A message from the lay community associated with Chithurst Buddhist Monastery: A Kathina festival is scheduled to take place at Chithurst Buddhist Monastery on Sunday 19 November. Everyone is welcome to attend! Kathina is a ceremony initiated by the lay community, when everyone has a chance to celebrate the very special relationship between the monastic and lay aspects of the Fourfold Assembly. The Lord Buddha knew what he was doing when he set up this relationship more than 2500 years ago. By making the monastic community materially dependent on the generosity of his lay disciples, he ensured that his teachings would remain alive through the medium of human relationship. When this relationship is infused with generosity and goodwill on both sides, it becomes a very potent vehicle for Awakening. The core values that are celebrated by the Kathina tradition are those that make living together in harmony possible; qualities like patience, moral conduct, kindness and empathy. In our otherwise confusing, competitive and restless world, it is so important to remember that our own well-being cannot be secure unless it is founded on us practising benevolence to others. The programme is as follows (subject to change): Arrive any time after 8.00 am 10.00 am – Paritta Chanting 10.15 am – Rice Pindapata and Meal Offering 1.30 pm – Kathina Ceremony (requesting the Five Precepts, Paritta Chanting, offering of the Kathina Cloth) 2.30 pm (approximately) – Dhamma Talk You are most welcome to participate, and help with the working together of everyone involved, encompassing the true essence of the Kathina celebration: • By attending the Kathina on Sunday 19 November. • By attending a planning meeting a t the monastery at 1.30pm on Sunday 28 October to discuss practical ways of helping. • By helping t o organise the da y, offering food, decorations (flags and flowers) or by offering your time during the weekend of the 18 and 19 November. A downloadable PDF of the Kathina brochure is available here. You can also download the timetable as well as the text to the chanting done by the lay community. Other information will be posted here closer to the day. Please join us! Please note: Because of the Kathina ceremony, the usual Sunday 7.30 pm guided meditation is cancelled.

Monthly Lay Forums typically take place at the monastery on the first Sunday of the month, from 2.00-4.30 pm in the Shrine Room of the main house. The next Lay Forum will be held on Sunday 3 December. Topic – Metta Bhavana (Cultivation of Loving Kindness) Date and time – Sunday 3 December from 2:00-4:30 pm Place – the ground floor of the main house The Lay Forum consists of a short ten-minute meditation, followed by a talk by a lay person, then a talk by a monk or nun. Each of these two talks will last approximately fifteen minutes. After this, there is some informal discussion in small groups of around five people for forty-five minutes, followed by a larger group sharing for thirty minutes. We usually chant one of the reflections at the end, finishing with a cup of tea and chocolate until 4.30 pm. The Lay Forum is open to all, with an emphasis on valuing your own extensive life experience and aspirations regardless of your familiarity with Buddhism, though committed practitioners are especially welcome. Some people may wish to stay on to meet with a monk or nun for the weekly teatime Q&A at 5.00 pm in the ground floor of the main house. The weekly guided meditation follows at 7.30 pm, in the Dhamma Hall. The guided meditation will also be offered as a livestream event. Please visit our livestream webpage to acquire the link. As always, people are very welcome to come earlier in the day and participate in the midday meal offering, which is at 11.30am from late March through October. If you wish to receive the monastery newsletter, along with regular updates about Cittaviveka, please visit the Subscription Registration page of this website.

Use of the Dhamma Hall Visitors are now welcome to visit the monastery from early morning until the end of the group practice session that evening, i.e. evening pujas, guided meditations, Dhamma talks and midnight vigils. ​ We ask people to refrain from visiting the monastery if they are feeling unwell with symptoms of respiratory illnesses. Sharing the Midday Meal Offering Now that it is British Summer Time, the midday meal offering is at 10.30 am. Making Food Offerings The arrangements for people wishing to offer prepared dishes for the meal will remain the same, taking dishes directly to the kitchen. Other offerings of requisites can also be offered at the house or in the Dhamma Hall. Dhamma Teachings Guided meditations take place each week on Sunday evenings at 7.30 pm. Dhamma talks are offered on the lunar quarters. You can freely download a calendar showing the lunar days by using this link. We intend to live stream the weekly guided meditation, as well as the Dhamma talk on the full and new moons. Monastery Routine Please visit our website to view the monastery's daily routine. As always, please regularly check our website for changes or updates. Also, please consider signing up for our e-newsletter and announcements. You can do this by visiting the Subscribe to Newsletter page on our website.

The weekly Sunday teatime Q&A with a senior monk or nun will take place on the ground floor of the main house starting at 5.00 pm. Everyone is welcome to stay afterwards and join in with the weekly guided meditation at 7.30 pm in the Dhamma Hall.

The 2023 calendar is available for download from the forestsangha.org website. A hard copy of the calendar can be requested using the same link.

