Here is a copy of a reporting in that I prepared for our AHS Quarterly Journal (called Tendrel). As the journal is only available to members of the Awakened Heart Sangha, I thought I'd share this more widely amongst my non AHS member friends:
Another three months slips by almost unnoticed. They say
that time fly’s when you are having fun! This has been an activity packed
period for me, including a three-week trip away from the Hermitage during
September and October when I combined some holiday with Lama’s teaching day at
the Shambhala Centre in London.
The first week was spent in my home town of Royston in
Hertfordshire. It was great to stay with an old school friend Fran, and visit my old
haunts. I had lunch with my sister Jackie, her grown-up daughter Kylie and my three-year old
great nephew, whom I had not met before. It was great to see what a good mother
my niece had turned into – so grown up!
My second week I spent in Cambridge, staying with my old
Triratna community. I went to the Cambridge Buddhist centre each morning to meditate
with old friends and then spent the day catching up with more old friends. I
really love Cambridge: the river, the colleges, the museums. I am really pleased
that I have managed to maintain my connections there.
During this week I visited a middle school to give a talk to
a group of about 50 thirteen-year olds. I had bumped into their RE teacher
about 6 months ago and he invited me to visit the next time I was in town.
Buddhist robes do tend to turn you into a walking bill-board. We did a short
meditation session with the kids and they asked some very interesting and funny
questions, including: “what would happen iff the next Dalai Lama is born into a
Muslim family?” A good question indeed!
My third week was spent in Spittalfields, London with a
Triratna friend called Paola, who used to come to a group I led in Milton
Keynes. She always puts me up when I am in town. We went to visit the Japanese
section at the British Museum. The quality of some of the Buddhist sculptures
was breath-taking – really refined. I have to confess to preferring this
far-eastern aesthetic to the Tibetan one. We also visited another old friend Shirley (ex MK Group) at
the Jamyang Centre where she is living and volunteering, good to see how other
groups do things.
The day before Lama’s talks (both excellent & available
on Youtube) I visited Serlingma at her home in London to give her the Zamcho
Genyen precepts, the same ordination that I hold. This falls into a grey area
between householder and monastic ordination, combining the most essential
elements of monastic training but without many of the minor rules contained in
the Vinaya.
My ordination was carried out by a fully ordained nun called
Ani Migme Chodron and it is unusual for one Zamcho Genyen to ordain another as
I did with Serlingma. Lama Shenpen had asked me to seek permission to do this,
so that we could explore a wider range of lifestyles within the AHS. Ani Migme
obtained permission for this from her preceptor, Thrangu Rinpoche, for which I
am very grateful. It was wonderful to watch Serlingma making her commitments
and I felt honoured to act in that capacity (photo attached).
Arriving back at the Hermitage I bought myself a car, only
the second car I have ever owned. I hope it proves more reliable than my first
one, which was a money pit with a leaky windscreen, meaning the carpets were
always wet and sometimes grew mushrooms! Fingers crossed. This new car will
allow me to get out and about a bit and enjoy some independence. This feels
important to me after one year living at the Hermitage. We are a bit isolated!
More importantly, this will allow me to get out and about from January to start a Liverpool Meditation Group, a Manchester Meditation Group and a Leeds Meditation Group. Plans for these are coming
together and I feel very excited about this project.
Between now and January we have the Vajrasattva retreat and
a Mind & Body retreat with Elizabeth Callahan. I will then pause for
Christmas pudding before taking a three-week solitary retreat. I am enjoying
the darkening winter days and looking forward to my semi-hibernation in my man
cave.
Love to all,
Jayasiddhi
