Issue 2 - June 2025
Contents
- Interview with Gabriel about the Stroud Sangha Support Team
- So what Special Events are coming up?
- New Mitras Brenda and Tim
- Meet Brenda
- Meet Tim
- Stroud Sangha Socials
- Our Weekend on The History of Women In Buddhism Retreat
- Sally's Fundraising for Tiratanaloka
- Aidan's ordination by Vimalacitta
- Resources
Welcome
Welcome to our second occasional newsletter. Its been fun to compile entries from such willing Stroud Sangha members. Reading through it, I am reminded of a conversation about the value of Sangha, between the Buddha and his cousin, and constant companion, Ananda, whose prodigious memory kept these stories for us. Amanda.
'Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling among the Shakyans where there was a town of the Shakyans named Nagaraka. Then the Venerable Ananda approached the Blessed One. Having approached, he paid homage to the Blessed One, sat down to one side and said to him . “Venerable sire, this is half of the holy life, that is, good friendship, good companionship, good comradeship.”
"Not so, Ananda! Not so, Ananda! This is the entire holy life, Ananda, that is, good friendship, good companionship, good comradeship." ' (The Connected Discourses, trans. Bodhi, p. 1524)
Interview with Gabriel about the Stroud Sangha Support Team
Gabriel in Action
We wanted to give a view of what goes on behind the scenes to make our expanding events programme possible, so I interviewed Gabriel, who is the co-ordinator of the Support Team. I started by asking him:
Who are The Stroud Sangha Support Team? I see us as the helpful volunteer elves that set up the environment needed to support the teachers in focussing on doing their teaching.
What specifically does the team do? They provide all the things that people will experience when attending an event. We arrive to an empty hall (whether at The Old Town Hall on a Saturday or St Luke's Therapy Centre Hall) with car loads of stuff! There are the shrine materials (including flowers and foliage prepared beforehand), the meditation cushions, mats, blankets, tea bags, biscuits, Triratna retreat centre leaflets, donation bowl and a charged card machine. The whole room is transformed in as little as 15-20 minutes, by a dedicated crew of usually 6 or 7 people. This involves humping cushions and mats up steps, rearranging tables and chairs, laying out crockery, teas, filling and heating the urn, thoughtful collection, planning and arrangement of flowers, stocking up with leaflets from different centres. This is the material side of what we do.
All of us take a responsibility to be aware of people coming in, and consider their needs. Are we thinking enough about our attendees? Are we welcoming enough? In fact the whole set up, through the session and close down becomes a practice of offering the Dharma with open handedness, providing both the suitable environment and our great teachers.
In addition, there is cohesive administration, future event communications sent out to interested participants, the newsletter etc. This year we have expanded to offering social events, like monthly meals at the Long Table, social walks and practice days, proactively building a sense of Sangha.
How would you like to see things developing further? Personally, I'd like to see the social events structure settle in. We are improving communication, so it will enable people to join events more easily. I would like a building of friendships and practice, for us to be more available to support each other.
What are the difficulties and delights of your role? It takes up time, but once I have made that willing commitment I don't find it a difficulty. One of my pleasures is when we do the “Transference of Merit”, just before we start the group on Saturday. Knowing that for everyone in the Support Group, our setting up is a shared practice of service.
Yes, as part of the Group, I find it important as a shared intention, and not just about me. So Gabriel, what inspires you spiritually? It's hard to summarise, but it's about interconnectedness. In a non-Buddhist phrase I would describe it as the Grace in All Things. In Buddhist terms, the radiant Buddha Nature that we all share. That inspires me.
Are you holding this role for a set time? I think any group benefits from the organiser being moved around, to prevent a hierarchy developing where there doesn't need to be one. This creates a healthier egalitarian dynamic. The only natural hierarchy is that the ordained Members have the teaching role.
Do we need more volunteers? It is great to swop things around, and for others to have a chance to experience that feeling of giving. It gives the group a chance to get to know each other better, and to take ones practice considerably beyond meditating. It grounds it into the everyday, even if lugging cushions around!
Is there anything else you would like to add? I was a ambivalent about this article because I didn't want people to feel they were being managed.
