Yesterday I watched a video on the building of the Kagyu Samye Ling temple in the wilds of Scotland. This started in 1967 and finished in 2017. An enormous undertaking considering quite a lot of the work was done by volunteers.
It reminded me of how the Cistercian monks came to the wilds of Yorkshire and built their monasteries. Slowly the great buildings came to be built over the years. They were built on religion and good will, the land around was farmed broken up into granges, there were dormitories for the monks and lay brothers, An infirmary, a warming room, great kitchens to feed the poor. Bake houses and breweries, almost a self -contained unit.
So when watching this photographic record of this Tibetan Buddhist inspired dream, accept quietly the force of belief.
When we visited about three years ago with books for the library, we wandered around with Lucy, (she always set off the alarm if left in the car). It is truly a magnificent undertaking, slightly awe-inspiring, the temple lavishly decorated. Paul had said that I must enter the temple by myself to gather my own experience. So taking off my shoes I went in. It is truly over decorated, garish maybe, the liberal use of gilding strikes you first. Paintings on the wall, I was used to these coming to the studio, always to my eyes outlandish and weird. There was a man sitting cross-legged on the throne, at first I thought he was a statue, he never moved, I became aware of his presence and it left me slightly embarrassed. But he was unaware of my presence.
The monastic atmosphere had left a deep impression on my thoughts, too late to enter as a nun and I would be very cold without my hair! But this temple in the outback of Scotland is a tribute to the vision of one man and then the enthusiastic support of creative volunteers, money was not at the bottom of the scheme only creativity and love.
Should you want to follow the journey, maybe start 9 minutes in after the long line of Rinpoche people acknowledged that have been involved through the decades.
There is a lesson here in the building of this complex, it is the lesson of community and social togetherness. It decries this modern world of 'grab and take', useless fashion, and cheap food. It is what we should be trying to achieve not lost in the swirl of nonsensical modernism and media.
I visited Samye Ling about 30 (?) years ago, and felt very uncomfortable there. I don't think that Westerners fit very well into Tibetan monasteries. Before then I had visited the Bashara centre in Gloucestershire (?) and that is a terrible place ruled by lapsed Catholic, 'intellectual' ego-maniacs. I don't like people who put themselves into positions of authority telling me what not to think and getting me to pay them money to work for them.
ReplyDeleteAn opposite view Tom. There is of course the truth in what you said, and of course which happened to the monastic houses when they became rich and powerful. People setting themselves up as gurus or spiritual mentors, could be setting themselves out an easy life living of others. But as I tell my young, it is perhaps best to start with thinking the best of people before the worst. So were you on the hippy trail I wonder? And got disillusioned along the way.....
ReplyDeleteNo, not the hippie trail. I had friends who were deeply involved and wanted me to visit. I went to Bashara hoping for the best. My mind was not set from the start.
DeleteThey come and go these organisations. Yet in the end do we really profit mentally or physically from such places.
DeleteA Buddha temple (compound) has built near where I live, about fifteen years ago. I know little more about it, but often see turbaned men when I'm shopping.
ReplyDeleteProbably a different type of temple Joanne. I have also been watching the Kagyu Samye Ling people also setting up another centre on Holy Island just off the Scottish coast. It offers courses in all things various in mindfulness, etc.
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