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RECENT NEWS
Joyful Uposatha Meditation Hall Opening Ceremony
Aberdeen, Scotland – 6 July 2025
Read : Welcome Speech by David
A historic and joyful occasion unfolded at the Varapunya Meditation Centre in Westhill, Aberdeen, as the newly constructed Uposatha Hall (Meditation Hall) was ceremoniously opened by the Most Venerable Phra Rajwithetpanyakhun (Ajahn Laow), Abbot of Wat Buddhapadipa, London. The event took place on Sunday, 6 July 2025, at 9:30 a.m., marking a significant step forward in the spiritual life of the Buddhist community in Scotland.
This special day brought together over ten venerable monks and members of the Buddhist community from across the UK—including London, Liverpool, Kings Bromley, Glasgow, Alloa, Dundee, Fraserburgh, Inverness, and beyond. The atmosphere was filled with joy, harmony, and spiritual inspiration, as participants gathered to witness the ceremonial blessing and unveiling of the new sacred space.
Ceremony Highlights
The day commenced with a peaceful meditation session led by Ajahn Laow, followed by the observance of the Five Precepts and blessing chants performed by the Sangha. One of the most sacred moments was the unveiling and enshrining of the Buddha image, which had been generously donated by Wat Paknam in Bangkok, Thailand. The statue was reverently installed in the new hall, and symbolic offerings were made by lay supporters on behalf of the centre’s members.
Though the hall has now been blessed and is available for use, the formal consecration of the Uposatha Hall—which will officially sanctify the space according to Theravāda Buddhist tradition—will be held in 2026. This consecration will mark the hall as a sacred ground for ordinations and other significant religious functions.
Sacred Marker Stones (Sīmā)
Another meaningful part of the event was the placing of gold leaf on nine sacred marker stones (sīma) by members of the community. These stones play a vital role in defining and purifying the boundaries of the sacred space. Next year, they will be formally enshrined in a dedicated Instrument Ceremony, which requires careful preparation and the presence of the Sangha.
The ceremony to enshrine these boundary stones is a rare and spiritually significant event, especially as this will be the first officially consecrated Uposatha Hall of its kind in Scotland. It involves the ritual declaration and designation of the space by venerable monks, making it suitable for monastic acts such as ordinations and formal Sangha proceedings.
A Grateful Community
The Varapunya Meditation Centre extends heartfelt gratitude to all sponsors, donors, volunteers, and participants who contributed to the success of this landmark event. The Centre recognizes the generous support from both local and national communities, who came together to create a sacred space dedicated to the promotion of Buddhist teachings and the cultivation of mental, physical, and spiritual well-being.
An Ongoing Invitation
As preparations continue for the formal consecration and enshrinement of the marker stones, everyone is warmly invited to be part of this historical and meritorious undertaking. Participation and support—through donations, presence, or sharing of goodwill—are welcome, as this sacred project aims to foster harmony, mindfulness, and wisdom for future generations.
For further details on how to support or take part in the upcoming ceremonies, please contact the Varapunya Meditation Centre.
Contact:
Varapunya Meditation Centre, Westhill, Aberdeen
Email: info@varapunya.org | Web: www.varapunya.org
“Let this hall be a source of peace and wisdom, for all beings who seek the path.”
Youtube:
2. Dream of Uposatha Meditation Hall.
VARAPUNYA MEDITATION CENTRE – HELLO WESTHILL!
Here at the Varapunya Meditation Centre in nearby Kinmundy, a 20-30m walk from Westhill town centre or a 10m drive, we sometimes can feel rather isolated. Even though we are so near, our regular community and visitors, often are from Aberdeen and even further afield, as far as Dundee, Perthshire, Fife and Inverness. We recently held our annual Kathina celebration (more on that later) and we had visitors from all over – even Southend in Essex! Yet, while our engagement with the small Kinmundy community is now well established, walkers on the local lanes and paths will often wave and walk on or stop for a short chat, some interested about the goings on at the cottage or ‘temple’ and others not. Sometimes astonished to see our monk/teacher Sujan walking with his food ‘alms’ bowl in the ancient tradition, visiting local (mainly Thai or Sri Lankan) Westhill families who wish to make food offerings.
