The Amaravati Upasaka / Upasika Association ( AUA)  is a Theravadan association closely linked with the Thai Forest Sangha Tradition at Amaravati. Founded in 1994, it aims to:

• establish a community of  lay practitioners
• develop experience of Buddhist practice
• disseminate Buddhist teachings
• support contact with the Amaravati (and sister monasteries) monastic Sangha
• evolve a framework to support lay practice

The AUA  organises and leads a programme of practice days, andweekend and longer retreats at Amaravati Retreat Centre. Nearly all events are led by lay-teachers, although the Monastic Sangha do contribute to some events. The AUA membership is now around 400 with a Committee of some 15 members. A newsletter – ‘Community' is published 2 or 3 times each year and is also available online at our website.

Amida Trust is an engaged Pure Land group. Founded in 1996, it is committed to the practice of Buddhism in the context of humanitarian and social concern.

The Trust has a broad membership of Buddhists who share its interests in these areas, and supports the Order of Amida Buddha whose teacher is Dharmavidya David Brazier.

The Order is based in the full time community at Narborough, and is involved in various active projects. These include:

• Work in Sarajevo
• A health project in Zambia
• Support for Chakma communities in India
• Campaigning work in UK. Recent campaigns have included peace events and demonstrations on behalf of asylum seekers and animals.
• Community building

Amida Trust offers:

• A long established training programme in applied Buddhist Psychology and Psychotherapy
• A newly established training in Fully Engaged Buddhism
• Retreats in UK and overseas
• Public talks and training events
• Local groups in London, Sheffield, Matlock, Sheffield, Hawaii and Belgium
• Opportunities to stay in The Buddhist House for long or short periods and practice with the resident community
• A summer retreat centre in France
  

Birmingham Buddhist Vihara grew out of the first Buddhist Centre to be set up in the West Midlands by the late Dr Rewata Dhamma.

In 1998 the Dhamma Talaka Peace Pagoda was opened on our new site, followed in 2002 by the purpose-built Sangharama Monastery.

Regular activities include weekly meditation for both beginners and the experienced as well as longer retreats (from one to ten days). Our teaching team visits Europe, America, Asia and other parts of the UK. There are also courses in General Buddhist Studies, Scriptural Pali and Buddhist Texts throughout the year. In addition we encourage short ordinations as novice, monk or nun.

The Peace Pagoda is a place for Buddhist and non-Buddhist alike to come and share their views for peace and harmony through dialogue, sharing and meditation. It supports interfaith activities in the area and has an active educational programme for schools, colleges and universities throughout the region and beyond.

Eastfield House
Alrewas Road,
Kings Bromley
Staffordshire DE13 7HR

The Buddhist Hospice Trust, a registered UK Charity established in
1986, provides compassionate care and spiritual support for seriously ill, dying or bereaved people, their families, friends and carers.

The Trust is a voluntary and autonomous association of Buddhists from
all traditions, open to all. We operate a national network of Buddhist volunteers, the Ananda Network, with connections to most Buddhist traditions and schools.

The Trust is a "hospice without walls". We don't currently offer in-patient services like nursing, counselling or palliative care. The Trust promotes the practice of "Hospice in the Heart", a personal openness to suffering, dying and death in the midst of life.

Sakya Thinley Rinchen Ling Buddhist Centre
121 Sommerville Road
St Andrews
Bristol
United Kingdom BS6 5BX

In UK:  Bristol, London, Manchester, Harrogate, Birmingham, Merseyside, Exeter, Colne.
In Europe: Vienna, Austria and Torun, Poland

Dechen is an association of Sakya and Karma-Kagyu Tibetan Buddhist centres in the UK and Europe under the direction of Karma Thinley Rinpoche and Lama Jampa Thaye. Teaching events on both the textual study and meditative aspects of Buddhism take place throughout the year. These include regular shedra or college of studies courses where the most extensive Buddhist texts are taught as part of a wide-ranging curriculum covering many aspects of Buddhist learning.

Please visit our website for further details.

Buddhism is a path of transformation, leading to Enlightenment. In the west, we are heirs to the whole Buddhist tradition. Buddhist schools throughout history have been flexible and pragmatic in communicating Buddhist teachings in new environments, and yet have remained true to its core teachings and values.

In the same way, the FWBO is dedicated to creating the conditions for Buddhist practice in the modern world. The tradition has bequeathed a vast range of practices, and the FWBO seeks to draw carefully and pragmatically on this huge spiritual reservoir, to offer a systematic and coherent approach to practice.

