Kaspa & I have been watching the situation with Omicron in the UK closely, and have taken the decision to close the temple to the public for a little while. It feels important to do our bit to help reduce infections nationwide and to help our already-struggling NHS.

We will still offer our twice-weekly Zoom sessions from the shrine room, 7.30pm Wednesdays and 9.30am Saturdays, and all our previous practice can be found at our Youtube channel. If you’re local you can still join us for garden walking meditation on Saturdays at 9am or at our vigil in town every Tuesday at midday. If there’s anything we can do to help you with your practice from here, let us know. Refuge is more important than ever. 

Our Bodhi day will go ahead as below.

Finally, I’ve started writing my ‘Letters from Satya’ again – with stories about temple life, dogs, cake etc with the intention of making you FEEL BETTER – find out more & sign up here. Go gently out there,
Namo Amida Bu

Satya

• 0900 Garden Practice – in person 
• 0930 Practice in the shrine room – via Zoom
• 1030 Talk: Green Awakening – via Zoom (use the same Zoom link as for weekly practice)
• 1200 XR Vigil for the Earth at Belle Vue Island in Malvern – in person
• 1315 Bring a packed lunch and join us to eat – not going ahead
• 1400 Mindful Walk – meet outside the temple – in person

The new name for Amida Mandala is… BRIGHT EARTH.

After stepping back from the Amida Order in November, Kaspa & Satya will continue to run the Malvern temple with a changed name to reflect our heart values.

‘Bright’ to signify Amitabha’s golden light, streaming all over everything. To remind us that this light is always present, whether we are able to open our eyes to it or not. To help us to see the world around us as illuminated. 

‘Earth’ to remind us of our dependence on this magnificent, beautiful planet. To encourage us to practice outside and in the temple garden. More than anything, to inspire us to take courageous action for the Earth’s behalf – as eco-activists, as individual consumers, speaking up for her, mobilising with others, and living on her as gently as we can. 

As we move forwards with our new name, lots of things will stay the same. We’ll still offer Buddhist practice twice a week, offer other events and do ministry in the community. We will still be financially and legally supported by the Amida Trust. We will still have the nembutsu as the heart of our practice.

In other ways, we will be very different. We are no longer members of the Amida Order. Instead we have joined with other Pureland Buddhist teachers to form the Amitabha Fellowship, where we will receive both support and accountability. Our Buddhist practice sessions are simpler. We want to become more accessible, and for it to be easier for people from different walks of life to feel welcome. We feel more able to bring more of ourselves into our work, and into serving our fellow fallible humans. 

We hope that you’ll come along with us. Whether you read our newsletter, or join us on Zoom, or practice in the temple garden with us, or come and stay in our guest room, we hope that we can continue to reflect some of the light that has been beamed at us over the years. We remain grateful for our time with the Order, and we are excited about a new chapter. 

Namo Amitabha,
Satya & Kaspa & all the temple animals
*
Blessed by Amitabha’s light
May we care for all living things
And the holy Earth