From Venerable Ajahn Khemadhammo

I've deliberately delayed what should have been the December newsletter in order to make it a New Year offering and get me out of having to rush to do another before my annual pilgrimage to Thailand and Wat Pah Pong which begins on January 12th. For those of you who receive this by post there should be in the same envelope a version of the Buddhist calendar that I produce each year. Which version you get depends on whether you're Thai or either in prison or an ANGULIMALA member, or neither Thai nor in prison nor a member of ANGULIMALA. Basically, there is one version in Thai, another in English and a third especially for prisoners and ANGULIMALA members. If you want a different version to the one you've got or any more, just let me know. And to increase their kilesa potential, they also come in three different colours.

I've intentionally kept them relatively simple. The ANGULIMALA ones have just the dates of the three festivals that we've agreed with the Prison Service that Buddhist inmates in the U.K. should be permitted to observe. And the Thai and English versions have the main Theravada Buddhist festivals. I haven't bothered to indicate when the Buddhist year begins nor have I attempted to mark and name the months. It should be clear enough if I mention that although you might expect the Buddhist year to commence after Vesaka Puja - after all we do count the Buddhist Era by the years from the Buddha's passing - in fact it begins after the Rainy Season with the advent of the Cold Season, so we refer to the passing of years by the number of rains that have gone, and each month ends with the Full moon. The Uposatha days on the New moon, Full moon and Eighth days are traditionally occasions when devout lay people observe Eight Precepts and make merit.

I shall be away from January 12th for three weeks, returning on the 31st. During that time, unfortunately, there will be no monks here and not much going on, although the regular Monday and Friday evening meditation sittings will continue.

Apart from attending the ceremonies and meetings marking the fifth anniversary on January 16th of Venerable Ajahn Chah's death, I have only a few ideas of what and where else in Thailand I might be going, but I hope to tell you all about where I've been and what I've been up to when I get back.

Just as it was in his twenty-ninth year that the unexpected encounter with the four "divine messengers", an old man, a sick man, a dead man and a wandering holy man, prompted Prince Siddhattha to renounce his home and position and commence a committed and unswerving search for Enlightenment, so for us certain timely brushes with reality can be "divine messengers" that remind us of our predicament and encourage us to get a move on with our practice. This is how I like to think of the milestones we pass along life's way, the birthdays and special anniversaries and the death and rebirth of one year and another. These are events to dig you in the ribs and demand "Another year gone and what have you done? Another year less and what are you doing and going to do with what's less, and less?"

Fortunately, the teachings of the Buddha are ageless addressing as they do the flaws and imperfections that have characterised this world, so far as we can tell, since time immemorial. As well as kilesa, meaning mental flaw or defilement, there is another important term to pause over and explore for a while and that is sankhara. According to the context this word may have slightly differing shades of meaning and like so many Pali Buddhist terms requires some care in the translation. I am not a scholar but I have been used to practising Buddhism for some time and in my practice I am as accustomed to observing sankhara as I am kilesa. Casually, when we refer to something as sankhara, we tend to translate it as a "conditioned" thing or things, which is all right, but not entirely accurate. The other word that you see used quite often is "formation" which is technically rather better but doesn't always put across quite the right message. Formation suggests not only something that has been formed, but also something which is in a continuously active state of forming, e.g. a formation of geese flying through the air; what it doesn't quite get across is the unstable and hence unsatisfactory nature of everything that depends on something else, nor the fact that this forming conditions more forming and that there is nothing static, stable or independent about sankhara. Almost everything then is regarded as sankhara: karma, mental phenomena and practically all states of mind, all the physical manifestations of this world, indeed the very universe itself. It's an important concept to bear in mind because it takes you out of the trap into which ignorance and misunderstanding are tumbling you over and over again. That trap where you believe yourself, your experiences, this world and everything you know to be real, lasting, stable and a source of pleasure and happiness. If you admit that what should be happy isn't and when you can see the transitory nature of things, how unsatisfactory and insubstantial they are, then remember sankhara.

