, he specified). It was an image of monastics that would have been almost impossible for me to even a year or two ago, and yet, I can say that during my past week with the dual Sangha of bhikkhus and bhikkhunis, I have finally felt that (distant) cuddliness. The warmth, metta, and goodwill I experienced in the presence of beings so dedicated to the Path the Buddha laid out was undeniable. Indeed, this is another echo of the Buddha, reminding me that while monastics may look intimidating, through them one can find a reflection of the true compassion of the Buddha, passed down through the Dhamma and Sangha to reach us in a very close and personal way even to this day. To show us the way to this compassionate path and help the Dhamma come alive to each of us is the gift that the Sangha gives. This is why the Triple Gem is necessarily triple and not double. By looking into the gem of the Sangha, we can see the reflection of the Buddha looking back at us through the generations of his students, the bhikkhunis and bhikkhus who continue to offer us teachings to this day. It is here in this gem that we can get a glimpse of the very compassion that motivated the Buddha himself to teach the Dhamma that continues to bring us all together, leading us closer to each other, closer to ourselves, and closer to the Truths that the Buddha unearthed.
We have decided to broaden the reach of our upcoming week-long residential deep dive into breath meditation retreat with Ajahn Brahmali by livestreaming the morning and evening session on the Anukampa YouTube channel here https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNIW229Hx4MOF_ahakA67EA.
The livestream will begin from Day Two through to Day Seven (14th May to 19th May) as follows:
09:00 – 10:00 Morning talk
20:15 – 21:30 Anonymous Q&A from “the box”
The final day’s morning session will close the retreat on 20th May:
Day 8
09:00 – 10:30 Closing talk and loving kindness meditation
All recordings will also be made available on the Anukampa YouTube channel following the conclusion of the tour.
