Sthanashraddha is Bhante’s secretary. He writes from Adhisthana, UK:

"Rain is falling at Adhisthana! Usually this would be nothing out of the ordinary, however it’s been nearly two months since we had any actual rain, having gone through one of the hottest sunny dry spells I’ve seen in many years. So, yes, the rain is falling and has been now for most of the last couple of days, long constant refreshing showers, which the gardens and plants are drinking in deeply, like a thirsty man filling his belly at the oasis.

Not that the sunshine has been unwelcome, Bhante has certainly enjoyed the warmer dry weather getting out into the garden most days either once or twice a day, in the morning or early evening, where he has been able to get some sense of the continuing work of landscaping the grounds.

Of course, Bhante has enjoyed another month of visitors and guests meeting with him and here follows the list from 1 July to 31 July:

Mahasraddha, Samacitta, Maniraja, Prasadacharin, Maitrisara, Nine Indian pilgrims, Saraha, Visuddhimati, Akasasuri, Suryagupta, Chris Blankendaal, Sinhendra, Ratnaghosha, Saravantu, Jnanadhara, Amalamati, Sanghanista, Subhadassi, Bodhilila, Sanghadhara, Pablo Sierra, Emma Sohlgren, Mirko Meyer, Rowan Tilly, Aryavacin, Dennis Jagestad, Veronica Toescu, David Tyfield, Zoe Pearson, Siladeva, Padmadhara, Jack Stephenson, Vidyadevi, Dharmavajri, Achalamuni, Grant Hilditch, Alexis Knight, Saddhanandi, Advayacitta, Vijayamuni, Helen Strong, Aryajaya and Vinod Gaikwad.

Earlier in the month Bhante made a trip to the hospital, not, as is usual for his eye tests and injection, but for a minor surgery to remove a small cyst on his neck. Although he had had the cyst for at least a decade or more his GP decided it was better to remove it. Thus it was removed during an outpatients' appointment, and by all accounts is healing well.

Bhante’s recent interest and reading around science has born fruit in a small piece of writing entitled Science and Poetry, which is published here in Shabda and recently on The Buddhist Centre Online.

And finally towards the end of the month, a small retreat of some of the Order’s musicians was held here at Adhisthana during which they invited Bhante along to meet with them and then also treat him to a small piano and tenor recital, between them the two musicians performed settings of eight poems by Bhante, of which he very much appreciated the settings and the performance.

Metta, Sthanashraddha"