Founded in 1967 by Sangharakshita, an Englishman who spent sixteen years as a Buddhist monk in the East, the FWBO has grown to become one of the principal Buddhist movements in UK, India, and Australasia, and is increasingly well-established in Western Europe and the USA.
There are now around eighty FWBO urban centres and retreat centres, and right livelihood businesses, urban and rural communities for men and women, and other activities in over twenty countries.

Founded in 1998, Leeds Buddhist Council is an inter-tradition organisation representing the Buddhist Community in Leeds. Its aims are to build cooperation and better understanding between the members, other faiths, Government and Local Government.

• Dhammapala (Leeds) a lay group of Harnham Vihara
• FWBO (Leeds)
• Jamyang (Leeds)
• Dechen Community (Yorkshire)
• Soka Gakkai International (Leeds)
• New Kadampa Tradition (Pocklington - York)
• Leeds Zen Group
• International Zen Association UK (Leeds)
• Buddhist Hospice Trust

Representatives on Leeds Buddhist Council currently work on the following:-

• Leeds Faith Communities Liaison Forum on which are represented the Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu and Ba'hai faiths. Through this LBC links up to Local Government and Government initiatives.
• Visiting Buddhist patients in Hospital or Hospices
• Conducting Buddhist Funerals
• Teaching NHS Staff stress relief
• Visiting and teaching meditation in H M Prisons
• Representing Buddhists on SACRE (Standing Advisory Commitee on Religious Education)
• We are presently working towards the feasibility of Regional Government representation, and then we hope to expand our membership and area base further

The Longchen Foundation was established by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, two of the great Tibetan teachers of the 20th century, to pass on the authentic Mahayana MahaAti (Dzogchen) teachings of the Nyingma lineage to the west.

The spiritual director and principal teacher, Rigdzin Shikpo, one of Trungpa Rinpoche's earliest western students and a qualified lama of the Nyingma tradition, was entrusted by them to teach in direct response to the needs of westerners and is among the most experienced and inspiring Buddhist teachers in Britain.

The Foundation is a community of Buddhist teachers, meditation instructors and students practising these teachings with the vision of liberating the hearts of beings. For details of weekend courses, retreats, publications, newsletters, please visit our website.

The Lions Roar is a course that introduces the view and innermost teachings of the Longchen tradition and offers a deep and authentic grounding in the practice of meditation. It is suitable for total beginners and experienced meditators.

The course is available in Britain and in Germany. Local groups led by senior students are in Bristol, Oxford, North London, South-east London, Maidstone, North Wales and Birmingham.

0781 882 2505

lumbini1997@hotmail.com          General
amritsthapit@hotmail.com          President
dharma_shakya@hotmail.com  Secretary

• Celebrate Buddha Jayanti (Buddha Day)
• Arrange Dharma talks
• Hold regular Dharma discussion during society’s meeting
• Sponsor poor children
• Publish LUMBINI magazine
• Plan to establish Buddha Vihara

• To make Buddhism known to the wider public and to help them understand the benefits of his profound teachings.
• To have a forum for the meeting of Nepalese residents in the UK and others with an interest in Buddha Dharma as a spiritual practice for discussion, exchange of ideas, constructive dialogue and to build Nepalese Buddhist community in UK etc.
• To establish links with similar organisations in the UK, Nepal and other countries.
• To organise voluntary work to help reduce human suffering in Nepal and other countries.
• To promote and publish religious and cultural heritage of Nepal.

18 Bhandari Close
Oxford
OX4 3DT

The New Kadampa Tradition is a world wide association of Buddhist centres and practitioners that derive their inspiration and guidance from the example of the ancient Kadampa Buddhist masters and their teachings.

There are over 300 centres and groups in the UK - including 40 residential centres - offering study programmes, meditation instruction, and retreats for all levels of practitioner. the emphasis is on cultivating inner peace and happiness through integrating Buddha's teachings into daily life, and on helping others to develop these qualities.

All Kadampa Buddhist centres are open to the public. Also every year two festivals are held at our principal centre - Manjushri Centre in Cumbria - where people gather from around the world to receive teachings and empowerments.

Midlands International Buddhist Association

Birmingham Maha Vihara
216 New John Street West
Birmingham B19 3UA

0121-523-6660

mibauk 86@hotmail.com (General)
wkassapa@hotmail.com (Head of Vihara)

Ven. Kassapa arrived in Birmingham in 1985 and, after spells superintending at the Jetavana Monastery and East Midlands Buddhist Association, set up MIBA in 1992 with small branches in Derby , Birmingham and Manchester . Two storey premises adjacent to Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter were opened in October 2005, consisting of a large temple, monastic quarters, a library, a Chinese memorial chapel and a large meeting space dedicated to community use. There is disabled access to both storeys. At the back of the building there is parking for 15 cars (entry from Farm Street ).

