Charity Number.. 1142973 Dragon Bell Temple Report and financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025
Dragon Bell Temple Reference and administrative information for the year ended 31 March 2025 Status Established under a trust deed dated 30 July 2010, and registered as a charity 20 July 2011. Charlty number 1142973 Registered office and operational address Cross Farm Drewsteignton Exeter EX6 6PA Devon Trustees Trustees who served during the year and up to the date of this report were as follows.. RevWSLee Rev Elinore Agnew Rev Daigen Weir Rev Sanshin Alexander Bankers Co-operative Bank l Balloon Street Manchester M60 4EP Charity Bank Fosse House 182 High Street Tonbridge TN9 IBE Independent examiner James Gore-Langton FCCA DChA Garth, Outertown, stromness, KW16 3JP
Dragon Bell Temple Trustees, annual report for the year ended 31 March 2025 The trustees present their report and receipts and payments accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025. The trustees confirm that the accounts comply with the current statutory requirements and the charity's trust deed. The objects of the charity are to advance the Buddhist faith, in particular the Serene Reflection Meditation School of Buddhism (also known as Soto Zen). The charity operates within the rules and by-laws of the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives (OBC). Meditation and following the Bodhisattva Precepts are the foundations and heart of our practice. Buddhist teachings point to the potential in everyone for realising the true nature of their life and this is the purpose of the practice of meditation and morality. Realisation of our true nature is characterised in the manifesting of compassion, love and wisdom in an individuals day to day living. This is how someone expresses the universal beneficial qualitles that are accessible to all. In doing so, they become a living example of the Buddha's teachings benefitting both themselves and others. Anyone who 15 interested is welcome to practice at Dragon Bell Temple, the existence of the temple provide5 a location and resource for people in supporting their efforts to practice the way of the Buddha. The relationship between the ordained monastic members of the OBC and the lay trainees who support the charity, both spiritually and financially, is rooted in faith in practice. This is central to how a temple of the OBC is established and run. Gratitude and appreciation are at the heart of this endeavour. There are no charges for any of the services and events administered by the charity. The temple provides information and opportunities for people to contribute financially and donate without expectation. All are welcome to come to learn about Buddhist practice, to join scheduled events and the services that we offer. The trustees continue to look at how best to introduce the practice to newcomers as well as how to respond to the needs of those with an established long-standing commitment. The trustees have paid due regard to the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit in reviewing and considering what activities the charity should undertake. Dragon Bell Temple Dragon Bell Temple was established as a trust on 20 July 2010. Rev. Myfanwy Mccorry came to Exeter to serve the local congregation in September 2002. The initial funding for her residency was provided by the South West Fund, a restricted fund within Throssel Hole Buddhist monastery. Over the years of her and the temple'5 presence in Devon together with the growth and commitment of the congregation, the renting of property became possible. The charity has since been based in a succession of rental properties up until the present day. In 2010, it was felt that there was sufficient support to establish as a separate charity in its own right. The funds in the South West Fund were transferred to Dragon Bell Temple at the beginning of the financial year 2012. Rev. Willard Lee, the current prior, took over the role in August 2020 after the death of Rev. Myfanwy in July of that year.
Dragon Bell Temple Trustees, annual report for the year ended 31 March 2025 The temple is entirely funded by voluntary donations, currently the main running expenses are the living costs of the resident monk. The administration of Dragon Bell Temple falls under the body of trustees, currently consisting of four members. The prior, who is continuously resident at the charity, is always a trustee by vlrtue of their office. The remaining body of trustees is made up of members who are in good standlng wlth the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives (OBC). Membership of the OBC belongs to ordained monastlC5 and Lay Ministers. all the current trustees are senior monastics. New trustee5 are appointed by a resolution of the trustee5 and are selected on the basis of their personal and professional qualifications to enable them to bring a positive contribution to the running of the charity. Flnances The income of the charity for this financial year was £552,732 with an expenditure of £18,987. At the end of the year the total of the charity's bank balances stood at £623,322. The trustees seek to maintain a minimum of £4,000 in bank accounts. The charity does not have a reserves policy. During this year, the charity received a generous legacy of £15,000. Another legacy announced to the charity this year, is currently in probate. On the basis of this latter legacy, the trustees of Dragon Bell Temple agreed to take on a number of unsecured interest free loans to enable the purchasing of a property. At the end of this year, the charity has loans on its accounts totalling £420,000. The search for lenders was motivated by the necessity to vacate the charity's current premises in the near future. The intention is to repay the majority of the loans on receipt of the expected legacy. In October 2024, after investigating many potential propertie5, the charity made an offer on a premises and the offer was accepted. In early March 2025, the purchase attempt was terminated after failing to agree a price. After the commissioning of several inspection reports of different kinds, the purchase only seemed viable and appropriate at a much reduced cost and so we reduced our offer, which was then rejected by the seller. Altogether, this process cost the charity in the region of £7,000. Immediately after the failure of the above purchase attempt, the charity became engaged in a new process of buying another property and this was in its early stages at the end of the year. The hope is that the new property and its location will be a posltive development for the charity and be a significant influence in helping us fulfil our aims. Our largest regular expenditure was for food for the prior, Rev. Willard. Other notable ongoing expenses were for the running and upkeep of Dragon Bell Temple's website, our regularly used Zoom account, car maintenance and the annual insurance fee. This year the charity trustees approved the investment in a new computer and printer to replace ageing equipment, together these cost around £1,000. The charity paid in advance for the hire of a venue for two