Having been based in Aberdeen City before we moved, we have now been in Kinmundy for five years and the Centre is well settled in our small cottage with surrounding fields, stables and barn. So, more recently, we have been ‘reaching’ out more, visiting the Rotary at their kind invitation, and some of their members have been to visit us. Schools also visit from Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. And we hope to visit the Men’s Shed soon and they will come to see what we are up to too we hope. If you or your organisation or charity would like us to visit, tell you more of what we do and even, as charities together collaborate locally on projects, do get in touch. Our motto is ‘Helping Hands Healing Hearts’ and we reach out to all communities of whatever faith or non-faith with that in mind.
A new venture we hope, starting late January, will be our first Mindfulness Meditation Course in central Westhill so watch this space for news of that! This is at the heart of all we do at the Centre – in this crazy world our minds become cluttered, anxious & stressed. And so we live our lives worrying about what will be in the future and lots of blame/self-blame about the past. Our mental health is a huge challenge these days. The ancient teaching of Mindful Living and Meditation Practice offers knowledge, skills and practices which help us cope with this in everyday life. Even science & health professionals are accepting this and we often work in collaboration with NHS Grampian & others in Aberdeen. Our courses are free simply because we believe the knowledge, skills and practices are so useful for our mental health in the world we live in. If you might be interested simply register an interest (with no commitment at this stage) by emailing meditationatvmc@gmail.com with just your name for now.
Back to our Kathina Celebration. On 5th November we celebrated the end of the rainy season. The period August to October was traditionally when monks in Asia would stop wandering from village to village until the rainy season came to an end – usually around the end of October. This year it seems to have coincided with the end of the rainy season in Aberdeenshire too! The ceremony involved morning chanting, teaching and meditation followed by a community lunch. After lunch the community offers a new robe to the Abbot to start the new year of ‘wandering’ again. These days an Abbot of a temple is usually based there but will travel for teaching, for his own personal spiritual development & by invitation to other temples in the UK and overseas from time to time. Normally, he has no personal possessions nor food other than what is donated by the community to him or bought through donations made for those purposes.
Finally, we do, of course, also teach and practice the spiritual teachings of the Buddha in the SE Asia tradition. If you want to know more contact the Abbot. And we are always in need of volunteers. If you feel able to help us in any way – web site editing/development, plumbing, electrical work, roof repair, grass cutting, general maintenance & repair, again do get in touch with the Abbot on his mobile 07446 545545. And our web site is here: https://www.varapunyacentre.com
The Varapunya Meditation Centre is an established Buddhist centre near Westhill for learning meditation, the Buddhist way of living and connecting with like-minded people. It is open to anyone who wishes to learn and practice. Teachings, courses and classes are free. We run on a donation basis only.
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Daily Chanting at 7am and 7 pm (contact centre to attend)
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Weekly meditation at the centre on Wednesday 7-9pm, no booking required.
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Weekly online meditation on Wednesday 7:45-8:45 am (contact meditationatvmc@gmail.com)
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Monthly in person meditation at Aberdeen Health Village, last Monday of month.
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Monthly online meditation on 2nd Monday of month at 1-2pm. (contact for details)
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Also if you would like to learn practical meditation skills on one of our courses starting late summer please contact meditationatvmc@gmail.com
Current Project:
On 28th May we also organised a very special blessing & ‘ground-breaking’ ceremony and installed a time capsule for a new Meditation Hall to accommodate those who are enthusiastic to learn meditation and/or the Buddhist way of mindful living. We are raising funds for this cause and look forward to whatever support you may feel able to give. Our next special event is the annual Kathina Robe offering on Sunday 5th November.
You are welcome to visit us, preferably contacting us beforehand as we are sometimes away. We also welcome volunteers for general garden and maintenance support. If you have some time and wish to help, please contact us at Easter Mains Cottage, Kingswells, Kinmundy, AB15 8RB
Facebook: Varapunya Meditation Centre
Website: www.varapunyacentre.com
Email: varapunya@gmail.com