The Bright Earth Buddhist Order was formalised in 2022 and was initially made up of seven ministers who were previously members of the Amida Order. We are mostly based in the UK – we have a temple in Malvern, the Bright Earth temple, and we also offer practice online. Bright Earth ministers are involved in interfaith work, prison chaplaincy, offering Buddhist practice, leading study groups and more. We also have an active ministry training programme. Inspired by Shinran, we are neither monks nor lay-people.
Here are our current ministers:
Satya Robyn (she/her) works as a psychotherapist and a writer as well as running Bright Earth with her spouse Kaspa. Her latest book is ‘Coming Home: Refuge in Pureland Buddhism’. She has been involved in eco-activism since 2019 and did a daily vigil in her local town of Malvern for a year before COP26 in Nov 1st 2021. She has an article in Tricycle magazine here and writes regularly at Substack at Going Gently. As well as being a minister with Bright Earth, Satya was inducted as a Bright Dawn lay-minister in 2023.
Kaspa Thompson (they/them) runs the Bright Earth Buddhist temple alongside Satya. They have been a Buddhist teacher for more than a decade and have a special interest in outside practice. They are a committee member of the Eco Dharma Network, and Chair of the Network of Buddhist Organisations UK. They facilitated Buddhist Action Month in 2019, 2020 and 2021. They work as a psychotherapist and supervisor using Internal Family Systems and write at Substack at Just As You Are. As well as being a Bright Earth Minister, in 2023 Kaspa was inducted as a lay-minister in the Bright Dawn community,
Kusumavarsa (she/her) has been a Pure Land Buddhist for a number of years. She has worked as a Chaplain in Palliative Care settings and is an experienced meditation teacher.
Dayamay (he/him) is a part of the temple community and has been practising with the sangha since 2012. He runs a monthly study group online and Buddhist practice at the temple. He is interested in Shinran’s teachings and a broad range of spiritual teachers. He runs a weekly emotional support group online.
Khemashalini (she/her) lives in Malvern and has a heart connection with the hills and with the Earth. She has been teaching at the Bright Earth temple since 2017. She enjoys organising and taking part in yatras – long sacred walks through the landscape. She works in the NHS with a specialty in infection control.