Buddhism in Britain

The Hermitage

Lama Shenpen Hookham lives at The Hermitage near Criccieth in North Wales and is the resident teacher of the Awakened Heart Sangha. After an engaging and interesting drive in February 2007 I was warmly welcomed into the Hermitage and before long I had both met Lama Shenpen and eaten a good supper. Later I joined the community for an evening session of chanting and meditation. 

I was fortunate to be able to speak to Lama Shenpen on a range of topics. including her research project some years ago at Oxford and published as ‘The Buddha Within’. Her supervisor had been Paul Williams a Tibetan Buddhist scholar who had converted to Catholicism a few years ago.

I was very interested to hear about the Tibetan guru system, as this is different to the way things work in Theravada. The relationship between a guru and disciple (or follower) is deliberately cultivated. I can see how at its best, such a relationship can be invaluable. In Theravada, the teaching is more impersonal, and carried out in something of a collegiate fashion. Monks who have an interest in teaching are encouraged to do so, and although there may be an acknowledged ‘spiritual director’ of a monastery, other teachers, mostly ordained, but sometimes lay, also teach.

Students may ask questions during retreats and after talks and do have limited provision for interviews with the teacher, but not the same close formal relationship that is embodied within the guru approach. This does protect both disciple and teacher from possible accusations of misconduct and delusions of self-importance—on both sides—plus the possibility of dependence, although at the cost of a certain distance and impersonality between teacher and student and of having to translate general teachings into specific directions for oneself.

We discussed Reginald Ray’s study of forest renunciants in ‘Buddhist Saints in India’ published some fourteen years ago. Ray’s idea is that the two tier model of monastic and lay Buddhist should actually be a three tier model of monastic, lay and forest based renunciant. He thinks that it is the forest renunciant who is the dynamo supporting a healthy Buddhism. I have yet to read Ray’s work in full but wonder at the somewhat simple models he proposes.

I certainly agree that conscientious practice must lie at the heart of Buddhism and without this the living Dhamma will stagnate. Without teachers who have at least had their ‘Dhamma eye’ opened we will have the blind leading the blind. And monastics do have many potential roles; of scholar, meditator, teacher, and counselor. But not all monastics undertake all roles. So it is quite possible for a monk to spend a lot of time in solitary practice developing samadhi and wisdom. It all depends on the monastery and the inclinations of a particular monk.

The vinaya which governs monastic behaviour does not dictate how a monk spends his time. It also supports an orthopraxy rather than an orthodoxy. As long as a bhikkhu follows the major Vinaya rules and meets when possible with the monastic Sangha, then his practice is to a large extent under his own control, especially after the first few years of training have passed.

What seems more of an issue is the policy or beliefs that a group of monastics may come to agree with. If they believe that nibbana is impossible in this degenerate age and that, therefore, simply maintaining scholarship, and accruing merit is all that one can meaningfully do, then this belief will obviously have an effect on their behaviour. This is the situation that prevailed in Thailand over a hundred years ago when the forest tradition arose. The history of Buddhism is a cycle of decline into various kinds of scholasticism, prescriptive approaches and loss of energy, alternating with reform movements often advocating forest practice and renunciation as vital.

I await the delivery of Ray’s book to see if my view is confirmed by actually reading the book in detail.

Lama Shenpen runs a successful online Buddhist correspondence course—An introduction to Buddhism.She finds that some of those who use the course subsequently come to the Hermitage for a retreat. There are both organised retreats and the facilities for personal retreats of various lengths. There are published guidelines and a framework for the personal retreats, including Lama Shenpen’s experienced teaching and support. I was up early the next morning— rather cleverly; the light in my room switched on automatically at 5 am— and joined in a two hour period of meditation, walking and chanting before breakfast. I left at Midday driving into a light Welsh drizzle, and reflecting on the good company, good teaching and good porridge I had tasted during my stay.

http://www.ahs.org.uk/default.asp?action=article&ID=588

Marpa House

The countryside around Saffron Walden is very pleasant. Marpa House is situated in the village of Ashdon near Saffron Walden, on the border of Essex and Cambridgeshire. It is a Buddhist retreat and meditation centre and dedicated to the advancement of Tibetan Buddhism. The Venerable Lama Chime Rinpoche (of the Karma Kagyu tradition) established the centre in 1973 and it is now run by the Dharma Trust.

