Buddhism in the UK (and some Thai influences)

This page provides access to various information to Buddhism in the UK. It is just a personal collection, though, and (naturally) reflects the considerable influence from Thailand. There was an FAQ some while back, but I think its been mothballed :( .

The Buddhist presence has grown considerably during the past couple of years -  if you are looking for more a general index, then I recommend consulting the following:

• The Buddhist Society, which caters for most schools and traditions, has its own web site. If you have enquiries, whether you are new to Buddhism or wish just to find out about centres available, then the Society will be a very useful first port of call. If you are in the London area, then I recommend popping in to visit the centre in Victoria.

• The Open Directory project (called dmoz) has a section on centres and groups in the UK, and already lists dozens of sites.
   
• Buddhanet UK Directory
   
• Find a Wat, Meditation Centre at nibbana.com (or try an alternative address if the link is broken).
   
• The Network of Buddhist Organisations has an affiliation of over 50 UK Buddhist organisations covering a wide range of traditions.   Among other things, it helps to promote awareness of issues that affect Buddhists in society.

(At some point I shall probably rename this page to indicate its particular focus.)

Places I have visited, People I have known ...

Below are sites of personal interest.

• Information on the Dhamma Talaka Peace Pagoda that has been built at Edgbaston Reservoir, Birmingham, a symbol of unity provided by the 'ecumenical' Birmingham Buddhist Vihara (information also available Vihara's older site and Nandawon's pages).
   
• A guide to The Forest Hermitage (Wat Pah Santidhamma) in the beautiful Warwickshire countryside.
   
• Some details about the Samatha Trust, including a guide to the main Samatha Centre in mid-Wales (in preparation).
   
• A Mini index to Dhammakaya, a meditation system that was introduced to Thailand earlier this century by "Luang Pohr Wat Paknam", and is now very popular there.  There is a site for the Dhammakaya International Meditation Centre UK, so it is starting to become more widely know here too :-)
   
• Some introductory books on Buddhist practice to indicate the Buddhist threefold way of Ethics, Meditation and Wisdom, part of a series of talks given by Ven. Ajahn Sanong Katapunyo of Wat Sanghathan, Thailand, which were translated into English by Mrs. Fuengsin Trafford. The Ven. Ajahn was particularly keen for people in the West to have access to these Dhamma talks.
   
• Buddha Vihara Aston, Birmingham - a vihara owned by followers of Dr. Ambedkar, but run by Thai monks, serving the local community in many ways.

Buddhist Organisations, Centres and Forums in the UK

This section contains links to monasteries, centres, organisations etc, a few of which I've added by request and so please be advised that these are linked on trust.

• The Buddhists' Three Jewels Website is a gateway to Burmese Websites on Buddhism and Buddhists Monasteries in UK. It includes information about the Tisarana Vihara in London.
   
• UK Association for Buddhist Studies aims to act as a focus for UK students of Buddhism from a wide variety of backgrounds.
   
• The Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies, under the direction of Professor Richard Gombrich, aims to promote at its core the study of Buddhist texts. It is only just at the beginning and a campaign is being launched over the coming months, for which the next meeting will be held in Oxford on 20 March 2004. The OCBS is actually part of a much broader umbrella called the Society for the Wider Understanding of the Buddhist tradition which recognises the need to serve not just the academic community, but Buddhist practitioners and the public in general. SO-WIDE will include also an international Buddhist Studies Network and outreach/accessibility projects, with many innovative ideas. For instance, I understand there is the intention to offer a conference to compare neurological research with the analysis of meditative states as recorded in suttas.
   
• Information about Angulimala, a Buddhist Chaplaincy devoted to helping the practice of Buddhism by prisoners, whose patrons include (end '95) Vens. Sangharakshita, Ven Sumedho and Lord Avebury. The spiritual director is Phra Ajahn Khemadhammo of the Forest Hermitage
   
• Aruna Ratanagiri: Harnham Buddhist Monastery is in the Thai Forest Tradition, situated on the border of England and Scotland. Its abbot is Ajahn Munindo, who was ordained by the late Venerable Ajahn Chah of Wat Nong Pah Pong. Its contents include teachings, a newsletter, and background information.
   
• Western Ch'an Fellowship was formed in 1997, based on a network of local groups which formed following the first teaching visit to the UK in 1989 of the Venerable Ch'an Master Dr Sheng-yen, who is Abbot of a monastery in Taiwan and Head of the Institutes of Chung Hwa Buddhist Culture in Taiwan and New York.
   
• The Friends of the Western Buddhist Order have an FWBO site.  Their College of Preceptors (FWBO Central) is becoming the core of the organisation and is located in Moseley, Birmingham, UK, which Sangharakshita, founder of the FWBO, discusses here.
   
• Nichiren Buddhism in Surrey and West Sussex [linked by request] is a pleasant site to view about a practice that originated in Japan - Soka Gakkai. The UK arm is SGI-UK. The tradition places highest regard on the Lotus Sutra and generally has rather different emphases compared with these pages. See what you think.
   
• Paul's [not Paul T's] UK Nichiren Shoshu Hokkeko pages. [linked by request] From the same root, but very distinct from SGI, though both practice the chant Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo facing the object of worship (Gohonzon).
   
• Vipassana Meditation in the tradition of Sayagyi U Ba Khin as taught by S.N. Goenka and his assistant teachers has centres around the world, including a UK Schedule for its Centre in Hereford.
   
• Echoes of the Name, [linked by request]   Exploring the Jodo Shinshu Nembutsu Way; part of The True Pure Land Religion, Shin Buddhism derives from Mahayana texts and is especially popular in Japan. This blog is maintained by Kyo-shin, a member of the Shogyo-ji-Three Wheels sangha (an independent Jodo Shinshu tradition with links of friendship to the Tokyo Higashi Honganji).
   
• Jamyang Buddhist Centre, London
  I've heard mentioned quite a lot this centre in the Tibetan Gelugpa tradition, which has received strong support from His Holiness the Dalai Lama. It all sounds very active and dynamic.
  
  
• Kagyu Samye Dzong, London
  This London centre, in the Tibetan Kagyu tradition, is a branch of Kagyu Samye Ling Monastery in Scotland. Kagyu Samye Dzong London is under the direct guidance of Dr. Akong Tulku Rinpoche and Ven.Lama Yeshe Losal. It sounds very similar to the Karma Ling in Birmingham, which my mother often visited.
  
  
• Colin Renshaw maintains a list of addresses in the Forest Sangha.  A few years ago he developed the most comprehensive on-line guide to Addresses of UK Buddhist Monasteries, Centres and Groups, but that is seems to have moved...
  

Miscellaneous resources

• Buddha Mind (used to be called Virtuous Reality) is courtesy of Ven Kusalo of Bodhinyanarama Monastery in New Zealand, who did the initial development whilst at Amaravati Monastery.
   
• Forest Sangha Newsletter, published by Amaravati Monastery near Hemel Hempstead.
   
• Wisdom Books, located in Essex, distributor of 1000's of books.

To be added perhaps ...

• A directory of a few Buddhist groups I know personally - the latest edition of the Buddhist Society directory contains details of 340 Buddhist groups in the UK (complete with email addresses and URLs!). See above for a link to a large database. I think mine will be more modest ;-)
• Potted histories of some Buddhist masters. For now, please refer to an article on Teachers
• My personal encounter with Buddhism.

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- Paul Trafford

Last updated: 11 December 2007