Rhyd-y-cilgwyn had been on our short list for some time but the one serious drawback (for our needs) was the traffic noise from the A525 which skirts the property. We have now reached the point where we feel the search has gone on long enough and something has to give so we wondered whether the road noise was a compromise worth making. The buildings offered plenty of scope and included an attractive main house, several cottages and a substantial set of farm buildings. The land included over seventy acres of deciduous woodland and fields suitable for camping all set within the beautiful Vale of Clwyd. The location made it accessible to the whole country and a bus stopped at the main entrance.

A quiet country location has always been a key element in our search but we also have to find somewhere affordable, accessible, big enough to accommodate our long term needs, with the chance of acceptable planning permissions, etc. Given that this site met so many of our needs, and had been so well looked after by the owners, the trustees and steering group had a very difficult time trying to reach agreement on whether to proceed. In fact we had a very tough all-day meeting trying to reach an agreement and the meeting, due to finish at three, and then five, finally ended at seven but still without a resolution.

We then involved an acoustic consultancy to explore the possibility of making an acceptable noise reduction using noise barriers. Unfortunately the conclusion was that even with considerable expenditure over £100,000 the reduction would only be effective close to the barrier and that was assuming that a 500 metre barrier of 2.5 metres would be appropriate and acceptable to the local planning authority.

We remain divided over whether the noise issue was serious enough to pull out of buying what is, in many ways, the ideal property but the consensus decision was to carry on the search and have faith that something like Rhyd-y-cilgwyn will turn up soon in a quieter environment.

We have visited two properties recently that are worth mentioning.

The first was situated in it’s own secluded valley of 152 acres. The land consisted of woodland, grass paddocks and small lakes set in lovely Yorkshire countryside. The main house was a sprawling eccentric converted farmhouse with ten bedrooms. Beyond that a 2-bed cottage, stables and other farm buildings which brought the overall build area to about 20,000 sq ft. I must say I was very taken with the place and it remains on our current ‘shortlist’ as our search continues. It certainly ticked a number of our boxes but unfortunately there were still a few issues that got in the way – it is set in what is classified as an ‘area of outstanding natural beauty’ which would make any plans to redevelop and grow very difficult, all the buildings are focused in one area rather than spread a little more around the land, the overall ‘footprint’ area is only just big enough, there was no local public transport service (York being 18 miles away) and the cost would limit how much development we could afford to carry out.

The second was a residential and agricultural country estate set in the rolling hills of North Northamptonshire, with two substantial principal houses set in mature grounds and parkland, secondary residential accommodation, commercial offices and farm. The whole estate is on the market for eight million pounds but it is available in separate lots and so we viewed the elements that might fit our requirements. The location is very good being only one hour from Birmingham and therefore reasonably UK central and the countryside very quiet if a little pastoral. There are problems too of course not least financial and so discussions are on going. The photograph shows our visiting group considering the pros and cons of the site having munched our butties under the shade of a beech tree.

You’d be forgiven for assuming little had been done in the last three months given my sluggish blog but don’t be deceived. One of the challenges of keeping you up to date via this means of communication is the fact that whatever I write about recent property visits might also be read by the estate agents involved. Paranoia you cry! Well we know that one agent at least did check the blog out so, given the delicate nature of property purchase negotiations, I must continue to be cautious. Sometimes a property is almost good enough but doesn’t quite fit the bill so we inform the agent that we are not pursuing it and move on but nonetheless keep it in the background just in case our brief changes or we run out of options.

Over the past three months we’ve visited a number of possible sites including country estates, farms, priories, hotels and a retreat centre. Sometimes there’s just not enough space or potential footprint,  sometimes the land is not private enough or well ‘ringfenced’, sometimes the road noise is too intrusive or the main building is too close to neighbouring properties, sometimes the public transport links are non-existent or the journey times too great from some parts of the UK. These are all problems we’ve encountered and usually it takes a site visit to know.

