Kaspa and Satya moved into the temple in Malvern in November 2014. Before the building was bought by Amida Trust it was operating as a bed and breakfast with ten bedrooms, and we were told it had been a hotel since it was built in the 1820s.
At the time we were both priests with the Amida Order and had a small local sangha. The building came with furniture, kitchen contents and a few not-quite-to-our-taste knick knacks! Over the first few weeks we moved in a lot of Buddhas, and moved out lots of cups and saucers. As we let local people know we were here, our small local group began to grow.
Over the next six years we ran our weekly schedule and retreat days, offered a guest room for non-local sangha members, did lots of work in the temple garden, rented our six rooms to various templemates, and did lots of other exciting (vegan bake sales, inter-Buddhist gatherings) and not-so-exciting (fixing many leaks, accounts) things.
In December 2020 we left the Amida Order. Following discussions with Amida Trust, they invited us to stay and run the temple as an independent centre. We renamed the temple ‘Bright Earth’ – ‘Bright’ to signify the light of Amitabha, and ‘Earth’ to signify our passion for caring for the Earth and our emphasis on outside practice.
Since then we have created the Bright Earth Buddhist Order, a ministry training programme, our Living the Dharma programme and more.
There are currently six ministers in the Bright Earth Buddhist Order.
In the summer of 2024 Kaspa and Satya handed over the day to day running of the temple to the temple stewards, Dayamay, Ravavani and Dave.
Now, in Spring 2025 Satya and Kaspa are preparing to move out of their flat in the temple, into their own house just down the road. While this is a big change personally and for the temple residents, they will continue to be present in the community – leading practice, running book groups, leading the ministry training and so on. They look forward to seeing how the temple continues to thrive and blossom.
Namo Amitabha!