2006 in the monastery closed with elemental style. On New Years Eve wind howled across the roof of the Dhamma hall, and broke the clouds to reveal the odd star and a waxing moon that illuminated the lane. For a monastery, it was a wildly romantic night. But there was beauty inside too, as people offered up their aspirations and wrestled with fire in their wish to forgive and to be forgiven. In the days before and the days after we had many lovely guests; green-fingered and earthy, fiery or fluid; poetic – they waxed and waned with the moon, leaving their quiet absence with us as we enter the winter retreat.
They are not the only ones to leave us. In the coming week Ajahn Munindo, Tan Hiriko and our one-and-only Richard (now radiant in white) leave for
…John Bower, for example. John, whose day job is cataloguing criminals, will over the next couple of months be cataloguing our books as well. When he’s finished they’ll be transferred to the new library in the retreat house; the one that featured last week. So, if any of you have books or CDs outstanding and wish to avoid having your own arm twisted, please return them asap. And whilst you’re at it, you are, as usual, invited to consider (in response to requests from supporters of the monastery) that whilst the larders’ needs are few, the following would still be helpful:
- Savoury contributions to the freezer
- Tahini
Down at the stores, I hear they still/now would appreciate:
- cling film
- kitchen roll
- fire wood
- danish oil
- set of 3 ecover eco-balls
- limescale remover
- stamps (any value)
- dust marks
- wood saw
And, conferring, it seems that your generosity now means we have plenty of:
- toothbrushes, salt, instant coffee, towels, soap.