The word ‘compromise’ can be increasingly heard in our discussions. The phrase ‘something has to give’ is not far behind. Occasionally Karunika, Vajrasadhu, Sanghadeva, Dhammarati and I have met at Madhyamaloka in Birmingham to discuss the current options and to review procedure and progress. Invaluable though those meetings are there is an inevitable sense of frustration and concern particularly as we bear the eldest resident of Madhyamaloka (Bhante) in mind. We want to ensure that Bhante can enjoy a new base and witness the establishment of the new Dharma Training Centre and Library while his health permits such a move.

At the end of May Vajrasadhu stepped down from heading the search and I’ve taken it on. The brief we’ve presented to estate and land agents is 100-300 acres, a build footprint of at least 20,000 sq ft (with further potential), quiet rural location, costing up to £2.5 million, as UK central a location as possible. We are registered with all the major agents and I spend endless hours each week scouring the web but we welcome help! If you can find any leads – properties not yet advertised or perhaps listed with a small independent agent then do get in touch.

The building is constructed out of low embodied energy materials such as hemp and lime, rammed earth and sustainably sourced timber. At 7.2 metres, the circular walls of the auditorium are the highest rammed earth walls in the UK and were my favourite element in the whole building. To make rammed earth walls, loose, moist subsoil is compacted in thin layers between shuttering or formwork. Mechanical compaction forces clay molecules to bond with the aggregate (a physical rather than a chemical bond), giving the wall its strength. The rammed earth provides structural support for the roof, but does not form the external walls – these are timber-framed glazing (on the south side) and hemp and lime. There is a corridor around the auditorium, between the rammed earth and the external walls. The rammed earth wall has a delicious texture and acts as a passive heat store as well as providing substantial sound insulation.

Apart from the 180-seat theatre the building holds seminar rooms, workshops, restaurant, outdoor spaces and 24 en suite twin bedrooms. It’s  heated by solar panels, biomass and passive solar. Basically it’s a showcase building in sustainable technology and as well as being ‘worthy’ it’s well designed. I’ve just read that the Daily Telegraph has awarded it the ‘Top Building of 2010′ and although I wouldn’t agree that it’s ‘ravishingly beautiful’ it is a building we can learn from and perhaps, with the right architects, even go beyond….

I could list it’s other faults but despite them all it does offer something we’ve not come across before – enough accommodation for 300 as well as a few other useful buildings which means we could be up and running in some sort of shape very quickly. Oh it also features a large and beautiful stone Grade I listed manor house dating from the early 17th century which has been beautifully maintained and could possibly accommodate the Dharma Training Centre and Sangharakshita Library. At the entrance are two huge 20th century imitation cottages which serve as lodges.

It’s last function was as a christian retreat centre. Let me share their blurb with you:

“Driving up the winding wooded lane to Chantmarle, you enter a world where historic charm, peace, spiritual inspiration and contemporary convenience blend beautifully together to offer all the needs a Christian Residential Resource Centre could possibly have. The Centre is nestled in 100 acres of beautiful Dorset countryside. Thomas Hardy country, and whether you are a family or a group of up to 222, we have the facilities to cater for your every need. If you are looking for a beautiful retreat centre to hold seminars, meetings, courses or just be together, then we have accommodation to suit every need.”

For many years Chantmarle was the Dorset Police Training College and in the fifties they built some remarkably inappropriate buildings to provide the accommodation, sporting and training facilities they needed. So, if we bought it, we’d have a beautiful mansion house, listed gardens, at least 100 acres and facilities to run large events. The obvious questions include: Why on earth would we want to take on the maintenance and running costs of a grade 1 listed mansion? Aren’t the other buildings horrible and in need of replacement? How do we make a place like that our own? Isn’t it just too far South? What about the ecological costs of running such a poorly insulated site? And so on.

