B is for Buddhists in the Beechwoods

I have come to expect the unexpected in the Chiltern Hills, but tucked away in this beech woodland, has to be biggest surprise: a community of Buddhist monks and nuns.

Let’s continue our A - Z Chilterns Treasures journey into the valley of nettles between the hamlets of Nettleden and Great Gaddesden in the Hertfordshire Chilterns. There you will find the Amaravati Buddhist Monastery, an unassuming site along a country road that has been a place of worship and study for over 400 years.

The Valley of Nettles

St Margarets de Bosco (or Ivinghoe) Priory was founded by Henry de Blois, bishop of Winchester, a man of fabulous wealth, palaces and power. Grandson of William the Conqueror, brother to a king and importantly for this story, builder of villages, canals, abbey’s and churches.

The Priory was dissolved in 1536, the buildings abandoned. Nothing of note to record expect that the site was used as a boys school for evacuees from London during the Second World War. The school closed one week after the end of the war, when all the boys returned to their homes.

Established on the site in the early 1980s, the monastery is inspired by the Thai Forest Tradition and the teachings of the late Ajahn Chah, a Thai monk and renowned Dhamma teacher, who encouraged Ajahn Sumedho to settle in England and found monasteries in this country.

Not your typical steeple

A deathless realm

The Monastery’s aims are the training and support of a resident monastic community, and the facilitation for monastic and lay people alike for the practice of the Buddha’s teachings. They welcome visitors from all faiths, whether to stay or simply spend quiet time in the lovely temple or in the grounds. It is a very welcoming place and I really recommend you visit. I haven’t tried a retreat, but perhaps you have?

The garden is a perfect place to spend some quiet time

In the Pali language ‘Amaravati’ means ‘deathless realm’

The configuration of several large huts has remained largely unchanged, and gives the site a Scandinavian look and feel. The addition of a purpose-built temple that was officially opened on 4 July 1999 by Princess Galyani Vadhana, sister of the King of Thailand is quite the feature. I love nosing around places and found the centre an intriguing place, somewhere to treasure. The monastery’s founder and abbot was Ajahn Sumedho, Ajahn Chah’s foremost disciple in the West. In Autumn 2010 he handed over to the English monk Ajahn Amaro, who for the past 14 years had been co-abbot of Abhayagiri Monastery in Redwood Valley, California.

Inside the Temple

If you come upon a monk whilst out on the woodland and valley trails, they may be doing their walking meditation, so don’t expect more than a nod and smile.

It’s not clear what kept Henry de Blois in the Chilterns for 600 years after this death in 1171. Although he is now buried in Winchester Cathedral, there are claims that his heart was buried in Cluny Abbey in France, whilst the rest of him and his artefacts were moved in the 17th century from St Mary’s in Ivinghoe (nine miles from St Margaret’s), to the splendid cathedral at Winchester. A mystery for another day.

The next letter is C for….? Where should I go?

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Last week we began our A - Z journey in a busy town that has keeps its historic heart well and truly hidden.

The Amaravati Retreat Centre has been holding retreats since the monastery was first established in 1984. Led by monks and nuns trained in the Ajahn Chah tradition originating from the north-east of Thailand, which is part of the Theravada tradition of South Asia. 

There is a lovely circular walk from the nearby hamlet of Frithsden that just happens to be where you will find one of my favourite pubs, The Alford Arms with a warm welcome and menu full of very tasty local produce. Unbelievably, there is a bus service!

Looking pretty in spring, the path to the River Gade chalk stream