The rest of my life: Manjushri Meditation Centre

A peaceful mind sees hope and positivity in everything. This is something that sticks in my mind from this morning's teaching.
As yet, I know little about Conishead Priory where I am staying, but expect to find out soon.

I walk down to the morning's meditation class

I have a walk outside after class, feeling very peaceful. I realise that I do practice quite well and now have permission to want to meditate for myself and my own well being. And peace. For all.

The afternoon is free to take a walk or attend the tour. I opt for the latter. This is open to the public as well for a small fee; it seems clear that Manjushri is a thriving business. 'There is no house in England like Conishead’  says Simon Jenkins in 'Englands Thousand Best Houses' yes, the Simon Jenkins, the political journalist.

Conishead Priory welcomes thousands of visitors each year. They appreciate the historic building and peaceful atmosphere, giving it 4.5 stars. Described by English Heritage as
'a very important Gothic revival country house with few peers in the north west; the distinctive two towers of the front elevation are an important local landmark.'

The Priory has played an vital role in the life of the local community for a long time; formerly as a hydropathic spa and a convalescent home for miners and for the past twenty five years it has been home to this international centre for Buddhist studies. When the Buddhist community moved into Conishead Priory it had lain empty for four years and was entirely derelict and close to collapse. Over the past three decades Manjushri Buddhist Centre has raised almost £1,000,000 and invested thousands of hours of voluntary labour to eradicate dry rot, and bring the building back into use. The Buddhist Community has rescued and restored Conishead Priory. How wonderful.

The present house at Conishead is a magnificent Grade II* listed example of early Victorian Gothic architecture. The house is dominated by the two octagonal towers, each a hundred feet high.

Between them is a fine window depicting the principal benefactors of the original Priory - Edward II, William de Lancaster and his wife Gundrid, Duchess of Warwick, together with St. Augustine, the founder of the religious order. (it's nice that he crops up in my life again; he is the guy who inspired Stanley Spencer to create Sandham Memorial Chapel) In the West wall, stained glass windows by Willemont depict eighteen scenes from the life of Christ.
Below is the vast cloistered corridor which is one hundred and seventy seven feet long and in pure Gothic style. Across the corridor is the dining room containing one of the finest ceilings in the house. The walls are panelled with oak wainscotting of a linenfold design.
Adjoining the dining room is the saloon (now the Priory shop) which was the only room to escape the ravages of dry rot. Its ornate plaster ceiling bears the arms of the Braddyll family, and the fire place is carved from Carrera marble. The Conservatory Café, which is very cool, overlooks the southern lawn which covers the foundations of the Priory church.
Rising from the main corridor is the double cantilevered staircase, its great balustrade surmounted at either end by a badger - the emblem of the Braddylls. The staircase is lit by a north window which contains the arms of the Braddylls and the many families with whom they were linked. Made by Wailes it is a fine example of early nineteenth century stained glass, rich in colour. (see top photo)
At the top of the stairs is a gallery from which open several other principal rooms. These upstairs rooms are now used for teaching, reading and meditation. There are bedrooms, bathrooms and dorms as well.

In 1976 the house and grounds were bought by Manjushri Kadampa Meditation Centre for £75,000. This consisted of a motley crew of western buddhists and hippies (thier words not mine). However, the full extent of the damage was not realized. The first priority was to save this unique building from collapse by propping the structural beams with trees from the woods. Then an extensive examination was carried out to determine the extent of the dry rot fungus before starting to eradicate it. Many of the structural beams were replaced. Tons of wood, bricks and plaster were ripped away leaving few of the eighty rooms untouched.
Once the fungus had been exposed, fungicide was injected into the walls and the remaining timbers chemically treated to prevent recurrence.

Although it appeared semi-demolished, by 1980 Conishead Priory was structurally secured and saved for future generations. The motley crew had found a spiritual leader by this time.
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso came over from Tibet and has since inspired thousands with his teachings and writings. Through Geshe Kelsang’s tireless activities and kindness there are now over 1100 centres and groups offering Buddha’s wisdom and advice to people in 40 countries across the world.

In 1991 an appeal was launched to raise £500,000 to complete the building of accommodation rooms and the restoration of the majority of the interior of the building. By the end of 1994, over half of this total had been raised by generous donations and other fund raising activities.

