Reading Buddhist Priory

I went for my walk along the canal last Sunday. The brambles along the path were heaving with ripe blackberries and I wished I had a container with me. The following day I met up with two monastic friends from other Buddhist orders and we had a day out at Avebury. I hope to soon acquire a simple digital camera so that I can put more photos on here with my news.

On Tuesday I made it round to the local swimming pool in the late afternoon. The pool is less than 10 mins walk, though I must admit I drove as it was pouring down with rain. It is a good facility and I plan to take more advantage of it.

We had a day retreat here on Wednesday, including a Precepts Reading Ceremony in the afternoon. So it made sense to have a look at one or two of the Precepts in the tea and class that we had at the end of the afternoon. During the hour before lunch we did working meditation , getting various jobs done around the Priory including re-potting some house plants, sorting some invoices and washing the Priory car. I really recommend these day retreats. We usually have them one Wednesday and one Saturday each month and it is fine to come for just part of the day. It is a very good opportunity to immerse yourself in the practice for a day, in the company of others in the Reading sangha.

On Thursday morning I got the hall floor fixed - thanks Philip! - and hope it will not be too long before I can get the remaining new carpet down.

The Priory office is at the front of the house, south facing, and I can already see some autumn colours on the leaves of one of the trees in our front garden. The hazel is covered in nuts, which will provide me with a good supply when they are ripe. Perhaps I will take some containers to the canal this weekend and harvest some blackberries.