I arrived late in the afternoon at the end of January and was met by Jigme Deere, the secretary. He told me something of the house. Although the centre has had resident teachers in the past, this has not been the case for the past five years. To some extent the centre is not used as much as it was in the very early days, although there are still regular events throughout the year with a range of teachers. Recent events have included a youth retreat, Losar (New Year celebrations), and teaching on Lojong - Mind Training.

The centre has some links with Ato Rinpoche who teaches in Cambridge, although not with many other local Buddhist groups.

Jigme showed me around the spacious house with its meeting places, many bedrooms and retreat facilities. We looked at the shop with its books and artefacts. I am often inspired by Tibetan Buddhism, with its ornate iconography and sophisticated teachings, but also, at times, find the teachings quite complex. But then, so we are told, what really counts is to put the teachings into practice. Just as with a cake recipe, we should apply it and use the result for sustenance.

Perhaps Tibetan Buddhism just has lots of good recipes?

http://www.marpahouse.org.uk/index.html

Oxford Buddha Vihara

On an extremely sunny and frosty morning (my thermometer said -6˚ C) I made my way to the Oxford Buddha Vihara (OBV). I was rather pleased to experience the freezing temperature. This winter has been very mild and wet and a frost gives some hope that global warming might be delayed for a bit? In addition, and as a gardener, I am aware of the Saxon prayer ‘Good lord protect us from a mild winter’.

Nevertheless, I was pleased to enter the warm semi-detached house on the outskirts of Oxford where the OBV is based. Phra Pasanno is a Thai Theravadan bhikkhu who occupies the vihara with other monks. He explained something of the history of the OBV.

The senior incumbent is the Venerable Dr. Dhammasami. Originally from Eastern Burma, Khammai Dhammasami obtained his doctorate from Oxford. As well as being the senior incumbent of the Oxford Buddha Vihara, he also heads the International Secretariat for the UN Day of Vesak, based in Bangkok.

The Venerable Dr. Dhammasami has a key role in the newly formed Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies’ (OCBS) relations with the Sangha and Buddhist Universities in Theravada countries and more widely across Asia. Supporters of the Oxford Buddha Vihara have offered much voluntary help to the OCBS.

I made a note to make contact with the OCBS, it sounds a very interesting venture.

The OBV was purchased less than three years ago and is a little small for the numbers wishing to use it from local Asian families, students from Oxford colleges, and local people. Property in the UK is now so expensive, that generous donations from Asian countries which would purchase a sizeable monastery in the donor country, only allow small UK properties to be obtained.

This has been a regular refrain during my visits to centres around the UK. The OBV has close links with Amaravati and the Forest Sangha. Phra Pasanno mentioned meetings with Ajahn Sumedho, and also Ajahn Khemadhammo. Ajahn Khemadhammo leads the Angulimala Prison Chaplaincy organisation, and Phra Pasanno expressed his great respect for this enterprise. Ajahn Khemadhammo has also been instrumental in setting up the recently formed Theravada Buddhist Sangha (UK) organisation to which the OBV belong. The word ‘Sangha’ is here used in its early sense as meaning the monastic Sangha, rather than the common contemporary use of the word as including all who practice Buddhism.

We discussed the NBO and its role in maintaining a neutral forum or space within which all organisations regarding themselves as Buddhist can meet, exchange information and develop fellowship. There is no reason, of course, why an organisation such as the OBV could not be a member of TBS (UK) and the NBO as well as interfaith networks and other ‘umbrella groups’. The work of such groups is complementary and I would expect more to arise as Buddhism becomes established in the West.