But is everything sankhara? Fortunately not, we'd be in a right pickle if it were. Don't forget the Buddha saying that when he was still the Bodhisatta he asked himself why, when he was subject to birth, ageing, sickness, death, suffering and defilement, he continued to pursue things of a like nature and then decided that he must look for something radically and entirely different. Having found it and become the Buddha he confirmed that there is an unborn, unbecome, unmade and unformed and so escape from the born, become, made and formed is possible.

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The front page picture was taken during filming here for a programme in a series for schools called "Taking Issue". Our contribution which was also filmed inside Wandsworth prison is in the first programme entitled "Does God Exist?". It goes out on BBC2 on January 8th at 11.40 am.

The recent ANGULIMALA Workshop when we looked at Violence and what the Dhamma had to say about that and how it could help us deal with it was very good. My latest plan for improving the training of Buddhist prison chaplains is for our workshops to have three essential components: the 'report in' as usual in the morning; a session on the Dhamma in the afternoon; and later in the afternoon a session on some prison topic - for instance, for next time a Buddhist prison officer will be speaking and advising on practical prison matters and later on in the year I have a speaker from Broadmoor lined up.

We had an excellent Tort Papah in November even though a few, possibly afraid of being stranded here, hurried off when the snow started. There's a bit more on that below. For all the hard work, kindness and generosity - ANUMODANA!

Now it only remains for me to wish you all peace, happiness and prosperity for the New Year. Take care!

It was a cold, grey morning on Sunday, November 24th. We started the day at Wat Pah Santidhamma by struggling to erect the Airshelter, our huge inflatable tent: Luangpor was in charge, helped by Tahn Dhammabhojo, Suvit, his attendant, Henry, Moo and Richard. Rosemary and Maureen taking care of the interior arrangements. The tent had to be set up on the carpark this time, the field being too soft and wet after so much rain. As a result all our usual parking spaces were lost but luckily Albert, our BDF Secretary, had exercised his diplomatic skills: this gave us the use of Hampton Wood carpark, just across the road - many thanks, Albert and Warwickshire Wildlife Trust!

The tent was hardly up when people started to arrive: the first of them two large coachloads of students from Birmingham, brought by Supawan Green. Next was Oot Charoenpanich with her friends from London and Scotland; then Yod and Nid Pongsawang who led the group from Nottingham. The extra Papah tree was a nice surprise - actually a banana tree with offerings attached, and also the group led by Cheed, Mrs. S. Helmy of Gloucester who brought it. Others who came included the regulars who normally attend the temple at different times and usually manage to miss each other; on this day for once their visits coincided and it was a good opportunity to chat and make merit together.

We started the ceremony by chanting and paying homage to the Triple Gem. Then the lay people requested the Five Precepts. The almsround followed, and after it everyone shared the meal. Then came the offering of the Papah, the offering of Requisites to the Sangha. The response was in the form of another kind of nourishment - some Dhamma. The first desana or teaching was given in English - mixed with a little North-Eastern Thai - by Luangpor Khemadhammo. The second was by Tahn Dhammabhojo (Tahn Maha) in the Central Thai language. He had made a special trip from Thailand to be with us that day. We were very grateful. Thank you very much for coming Tahn Maha, and we hope we will see you again next year.

At the time of writing this report the total offering stands at Ł1812. 72p and DM90.

Before leaving, the Birmingham students helped to deflate the Airshelter, fold it and put it away neatly. Many thanks.

The Papah was a great success in spite of the snow and adverse weather. It was obvious that everyone, Thais, Brits, Burmese, and others, was very happy and contented and proud of the merit they made together. Papah Samakki (‘samakki’ means ‘harmony’ and ‘co-operation’) was therefore a fitting name for the occasion: the merit belonged to everyone and not just to some particular individual.

The Buddha-Dhamma Fellowship Committee thanks everyone who came to make this merit, and all those who couldn’t come but who sent in and contributed to the offering. The merit belongs to us all, and, as we said before the Triple Gem that morning: ‘Idam no puńńam nibbanassa paccayo hotu’ - ‘May this merit we have made lead us on to Nibbana!’

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