Ipswich Buddhist Centre celebrates Festival of Enlightenment in town centre

Amoghavajra writes from Ipswich in the UK with news of their recent ‘Festival of Enlightenment’, celebrating 25 years of Buddhist activities in the town. He says -

“Last Sunday, 8th May, Triratna’s Ipswich Buddhist Centre celebrated Buddha Day right in the very centre of Ipswich. Acalavajri and Bodhivamsa inspired us to take our celebration of this important Buddhist Festival to the people of Ipswich and use this ancient Town Square – known locally as The Cornhill – that was established in 700CE. It is used frequently to host many different events and by holding our Festival of Enlightenment in the square we hoped to really bring ourselves to the attention of the townspeople. This year marks 25 years of activities in the town and what better time to take the courageous step of practicing in the square.

“Our dream was to erect a ‘bodhi tree’ which would be similar to the old British ‘clootie tree’ – a wishing tree. Jnanamitra designed our tree and canopy which went up easily on the day. As you can expect we were all apprehensive not just about such a public event but also whether the fickle British weather would bless us or rain on us! In the end we had glorious weather.
Our Evolution shop is located a hundred yards from this site and we created a pathway to the shop. During the day we had people meditating in the shop window.

“The day itself went supremely well. The sun shone and we had a great interest from the passing public in our festival. We had a dedication ceremony, meditation, chanting, walking meditation, talks and concluded with a 7-fold puja. A blast of a day and a huge success in bringing our Sangha together, along with friends from Colchester, Bury St Edmunds and Padmaloka. I think we made a very positive impression on the life of the town and received a lot of interest from those passing by. I think this big day will be remembered well by Sangha and townsfolk alike”.

Amoghavajra (Chairman, Triratna Buddhist Community Ipswich)

Bodhivamsa, one of the organisers, adds - "We also wanted a compassionate aspect to the event, so we provided lunch for the general public, and many took up this offer. Fifty meals were prepared at a local restaurant by our sangha team of cooks, led by Carol Bloyce. We also accepted donations of food from local ethnic Buddhists.

"The Evolution shop in Ipswich had people meditating in the shop window and a path of enlightening footsteps was drawn on the ground leading to the event on the town square. This pathway was especially of interest to youngsters who could be seen following it accompanied by their reluctant parents.

"Being proud and confident in our Buddhist faith was the main driver and vision for such a testing event. The event gave many people in our Sangha the opportunity to overcome fears about themselves and join collectively and openly in celebrating a world changing event. The event also managed to raise a lot of press interest, with interviews on local radio, and several articles in local papers including a centre spread entitled: ‘Lighting up lives at an inspiring festival’".

There's lots more photos of the day on-line here.

Ipswich Buddhist Centre hosts upcoming Festival of Enlightenment

Triratna's Ipswich Buddhist Centre is celebrating its 25th anniversary of activities in Ipswich. It's a big year for them - and they're celebrating in style! Bodhivamsa writes with the details - and an invitation. He says - "This year is the 2600th anniversary of the Buddha's Enlightenment. If you don't think that is enough to celebrate then it is also 25 years since Triratna activities first started in Ipswich.

"So we have decided to take our double celebration to the people of Ipswich on Sunday 8th May 2011. To achieve this we have booked the town square (known locally as Cornhill), from 10am-4pm. We will be creating a sacred space on Cornhill for meditation, puja, talks, and a delicious lunch too! The town square is quite big so we are going to need some help from you if we are going to fill it. If you would like to take part, in whatever way you can, then please let us know by contacting the Centre - phone us on 01473 211516, e-mail to enquiries@ipswichbuddhistcentre.org.uk - or just turn up on the day".

Colchester and Ipswich Sanghas make Pilgrimage to India

Amalaketu, the new chairman of Triratna’s Colchester Buddhist Centre, writes with news of their recent Pilgrimage to the Buddhist Holy Places in India and Nepal - one of several this winter.  He says -

“28 Pilgrims from the Triratna Colchester and Ipswich Centres (plus a few interlopers from Brighton and Cambridge!) went out to India and Nepal this New Year, to visit the Buddhist Holy Sites.  These are the four  places where the Buddha was born (Lumbini, Nepal), Enlightened (Bodh Gaya), first taught the Dharma (Sarnath) and entered Paranirvana (Kusinagar).  We also fitted in trips to Nalanda, Vulture’s Peak, and the Bamboo Grove, the first land ever donated to the Buddhist Sangha.

