We are in the middle of a cold spell here. The temperature has hardly risen above zero all day. As we were driving to Oasis this morning the car thermometer was indicating the outside temperature as below minus three degree centigrade and at night it is, of course, quite a bit lower. This has brought outside work to a halt. They say it will get slightly warmer in the week ahead, but not much. Perhaps we are in for a hard winter.
One of the jobs in hand at the moment is the digging of a trench to lay pipes to join the plumbing in the two buildings. This is a big job and will proceed slowly, especially given the current weather. Digging here is difficult because of the sheet limestone just below the surface. Getting out the large slabs of rock, rather larger than paving stones, is challenging. However, they also make useful material, when one has got them free, for paths, walls and other structures.
The regular Friday visit to Oasis was, as usual, very pleasant. I gave a talk about Quan Shi Yin. Last weekend they had a retreat workshop about Tara, so it all fitted together well. Afterwards we talked about the difficulty of getting people to come and live there. It is a wonderful little project and a super way to live the Dharma life, but being in such a remote spot it is difficult to attract people.
This first week of December is an important time in the Buddhist calendar. December 8 is Enlightenment Day, celebrating the awakening of Shakyamuni Buddha and it is customary to take the days leading up to this event as a special practice time.
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