I am sure you have heard that we have an interesting prospect as regards a new Buddhist Centre for Ipswich. Last week we held an open evening to explore the opportunities and difficulties that a new centre would pose. It was good to hear people’s views and dreams about what a large Centre could give us. I started the evening with a quote from Urgyen Sangharakshita, the founder of the Triratna Buddhist Order and Movement. The quote was from a talk about the five pillars of our movement given in 1990, and one of those pillars is comprised of the three main Institutions of Triratna.
Now if you have been attending classes at the Ipswich Buddhist Centre for some time you have probably heard of the three ‘C’s. Well if you haven’t then I will explain. The 3 C’s are the fundamental institutions that form the base of Urgyen Sangharakshita’s vision for introducing Buddhism into the modern ‘Western’ world, our world. They are: Buddhist Centres, residential Communities and Co-operative businesses. Sangharakshita considered that these three, especially when working in conjunction, would be the best and most effective way of introducing Buddhism to us, allowing us to lead a full, effective and meaningful Buddhist life.
Over 15 years ago, Ipswich had in-place all three ‘C’s. We had the Buddhist Centre, then above the shops in the Thoroughfare, a Buddhist community in Hadleigh Road and a Co-op, although we now use the term: Team Based Right Livelihood Business (TBRL), in the form of the Evolution shop.
Unfortunately, the shop shut when the Cambridge-based Windhorse Trading decided to close its business. The community was originally established to house the shop staff, so eventually that also closed. Luckily for us in the Ipswich Sangha the Centre has kept going strong, growing bigger over these years.
So the current opportunity to buy a new and larger Buddhist Centre is very important on many fronts. It not only means we can now house all the activities we run in one place, integrating our Sangha. It also means we can have other events, activities and classes that the current Centres limited space does not permit. One important new opportunity, as the new building is in a pleasant residential area, would be the base for a new Buddhist residential Community.
So why did Sangharakshita feel that a Buddhist Community was important for the spread of Buddhism?
We may think of a Buddhist Community being like the traditional Buddhist monasticism you see in places like Thailand. These monastic communities are a legacy from bygone days, they arose from very different cultural and socio-economic conditions to those in which we now live. They have a strict and rigid formalism that maintains the hierarchical split between the monks and the general public. However, Sangharakshita’s new vision of a Buddhist movement, a new Order based not on the traditional monk-public divide but rather on ordaining people regardless of lifestyle, as long as their lifestyle supported their spiritual commitment to Go For Refuge(GFR) to the Three Jewels. Back at the start of Triratna, some of those inspired by this vision began living in urban communities and working in Buddhist businesses, thus living and working together. These early communities developed into what became, effectively, a semi-monastic lifestyle, our own form of the Buddhist Community living situation.
Throughout Buddhist history, from the time of the Buddha, Buddhists coming together to live and practice communally has been a key part of Buddhism. Originally, in the Buddha’s time it was people coming together to form small communities of dedicated Buddhist practitioners. The Shorter Gosingha Sutta gives details of how three of the Buddha’s disciples live together, and practice together in perfect harmony. However, this level of harmony and ease takes many years of dedicated practice to establish. In the last few years those who wanted to experience the spiritual intensity of living in a Buddhist community have had to move away from Ipswich. It would be wonderful if we could offer again, an opportunity for those with such spiritual ambitions the means to fulfil them in Ipswich.
Many of our Buddhist Centres, such as the Mexico City Buddhist Centre, the Berlin Buddhist Centre and the London Buddhist Centre, have Buddhist residential communities at the heart of their mandalas.
So as the Sangha grows in Ipswich the need for a Buddhist community also grows. A place where people can spend more time with other Buddhists, learning and helping each other to journey along their individual spiritual paths. These are rare living situations. Most of us live singularly or in small nuclear family groups. These living situations can be beneficial and supportive of your Buddhist practice, but the opportunity for spiritual growth is most likely to be found when spending the most time with those who share your ideals and understand Kalyana-Mitrata, Spiritual Friendship. We have probably all experienced a little of what it is like to live in a Buddhist Community, if we have been on retreat. That may have only been a weekend Sangha retreat, but we will have been able to spend a few days in the company of other Buddhists, working together, maybe doing the washing-up, cleaning or cooking. So we each have a small taste of what it would be like to live with fellow Buddhists and work towards achieving the level of harmony and fellowship that the Gosingha Sutta describes thus: “we are living in concord, with mutual appreciation, without disputing, blending like milk and water, viewing each other with kindly eyes.”
Residential Buddhist communities provide an opportunity to go beyond our usual narrow self-identity by deeply engaging with others who share the same values, and a sense of commitment to them, all in a supportive environment.
The final ‘C’ is Buddhist Business’s or TBRL’s. With the closing of Windhorse Trading a major Buddhist employer vanished. There are some Buddhist businesses, but they are generally few and far between. Establishing a new business is hard work and even more so when that business is based on strong ethical sensibilities. This possible new Centre, with its space, may be able to provide a base for a Buddhist Business, and the presence of a Buddhist Community is often the germination ground for ideas and eventually the reality of establishing a new Buddhist Business in Ipswich.
Finally I would just like to say a big Thank You to all those who have been able to make a financial Pledge to support us in our attempts to buy a new Centre. We have not yet reached the amount required to make a bid, we have two thirds of the Pledges required. So if you can make a Pledge or a second Pledge, or maybe even ask a friend or relative to help us then that would be wonderful.
Pledge Here: Pledge a Donation or Loan
However, many will not be in a position to help financially, but just your continued support, confidence and enthusiasm around this project, of spreading the Dharma in Ipswich, is vital if we are to succeed in having and maintaining a larger presence in Ipswich. Saddhu!
We will let you know later this month how the purchase of a new Centre for Ipswich is going.
Also later this month we have the Sangha Day Festival on Sunday 17th November. A chance for the Ipswich Sangha to come together and just enjoy and celebrate each others friendship and support as we begin to lead a Dharma life. A further notable event is on Saturday afternoon 23rd November, when we welcome back Bodhisetu, our newest Order Member.
I hope to see you soon.
Bodhivamsa, November 2024
