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 and after more than a decade each of being disciples, we parted ways with our teacher, Dharmavidya David Brazier, and the Amida Order. With the support of the Amida Trust, we continue to run the temple as Buddhist teachers. Our new name is ‘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. We entered a new phase in the life of the temple, supported by our colleague Buddhist teachers in the newly formed Amitabha Fellowship.
Kaspa and Satya, assisted by fellow local teachers Dayamay and Khema and others in their sangha, are all looking forward to many more years of offering people refuge here at the Bright Earth Buddhist Temple – those who come and practice with us in our shrine room or in the temple garden, those who live further away and visit every so often, and those all over the world who join our practice via Zoom. It’s a privilege for us to offer this space, and to pass on some of the wonderful inspiration we’ve received over the years.
Namo Amitabha!