The Oxford Buddha Vihara can be found at 33 Cherwell Drive, Marston, Oxford, OX3 0NB

The Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies has a website at http://www.ocbs.org/

Bodhi Garden

The Bodhi Garden is situated in the Lanes area of Brighton. This was the old fishing settlement that existed prior to the great expansion and gentrification of Brighton which took place in the 19th century. Richard Gilpin, the manager of the Bodhi Garden, met me at 6 pm at the door of the centre. Fortunately, the stormy weather had eased considerably.

We walked down a passage into the main room, which apparently used to be a gambling den. The hall has space for about forty plus a small kitchen.

The Bodhi Garden is run as a non-sectarian space for Buddhist groups in the area. Groups using the centre include a Forest Sangha Theravada group, a Soto Zen group, the Tibetan Shambhala, Green Tara and Jamyang groups. The centre also hosts events led by teachers from Gaia House, Tenzin Josh, Christopher Titmuss and others. A Soka Gakkai group did briefly use the hall but have not continued, and NKT were not interested.

The approach taken at the centre arose from the Venerable Tenzin Josh a Tibetan monk who also ordained as a Theravadan monk and wished to establish a non-sectarian monastery in England. The English Buddhist Monastery Trust (EBMT) was established for this purpose and the Bodhi Garden was opened in 2001 to further this general aim. The dana principle is used to fund the centre and has proved to work, although this has taken a while to build up.

Richard and I realised that we had both recently studied on the same MA Buddhist Studies course run by Peter Harvey from Sunderland University. We exchanged our experiences of the course, one which I found very enjoyable and which we both felt had been very useful. We agreed that we knew less about Buddhism when we finished the course than when we started—so it was an excellent course!

Let me explain. Probably like many long-term Buddhists I had picked up quite a lot about Buddhism before I started the course, but realised gradually as a result of the excellent study material and teaching from Peter, that I knew very little that was reliable about the history, organisation and variations of outlook between different traditions. What I thought I knew tended to be distorted, outdated, or incorrect in various ways.

Although understanding all this is not necessary in order to practice Buddhism, it can help not only to inspire practice, but also to understand and communicate with Buddhists from other traditions and to appreciate the great diversity that is included under the label of ‘Buddhism’.

It is so easy to attach to 'our Buddhism' just because we are familiar with it. This tendency to become protective of, and attached to, that with which we are familiar is very natural. It probably has evolutionary survival value, since it protects an investment of time and effort that we have made in learning ideas and practices and forming relationships within a community.

I am convinced that if Buddhism is to flourish in the West then we must make an effort to find out more about different traditions and where our favourite tradition fits. Perhaps ‘our tradition’ is not so perfect after all? Or perhaps it is even better than we thought?

Bodhi Garden runs an annual festival to bring all groups together. The FWBO plays a significant role with this. Richard explained that it is easy for groups to meet at their respective slots at the Bodhi Garden without interacting much with each other. Festivals help to overcome this, as do regular meetings of the main organizers for each group.

Richard was interested in the NBO and thought it very likely that one of the Bodhi Garden or EBMT representatives would join in the near future.

I found the centre to have a very nice feel and to offer many opportunities for engaging with a Buddhist path. Later that evening I left clutching some Bodhi Leaf newsletters (which I subsequently found to be good reading) and headed into the Lanes for some exploration.

Bodhi Garden information can be found at: http://www.bodhigarden.org/

Manchester University Buddhist Society (MUBS)

Manchester is a large city, and Manchester University campus sprawls across and along the Oxford Road taking in a shopping mall and several large buildings. Apparently it is the largest campus in Europe. I got a little lost after parking in the Aquatic Centre, but eventually found the student union and after a few minutes met Joy Bose, a leading member of the Manchester University Buddhist Society (MUBS). After a few more minutes James Conole, the MUBS Chair joined us and we found our way to a Lebanese Falafel Café.