What I like about Saturday class is that it is a Drop In session. So someone could come once and try it, drop in very occasionally, or come regularly. Whatever suits them. I think it important that there is no pressure or expectation. There is a trusting of personal process. Yes, its a very open handed offering, which makes it very special. And meditating with other people makes it easier to stay focussed.
And to actually stay mediating on my chair. Sometimes at home I can find I am up making a cup of tea before I realise what I am doing! Maybe in the future we could offer shared zoom sits, to help us focus at home. To sit at home and still have a sense of Sangha.
Thank you Gabriel
So what Special Events are coming up?
Vimalacitta gives us a glimpse of summer Sangha events for your diary, more details to follow in the Stroud Sangha WhatsApp groups.
June 26th – 19:00 to 21:15- Sangha Night - “Buddhism for here and now” Talk by Nagabodhi at St Luke's Health Centre, Cainscross Road.
July 5th – 11:45 (straight after the usual class) a ritual send off for Aidan who will be leaving Stroud to be ordained into the Triratna Buddhist Order. Send Off held at the Old Town Hall in The Shambles.
July 13th 10:00 to 16:00 Dharma Day festival. A day celebrating the teaching of the Buddha with a talk in the morning by Dhammarati with a Mitra ceremony in the afternoon. Held at St Luke's Health Centre, Cainscross Road.
July 31st - 19:00 to 21:15 Sangha Night welcoming to the Sangha our new order member! St Luke's Health Centre, Cainscross Road.
New Mitras Brenda and Tim
In February 2025 two more people took the step of becoming Mitras. Becoming a ‘Mitra’ is a deepening of your friendship with the Triratna Buddhist Order, which can occur when your commitment to its ideals, values and practices has reached a certain level. Mitras are people who have made what we call a ‘provisional’ commitment to practising the Dharma within our spiritual community.
Meet Brenda
Name a special moment of the last year.
Overlooking the Grand Canyon in Arizona and feeling the wonder and awe for this amazing planet.
What makes you happy?
Walking barefoot by the sea in the sunshine. Seeing the first spring flowers.
Name a book or film that has been significant for you.
Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda. This book introduced me to the magic and wonder of the Indian mystical spiritual life.
Do you feel different after becoming a Mitra?
It has been very meaningful to make the commitment to deepen my spiritual path through becoming a Buddhist practitioner. I am very grateful for having a sangha around me to support my practice.
How does your being a Mitra affect your work? Or how does your work affect being a Mitra?
Because I work in palliative care, it is impossible not to be aware of the truth of impermanence and of suffering. I would say my patients and their families are frequently my teachers in
understanding these truths. Compassion comes naturally in this situation, both for those affected by terminal disease and for their loved ones. I know that demonstrating this compassion helps others.
How long before that have you been involved in Triratna, and what brought you to it?
I first heard about Triratna at least twenty years ago. Since then I have had a friend and two work colleagues become Mitras. All encouraged me to attend classes.
Finally I took their advice and in 2018 I became a regular attendee at my local centre at that time, the Birmingham Triratna centre.
I decided I would ask to be a Mitra after completing Year One study. This took 6 years for various reasons to occur however eventually I have made it!
What was your favourite holiday?
Since a youngster I have had a strong connection to India. In recent years I have visited most years and always feel at home there.
Name a treasured possession.
My claddagh ring. It was a gift from my mom when I was a teen. It symbolises love, loyalty and friendship, all beautiful qualities to me, as well as a representing my Irish heritage.
It became more even more treasured since the passing of my mother.
What do you do for fun?
Spending time with family and friends, walking in nature, travel, and when I really need a laugh, watching Friends.
Favourite poem?
I like many of Rumi's.
Meet Tim
Name a special moment of the last year.
My eldest daughter started secondary school. It’s lovely seeing her growing into herself and becoming more independent;
at the same time it’s poignant for us as parents that she doesn’t need us quite as much.
What makes you happy?
Hearing my children laugh. There’s often a lot of hilarity around our dinner table in the evenings and I (mostly) treasure the chaos!
Name a book or film that has been significant for you.
There are so many! I’m currently reading The Animals of Farthing Wood to my youngest daughter. My mum read the same book to me when I was her age.
