Buddhist community thriving in the Valleys
After almost two years of being closed away, they have finally started to re-emerge into the local community, writes Lewis Smith
IN THE valleys of Blaenau Gwent there is a small community that you may not have heard much about. Based out of their stunning temple in King Street in Brynmawr there is a group of Buddhists from the Palpung Changchub Dargyeling centre which serves as a home base in south Wales that where practitioners of the Tibetan Buddhist religion come from all over the country to visit.
Now, after almost two years of being closed away, they have finally started to re-emerge into the community after the coronavirus pandemic. They are not only opening their temple as a place of worship again but also opening a new community building which they believe could have a significant positive impact on the town.
Having first opened their doors in 2009 after converting an old Baptist Church in to a Buddhist temple the group, led by Nepal-born Lama Rabsang, has since become one of the biggest of its kind in Wales. You can read more about how the Buddhist temple was founded in Brynmawr here.
With Covid restrictions now over and worshippers starting to return this thriving group has decided to create a second community building in a former pub in the same street which is intended to reach residents of Blaenau Gwent with a variety of health and fitness classes such as yoga, massage, and meditation.
Centre manager Pauliina Kossi, 44, has lived in Brynmawr since 2009 after moving from her home in Finland. She says with the addition of this new facility the group will emerge stronger than ever as a part of the town.
She said: “We have finally opened our doors to people again this year and to be honest it feels absolutely amazing. Not only is the temple open again but we have also converted the old pub on King Street into a community centre which could have a massive impact for people nearby.
“It will also be available to rent out as a meeting place for local clubs, including things like art and reading groups, and we really are excited for what it can offer.
“It’s a very beautiful building so when we saw it go on the market we knew it would be great for us to expand in to the community in a way that could be really helpful. We made the purchase and applied for the relevant planning permissions before starting refurbishing work to create the new bar, sitting areas, and dividing wall that can be opened up for different classes inside.
“We’ve needed the space for a while as there was a big desire for these type of activities among our group [and] as the temple is considered a holy place that really wasn’t suitable. It’s great for us to have the facility now though we want to stress that even though we are Buddhist all of the classes held will be neutral and without religion so that it is accessible to everyone.”
Yoga teacher Eleanor Lewis is the leader of Black Mountains Yoga, one of the many groups who will be able to use the centre over the coming years, and is certain that the addition of the facility to the town will make a wide number of treatments and services accessible to residents who may have otherwise gone without them. She said: “I’ve started holding my first few yoga classes in Palpung Maitri House over the last couple of weeks and so far it has been absolutely amazing.
“The building itself is very beautiful and there is plenty of room for us to do a range of different things with the space. These sorts of classes can be incredibly useful for both your mental and physical health so for me to be able to offer them in a place with such great core values is very important to me and I’m loving it so far.
“There’s really not a huge amount of things like this available here at the moment, particularly in the borough of Blaenau Gwent, so with this increased accessibility it is going to become a real asset for people who want to try the other classes on offer.”
The centre’s spiritual teacher Lama Rabsang, who is based in the picturesque temple just a few doors down, says the expansion of the group into the community will be a huge positive for them and others.
He said: “I am grateful that this kind of opportunity arose to benefit people locally with the opening of Palpung Maitri House and I am happy that we can help people by offering a space where they can organise classes, groups, and events that they find beneficial for their wellbeing. This place is for anything that is beneficial and positive and we hope it will help the community to live happier lives.
“The past two years have been very difficult for everyone in different ways but somehow we’ve made it through. Some people unfortunately lost their lives due to these difficulties but we need to continue to live the best we can.
“We can always learn from the past and our experiences can help to make things more meaningful. We don’t know how things will be in the next moment, day, or month, but we can appreciate our lives, what we have now, and use this life for doing something good.”
The Palpung Maitri House in Brynmawr will have its grand opening day on June 11, running from 10am to 3pm, and will include a mixture of live music as well as a mixture of free refreshments and activities.