MUBS was originally started some years ago by Lance Cousins, who also played a leading role in the Samatha Trust and is a well known Buddhologist. MUBS organises two meetings a week. One on Monday is a practice session led by a Samatha Trust teacher; the other on a Thursday hosts a range of speakers and practitioners from different traditions. Manchester University only provides limited funds to each university society and will only fund one society per religious tradition. This may well be a common practice in higher education institutions and I guess from the perspective of a secular institution this keeps things simple. It does mean, however, that different denominations within a religious or faith tradition may need to work together and an exclusive attitude by one denomination is not appropriate. In practice, groups will only form if there is a demand from interested students, and such students will likely already follow a particular tradition.

The MUBS model is a good one; although the Samatha Trust provides meditation teaching, the society does host speakers from other backgrounds and manages a comprehensive web site which lists all other Buddhist groups in the Manchester area. I think this is a model for University Buddhist societies that the NBO would want to support as good practice.

We discussed the recent Manchester Buddhist Conference. Given that it was held in August, it had been well attended, especially by monastics and other representatives of local groups. Hopefully a conference will take place in 2007, with Venerable Piyatissa from Ketumati playing a leading role.

Both Joy and James did not expect to be able to put much energy into MUBS next year; James is undertaking practice in a hospital and Joy will have completed his doctorate. Continuity for University Societies is a well-known problem and possibly one that the NBO can help with in some way.

Many thanks to Joy, James, and MUBS for their hospitality.

The MUBS web site is: http://www.umsu.manchester.ac.uk/mubs/manchester.html

Tara Centre

The Tara Centre is a retreat and meditation centre in the New Kadampa Tradition (NKT). It is based in a large grade two listed Victorian Mansion with some seventy rooms and large grounds near Derby. I had arranged to meet with Venerable Kelsang Khyenrab the resident teacher and NKT Spiritual director for the UK.

It was a Monday afternoon in early October and the balmy autumn was gradually getting wetter and cooler. On arriving, I was greeted by friendly and efficient members of the community and shown to a room in the Barn Retreat annexe where I deposited my laptop and bag. The Barn has six rooms available on a bed and breakfast basis and appears to be very popular. Ven. Khyenrab had generously offered me the use of a room for the night.

I met Ven. Khyenrab later and we talked for a while in the World Peace Café, a comfortable room in the main house which is popular with local people and ‘passing trade’. Indeed, Ven. Khyenrab mentioned that it had resulted in a significant flow of funds into the Centre. He also mentioned that the NKT were building international ‘World Peace’ hotels which functioned as a normal hotel but with the benefit of a shrine room and meditation teaching. The absence of alcohol and loud entertainment attracts those who appreciated a quiet and peaceful atmosphere.
Ven. Khyenrab then showed me around the extensive grounds, and the site for a future new temple, funds permitting.

As a supporter of the Theravada Forest Sangha, (who follow the traditional Vinaya), I was interested in the nature of NKT ordination and vows. I asked Ven. Khyenrab whether he followed the Vinaya precepts and he replied that he followed the Lam Rim framework originally written by Atisha in the early Middle ages. At this time Atisha had been invited to Tibet from India and produced a structured summary of Buddhist doctrine that became known as the Lam Rim. This subsequently formed the basis for the Kadampa tradition. Some followers of Lam Rim keep to the Vinaya framework whilst others, including the NKT, simply follow Lam Rim and vows which extend the five lay precepts. Some in the Tara community follow pratimoksha and Bodhisatva vows and a celibate lifestyle.

Ven. Khyenrab described some of the past difficulties that the NKT had experienced; the Dorje Shugden dispute with the Dalai Lama and problems with Tibetan groups who viewed the NKT with distrust and antagonism. Such problems were acute about ten years back but have subsided to some extent since then, although the NKT still tend to be viewed with disquiet in some quarters today. Apart from the founder and Spiritual Director of the NKT, Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, almost no senior member of the NKT is Tibetan.