These heirloom stories, passed from one generation to the next, are particularly special.
Do you feel different after becoming a Mitra?
Not particularly, in all honesty. But the sangha has become a vital part of my life so it felt right and good to make that commitment more explicit.
I’m extremely thankful to have been invited into this wonderful group. The cards I was given on the Mitra ceremony day are on display in my meditation space,
and are a constant reminder of the support and friendship I receive from the sangha.
How does your being a Mitra affect your writing?
I didn’t become a Buddhist to be a better writer, but I think the two play well together. Meditation has helped improve my focus and equanimity,
two attributes that are useful to a writer. In turn, the act of writing itself can be very meditative and so feeds back into my practice.
Likewise how does being a Mitra affect being a father?
I hope it helps make me more patient and understanding, but you’d have to ask my children! Parenthood is a profound practice!
What was your favourite holiday?
Last year we took our daughters Inter-railing to France, Italy and Switzerland. It was a wonderful adventure.
Name a treasured possession
The mechanical pencil my mum gave me before she died, which I write with every day.
Favourite poem?
The Lake Isle of Innisfree by WB Yeats.
Stroud Sangha Socials
Enjoying monthly Sunday morning walks
Here in Stroud we have a few branches to our Triratna tree: regular Saturday morning meditation classes, monthly Sangha nights, mitra study groups, 3 and 6 week classes, Going For Refuge groups (for those seeking ordination), and extended monthly practice days following the Saturday morning meditation. With so many of us involved now, it seemed only natural to find more ways to spend time together. To extend the naturally occurring friendships over coffee in Stroud's cafes after the sessions on Saturday.
So... now we are offering slightly different ways to be in each others company. If you follow the “TSS Social” WhatsApp group, there are two more social activities to choose from. One Friday evening a month, we eat at The Long Table in Brimscombe Mills; usually the first Friday of the month. We also organize a local walk usually around the third Sunday of each month. Our first walk, in March, was on Uley Bury, our second in April, was through the bluebells of Randwick Woods, the third being through the Sapperton Valley. In the coming months we might suggest slightly longer walks with bring and share snacks, or packed lunches. For each of these social events, (the dinners and the walks), there will have voting polls to sign up to. That way we know who and how many will attend, and send out meeting point instructions. By accessing the names of those interested you can arrange car sharing.
So why do we have these events that are not exactly about meditation and the Dharma? In addition to people being social by nature, it is another way to develop spiritually like minded friendships that are so central in Buddhist Sangha practice. It is a chance to get to know one another in a different way and increase the closeness within our Buddhist community. Yes, it is special to have an opportunity to experience the wonder of meditating together, learning the Dharma from our experienced Triratna Order Members, and sometimes it is just kind of nice to hang out together. Dario
Our Weekend on The History of Women In Buddhism Retreat
Nine women from our Stroud Sangha, including Order members, Mitras and Mitras in training for ordination, attended this weekend retreat at Tiratanaloka Women’s Ordination Training Centre in February. The centre is situated in the very beautiful valley of Talybont on Usk in the Brecon Beacons. We were treated to clear blue spring skies, frosty mornings and bird song heralding the transition into spring once again.
Tiratanaloka centre nestled in the Breacon Beacons
The retreat focused on a few of the early women disciples of the Buddha who practised and became nuns during his lifetime. It is remarkable that the cultural and societal challenges for women of that era did not deter them. It magnifies for us the strength of their faith to practice the Dharma. They were revolutionary in negotiating their position as “bhikkhunis” (ordained Buddhist nuns) in the Sangha.
Some of these early women disciples who “went forth” are documented as having been significant in the Buddha's life. The most prominent being Mahapajapati Gotami, the Buddha's aunt and stepmother (following the death of his mother after childbirth). She is reported to be the first woman to make a request to the Buddha to become a nun. Many women followed her initiative to go forth into living a renunciant's life and to subsequently become ordained. It is powerful, and is still relevant, to hear these women’s voices speaking to us across time.