So do we dismiss it and move on? Well we feel the need to carefully consider the pros and cons as with everything we come across that has some potential. At the moment we are costing the replacement of the entire oil fired heating systems and considering other immediate cost implications. If it still seems at least considering further we’ll arrange to book more people on site to get other perspectives. Otherwise we’ll put it down and move on a little wiser and better informed than before. Maybe we’ll find another gravel quarry next….

There are some issues that only become apparent when you visit and traffic noise is one of them. The nearest road is classed as a minor road but the regular fast usage ensured an almost constant drone which, combined with the sloping geography, proved to invasive and made the pasture area impractical for our activities.

Given that this is a personal blog I can also say that I was the least inspired by the site partly because it was too far south but mainly because the main house itself is a quite delightful Grade II listed Georgian property. The search has going on for the best part of a year now and it seems the search reveals farm after country house after stately home after farm. Consequently the likelihood of being able to create our own significant buildings that can fulfil the greater vision becomes diminished. There has always been a tension between finding a property that will allow us provide accommodation and retreat facilities as soon as possible and a site that will offer potential for exciting architectural development that might express, in some way, Buddhism in the modern world. That tension is somewhat lessened by the fact that land offering build potential in an appropriately beautiful setting has simply not appeared so far. So no conflict! Well personally I remain unconvinced that buying a beautiful country house even if set in lovely countryside will ever prove appropriate for who we are and how we want to be represented. The question is at what point do we have to accept the harsh realities of what’s actually available and how long we can afford to delay.

Will the SLP ‘join up’ the movement in the way that people wish? From some point of view it just seems like another retreat centre which will bite into the income of the existing retreat centres and not really give more focus to the Triratna Community.

To ‘join up’ the movement there will have to be national and international interests catered for. With that in mind this project proposes to develop:

Bhante’s abode

Bhante’s stupa

Bhante’s library

International Dharma Training Centre

Order burial ground

Facilities for meetings (chairs etc)

Communities of senior oms

Visitors encouraged

Ongoing working retreat programme that welcomes all

A strong sense of dynamic movement with a vision to see Dharma spread widely

Venue for national order weekends and perhaps eventually order conventions

Are Bhante’s wish to house his library in a rural setting, and Subhuti’s desire for a new study centre the main things driving this project?

Bhante’s vision for this project is hopefully outlined elsewhere in this blog. The short answer to this question is ‘no’. Bhante’s wish is to live in a quieter, simpler setting with others around him in a place that will best serve the long term well-being of the Order and movement by offering the potential for much better facilities than can be created in and around his current abode at Madhyamaloka. The Dharma Training Centre is more than the term ‘study centre’ implies and is also Bhante’s initiative rather than Subhuti’s. Bhante has asked Subhuti to establish this new Centre and it will be an important focus of the Sangharakshita Land Project.

Dharmapala College has not been attracting large numbers of people to seminars exploring key elements of Bhante’s teaching – why will the new Dharma Training Centre be any different?

The two are not the same. Perhaps it would be helpful if I include here the list entitled ‘Five major objectives for the Sangharakshita Library and Study Centre (the name by which the Sangharakshita Land Project [SLP] first went and of which the Dharma Training Centre will be a part)’

1. To preserve and make available for study, research, and veneration Bhante’s books (Order library), archives (including the Order archives), audio and visual archives, and religious artefacts.

2. To keep Bhante’s particular approach to the Dharma in people’s minds, by means of:

Creation of a ‘centre of excellence’ where an overview is kept.

Ensuring that Bhante’s writings and talks remain accurately available and in print. (Bhante has recently expressed his wish for a Collected Works to be prepared).

Holding seminars and courses on aspects of his teachings (especially those that have become objects of controversy, or have gone somewhat out of currency).

Publication of works that explain and develop Bhante’s teaching.

3. To encourage the scholarly study of Bhante’s teachings and research into issues arising from that study:

Bringing Bhante’s teaching into dialogue with present scholarship (maintaining awareness of his deep insight into principles despite the limitations of the scholarship that was available to him when he wrote his major works).