Ven. Khyenrab showed me an internal NKT document describing moral guidelines for senior NKT members. Such guidelines are essential for maintaining the integrity of any organisation (and are also to be found in great detail in the Vinaya). Reading the booklet later in my room I found that it outlined processes for dealing with possible misdeeds of senior members who may, for example, have misappropriated funds, broke their vows, left the NKT tradition, or disseminated non-NKT teachings.

The NKT does seem to be concerned for the purity of its teaching and perhaps this is the reason that only the works of the Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso are to be found at the centre. Obviously all traditions have to clarify what it is they teach, however, in my experience ‘purity’ can be a troublesome concept, especially when we strongly attach to our particular ideal of ‘purity’. Many Buddhists could, if they thought about it, probably give excellent reasons why their tradition is ‘pure’ Buddhism. Ven. Khyenrab informed me later that, ‘Certainly we (NKT) do not believe that we are pure and other traditions are not!’

Coincidentally, someone remarked to me over the evening meal that they were uncomfortable that there seemed to be disapproval of non-NKT reading material, and that she was going to read such ‘contraband’ anyway.

The fact is that Buddhists often like to read books and the internet provides an incredible array of Buddhist material; some of it valuable. It is unlikely that any curious and intelligent Buddhist can be prevented from accessing such material. And any attempt just creates a sort of ‘big-brother’ atmosphere. Perhaps it is better to encourage Buddhists to develop their powers of discrimination to determine which books are useful and which are not.

Venerable Khyenrab assured me later that ‘it's only our public areas that are kept free of other books so visitors are clear where we're coming from. They can quickly see what we follow. No-one here is stopped from reading what they like’.

We discussed some areas of Buddhist etiquette – areas where tension can arise between different traditions. Ven Khyenrab agreed that Buddhist groups in Universities and elsewhere should be clear about their affiliation. This has been a bone of contention, that a University Buddhist Society can actually be exclusively NKT (or some other tradition) without identifying itself as such.

Ven. Khyenrab appreciated the information circulated from the NBO, but was not sure that the aims of the NBO were very clear. He welcomed a rewrite of the NBO constitution to clarify NBO objectives. At the moment he found that could not justify spending much time on NBO activity particularly when weighed against his many teaching and other responsibilities.

Later that evening Ven. Khyenrab led a Teacher Training Programme meeting. This sits alongside the general and foundation programme, which provide structured training in all aspects of the New Kadampa Tradition and eventually lead towards becoming a qualified NKT Dharma teacher. The advanced programmes are long and intensive, include examinations, and all programmes are based upon Geshe Kelsang’s works. Normally those on the teacher training course will be resident at the centre. Other activities hosted at the centre include school visits, art courses, holiday courses, empowerment events and retreats.

The centre appears a very busy, efficient, and enterprising establishment.

For more information visit: http://www.taracentre.org.uk/index.htm

Thrangu House, Oxford

The traffic in Oxford is busy and slow, so it was later then planned that I arrived at Thrangu House at 42 Magdalen Road, Oxford. I met Kathy Eason, the Secretary, Lama Wangyal, the resident Lama, and Stuart Tett, the Treasurer.

Thrangu House came about through the activity of Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche in 1979 when he first came to England. Over the next few years a number of houses were used for the growing community, culminating in the present location in Magdalen Road with its large and attractive shrine room.

The house and shrine room host a range of activities including meditation teaching, Chenrezig Puja and Tibetan Healing exercises.

Over a cup of tea, I described the history of the NBO and discussed my role. Lama Wangyal, Kathy and Stuart were not familiar with the NBO. Like all of the organizations that I have visited, their focus is on running a successful centre. Lama Wangyal mentioned a leaky roof and hoped that the Faith Communities Capacity Building Fund offered by the government might help with this.

Information about the Capacity Building Fund is available from the government website and the NBO has also circulated this information to members. However, the word ‘building’ included in the title is misleading; the funds are not intended to improve the physical integrity of temples and houses, but to improve administration processes and ‘service take up’, to use Civil Service jargon.