On Saturday 6 August 2022, George Sharp passed away peacefully at his home in north London, aged 89. From 1972 to 1995 he served as Chairman of The English Sangha Trust, and since then has remained a close friend and supporter of our sangha. In late 1976 he initiated the invitation to Ajahn Chah to come to England and establish the first monastery in the West in the tradition of the Forest Sangha. George was formerly an art director, as well as being an award winning artist, painter and illustrator. His work includes illustrations for James Clavell’s Thrump-O-Moto and M.M. Kaye’s Kipling. Here follows a brief account of George and his initial efforts to establish a Forest Sangha monastery in Britain, as recounted by Luang Por Sumedho: I was very impressed by George’s understanding of what was needed, that we weren’t going to be put in an impossible position of just becoming meditation teachers or writing newsletters. His whole emphasis was guided by the wisdom of Ajahn Maha Boowa and Ajahn Paññavaddho regarding the establishment of a forest monastery where the development of a bhikkhu could be made possible within the European setting. That impressed me so much that I encouraged George to come and visit Thailand and to meet Luang Por Chah, because I thought that he should at least come and see what our life is like. Living in a city townhouse is different from living in the Thai Forest tradition. But if George came to Wat Pah Pong in Ubon, then he would see for himself: ‘Is this what you really want?’

From time to time, there is space for a lay person who wishes to deepen their understanding and practice of Buddhism by living within our monastic setting and having the opportunity to stay as a Long-Term Lay- Resident (LTLR) at Cittaviveka Buddhist Monastery. Long-Term Lay Residents follow the schedules and daily routine of the monastery. This involves taking part in the life of the community and regular periods of meditation, work, chores, and occasionally having a solitary retreat time. They are expected to have some basic experience of meditation and mindfulness practice. We are looking for a woman who is interested to take up such a LTLR position at Cittaviveka — in the role of the nuns’ guest assistant and housekeeper for the guest-related buildings (Aloka site). Applicants should be female, due to available accommodation. The role would include: ▪ Overseeing the house-keeping of the Aloka guest cottage, and related buildings ▪ Having good household skills and being able to identify maintenance problems ▪ Caring for heating and utility areas ▪ Working independently and as part of a team of volunteers and monastics with responsibility for care-taking and maintenance; in case there is a LTLR gardener and/or a work-nun resident as well, the house-keeping responsibilities can be shared accordingly ▪ Planning the guest situation, and responding to guest applications by email; the senior nun at Cittaviveka will be the mentoring nun ▪ Receiving female guests and explaining to them the monastic site, basic protocol and schedule ▪ Looking after a small group of female guests (up to 3 or 4) who are staying at Aloka guesthouse; ▪ Supervising guests doing basic household tasks (chores) in a safe way ▪ Assisting with some clerical duties such as record keeping and safety documentation ▪ Undertaking to offer approx. 30 hours of service per week ▪ Being reliable, physically and mentally fit and robust Applicants will need to demonstrate they have the right to live in the UK through having a current valid passport and, where required, a visa. We aim to have this role covered in May/June 2022; there will be a proper transmission time. A suitable applicant would be invited to stay at the monastery for a period of about 2-3 months during the coming months, when space is available. Following a trial period of three months, the successful applicant may be invited to stay for one year initially; this will be reviewed every three months. This is a volunteer, residential position, available from May 2022. If you are interested, email your CV and a covering letter to office@cittaviveka.org Also, you can speak to Ajahn Cittapala at the monastery.

From time to time, there is space for a lay person who wishes to deepen their understanding and practice of Buddhism by living within our monastic setting and having the opportunity to stay as a long-term resident at Cittaviveka Buddhist Monastery. Long-term residents follow the schedules and daily routine of the monastery. This involves taking part in the life of the community, including regular periods of meditation, work, chores, and occasionally having a period of solitary retreat. They are expected to have some basic experience of meditation and mindfulness practice. We are looking for someone with gardening and maintenance skills to take on the role as our gardener, that is, taking responsibility for the appearance of the garden areas of Rocana and Aloka (the buildings where the women’s community dwell), looking after garden equipment and hand tools, and working with volunteers. Also, this role includes some help with maintaining the buildings where the female guests are living. Due to available accommodation, applicants should be female. The role would include: ▪ Helping to take care of the buildings where the female guests are staying ▪ Having good household skills and being able to identify maintenance problems ▪ Working independently and as part of a team of volunteers and monastics with responsibility for grounds and maintenance ▪ Being able to identify plants and be knowledgeable about plant care ▪ Digging, planting and weeding flower beds and borders, mowing the lawns ▪ Pruning shrubs ▪ Applying nutrients to plants and watering ▪ Cleaning and maintaining hand tools and equipment ▪ Caring for garden utility areas (garden shed, compost bays etc.) ▪ Supervising experienced and inexperienced volunteers doing basic gardening tasks ▪ Implementing safe work procedures ▪ Assisting with some clerical duties such as record keeping and safety documentation ▪ Undertaking to offer approximately 30 hours of service per week ▪ Being physically fit and robust Applicants will need to demonstrate they have the right to live in the UK through having a current valid passport and, where required, a visa. We would invite a suitable applicant to stay at the monastery for a period of up to 3 months. Following a trial period of 3 months, the successful applicant may be invited to stay for one year initially. This will be reviewed every 3 months. This is a volunteer residential position, available from May 2022. If you are interested, email your CV and a covering letter to office@cittaviveka.org, or you can speak to Ajahn Cittapala at the monastery.