I managed to drop into the Three Wheels Temple on the 9th February. Three Wheels is a Shin Buddhist centre near Acton housed in a large and imposing semi-detached house. Shin Buddhism is a Pure Land tradition and is the largest school of Buddhism in Japan. Established in London in 1994 as a branch of the Shogyoji Temple, Japan, Three Wheels has continued to grow and is a popular venue for a range of activities, including children’s events, Japanese Brush painting, meditation and Eza meetings. The centre is headed by the Reverend Sato, who has been a long-term supporter of the NBO and is well-known to some of the committee.
We briefly discussed the background to my visit and of the Three Wheels Temple— and of Buddhism in Japan. The Reverend Sato mentioned an article he has written countering the criticisms that Brian Victoria has made against DT Suzuki. (Brian Victoria wrote a book called Zen and War a few years ago). Reverend Sato’s article will be published in the UK.
I mentioned to Reverend Sato that I was a follower of Ajahn Sumedho and the Thai Forest Sangha tradition at Amaravati. The Reverend Sato responded that Ajahn Sumedho had given a talk last year at the Three Wheels Temple on the Four Noble truths which had been greatly appreciated by all present. The Reverend Sato had met Ajahn Sumedho at the Buddhist summer School in Leicester and regarded him as a good friend. It is both interesting and heartening that sincere dhamma practice and realization transcends tradition and that accomplished practitioners from different traditions can relate very easily with each other.
Later, the Reverend Sato, led me into the stone garden, a striking rectangle of carefully raked gravel embedded with rocks, and intended to help cultivate a spacious and concentrated mind. He also showed me a spacious shrine room containing impressive carpentry and a striking and unusual Buddha Rupa.
Three Wheels holds an Eza , open to all, every two months. The bi-monthly Eza Meetings open with a formal Buddhist service which is followed by a talk from a guest speaker. Each Eza is a time when many people, Buddhist and non-Buddhist gather at Three Wheels with the aim of encouraging harmony within diversity and spiritual exchange and encounter. The next Eza will be held at 2.00pm on the 25th February, when Reverend Sato will speak about ‘Other Power’? Information on Three Wheels can be found at:
http://www.threewheels.co.uk/index.php?option=com_contact&Itemid=3
