Dear
friends
Welcome to the Amaravati Lay Buddhist Association's second email bulletin of
2010, in which you will find news of forthcoming ALBA events at Amaravati.
In this issue:
-
Our upcoming Winter Day of Practice, which will take place on Saturday 13th
February and will be introduced by Chris Ward.
Please note that the advertised date of Monday 15th February in the
Forest Sangha Newsletter is incorrect – we look forward to seeing you this
Saturday.
-
Dates for ALBA events at Amaravati in 2010
-
How you can contribute to our Community Newsletter
-
How to get more involved with ALBA
-
How ALBA can help you keep in touch with Dhamma friends.
-
News of developments at the TripleGem Buddhist Foundation
-
ALBA is a member of
the Network of Buddhist Organisations. Read the latest NBO news
-
Read the latest news from One Life, the charity which ALBA supports and which
works to accommodate, feed and educate the children of Nseleni and surrounding
districts, Kwazulu, South Africa, many of whom are orphaned by the AIDS/HIV
virus.
If you have any queries or comments about what you read here, I'd be pleased to
hear from you.
Alison Moore, on behalf of the ALBA Committee
Email:
metta@petalmoore.net
Tel: 01442 865519
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DAYS
OF WINTER PRACTICE
We are privileged to be able to hold our first three days of practice during the
monastic community's winter retreat, which runs from now until the end of March.
During this time we are all encouraged to be particularly aware of the need for
quiet when out and about in the monastery and its grounds and to respect the
monks' and nuns' privacy whilst they are on silent retreat. In this way we too
have the chance to savour the stillness of the countryside in winter, which
lends itself so well to slowing the pace of life and taking time to turn
inwards. ________________________________________________________________
COMING UP
Saturday 13th February
Winter Day of Practice
Led by Chris Ward
A
day of lay practice, reflection and discussion.
Guidance will be provided and newcomers are welcome.
Registration will begin in the Retreat Centre kitchen from 9.30 am
for a prompt 10.00 am start in the Retreat Centre Shrine Room.
Please bring some prepared food to the Retreat Centre kitchen for a shared
vegetarian lunch.
There will be tea at 5.00 pm after the closing session.
For
more information please contact:
Chris Ward on 01442 890034 or Alison Moore on 01442 865519 or
metta@petalmoore.net
Visit us at
Buddhacommunity
Click here for more information about our 2010 events
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ALBA EVENTS IN 2010 - DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
We have now fixed the dates for next year's events at Amaravati Retreat Centre.
Details of topics for the year have yet to be finalised, and we will give you
more news as soon as we have it. In the meantime here are the dates for your
2010 diary.
Saturday 6th March
Winter Day of Practice
Led by Alison Moore
Saturday 3rd April
Day of Practice
Led by Chris Ward
Friday 21st - Sunday 23rd May
Weekend workshop retreat
The
Psychology of Good Meditation
Led by Nick Carroll
Saturday 5th June
Day of Practice
Led by Alison Moore
Friday16th – Tuesday 20th July
Five-day retreat
Led by Martin Evans
Saturday 14th August
Day of Practice
Led by Alison Moore
Saturday 18th September
Day of Practice
Led by Martin Evans
Friday 1st - Sunday 3rd October
Weekend retreat
Led by Chris Ward
Saturday 13th November
Day of Practice
Led by Nick Carroll
Saturday 18th December
Day of Practice
Led by Nick Carroll
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GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT ALBA DAYS OF PRACTICE AND RETREATS
Days of Practice – no need to book
Registration begins at 9.30 am for 10.00 am – 5.00 pm (please bring pre-prepared
or ready-made vegetarian food towards a shared lunch)
Retreats – advance booking essential with booking form
Fri 5.30 pm – 4.00 pm on last day
Download a booking form
Or write to: Amaravati Lay Buddhist Association (ALBA), Amaravati Buddhist
Monastery, St Margaret's Lane, Great Gaddesden, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire
HP1 3BZ
For more information about booking, contact Alison Moore on 01442 865519 or
metta@petalmoore.net
Click here for more information about our 2010 events
________________________________________________________________
COMMUNITY
Community is your newsletter, and we welcome contributions on all aspects of
Buddhist practice. Is there a reflection or a memory that you'd like to share
with fellow practitioners? Maybe you've read a Dhamma book that's made a big
impression on you, or even a book with no obvious Buddhist content but in which
you see a clear connection with the Buddha's teachings. Why not review it for
Community? Maybe there's a poem or a drawing that you'd like to offer, or
photographs that recall an unforgettable trip to the Buddhist holy places. Maybe
you have an unanswered question that you'd like to air with other readers.
Please email your submissions to Chris Ward at:
administrator@triplegem.org.uk
Read the most recent issue of Community here
Check out previous issues of Community
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ALBA AND YOU
The Amaravati Lay Buddhist Association is no more nor less than its members and
supporters ... and that includes you!
Every one of you who attends an ALBA event, who subscribes to ALBA's newsletter,
Community, who is a member of our Yahoo! group, ALBA Connections, or who reads
this bulletin, is part of ALBA, and helps to make it what it is. Of course, ALBA
is also a working organisation, and as you're a part of it, you might like to
find out more about
ALBA’s purpose and how it operates.