"After arriving in Delhi (and making a quick visit to the Taj Mahal) we spent New Year’s Eve on the Ganges, fortunately not losing anyone to Hinduism!  Varanasi was in fact enough to put anyone off for life - it’s one of the craziest places on Earth; Sadhus attempting to put red spots on our foreheads, and charge 100 rupees for it!

"We spent time in Sarnath, doing an outdoor Puja where the Buddha first met his old followers, the Five Ascetics. While there we visited Dhammaloka, Triratna’s land in Sarnath, probably completely surprising  the two mitras living there by just turning up and doing Puja in their shrine room. They are probably still in shock...!

"We spent time on our land in Bodh Gaya, meeting Buddhavajra who introduced us to the site. Jane King of the Ipswich Sangha became a Mitra, and we felt very fortunate to be able to have such a meaningful ceremony there. We also visited Shashi’s Thangka School, Shashi being an Indian mitra very much associated with the Triratna community in Bodh Gaya. 

Over the course of the pilgrimage we visited all of the Holy Sites, but the highlights were going out to Kapilavastu (the Buddha’s birthplace in Nepal) and doing Puja at Rajgir on the Vulture’s Peak. We also headed out to Padmasambhava's meditation cave in Pharping, and did Puja to the amazement of the Tibetan Monks there.

"Fitting in a quick safari at Chitwan Safari Park, and finishing off in Kathmandu, the Pilgrimage Sangha returned to the UK in the middle of January, mostly sick (Pilgrims Plague?!) but after having a most amazing experience. It was such a harmonious trip, with a real sense of community, and we’re all still absorbing it..."

If you would like to know more please contact Amalaketu at the Colchester Buddhist Centre.

Sangharakshita in Ipswich

Amoghavajra, Chairman of Triratna’s Ipswich Buddhist Centre, in the East of England, writes to say -

“We were delighted to welcome Bhante recently, as he visited the Ipswich Buddhist Centre nearly one year on from the opening of our new centre.

“On Thursday 17th June he inaugurated our chapter room - a room at the heart of our centre used for study and discussion sessions. The chapter room has a small shrine dedicated to the 1,000 armed Avalokitesvara who is often thought of as a symbol for Triratna activities.

“During a question-and-answer session, Bhante also answered questions on diverse issues such as the difference between thinking of a Buddha image as sensual or sensuous, and how Renunciation was something that the Buddhist tradition offered us living in the 21st century: with the current recession many countries and individuals are needing to live on less, and there was an inequitable imbalance in the consumption of the earth’s resources between developed and developing countries.

“He also took some time to trace some of his family roots in the village of Battisford, near Stowmarket. During a visit to the village with Paramartha, he happened across a woman who possessed hundreds of years of his family history, quite by chance. He also had time to meet with friends in Ipswich.

“For more photos of the occasion check our on-line photo album.

love, Amoghavajra

Sangharakshita opens new Ipswich Buddhist Centre

Amoghavajra, Chairman of the FWBO's Ipswich Buddhist Centre, writes with news of their new centre opening. He says -

"On Saturday 11th July Urgyen Sangharakshita opened the new Ipswich Buddhist Centre. Nearly ninety people attended the dedication ceremony.

"Sangharakshita arrived outside the new centre to hear us all chanting the Long Life Tara mantra of compassion. Sangharakshita cut the ribbon across our front door then led us upstairs to our cathedral-like shrine room where he saluted the shrine and then chanted the verses of blessing. After the dedication ceremony he talked for forty minutes, covering the ground of how his latest volume, The Essential Sangharakshita, came into being.

"He also introduced the legends around the discovery of the Perfection of Wisdom sutras by way of introducing his other new book: Living Ethically. His contribution was very simple and and very moving. It was a delight hearing him talk.

"We now feel that our centre is well and truly open".

More details available on their website, www.ipswichbuddhistcentre.org.uk

Ipswich Buddhist Centre plans Grand Opening

The FWBO’s Ipswich Buddhist Centre is gearing up for a GRAND OPENING of their new Centre, scheduled for the Saturday 11th July. They say -

“Every Sangha member is welcome at what we hope will be a very special day, the Opening Ceremony and Dedication of the new Centre performed by the Order's founder, Urgyen Sangharakshita. The provisional programme is as follows:

10.00 Arrive - 10.30 Welcome, Introduction to the Day - 11.30 Short Meditation and Dedication ceremony - 1.00 Lunch - 1.45 Musical interlude - 2.30 Talk - 3.30 Tea and cake - 4.30 Finish

Advayamati gives a bit more detail of what’s going on behind the scenes on their Facebook group. He says–

