BUDDHIST LINKS

Theravada Buddhist Temple and Teaching Centre     www.amaravati.org

This Centre in rural Hertfordshire, UK, near Hemel Hempstead offers a series of teachings each week on meditation practice according to the Forest (Theravada) tradition of Buddhism originating in Thailand from the lineage of the Venerable Ajahn Chah. There is a lively and hospital double community of monks and nuns living at the Amaravati Buddhist monastery, and they have a retreat programme throughout the year apart from major retreat periods. Lay people are also invited to participate in the latter as helpers. They follow many of the early Buddhist customs e.g. one meal daily; the abbot is always a monk. They chant in the Pali language and have significant Pali names. ('Amaravati': 'Realm of the Deathless') 

Ratanagiri Monastery     www.ratanagiri.org.uk

Also of the Theravada tradition, this monastery is situated at Harnham, Northumberland, UK, and was founded from Amaravati, Hertfordshire

 

Cittaviveka Monastery

This was the first Theravada monastery, founded by Ajahn Chah himself, at Chithurst near Petersfield, Hampshire, UK. It has no web site of its own. Like Amaravati it has a double community of monks and nuns.

Address: Chithurst Buddhist Monastery, PETERSFIELD, Hampshire, GU31 5EU, UK

 

Soto Zen Buddhists     www.throssel.org.uk

This Buddhist community in Northumberland, UK, is part of the Chinese-Japanese tradition of Mahayana Buddhism. Their foundress was an Englishwoman, trained in Japan, who died recently, the Rev Jiyu Kennett. They are part of the Soto Zen tradition well known in the West, with a large monastery (Shasta Abbey) in California. Throssel Hole is the training monastery; they have various small temples in other parts of Britain. The Zen tradition has adapted to western customs in that men and women are totally equal in rank, all being ordained as priests, and they have adapted to some western customs e.g. regarding food, following European meal-times unlike the Theravada tradition (see above). The Abbot may be a man or woman and all members of the community are referred to as ‘monks’ or when finally trained, ‘priests’. They chant in English and have significant English names.