Taking up and developing themes that were initiated but not followed through by Bhante.

Working with researchers to provide an accurate account of the movement and its history.

4. To develop an approach of (individualised) mentoring/guidance in Bhante’s system of training:

Training mitras/Order members in the context of ongoing personal connection.

Picking up on the successful aspects of the 2-year Dharmaduta Training Course.

Offering additional ‘teaching programmes’ according to need.

5. To develop the ‘pillar of experimentation’:

Creating a medium/forum for dialogue and informed exploration of ‘new’ approaches that are taken up by individuals and, perhaps, suggested for incorporation into our system of training.

Building and maintaining agreement and clarity on our framework of teaching at centres.

Who would live there? It’s hard to get people to live in our existing retreat centres.

Each aspect of the project would be independent and responsible for it’s own development. If, for example, a retreat centre decided to relocate or start from scratch they would find their own staff and community. The Dharma Training Centre will have a small team to run it. There are already a number of people expressing interest in the first men’s community. I don’t know how many people Parami currently has in mind for the first women’s community. Perhaps listing names here isn’t appropriate but I should add that we hope we find a site where more communities can spring up as they are wanted. The issue we are most concerned about is getting planning permission to build as many buildings as we imagine we will want!

Is this another way of centralising things?

Arrghhh the ‘c’ word. Few people would want to see that happen! But what does it really mean? Yes, we envisage a number of projects located in one place but only because they can be enriched by that location and help create the facilities for large gatherings of the Order. This will encourage world-wide Dharma activities ensuring our Movement is found in more and more places around the globe. Rather than poorly supported outposts with uninspired Order members struggling without resources we’ll have a strongly pulsing heart offering succour with Indra’s net as it’s metaphor.

If it’s too isolated will people travel to Order Weekends or short events? Which is an important thing to take into account given that the vision of the place is to house Order Weekends, etc

That’s true. We have realised that it must not be isolated. The most beautiful places we have seen so far are naturally in less accessible parts of the country. This would be counterproductive so our search has to take this into account.

Is the culture in the Triratna Community going to be supportive enough towards being more ‘joined up’ – in that we have tended to develop around people choosing different kinds of retreats and different areas of study? We have all built up connections with particular Triratna teachers and retreat centres, so how easy is it going to be to attract people to a new place? Unless it does attract a lot of people how will it be the focus of the Movement?

Large gatherings are invaluable. To attract large numbers to events there needs to be a range of senior and well respected Order members leading events and encouraging participation. The land can have different types and styles of event happening even simultaneously.

Is it wise to invest a large amount of resources in these at the present time?

This project is certainly going to demand a large investment of resources but what does that mean? Large amounts of capital are already in existence but mostly tied up in Birmingham properties. This project aims to make the best use of that capital for the good of the Dharma. Further resources will have to be found but if the consequence is the realisation of this project’s vision then surely that will be a sound investment in our future.

How would it be funded? There are already so many projects looking for funding in the movement.

Each aspect of the project would be independent and responsible for it’s own funding. The Dharma Training Centre will be self supporting. Money already raised some time ago, largely by Windhorse Trading, will be added to the money raised by the sale of the three Birmingham properties to secure the initial site and enable the first phase of development. Events will start on the land as soon as possible which will help raise further income. Further funding will be needed and I don’t know where that is going to come from. However we are phasing the project so that we can work with whatever we have at the time.

Will it really make enough income to support itself and those who live there?

This is a very understandable concern and we are still working on this aspect. Of course it depends on which other organisations do decide to partner the project.

I wonder if the SLP will just look like an expensive project ‘stuck on top’ of the existing projects and as such will not help people feel like it provides a cohesive focus.