Dragon Bell Temple Trustees, annual report for the year ended 31 March 2025 residential retreats, these expenditures were recovered by voluntary donations from people attending the retreats. Due to the generosity of the owners of Cross Farm, the charity continued to accumulate funds during the year. The majority of the costs of our utilities, were paid for by the landlord, including six months of council tax a5 well as the water, oil and electricity bills for the whole period. As mentioned above, Dragon Bell Temple has outstanding debts totalling £420,000. Revlew of actlvltles During the twelve months from the beginning of April 2024 to end of March 2025. Dragon Bell Temple maintained a regular monthly and weekly schedule of activities, providing people opportunities to either participate in person at the temple, or remotely online via Zoom. This schedule was briefly interrupted when Rev. Willard was away visiting Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey and his family, but otherwise continued throughout the year. A typical weekly schedule consisted of four weekday early morning meditation sessions, one mid-week evening meeting and a Sunday morning meeting. All of these were available for people to join in person or remotely via Zoom. A monthly schedule of events was interwoven with the weekly schedule. We typically held at least one half day and two full day meetings each month on Saturdays. The full day events run from 9.00am- 4.00pm, the moming sessions finish at 12.30pm. The time is spent practising seated and walking meditation interspersed with teas where discussion can be made use of. The temple provided lunch on the meditation full days. This year, the addition of a second full day each month, has been welcomed by temple supporters and has brought in a regular income in the form of donations from those attending. A mid-week meditation morning was also introduced this year, providing people an alternative to the weekends, these mornings have been offered once a month on the calendar. All these features of the monthly calendar were only possible to join in person at the premises. In addition to the above mentioned regular events, typically three introductory sessions were scheduled and advertised on the website, two weekday evenings and one Saturday morning, each month. All the introductory sessions had to be attended in person. People are also invited to come to the temple. by arrangement. for introductions at other times that suit them. Most days of the week outside of scheduled events, the charity's premises was open for anyone who is familiar with our practice. to come and make use of the space. All of the above activities were advertised on the charity's website calendar which is accessible to the general public. New people can opt-in to be included on an email mailing list which is used to send out a newsletter, usually once every month or second month. The newsletter
Dragon Bell Temple Trustees, annual report for the year ended 31 March 2025 gives notice of upcoming events as well as information about what has been going on recently. There is also a subscription service on Dragon Bell's website to receive similar news content. Brief news announcements are also posted on the website at the same time as the sending out of the newsletter. Links to these posts are put on a Facebook page that some people follow. In May and December 2024, the charlty held Sidential retreats at Eden Rlse barns, near Totnes, a one hour drive from the temple. Both retreats were held over four nlghts. These events are important to the purpose of the charity and have become regular twice yearly events on our calendar. The retreats are advertised well in advance, on both the Dragon Bell Temple website and on the website of the national organisation that runs the venue. This gives a broader reach beyond people who are already familiar with our temple. Anyone is welcome to inquire about attending, there's a bare minimum of criteria laid out that need to be fulfilled before a booking can be accepted from a new person. The intention has been to make it possible for individuals, who might not otherwise be able to come to Dragon Bell due to geographical distance, to attend these retreats and this has happened. Rev. Willard continued writing and posting teaching articles on the charity's website this year. These writings are available to the general public via the website and Facebook page as well as to subscribers to a free subscription mailing list service via the website. Using this mailing service, people can opt to receive news or teaching articles directly as they are published. The prior was able to remain a source of private spiritual guidance for people throughout the year and tries to remain readily accessible as much as p055ible. The trustees confirm that they have given due regard to the Charity Commission's statutory guidance on public benefit. The trustees, annual report has been approved by the trustees on 20 November 2025 and signed on their behalf by Nicol Weir Nov 25, 2025 Rev. Daigen Weir
Dragon Bell Temple
Receipts and Payments Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025
| Receipts Donations Legacies Gift Aid tax recovery Bank interest Sub-total Loans received Total receipts Payments Charitable expenditure Monk's upkeep Household Premises Insurance Professional fees Office Meeting room hire Car and travel Sacristy Medical Requisites Miscellaneous Trustee expenses Total payments Net receipts for the year Bank and cash balances at start of year Bank and cash balances at end of year |
2025 £ 113,378 15,000 1,912 2,442 132,732 420,000 552,732 2,543 230 2,075 330 7,333 1,969 1,397 2,084 26 783 37 - 180 18,987 533,745 89,577 £ 623,322 |
2024 £ 14,711 - 1,940 896 |
|---|---|---|
| 17,547 - |
||
| 17,547 | ||
| 2,470 195 - 684 - 661 3,229 1,019 120 239 63 89 - 8,769 |
||
| 8,778 | ||
| 80,799 | ||
| £ 89,577 |
All of the charity's funds are unrestricted.
8
Independent examiner’s report
to the trustees of
Dragon Bell Temple
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31[st] March 2025 which are set out on pages 8 to 9.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity’s trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).
I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent examiner's statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
-
accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or
-
the accounts do not accord with those records.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
James Gore-Langton FCCA DChA Garth Outertown Stromness KW16 3JP 27 November 2025
7
Dragon Bell Temple Statement of Assets and Liabilities as at 31 March 2025
----- Start of picture text -----
Note 2025 2024
£ £ £ £
Bank and cash balances 623,322 89,577
Other monetary assets
Gift Aid receivable 2,530 1,912
2,530 1,912
Fixed assets
- -
Liabilities
Loans 420,000
420,000 -
----- End of picture text -----
Notes
-
a) All the charity's funds are unrestricted.
-
b) As resident monk at the temple, the prior, who is a trustee of the charity, has his day to day living expenses met by the charity, as permitted by the charity's rules.
-
c) Two trustees have loaned a total of £305,000 to the charity.
Approved by the trustees on 25 November 2025 and signed on their behalf by:
Rev. Sanshin Alexander (Trustee)
9