“Of course, the main activity at the moment (well, the one most on my mind, anyway!), is the transformation of the new Centre. I'm pleased to say that things are really progressing now. After ages of delay getting Council approval, estimates, and those sorts of things, the work is really underway now. The builders have ripped out the lower flight of stairs and installed a new one, the shell of the disabled toilet is in place under them, the servery units have been assembled and are awaiting the plumbing before being fitted, the upgraded fire system has been wired in, and the lift space is in the process of being opened out. And around all this, of course, a small but valiant band of Sangha volunteers have been ploughing on with the decorating, with the result that the ground floor is virtually complete, and great strides are being made on the first floor. We had a great session upstairs over the weekend, including a very hardworking couple who had only come to the Centre for the first time the previous Tuesday. Still plenty to do, but I do now start to feel that it could be finished in time, just about!”

The address of the new Centre is 4 Friars Bridge Road, Ipswich, and their website is at www.ipswichbuddhistcentre.com.  

Ordination in Ipswich

On Saturday afternoon 11th April Dee Margerison of the Ipswich (UK) sangha became Acalavajri (long i): she who is the immovable vajra or diamond.

Acalavajri's private preceptor was Srivandana who gave a very moving account of how she had arrived at this name and rejoiced heartily in Acalavajri's many qualities. The ceremony took place in the Ipswich Buddhist Centre and was attended by over 70 people, among them Acalavajri's partner, family and friends.

The public preceptor was Parami.

SADHU!

Ordinations in Germany and Ipswich

At a Public Ordination Ceremony held on Friday 3rd April at the (very beautiful) Minden Buddhist Centre Charlotte Paulus became Saddhabodhi. Her name, which is in Pali, means „She who is realizing, or awakening, through faith“ or „She whose awakening arises through faith“. Her Private Preceptor was Prasadavati and her Public Preceptor was Dayanandi.

Sadhu!!!

Parami writes “I am delighted to inform you that Dee Margerison of the Ipswich sangha will be ordained next week. She is currently on retreat with Srivandana (her private preceptor) and a few close friends. I will join them later in the week. The private ordination will take place on Thursday the 9th April at 16.00h. This is the day of the full moon which is auspicious.

“The public ordination will take place at the FWBO's Ipswich Buddhist Centre on Saturday 11th April at 14.00. All are welcome to attend, but please let Swadipa know if you plan to come along. The then ex-Dee will attend the Akashavana spring 3-month women’s Ordination Retreat in Spain”.

New Centre for FWBO Ipswich

Hot on the heels of Monday's post comes news of new premises for the FWBO's Ipswich Buddhist Centre.

For some years they've been in rented premises; they have for some time been seeking permanent premises and contacted thier Facebook supporters last week to say "we completed on friday 16th january. So we have finally taken possession of our new "Centre to be", and stepped across the threshold. Now there is just the building and alteration work to be done to fit it to our needs, and then some decoration and furnishing, and "hey presto", we have our own beautiful Centre.

"The work we are embarking on is; to strip out some cement sheeting boards containing asbestos, and renewing the ceiling; to fit a disabled toilet and lift, and improve access; and to fit out a servery. So we hope those works will be commencing in the next week or so. If anyone would like to look around the building do email or speak to a member of the Council and we can arrange it, and I am sure there will be more organised visits arranged from time to time.

"We have a certain amount of money allocated for this work, but it will certainly cost more than we have to create the sort of Centre we really want, so we are going to have to embark on a Fundraising project to bring in the funds. To this end, a first step has been to set up a "Just Giving" site, which you can view on www.justgiving.com/fwboipswich".

FWBO News says SADHU!

Actually, they did more than simply announce their news - there's a series of three videos posted on YouTube giving a sense of the new Centre and the sort of work that'll be needed to turn the old light-industrial premises into a Buddhist Centre.

You can watch them here: part I - part II - part III.

New premises appeal for Ipswich Buddhist Centre

The FWBO's Ipswich Buddhist Centre has been seeking new premises - and it looks like they are well on the way to finding somewhere. We're happy to pass on this message from their Facebook site -

"Hello there all, in case you don't know we have found a new freehold building in a very prominent place in the town centre.

"We are the process of seeing who is interesting in helping us in a appeal to raise money to move and furnish to new centre to continue our work of creating a positive sphere of influence and help people to transform grow and develop.

If you have fundraising ideas, skills and would like to be involved please let us know. It is a very exciting development :-)

Check them out on Facebook.

FWBO News wishes them all the best!