Lama Wangyal was interested in the role of the NBO in bringing groups together, but also wondered whether exposure to too broad a range of Buddhist teachings might lead to confusion. For example, such teachings as impermanence were very deep and required focus and practice to penetrate.

Lama Wangyal emphasised the practical nature of his teaching and Thrangu House. These were focused on generating happiness for people and helping with their lives and not on committee meetings. He asked in what way the NBO could directly help Thrangu House. I explained that the NBO offered publicity channels through its website and had helped organise events. It also provided information from various sources to its members. The NBO is not static but has evolved and adjusted its activities over the 12 or so years that it has existed.

The NBO is open to suggestions for change and for greater involvement with its members, but any activity does depend upon volunteers and resources being available.

More information on Thrangu House can be found at :
http://www.thrangu.clara.net/index.html

London Jamyang Buddhist Centre

London's Jamyang Buddhist Centre is housed in a converted Victorian Courthouse five minutes from Kennington Underground.

Jamyang’s website describes this:

'The Old Courthouse was originally a Police Court, which later became a Magistrates Court and is the oldest surviving, intact, Victorian Police Court in London. Until it was opened in 1869, there was no regular place where a magistrate sat in Lambeth.'

The fascinating story of the transformation of a place of judgment and incarceration into a Buddhist centre teaching compassion and liberation is also described on the web site.

I had come to meet Jane Sill, Jamyang’s NBO representative on Tuesday the 15th August, but due to an email mix up, found myself drinking a peppermint tea in the café and wondering who to talk to. Fortunately and to my great surprise, an ex-work colleague, John Bonnell, who I had not seen for about five years, appeared, led me to the Jamyang offices, and introduced me to Di Carroll, the Director.

We sat in the courtyard and discussed some of the issues facing Jamyang and the NBO. Jamyang has good relationships with the local community and the Council, and other Buddhist organizations, and is well known in UK Buddhism. It hosts a great number of activities, including meditation teaching, open days, a range of classes on many aspects of Tibetan Buddhism, special events on themes such as ‘Dying Well’, and community activities such as sponsored walks and Healthy Cooking Workshops. The centre is very welcoming, and includes a library, shrine room, Courtyard Café (currently closed), a large meeting room for hire, and limited accommodation.

Generally speaking, Di thought that Jamyang functioned very well. Perhaps one area that could improve was publicity, especially in the local area; Jamyang has a lot to offer and although many local people attend, this could be still greater. Jamyang is a member of the Foundation for the preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) and follows the Gelugpa tradition as taught by the founder, Lama Thubten Yeshe.

Di was not very familiar with the NBO and we discussed its role as neutral information and networking ‘hub’ between Buddhist organizations in the UK. Not all NBO members are entirely comfortable with every other member on the NBO ‘hub’, but maintaining dialogue between groups was a core purpose of the NBO. The alternative is to reject certain groups and to have a much more selective membership.

This might be required at some point, but leads to a more polarized and sectarian situation: and also a more complex situation. I think we should be aware that Buddhism in the UK is relatively new and still evolving. The situation is not a static one. Groups are changing and redefining themselves. Especially at such a time, interaction between groups is to be encouraged so that good practice can be communicated and less helpful practices identified at an early stage.

After our discussion I was fortunate to meet Geshe Tashi Tsering, Jamyang’s resident teaching and to share a meal with him and the Jamyang workers and volunteers.

For more information go to:

www.jamyang.co.uk/

www.fpmt.org

Manchester Buddhist Conference 5th August 2006

This, the first conference of its kind in Manchester, was organised by the Manchester University Buddhist Society (MUBS) and led by an organising committee comprising the Venerable Piyatissa (Ketumati Buddhist Temple) and the Venerable Miao Di (Fo Guan Shan Temple), together with Joy Bose, James Conole, Dennis Khong and Cathleen Liu of MUBS.

