Day Retreats with East Kent Buddhist Group

The Rain Cloud & the Herbs - January 12th 2025 - Sholden Village Hall

A look back…

On Sunday 12th January, about 20 of us gathered at Sholden Village Hall for our first day retreat of the year, based on the Parable of the Rain Cloud (also known as The Herbs) from the White Lotus Sutra. It was particularly delightful to be able to welcome people from our wider East Kent Sangha, some from Thanet and Canterbury and members of the Year Three study group from even further afield.

As always, there were willing helpers to get the hall ready, especially the shrine builders led by Gerry who built a magnificently verdant shrine based on a wide variety of plants brought by us all. Behind the shrine was Heather’s wonderful painting of a lotus flower, and on the shrine, reverently wrapped in a traditional white offering scarf, was a copy of the Saddharma Pundarika Sutra,

  the Sutra of the White Lotus of the Sublime Dharma (translated by Gene Reeves), one of the most important Mahayanan sutras.

So having invoked the protective mandala with a Dedication Ceremony led by Dayapakshini,  Danaketu led a salutation to each direction, North, East, South and West (with soap bubbles)

“Whatever beings are dwelling here, whether of the earth, water or sky, may they all have peace of mind, and may they radiate loving-kindness to those human beings who, by day and night, bring offerings to you. Therefore, being heedful, please protect them.”

We had a quiet, reflective morning in which we heard the parable, read by Maddava, had a silent period of reflection, with tea, followed by a talk from Danaketu, around two themes:

1.       Looking at our spiritual development or transformation as growth like a plant from a seed within, nourished by the rain of the Dharma. Or as a path. 

2.       Celebrating our diversity, after 18 years Deal, from Danapriya's start to today, with ten order members and many mitras supporting groups in Deal, Canterbury and Margate, over a spread of sangha events, beach meditation, drop-ins, mitra study. We have different needs, but the Dharma has one taste, the taste of freedom.

“So practising the Noble Eightfold Path is not a matter of following a path step by step, but of imbibing a certain inspiration, having a certain experience, and then allowing that to permeate all aspects of your being until you are permanently saturated in that experience at all levels. At that point of perfect and complete transformation, you reach the eighth step of the transcendental Eightfold Path, the Perfect Samādhi, and you attain the Enlightenment of a Buddha."

"The life story of the Buddha shows that he didn’t wait for people to come to him. He didn’t just sit under the bodhi tree and wait for disciples. During the forty-five years following his Enlightenment he travelled far and wide to seek people out and teach them. Time and time again the scriptures report the Buddha as saying ‘I went to them and said...’ He used to go out to meet people—merchants, queens, goatherds, flower-sellers—and afterwards tell his disciples ‘I went to them and said...’And if someone came to see him, the Buddha would take the initiative in the conversation. He would greet the newcomer and put them at their ease, so that they felt welcome. This was the living example of the Buddha." (both from “Drama of Cosmic Enlightenment” by Sangharakshita).

You may be interested to know that this parable was one of Sangharakshita’s 

favourites, and it formed part of the illustrations on his coffin.

After our bring-and-share lunch we had an afternoon of activities and discussions exploring our experience in relation to the two themes, then rounded off the day with some meditation and a sevenfold puja, led by Prajnasisya, with a reading by Kit from the Dhammapada and the Padmasambhava mantra.

We finished the day with a ritual leave-taking of the spirits of place; “Whatever beings are dwelling here, whether of the earth, water or sky, may they all have peace of mind, and may they radiate loving-kindness to those human beings who, by day and night, have brought offerings to you. Therefore, being heedful, please forgive any disturbance or harm we may have caused you.”