Looking Ahead
 Jvalamalini says:
In the first part of my presentation to the AGM (summarised here) I talked about how the Centre runs, and reviewed 2015. I then looked ahead and invited us to start imagining our future into being.
Looking Ahead - audio
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Two days before the AGM, many of us were inspired by Ratnaguna's talk on Sangha Night - Awakening the Imagination with the Pure Land Sutras. Essential listening!
Just imagine if what we’re aiming for is not knowing something, but imagining the world better. Ratnaguna
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What if...?
- the point of the Dharma life is to imagine more greatly
- you imagine we're embraced by all the Buddhas
- we're in a world of thousands of rays of coloured light, where the sound of the wind in the trees and songs of magical birds sing the Dharma
- you consider that reality is pressing in on us all the time with all its wonder and mystery
- our practice is part of a cosmic stream of transcendent energy
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Our purpose at the Centre is to help each other imagine more fully and greatly?
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 Does our building do the most it could to support that?
Does it express our transcendent values, the possibility of imagining and bringing into being a more beautiful life?
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A few ideas
Imagine our Centre with...
- an overall simple elegant beauty, a coherent aesthetic, peaceful and warm
- a front to the street with natural colours and materials, more planting, clear contemporary signs
- an entrance that's easy to find and brings you into contact with order members and mitras
- lovely sangha hang-out spaces - kitchen-diner with oven & dishwasher, landscaped garden-courtyard
- a quiet meeting room where conversation isn't interrupted
- a flat for a few people to live in community at the Centre
- lower carbon emissions through better insulation and lighting
- internal staircase to integrate the building
- a second - generally available - shrine room
- the whole like a temple - a sacred space, open, light, beautiful...
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Three Questions to open your imagination
1. If you had £1,000 to spend on the Centre, what would you do?
2. If you had a million pounds to give to the Centre, what would you spend it on?
3. If you were considering giving £10,000 to a Centre development project, what would you need to know?
If you missed the AGM and want to give your ideas, click here. (There will be other opportunities to participate) |
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This troubled world needs us to be a stronger, brighter beacon of transcendental values in the next 20 years. To be effective, we need to be a unified sangha. We need to go deeper in our practice, and unite round a shared vision. Come and be part of it on 10th September.
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The Dharma in Bristol:
Invoking Padmasambhava
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Padmasambhava established Buddhism in Tibet – winning over hostile forces with his magical powers. There are many forces going against the Dharma in twenty-first century Britain. How could we be more effective in meeting and overcoming them?
Be part of invigorating our vision for the future of the Dharma in Bristol, at this year’s Padmasambhava festival. What next for Triratna in Bristol? What next for our practice?
Sat 10 Sept 2.30-9.30pm
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The London Buddhist Centre's inspiring new retreat centre has opened our ideas of what is possible! Click photo for video.
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On a more modest scale, this video of how the Shrewsbury Sangha created their first Centre shows how sharing a worthwhile project unifies Sangha
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