Lay Buddhist Association Dana Day 2007

Written by Upasaka Colin

The LBA Dana Day at Buddhapadipa Temple is one of those rare occasions that the western lay Buddhists have to give and prepare food for the Thai monks – and, of course, to receive the monks’ blessings in return for this generosity. Giving dana in the form of food is a ritual that takes place daily for the Thai lay community. In Thailand monks walk through towns and villages early in the morning collecting alms in their bowls. This is a custom which does not transfer easily from East to West due to many factors (our laws and our bad weather being but two) and thus people come to the temple instead to bring food to keep the monks alive, to allow them to continue practicing, to meditate and to teach.

Saturday 29^th September 2007, the date if this year’s Dana Day, threatened wet weather – perhaps appropriate for a day in the Thai Rainy Season – but turned out to be a day in which the English sun unexpectedly broke through the clouds and shared sufficient of its warmth that the laity could enjoy eating outside on the terrace.

The day officially started with a gathering at 10.00 a.m. and the giving of the Five Precepts. For those of us who had purchased and prepared food, the day started much earlier. I was determined on this occasion that I was going to prepare a Thai dish. I consequently spent many hours in the kitchen in the monks’ house with the cook and the Thai wives of LBA members being shown how to put together a Green Papaya Salad. It looked so easy in my recipe! However, I soon learned why it was necessary to throw away the book and rely on the verbal instruction and experience of the masters. Something we are also told to do in relation to our meditation practice, but rarely have the confidence to try!

The number of different dishes prepared in addition to my own small contribution filled the entire table! After the monks had eaten as much as was proper, the LBA members received a blessing. The lay members then ate and then went to the temple to hear a Dhamma talk from Venerable Phra Kru Lom.
Ven. Phra Kru Lom opened his talk after giving thanks to the LBA for the food provided and expressing his sadness at the situation in Myanmar where eleven Buddhist monks and a journalist have been killed in the recent civil unrest. His talk, appropriately, was about the importance of being a good spiritual friend to others (a Kalyana Mitta). Ven. Phra Kru Lom pointed out how division can occur in every community and how it is the duty of each us to respond to one another with patience and loving-kindness. The members of the Lay Buddhist Society at Buddhapadipa have a duty not to emphasise the various differences there may be between us as individuals i.e. our level of educational attainment, our understanding of Abhidhamma, our preferred method of meditation, but should instead be finding ways of sharing our knowledge and experience with one another as well as to visitors and enquirers to the temple. The same is true of the potential split between lay Buddhists and the Sangha. He pointed out that every Buddhist – and especially members of the LBA should allow him- or herself to be easily admonished and corrected if someone who is wiser and more experienced sees that they are straying from the Path. We are fortunate here in the UK that we live in a society that is tolerant of people of all philosophies and faiths. It is important that we ensure that we reflect this tolerance in our dealings with others and one another. The only way to ensure that we maintain such an attitude is to continue being concentrated and mindful and practicing metta. The day concluded with a show of respect to the Triple Gem.