Shrine representation of early Buddhist nun
Unfortunately, there is still discrimination towards Buddhist women practitioners throughout the world, in fact in many countries Buddhist women ordination is not permitted. If you are interested in knowing more on this we recommend the following books:
“First Buddhist Women” by Susan Murcott (Parallax Press)
“I Hear Her Words” by Alice Collett (Windhorse Publications)
The good news is, a strong Women's Order in Triratna UK is creating the valuable conditions for many women to develop their Dharma practice in a dedicated environment, and to pursue ordination.
So what of the future? Tiratanaloka has long needed to occupy larger premises so that the team can adequately respond to the ever increasing number of women asking to embark on ‘Going For Refuge’ (GFR) ordination training. New premises have now been found. All being well the purchase will conclude over the next few months. Further funds are now being raised to cover the costs of transforming and developing both the property, and the grounds.
With much deep felt gratitude and thanks to all involved for their commitment. Hilary
Tiratanaloka Retreat Centre https://tiratanaloka.org.uk/
Sally's Fundraising for Tiratanaloka
Sally and Mitra group friends
Sally Whitman was a founder member of our Stroud Women’s Mitra Group. She sadly died in September 2023.
For those who never met her I expect you’ve heard her name mentioned. Sally was such a memorable person – full of life with a passion for birds and music, she also had a growing love of the Dharma. During her last illness her strong friendships supported her well, notably with Amanda and Hilary. We knew that Sally enjoyed and wrote poetry but during her visits to help Sally, Hilary was surprised to discover that in fact Sally had created a substantial collection. Hilary kindly offered to organize a publication of these poems to be printed quickly.
Sally was already in the hospice when she was able to see and hold her lovely book. She generously suggested the book sell as a fundraising venture for GreenPeace and for Tiratanaloka. We are now hoping that copies can be sold within our local Sangha to help the exciting project of establishing the new and much needed centre for training women for ordination.
Sally’s poems are great too! She made a big impact in her life with many friends who loved her. If you didn’t have the opportunity to meet her I hope her lovely book will bring you a flavour of her courage, humour and depth of feeling.
The books will be available to buy at the next Sangha Gathering on July 13th. Any donation towards the Tiratanaloka Fund on the day would be welcomed. For a book any donation over £10 (softback), or £15 (hardback) would be very much appreciated. Thank you. Khemini
Aidan's Ordination by Vimalacitta
Aidan enjoying the weather in his garden
You probably know Aidan from the Saturday team. He’s our regular shrine builder and an all-round solid supporter of the Triratna Sangha in Stroud. He and his partner, Rebecca, were the first to open their home for Sangha activities—curry and puja evenings—several years ago, helping to form the kernel of a practising community here in Stroud.
Aidan has a deep love of the Dharma, a passion for philosophy, and a mind like a TARDIS! His regular practice of preparing the shrine for Saturday morning classes reflects his heartfelt connection to the Buddha’s teachings. If you haven’t read his article in the last newsletter on shrine building, it’s well worth checking out.
For many years, he’s been preparing for ordination—balancing practice, Sangha friendships, and retreats without neglecting his responsibilities as a father. No easy feat!
Now, he’ll be going on retreat at Padmaloka Retreat Centre in Norfolk, where his preceptor will guide him through the ordination ceremony. There, he’ll receive a new name, embodying a Buddhist quality that is potential in him and no doubt all ready showing, as well as the Ten Precepts as lifelong guidelines. It’s a joyous occasion—and a meaningful step for the Stroud Sangha.
To mark this, we’ll hold a simple ritual to send him off after the second session of the Saturday class (10:45–11:45) on 5th July We’ll also welcome him back at a special evening on Sangha Night, 31st July, at St. Luke’s, where he’ll share something of his retreat experience. Everyone is invited to both
Resources
Click on the links below:
Our Website: https://www.triratna-stroud.com/
More widespread Triratna information on retreats in person or online: https://www.goingonretreat.com/
Triratna talks: London Buddhist Centre talks on Meditation, Buddhism & Yoga https://www.londonbuddhistcentre.com/
Free Buddhist Audio - talks on buddhism, mindfulness and meditation https://www.freebuddhistaudio.com/
Triratna books: Windhorse Publications - Books on Mindfulness, Meditation & Buddhism https://www.windhorsepublications.com/