The venue for the day was the Fo Guan Shan Temple, a spacious Victorian building which had previously been a library. The organisation for the day had included a comprehensive web site, invitations to a wide range of Buddhists groups in the Manchester region and a detailed programme.

The event was attended by around forty participants, notably including some eleven monastics of various traditions. There were representatives from Ketumati, Manchester Buddhist Centre, Manchester Centre for Buddhist Meditation, Saraniya Dhamma Meditation Centre, Vairochana Buddhist Centre, Wat Chareon Bhavana, and Rochdale Zen Retreat.

There were some valuable talks, including ‘The heart of monastic practice’ from Reverend Master Bonati from the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives, talks on Buddhism in Higher Education; Counselling, Psychotherapy and Buddhism, and care for the dying.

The day finished with discussion groups examining Buddhists as a community. The great majority of the participants expressed their thanks for an opportunity to meet and talk with practitioners from different traditions. James Conole in his survey of ‘what students want from a Buddhist Society’, mentioned the importance of the social aspect. Students not only want to learn about and practice Buddhism, but also to meet with other like-minded people.

Some of the problems faced by university Buddhist societies were mentioned. In particular, the problems in maintaining continuity with a constantly changing student population and in gaining enough volunteers. The issue of ‘neutrality’ was also raised. University Buddhist societies are generally (and ought to be) a pathway to all mainstream Buddhist traditions.

The need for lay-people, in particular, to meet with other lay-Buddhists was a theme that was repeated throughout the day.

Additionally, the Rev Master Bonati also emphasised the need to practice diligently within a tradition in order to make progress as a Buddhist.

The Venerable Piyatissa closed the day with a wish to continue with an annual Manchester Buddhist conference. The beginning of August 2007 was suggested as a target for the next conference.

The NBO is very supportive of such regional events which create fellowship between Buddhist traditions, and would be enthusiastic about helping to organise and publicise similar events in Manchester or other areas of the UK. 

The Manchester University Buddhist Society website is: http://www.umsu.manchester.ac.uk/mubs/

From this comprehensive site, there are links to all groups in the Manchester area.

Rigpa Edinburgh

John Bold and his wife met me outside their pleasant bungalow a few miles south of Edinburgh at Bonnyrigg. Leading me through the house, John took me to his double garage, which had been nicely converted into an entrance area, shrine room, and office. I was impressed with the Tibetan feel of the interior, and John told me that the Samye Ling carpenter had produced a number of the brightly coloured and ornate artefacts for them.

A regular group of Rigpa meditators meet in the shrine room for various events, courses and practice. John’s wife had just returned from an eighteen month retreat in Dzochen Beara in the west of Ireland and both she and John were shortly to go to France to commence a three year retreat along with around 150 others. The Bonnyrigg centre would continue to be run by other group members. Sogyal Rinpoche kept in touch with his worldwide supporters through a variety of means including streaming video links over good internet connections.

The problem of keeping in touch is a common concern, both for many Buddhists scattered over the UK (and the globe) and for organizations such as the NBO whose major function is to act as a networking hub. Clearly, physical meetings are highly desirable, however, physical distance and the time and expense involved in travel can prove an almost insurmountable problem. Buddhist organisers tend to be time and money poor. The ‘middle way’ suggests that we do what we can; encouraging and supporting physical meetings, but also helping and communicating with those who cannot afford to travel.

Although John and the Rigpa followers related amicably with other local Buddhist groups, the Rigpa policy was to avoid ‘politics’ and much interaction with other initiatives and focus on Rigpa activities and practice.

As we were sitting in John’s well tended garden, nibbling on nuts, cheese and biscuits, three ducks landed in his small pond. John observed that they were good news and bad. They were pleasant to have around and fertilised his pond, but also ate the plant life and left copious deposits in the vicinity.

As I left I wondered whether there was a useful lesson to be learnt from the ducks.

Rigpa Edinburgh information can be found at: http://www.rigpa.org.uk/index.php?pid=53