Aldershot Buddhist Centre (also the Buddhist Community Centre UK or BCCUK) is a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

temple and community centre catering for the Buddhists of

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alder ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

and surrounding area. Opened in 2015, it describes itself as the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

's first Buddhist

community centre Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...

. With the influx of large numbers of

Nepalis Nepalis (English: Nepalese ; ne, नेपाली) are the citizens of Nepal under the provisions of Nepali nationality law. The country is home to people of many different national origins who are the descendants of immigrants from India, ...

into the area in recent years giving

Rushmoor Rushmoor is a local government district and borough in Hampshire, England. It covers the towns of Aldershot and Farnborough as well as Cove and North Camp. It was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the borough of Aldershot and the Farnbo ...

the largest Buddhist community in the

,Dalai Lama defies protesters to open Aldershot Buddhist centre
-

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

Online 29 June 2015 a need for a temple and

to cater for their spiritual and secular needs was required. The Buddhist Community Centre UK was founded in 2007 by the founder and Chairman Mr Kaji Sherpa.About the Centre - Buddhist Community Centre UK website
/ref> The former Labour Exchange building (later the Social Club for Aldershot & District Traction Company Limited) beside the

Recreation Ground A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...

on the High Street being empty, this was purchased and converted. The centre and associated monastery were formally opened on 29 June 2015 by the

14th Dalai Lama The 14th Dalai Lama (spiritual name Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, known as Tenzin Gyatso (Tibetan: བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: ''bsTan-'dzin rgya-mtsho''); né Lhamo Thondup), known as ...

who is also the centre's Patron. The visit to

of the Dalai Lama was greeted with protests by members of the Shugden Buddhist denomination who accused him of pursuing a policy of

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

within the Buddhist community. After blessing the Centre the Dalai Lama gave a speech which included a call for an end to religious divisions, and after the ceremony he moved to the Aldershot Town football stadium where a large crowd heard him speak on Buddhism in the 21st-century. Other noted

Rinpoche Rinpoche, also spelled Rimboche and Rinboku (), is an honorific term used in the Tibetan language. It literally means "precious one", and may refer to a person, place, or thing—like the words "gem" or "jewel" (Sanskrit: ''Ratna''). The word con ...

to visit the centre include Dilgo Khyentse Yangsi, Phakchok Rinpoche, Sogyal Rinpoche,

Chime Rinpoche Lama Chime Tulku Rinpoche is a Tibetan Buddhist, Tulku and Dharma teacher. Chime Rinpoche was born in 1941 in Kham, Tibet. In 1959, due to the annexation of Tibet, he was forced to flee to India via Bhutan into exile. Gaining British citize ...

, Lopön Tenzin Namdak, and

Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche (Tibetan: ཆོས་ཀྱི་ཉི་མ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་, Wyl. chos kyi nyi ma rin po che or ne, छोकी निमा रिम्पोचे) (b. 1951) is a Tibetan Buddhist teacher and meditat ...

. In November 2018 thieves stole £10,000 in donations from the centre in a distraction burglary.Donations worth £10,000 stolen from Buddhist community centre
- ITV News 17 November 2018

Gallery

File:Aldershot Buddhist Centre interior.jpg, The temple area File:Aldershot Buddhist Centre seated.jpg, Inside the temple File:Aldershot Buddhist Centre Prayer Wheels.jpg, Prayer Wheels in the courtyard

References

External links

Buddhist Community Centre UK page
on

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Aldershot Buddhist Centre Aldershot Buildings and structures in Aldershot Buddhist monasteries in England 2007 establishments in England Buddhist temples in England Monasteries in Hampshire

Gallery

See also

References

External links