Perhaps the SLP will make more sense when there’s something definite to engage with rather than a very open vision which is all we’ve been able to communicate so far. Perhaps it’s real value will only be seen by many once Bhante is no longer with us and his stupa (etc) becomes our focus and anchor.

Will the project start off as a ‘mixed project’ and then become a men’s project?

I sincerely hope not.  It is essential that there are womens’ projects from the beginning. So far there is the possibility of a women’s community, a women’s retreat centre, a women’s vihara. Other aspects of the project could be either mixed or led by a women’s team (e.g. the library) dependent on who comes forward.

My impression is that there has been little involvement from the women’s wing so far. Is that correct?

Your impression that there has been little involvement from the women’s wing is interesting as it’s not quite how I have experienced things so far. I can understand it as the ‘development team’ of Karunika, Vajrasadhu and I are men but there have been, and continue to be, women expressing interest and contributing. Actually from the very beginning of my involvement in this project I, too, was concerned that this didn’t become a ‘men’s wing’ project with women making token contributions and much has been done to guard against that.

The project is headed by the Triratna Central trustees including Parami and Ratnadharani. The development team are guided by a steering group that includes Parami and Dhammadinna. There is also regular input from Saddhanandi and Samacitta via the chairs meeting stewardship. I’m sure it’s true to say that we all see this as an initiative of both wings of the Order.

The issues perhaps arise more keenly when we look at who is interested in living and working on the site.  Given that Bhante will live there, a support community naturally goes with him. So we have the people for a men’s community. At the same time we hope to see a women’s community established and that is assured as Parami intends to live there too and I believe a number of others might join her. Of course we hope for a site that will have the space and potential for other single-sex communities too but interest in those is more tentative at this stage. Another Dharmacharini is also interested in setting up a community TBRL project which is the closest we have got so far to seeing any kind of single-sex TBRL project on the land.

There have been discussions on two womens’ national order weekends considering the possibility of establishing a women’s vihara on the land. Other women, particularly mitras, have e-mailed me over the past few months expressing their support and interest in the project, some wanting to work on the land, the buildings or wherever. In fact there have been at least as many women wanting to help whether as artists, builders, gardeners, administrators or whatever as men.

I have also had meetings with Buddhafield folk to explore involvement of men and women from that project and have had very positive discussions with Dharmacharinis as well as Dharmacharis.

The main focus of the project initially, apart from Bhante, will be the Dharma Training Centre and this will not be a single-sex project. Subhuti is currently leading this aspect and is looking for an appropriate director to work with and this may well be a woman rather than a man.

Having said all that I do still certainly agree that we need to be very careful that this project remains engaging to all Order members rather than to one wing or a few. We have a vision but it’s a developing open vision that can shift and grow as people get involved and enrich the picture with their own commitment and projects. It’s not a vision of one wing or the other but a gradual revealing of Bhante’s vision.

With so many different activities planned for the land, will it really be possible to create self-contained single-sex contexts?

I believe so. We are looking for around 300 acres with the idea that 50 acres could be devoted to a women’s retreat centre and other single sex projects and the same for the men. This acreage was suggested by current retreat centres as a workable area. Padmaloka is set in a 5 acre site and Taraloka has 7 acres. Once you walk around a large acreage you realise how possible it is to create very separate, unique and private areas with distinct boundaries  and yet be in relationship with, in this case, Bhante and other elements that might accessed by separate projects.

There is the idea that existing single-sex retreat centres could ‘join’ the SLP but could that not mean losing an important women’s project founded during a difficult time when women were starting to stand alone from the men’s wing

It’s hard to grasp the concept of a large area of land with different projects which retain independence and autonomy scattered around it. 300 acres is a large area and to own a 50 acre site that is in relationship to other projects with their own area which together create a land currently identified as the SLP has a different sense than selling up and joining another project. Perhaps existing single-sex retreat centres can build on what it has by relocating and having a physical connection with Bhante, the Order burial ground etc. It would also enable to possibility of large Order gatherings which help create harmony and strengthen the Order. In today’s movement women can experience the women’s wing as equal partners with equal ownership and equal responsibility for the whole movement not just one wing.

