the year of the buddha

by martin bradley

For me, this year (2021) has turned out to be the year of the Buddha.

In February, on my seventieth birthday, I took a tuk tuk to Cambodia’s ancient city Angkor Wat. That magnificent place had been built in the 12th century firstly as a Hindu holy city then, later, as a Buddhist one.

I was there, once again, to see those impressive temples (Wats) and walk in the footsteps of the ancients. It was somewhat of a surreal experience as those were Covid 19 times and, luckily for me, there were few tourists. I had the expanse of the ruins virtually to myself and could see more of the city than on my first visit in 2012 .

The unfortunate circumstances of the virulent pandemic meant that by September I was back in England. But, fortunately, I was able to visit Colchester’s Mercury Theatre and listen to a sublime extract from ‘The Buddha of Suburbia’ read by none other than the author, Hanif Kureishi, himself.

More recently, on one Saturday later in September, it was my first day at the Colchester Buddhist Centre (a charity registered, in May 1995, as The Triratna Buddhist Community, Colchester). The Centre had freshly reopened after pandemic lockdowns and times of physical distancing.

I had signed up for a short (6 Saturday) course on ‘Buddhism and Meditation’ at that Centre. I had many reasons to do so, not least to get me out of my semi-monastic life in my rented double room and to interact with real people (as opposed to those wraiths on Youtube or Zoom) and, of course, to learn more about the practical aspects of Buddhism.

The time had come, or so I reckoned, to enquire beyond the reading of Ram Dass, Alan Watts and Jack Kornfield. I felt the urge to go back to basics, to actively involve myself in Western Buddhist teaching, and thereby understand a little more about its practice.

Some while ago (in Selangor, Malaysia), I had attended monthly meetings with a circle of Chinese Malaysians seeking to practise dayto-day Buddhism. It was helpful, but I couldn’t help thinking that the meetings echoed those of Christian practise, replete with singing to guitar or piano accompaniment which seemed very much like hymns, not to mention the bowing before an idol of Buddha which again felt like the genuflection to the crucified Catholic Christ. That wasn’t for me, but my first day at the Colchester Buddhist Centre was very different.

I’d just walked a mile from my domicile to the Centre. I arrived early. Early enough to sit at a bus stop outside the Centre gathering my thoughts. It was the first time that I had interacted in a group setting since June this year. That was when my Cambodian teaching days had ended.

Those British Summer months had glided past. With a growing distance from my teaching

A Buddha shrine at Angkor Wat, Cambodia

The Buddha of Suburbia Hanif Kureishi 1990

Allen Ginsberg, Boulder, Colorado, 1994. Photo c. Steve Miles

and presentation days, I confess to having had a little anxiety about interacting in a group setting again. Although I’d paid for the course I could have, of course, simply not turned up. But then that would have defeated one of my objectives, and that was to re-integrate myself back into local society after a 17 year absence. I had girded my loins and went to the Centre, my curiosity finally outweighing my reticence.

I stood outside that renovated building looking in, letting others in before me. It was a gentlemanly, yet also tentative, act. Inside, there were lots of welcoming smiles, but not those unsettling “oh my god this is a cult, get me outta here” type smiles, but actually welcoming “I’m so glad that you could make it” smiles instead. The type of smiles which succeed in making you, or at least me, feel welcome.

The building, which had served as a warehouse in Portland Road, had been bought from Colchester Borough Council and renovated to suit its current purpose. The moment that I walked in I was made to feel at ease, comfortable, and welcomed both by the people (ordained members of the Triratna Buddhist Order and Sangha) and (strangely enough) by the building. There was a very therapeutic feel to the whole environment.

Two classes had gathered in that entry hall. There were rows of blue chairs and sofas which quickly filled with newbies and old hands as ten thirty approached. I sat near the back simply because that is where I was and, I guess, to feel less self-conscious. The Centre’s ‘team’ (experienced Buddhists) generally wore a white ribbon around their necks and a name badge to be recognised although, I learnt, that some don’t. It was quite a relaxed atmosphere.

The usual welcome chit chat explained the Centre, introduced the ‘team’ and gave a general introduction as to why we were there, and what we would do. Cups of tea, for we were mostly British there, and tea is obligatory, were followed by a quick Q & A then the group divided and our class remained as the Saturday meditation group disappeared up the blonde wooden staircase.

Those of us who remained were the newcomers and attendant ‘Team’. There was the briefest explanation of Buddhism, as well as a short history of Buddhism in Colchester, then we were led upstairs to the main shrine room, bypassing the kitchen on the way. The more I saw of the building the more I liked it. The copious amounts of wood aided in the relaxing feel, and entirely conducive to the building’s purpose.

There was no weight, no heaviness and it was as if the whole decor was designed with counselling and care in mind. There was no heaviness of religion, although the Buddha was present and represented by small practically unobtrusive (and entirely tasteful) figures and figurines.

