For 5 years we have had the Little Bangkok Sangha project, known as ‘Littlebang’ for short, and for handy internet name that can be remembered and searched for.
It took a lot of work – the website was updated 2 or 3 times a week, and much effort was put into coordinating events and trying hard to bring people together. Some real and lasting friendships came about through this group.
5 years is long enough to do one thing. In terms of ones personal life things should never get too static. Plus, we all need a visa, even monks, and my visa depends on my university. And my student status depends on my actually doing something at university! Now that means writing my thesis – so that is what I should be working on. It is more difficult than I thought to get stuck into though ….
The ‘littlebang’ project is not dead though. I have been working on ideas to set a more permanent base (because the endless running around on my part moving chairs, speakers, sitting mats etc.. for every event is too labour intensive on my part, not to mention the endless taxi fares. We are not sponsored by any temple.)
Thanks to Sujata providing transport we have also done a couple of field trips looking at venues for possible meditation retreats. One of which was very suitable.
The website, once so streamlined and the source of many compliments and notes of appreciation, is now a mess – but that is because it has been moved to our own server and I have been playing with it when time allows. We will now have the option to host sound or video files, and add fancy graphics. We also have the opportunity to accidentally wipe all the files and delete the whole website, which happened a couple of times already. Sheesh. Par for the course when you try to serve…..
So be patient. Maybe in June we can resume some operations, even if it is just once or twice a month. Maybe by the end of the year we can have a full scale operation going, bigger and grander than ever before…. In April I am away with my University on a compulsory retreat, and in May I am privileged to be off to Hawaii again, on what I hope would be an annual trip from now on.
But all things being unstable, one can never tell.
Thanks for all the work you’ve done Pandit. You accomplished an awful lot, and we’re all grateful. I’ve really missed the Dhamma talks since the hiatus started, and I look forward to the resumption of activities. Good luck with your thesis Pandit. I look forward to reading it. I just finished my thesis and I will attend the graduation ceremony on May 13. Pheew, what a relief!!! My plans are unsure right now, but please call on me for help if you think I can be of use. Thanks again for all your work Pandit.
Big Thanks Pandit for all you have done. I bet there are many like myself who attended events while visiting Thailand and found the whole expat Buddhism friendly community an amazing spiritual resource that thanks to you could be counted on to have some event coming soon. In fact looking to find upcoming events is why I visited today since I hope to return there for a few weeks in August and again in January. I’ll check often anticipating your return.