In October 2004 Manjushri Kadampa Meditation Centre received confirmation from the Heritage Lottery Fund that they would receive £899,000 towards a £1.2 million first phase of restoration work to the Priory.
The work involved replacing slate roofs and fiberglass gutters as well as repairing stone features.
In early September 2015 residents and friends of the Centre completed a major sponsored trek, called the ‘Mountain Mandala Trek,' in the Lakeland fells which took 6 days and covered 76.5 miles distance and 29,300 feet ascent (approximately the height of Mount Everest.) The trek raised around £15,000 towards the repair costs.
Restoration work is ongoing, the chapel still needs much attention.

Manjushri KMC is an internationally renowned centre for meditation, where everyone is welcome to enjoy a peaceful environment or join in the many programmes offered throughout the year.

Daily free 15 minute guided meditations are held in the World Peace Temple (more later), everyone is welcome. Each day there is a guided meditation at 12.30pm and 2pm.

The New Kadampa Tradition, International Kadampa Buddhist Union, the NKT-IKBU follows the pure tradition of Mahayana Buddhism handed down in an unbroken lineage from Buddha Shakyamuni through the ancient Kadampa teachers Atisha and Je Tsongkhapa and introduced into the West by Geshe Kelsang.

The purpose of the NKT-IKBU is to increase the Buddhist faith throughout the world. It is an entirely independent Buddhist tradition that has no political affiliations. It is an international non-profit organization registered in England as a charitable company.

Manjushri KMC is home to the first Kadampa Temple for World Peace, which houses the largest bronze statue of Buddha cast in the West. Though built according to a traditional design, it is a modern Temple that provides a peaceful respite from our otherwise busy world. Each year, thousands of people visit the Temple to admire its artistic and architectural features and enjoy the tranquil atmosphere.The Temple was designed by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, who oversaw its construction and inaugurated the International Temples Project (ITP) with the intention to build a Temple for World Peace in every major city of the world. To date there are over twenty Temples opened under the auspices of this project with many more being planned. The statues and many of the adornments for these Temples are manufactured at the Kadampa Studio based at Manjushri KMC.

During the tour, I learned more about the history of the Priory. Our guide was one of the original motley crew. In 1160 the priory was a hospital run by Augustine monks. It was elevated to priory status and did ok till Henry VIII came along. Or guide commented that
1800 years before the priory was born, The Buddha was born as royal prince in Lumbini, India.
At 29 years of age left the palace on his spiritual journey and to make a long story short reached enlightemenmt under the Bodhi tree at Bodgaya at the age of 35. The spread of the Buddhist Dharma began.

In 1537 the Priory was seized by Henry VII and the canons were evicted and their trappings sold. Stone was used to convert it to a country house. Ownership passed through various families for two centuries. In 1821, it was rebuilt for Col Bradwell By Wyatt, in the Gothic Revival style. The colonel became bankrupt in 1848 and sold the mansion. There followed a rapid change of hands until 1878 when hydropathic hotel with salt baths, tennis and boating was created along with a branch railway. In 1929, the building became a convalescent home for Durham Coal workers and next it was a WW2 militrary hospital. It was auctioned off in 1971 and empty for five years. Permission was refused for a holiday resort! In 1976 it was purchased by the motley group of western buddhists as we have learnt above.

Our guide explains that members of the Community have no salary, the work is shared and everyone pays their own way, usually by going out to work nearby.

As we set off to tour the grounds and house and our guide points out Hermitage Hill with a folly. A hermit was employed here in Victorian times. We saw a hermit's hole at Yorkshire Sculpture Park earlier this year. He explains that some Buddhist symbols were inserted into the main stain glass windows during the restoration work.
Here are some other bullet points I pick up from the tour and our later teachings. Morecambe Bay was not silted up in the hey day of the priory but a prosperous shipping channel
Acceptance of the problems of others as they are without judging
You cannot be happy and angry
Be kind and patient with ourselves but ruthless with our delusions
Accept them for what they are and realise they may last, we have potential to lose them
We worry about external things, what ifs
But they happen
The worry steals our peace of mind
The antedote is patient acceptance
If you cant change something accept it

Always look at the external and internal problem
There is no guilt in buddhism
We are often guilty, we blame ourselves or others
Identify with our potential not our negative state of minds
A calm mind lets our selves off the hook