We, the new course attendees (of all shapes, sizes and with varying abilities) were invited to sit before a stately statue (Rupa) of Buddha, in the main shrine room. There was another, smaller, shrine room which held the Buddha from the Centre’s previous residence. I opted for a chair.

Others, who evidently were more agile, sat on cushions on the floor. Sadly my mistreated old body is no longer supple enough for that. After being asked if we have any objection to incense being burnt, we were led through a forty minute session of meditation after a mindful ‘body scan’(relaxation session). Honestly, that was the longest that I’ve been able to meditate so far.

After we emerged from meditation we decamped, donned shoes, chatted and left with promises of our return the following week. I can honestly say that I am looking forward to going back to that warm, inviting, atmosphere.

Now for a little history.

The Buddhist Centre is now a well established community in Colchester. For about thirty years classes have been held in Colchester which had eventuated in a Buddhist Centre being developed (in rented accommodation) for eighteen years. That was in Colchester’s Manor Road. Eventually a property was bought in Portland Road, Colchester, to further develop the Colchester Buddhist Centre, which opened in 2017.

Colchester, surprisingly enough, has quite a

Burmese-Pali Manuscript, Welcome Collection

history of Buddhism, the Colchester Buddhist Centre and its links with fellow Triratna Buddhist organisations, has been a boon to Buddhists in the area.

Colchester’s University of Essex too has links to the Centre through its Buddhist Chaplaincy, which is part of a Multi Faith Chaplaincy Centre on the Colchester campus of the University of Essex, currently linked through Amalaketu of the Colchester Buddhist Centre.

Before the town’s contemporary interest in Buddhism, Colchestrian Thomas Rhys Davids had Buddhist links dating back to the 1800s.

Born in Colchester (May 12th 1843), Thomas Rhys Davids was an early Buddhist and Pali scholar in the period of the late 1800s and early 1900s. He had been partially responsible for a clearer understanding of Buddhism in Britain with books such as ‘Buddhism its History and Literature’ published by G.P. Putnam and Sons, 1907 (New York and London).

In 'Thomas William Rhys Davids' in the 'History of Religions, vol. 27, no. 1', University of Chicago Press, 1987, pp. 104–06), George D. Bond has written concerning Rhys Davids that...

“His books and writings provided Europe with a fresh perspective on the Buddhist traditions, which had previously been depicted primarily and with great bias by missionaries in Asia. Seeking to establish valid approaches to the interpretation of the Buddhist tradition, Rhys Davids advocated the value of the Pali canon and founded the Pali Text Society.”

In case you were wondering what Pali is, according to SOAS (university of London) …

“Pali is a Middle Indic dialect closely related to Sanskrit, and one of the major languages of Buddhist scriptures and literature. It has indeed been used for over 2000 years by Theravāda Buddhists of India, Sri Lanka, and South East Asia.”

(Of course, slightly earlier than Rhys Davids, though not a Colchestrian, Edwin Arnold (another British Buddha enthusiast) had written his seminal work, the epic poem ‘The Light of Asia’ about the Buddha, which was originally published in 1879, twenty-eight years before Rhys Davids’ ‘Buddhism its History and Literature’).

Later (1907) ‘The Buddhist Society of Great Britain and Ireland’, was formed under the auspices of the Venerable Ananda Metteyya (Alan Bennett). This was succeeded (1924) by ‘The London Buddhist Society’, founded by Christmas Humphreys. However it was in the 1960s that Buddhism became more popular in Britain. The advent of a new generation reading American writers such as Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac, both advocates of Buddhism, and the return to Britain (from India) of philosophical Indophiles (trained and ordained in Buddhism), helped in a reawakening of Buddhism in the British consciousness.

Western Buddhism (a development from that found in Asia) and its practitioners have grown many fold over the past few decades, as people look to lifestyles more conducive to ethical and ecological living. 'Friends of the Western Buddhist Order', was founded in London, April 1967 by Sangharakshita (Dennis Philip Edward Lingwood) who had recently returned to England after spending two decades as a Buddhist and monk in India, following his demobilisation from the British army. This 'order' has grown into being the, now international, ‘Triratna Buddhist Community’ to which The Colchester Buddhist Centre is linked.

The Dharma Bums, Jack kerouac, Mayflower-Dell, 1965

colchester buddhist centre

Colchester Buddhist Centre is at the heart of a thriving, friendly community of practicing Buddhists. We run weekly meditation and Buddhism classes, courses, and study groups for all levels of experience, host day events for Buddhist festival days and other special events, and run several weekend retreats per year.

We are part of the Triratna Buddhist Community, a worldwide Buddhist movement in over 20 countries teaching and practicing Buddhism suitable for people, at all levels of commitment, living in the modern world.

The best way to contact us is to email contact@colchesterbuddhistcentre.com or to drop us a message on Facebook.

Address: Colchester Buddhist Centre 2 Portland Road Colchester CO2 7EH