Birmingham Maha Vihara caters for the religious needs of the Sri Lankan, Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese and Western communities; it also supports interfaith activities and is dedicated to serving the social needs of the area around it. In addition, it acts as the headquarters for the International Buddhist Relief Organisation (a charity founded in 1995).

The Order of Buddhist Contemplatives is dedicated to the practice of the Serene Reflection Meditation tradition, known as Ts'ao-Tung Ch'an in China and Soto Zen in Japan.
The Order was incorporated in 1983 by Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett to serve as the international umbrella organization for the monasteries, priories (local temples), and meditation groups led by priests of our lineage in Britain, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States.
A British-born Buddhist master trained in Malaysia and Japan, Rev. Master Kennett came to the United States in 1969. A year later, Shasta Abbey, a Buddhist seminary and training monastery, was founded in northern California.
In 1972 she founded Throssel Hole Priory, now Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey, in the U.K. Rev. Master Kennett served as the first Abbess of Shasta Abbey and Head of the Order until her death in 1996.
The practice of the Order emphasizes serene reflection meditation, mindfulness in daily life, and adherence to the Buddhist Precepts.
The Order provides opportunities for Buddhist practice at introductory and advanced levels to lay people and offers training programs for women and men in both the lay ministry and the priesthood.

See the website at www.throssel.org.uk for information about Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey and other OBC groups in the UK.

Secretary:

• :to establish an international alliance of Buddhist women
• to advance the spiritual and secular welfare of the world's women
• to work for gender equality in Buddhist education, training, institutional structures and ordination
• to promote harmony and dialogue among Buddhist traditions and other religions/faiths
• to encourage research and publications on topics of interest to Buddhist women
• to foster compassionate social action for the benefit of humanity
• to promote world peace through the teachings of the Buddha
• to provide

  • an association to organize support for the objectives of Sakyadhita International within the UK
  • a forum for members to socialize, network and work together on issues and projects of interest on a local, regional and national level
  • a forum for women to exchange experiences and give support

We are a national network linking together Buddhists whose belief and practice is that of the Pure Land or Other-power tradition of Mahayana Buddhism.
We are non-sectarian, and publish a quarterly journal, Pure Land Notes, which carries articles, letters and reviews on all aspects of Other-power Buddhism.
We exist to encourage people in their own practice, and are happy if they find a sangha in their area where they can mix with other Buddhists.

We do not have formal membership or fixed membership fees; our purpose is communication and those who communicate and/or subscribe to the journal are considered members.
We do not have a centre, and the address above is for contact purposes only.

The PLBF does not have a teacher, as the philosophy of our tradition is to rely totally on Amida Buddha.

SGI-UK
Taplow Court
Taplow
Maidenhead
Berkshire SL6 OER

01628 591213

Soka Gakkai International – (Buddhist Society for the Creation of Value) is a world wide lay society founded upon the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin (1222-1282). SGI provides support for people in their practice of Buddhism and their study of Nichiren's writings, which stress the importance of the Lotus Sutra.

The daily practice focuses on the recitation of parts of the Lotus Sutra and the chanting of the mantra Nam-Myo-Ho-Renge–Kyo which encourages the development of compassion and of the individuals greatest potential .

SGI-UK has about three hundred local groups throughout the UK. These groups hold monthly discussion meetings, where people exchange experiences of and insights from, their practice of Buddhism. Guests are warmly welcomed. The address of your local group can be obtained from the contact above.

SGI-UK is also a movement for peace, education and culture, based on the philosophy and ideals of Nichiren Buddhism, engaging in a wide range of local and national activities to this end.

Some recent examples of these have been: Conflict and Peace forums dealing with conflict resolution and peace journalism, academic conferences and lectures on Buddhism and Asian Philosophies cultural activities and Arts festivals.

24 Woodgate Ave
Bury.
Lancs BL9 7RU

We are a small organization consisting of lay practitioners with a number of local groups which meet in order to meditate. The main retreat centre is in central Wales. Ch'an Buddhism may be thought of as the historical antecedent to Japanese Zen.

Click here for a more detailed summary.

Keith Jones

The Council was set up in 2002 with the following aims:

• To foster co-operation and friendship between Buddhist groups in the West Midlands.
• To foster dialogue and joint activities between Buddhists of different schools and between Buddhists and other faiths.
• To aid in co-ordinating the shared affairs of the Sangha and promote greater participation of lay devotees in the work of the Dharma.
• To liase with local government departments and other agencies who require information and advice about Buddhists and input from them.