Vajraloka Shrineroom gear offer

Balajit writes from Vajraloka, the FWBO’s Welsh retreat centre dedicated to meditation - with a great offer! He says -

“During 2009 Vajraloka ran a successful appeal to raise £2000 for a complete overhaul of our shrineroom gear. I'd like to thanks all the many people who contributed so generously to help us reach this target. After many years of use, the old blankets, mats and cushions have now been boxed up and are looking for a new home! Though the gear looks well used, with bits of filling spilling out on the odd item , they could still be of use to a centre or outreach group, with some needle and thread.

“Having supported people through thousands of hours of meditation, I’m sure they are well charged with prana and positivity!

“If you are involved in a group that could put such gear to immediate use please get in touch with me at balajit@post.com

“In total we have 35 cushions, 23 mats, 9 foam blocks and 3 wooden stools. All we ask is that the recipient collects them, or meets the full cost of a courier. Remaining money from the appeal fund is going to support our ritual activities, in the form of some new devotional and musical items.

Balajit

Details of their program of retreats are at vajraloka.org - or check their Facebook page.

Vajraloka launches new on-line newsletter

Vajraloka Retreat Centre in Wales is the FWBO’s oldest meditation retreat center, founded in 1979.

They’ve launched a new e-newsletter, which is full of colourful photos, news items, short articles and some poetry. You can sign up to receive a copy by visiting their website at www.vajraloka.com and entering your email address - for a taster, check the first edition, already on the web at Amongst other things, it contains an update on Vajraloka’s finances, details of a future retreat, a poem from Claire, which was written on her retreat at Vajraloka last summer, and exotic tales from ex-team member Kieran - now teaching yoga in Africa!

Balajit, their resident webmaster/photographer/journalist, writes “Its hoped that the e-newsletter will develop organically over time, and capture different aspects of life at the retreat centre, with offerings from the resident community and people who visit”.

The first issue also launches a Shrineroom appeal. If you would like to contribute, please visit their new and rather minimal fund-raising page at www.justgiving.com/shrineroomappeal .

Balajit spells out why -‘With some spilled contents, frayed edges and fading colours, one by one, our shrineroom gear is falling prey to impermanence! We would like to buy a whole new set of mats, blankets, and cushions. Into the bargain, if possible, we would also like some new shrinecloths and tibetan style puja instruments, to add more colour to our evening rituals. To use the much proclaimed fund raising mantra – ‘every little bit helps!’'

There’s more about Vajraloka on the web – check their photograph albums on Flickr, at http://www.flickr.com/photos/vajraloka; their main website at www.vajraloka.org . A supplementary Newsletter at vajralokanewsletter.googlepages.com contains (among other things) reminiscences on the early days of Vajraloka by Vajradaka and Kamalashila. Last but not least there's their Facebook group.

Vajraloka has played a crucial part in the FWBO's ongoing exploration of meditation and Sangharakshita's teaching; you'll find selections of the articles and talks they've produced over the years on Tejananda's (Vajraloka's chairman) personal website at http://tejanandajohnwakeman.googlepages.com. Plus there's a wealth of talks by him and others on FreeBuddhishAudio, of course!

Enjoy!