When I talked with someone about the possibility of the Ordination Teams joining with the SLP and how I believed this would help create the ‘heart’ of the Triratna Community she expressed surprise saying that the ‘heart’ for her was NOT Ordination but the ‘outward going’ aspect of the Movement – so, for her, Taraloka was more of the ‘heart’.

The ‘heart’ implies the centre or core which beats and so pumps the life blood throughout the whole being. The stronger and bigger the heart the greater the movement. If we create a spiritual dynamo with a successful Dharma training centre we will be supporting women and men to take the Dharma far and wide.

Someone thought the ‘library’ aspect should be a flat/room in London where scholars and disciples could have easy access.

The Sangharakshita Memorial Library will be the Treasure House of the Order and Movement. It will contain much that Sangharakshita holds dear and has collected throughout his lifetime – the books that informed his thinking, the images that he chose to have around him or were gifted to him, a lifetime of correspondence and papers documenting the birth and development of our Buddhist movement. If a people need a history then this building will contain such a history. Furthermore it will offer the catalogued writings and correspondence of Sangharakshita and the archived records of the early days of the FWBO for interested readers, students, scholars and researchers. It will offer access to thousands of books including many Buddhist texts and commentaries and the facilities to study, research and discuss. Visitors to the gallery will find displays of the Library’s treasures and a chance to connect a little more deeply with the movement’s history and particularly with it’s founder, Sangharakshita.

Not everyone will believe we can trust Bhante’s intuition about this project – they believe the intuition about forming Madhyamaloka was misplaced.

It is inevitable that some, perhaps many, will disagree with some aspect or other of the project.  Although we must listen to reason we should not hold back for fear of upsetting some people.  It must be said that many are inspired and excited about the project too.

What do the rest of the Order and movement think is a priority?

These days with such a large Order and movement perhaps one will never find a common priority or at least have a way of knowing what it is! In July 2010 over 40 of Triratna’s European Chairs met for their twice-yearly Assembly. Central to the gathering was a three-day process during which new strategic priorities were agreed for the next three years. One of the chosen few was called “ Grounding the future: communicating to the wider Movement the vision of the Sangharakshita Land Project”.

Does the Sangharakshita Land Project have widespread support in the movement and Order?

Again, it is difficult to gauge but of the people who have spoken or written to me I would say 95% were very supportive with most being positively keen. The unfolding vision shows how this project is a response to the needs and wishes of many Order members and those within the movement so it would be surprising if it failed to have widespread support.

It’s not a site I would have imagined championing but the lovely countryside and the ideal location just a few miles from a motorway junction in the middle of the country with the potential for new buildings made it almost ideal. So over the last few months we have been exploring the possibilities.

To cut a rather long story short we found ourselves trying to encourage the planners at Stafford Borough Council and English Heritage to embrace what we thought of as a well-considered creative response to a derelict and long neglected site. We submitted a 29 page pre-application enquiry and had many conversations before concluding this week that we were going to give up and move on. It became increasingly clear that we would be facing endless battles which would cause delays and waste our precious resources. It’s rather sad to let go of this one as it could have worked so well for us but perhaps a better site is just waiting to be discovered. It won’t be in Staffordshire though!

There’s a site in Staffordshire that we’ve been seriously interested in for the last few weeks/months. We haven’t made an offer on it (yet) so I can’t say too much about it right now. It’s possible that we might eventually decide against it but for now we are preparing a feasibility study. The biggest issues are ensuring the appropriate change of use and planning permissions, working up a business plan that makes it financially viable and ensuring a fair price.

Sangharakshita was interested to see the site for himself and we were keen to gauge his response so he joined us for a visit on a dry autumnal morning….

Thank you to those of you who responded to my last couple of posts asking for people and plants. More responses would be very welcome!