Once through the main door you'll see a small bookshop which also sells gifts. You'll also see a bowl for donations and a card reader for donations and purchases. That's worth remembering for later. Turning to your left you'll see our social space with chairs and tables. On the left as you look into the social area you'll see some pigeon holes for shoes (we ask people to remove their shoes before entering the shrine room) and a coat rack. Feel free to leave your things there; they will be perfectly safe. This might be a good time to put your phone on flight or silent mode!
Turning to the right, you will see a glazed door that leads into a small library with a couple of sofas. We try to make this a quiet space for people who don't necessarily want to socialise. Another glazed door leads out into our lovely garden, which you can go into at any time (this is the disabled access). Again, this is a nice space to withdraw to if you feel the need.
As you walk towards the library, you'll see a little kitchen on your right, where tea and coffee can be made. We usually have an urn on so that you can help yourself to a hot drink (cups are on trays under the worktop and the sink). Tea, coffee and redbush tea are kept in tins on the worktop. We have a range of alternatives to dairy milk (no cow's milk, sorry!) in the fridge. The right-hand top cupboard holds a range of herbal teas and other alternatives to coffee and tea. Turn to your left and you'll see a short corridor that leads to a couple of toilets, one of which is fully wheelchair-accessible.
When you come in, someone will come to greet you. This might be an Order member (usually wearing a kesa or strip of white cloth around their neck - these are our ordained Buddhists) or another member of the community. Feel free to engage with them as much or as little as you want. If you want to be quiet and check out the books or whatever, that's perfectly fine.
What happens next?
That depends on the event you're attending. If it's a meditation session, someone will usually ring a bell to invite everyone to go into the shrine room, where you'll see a Buddha figure, flowers and other ornaments. This is the spiritual heart of the centre, so we ask visitors to treat it with respect by not taking in hot drinks or personal possessions or wearing shoes. The typical pattern of our Saturday drop-in class, for instance, is a little guided mindful movement followed by some body-awareness meditation to settle us and either the mindfulness of breathing or the metta bhavana (a practice for the cultivation of well-wishing or loving-kindness). Guided versions of these practices can be found here. We typically meditate for about an hour all told – but don't worry, you won't be expected to sit still for that whole time! Guidance on how to sit in meditation will generally be given to help you sit comfortably. The meditation is followed by a break, during which you can have a cup of tea or coffee and sit and chat with people; we also encourage people to sit on quietly in the shrine room or go into the library or the garden if they'd rather. Socialising is not compulsory!
The second half of the session (and the Thursday morning session is similar) consists of some input on Buddhism, often followed by small discussion groups. Again, these are not compulsory - you can choose to opt out or simply to sit and listen, and there will often be a group specifically for newcomers. We do generally find that people really benefit from small groups, but you're very welcome to take these things at your own pace.
At the end of the session, when you're on your way out, feel free to leave a donation, either in cash or by card. This can be any sum or none, thought many people find five pounds to be about right. But there's really no obligation.
We hope this guide will answer any questions you might have. Once you've been a few times, you'll get into the swing of things. And remember that you can always ask a member of the community if you're not sure about something.
Enjoy our beautiful centre!