And if what you read inspires you to become more involved in the day-to-day
organisation of ALBA and its events, we'd be pleased to hear from you. You may
have particular skills to offer, or have a specific need which you think ALBA
might meet. You might want to consider joining our committee in its occasional
meetings or simply to help support our activities in practical ways. Whatever
your interest, just get in touch. Telephone Alison Moore on 01442 86559 or
email me at
metta@petalmoore.net and I'll arrange for one of the committee to contact
you.
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ALBA CONNECTIONS
Do you live a long way from a monastery or a local group? Or are you housebound
or otherwise limited in how much you can get out and about? Would you like to
meet like-minded people in your part of the country? Are you looking for a lift
to the monastery to come to a day of practice? Or would you be prepared to offer
one?
We've set up the ALBA Connections Yahoo! group to enable you to contact each
other directly, for example to discuss Dhamma topics, to support each other's
practice, to make practical arrangements, for example for lifts to events at
Amaravati, or simply to make conversation with Dhamma friends.
We now have over 60 members, and there have already been some lively
discussions. So if you'd like to add a contribution to the debate about Buddhism
and government, to suggest topics you'd like to see covered on ALBA days of
practice, or to start a new discussion, and you're already a member, do visit
the website and join in. And remember, as I've said, you can use the group for
more practical matters; for example to find out if anyone living near you would
like a lift to a monastery next time you're going, or could offer you one, or
simply to share some news or a concern with friends.
If you're not already a member, there are two ways you can join, and both are
very simple. You can join via the website - as it's an invitation-only site you
will need to be approved, but that's just a formality, and approval is
guaranteed. You'll then be able to start receiving and posting messages.
Alternatively, email Alison Moore at
metta@petalmoore.net
and I'll send you an invitation. When you receive it, all you'll need to do to
join is to click on the "Join this group" button at the bottom of the invitation
email.
We look forward to welcoming you.
Join out Yahoo! Group
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TRIPLE GEM – THE BUDDHIST FOUNDATION
Triple Gem has recently transformed from a ‘think tank’ to ‘The Buddhist
Foundation’ and is now a registered company (limited by guarantee). The
directors of the Triple Gem Buddhist Foundation (Chris Ward, Nick Carroll,
Martin Evans and Alison Moore)
have applied
for charitable status and expect this to be granted
within the next few weeks.
The new charitable foundation will have a broader remit and will enable us to
expand our role to include teaching, organising events, and producing Buddhist
teaching materials.
The
Triple Gem website
provides details of our activities.
Visit TripleGem
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THE NETWORK OF BUDDHIST ORGANISATIONS
The Network of Buddhist Organisations (NBO), of which ALBA is a member, has been
active for many years in bringing together Buddhists from all backgrounds and
traditions and in working on behalf of the UK Buddhist community. The NBO has a
growing profile as a national Buddhist organisation that consults with the
diverse range of Buddhist organisations and groups to be found in the UK.
The NBO is currently seeking incorporation as a charity and is making some
changes to its structure and management to enable it to meet the increasingly
complex demands on it time and collective expertise from Government bodies and
other organisations, for example by contributing to educational initiatives and
interfaith forums, as well as by promoting networking and information exchange
between Buddhist groups.
We shall be bringing you regular news of the NBO and have to begin with an
ending, the death of its long-serving, indefatigable and much loved secretary
Sally Masheder last month. She was also a grandmother, a busy general
practitioner in Bristol and very active in both interfaith and in Buddhism,
especially Chan Buddhism. Chris Ward attended her memorial gathering and you can
read an account of it on the
Buddhism in Britain blog which Chris Ward writes for the NBO.
If you would like to learn more about the NBO and its plans, or would be
interested in getting involved, you can find out more from ALBA’s
representatives, Chris Ward
c.ward@triplegem.org.uk or Alison Moore
metta@petalmoore.net.
Visit the NBO
Read Chris Ward's Buddhism in Britain blog
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ONE LIFE
As many of you know, ALBA has close links with the One Life charity that has
been set up to help accommodate, feed and educate the children of Nseleni and
surrounding districts, Kwazulu, South Africa. Many of these are children who are
orphaned by the AIDS/HIV virus or TB and have no way of receiving an education
without the help One Life can offer.
My intention had been to give you this link to One Life's most recent newsletter
last month, however I inadvertently omitted it. Here it is now:
Read One Life's latest newsletter
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PRINT IT OUT AND PASS IT ON
This is the full version of the bulletin which many of you receive by email. If
you know of anyone who would be interested to receive this newsletter but who
doesn't have access to email or to the Internet, do please consider printing out
the full version and passing it on to them. This might be on an individual
basis, between friends, or if you are a member of a local group, for example,
you could pass round a copy at meetings.
I do receive requests for printed copies from time to time, so if you would be
happy to 'buddy up' with one other person and take responsibility for sending
them a copy through the post, let me know on 01442 865519 or
metta@petalmoore.net and I can let you have their contact details.
________________________________________________________________
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE
Sign
up to receive a regular copy of this bulletin in your inbox – just email Alison
Moore at
metta@petalmoore.net and I will add you to the circulation list.
Amaravati Lay
Buddhist Association (ALBA)
01442 865519
metta@petalmoore.net
Visit us at
www.buddhacommunity.org
Visit Amaravati Buddhist Monastery at
www.amaravati.org
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