The premises are certainly impressive, with a big, open and bright reception area leading into a cafe of the highest professional standard (with an imaginative and impressive vegetarian menu) that's open to the public 1000-1600 Monday to Saturday and a book and gift shop on the ground floor. I join a 15-minute tour of the building, starting in the meditation room which would easily seat over 60 people and is adorned with statues and images, the significance of which are explained to us by our guide. Then we go upstairs to a large meeting hall, where (for today only) there are various fund-raising stalls (tombola, cakes, retro clothing and bric-a-brac) and an art demonstration. I get a veggie hot dog with onions and mustard and enjoy a brief chat with Lekmo, a nun who lives at the centre.
St Katharine's Building, where the Centre is located, used to be part of the complex of properties belonging to Leicester Grammar School before it moved out to its new site in Great Glen. A visual record of the transformation of the building for its present use (in a slide series on show in the cafe today) testifies to the amount of work they've put into making it this good. We're told that the big blue door which serves as the entrance to the Centre had been sealed up on the inside and hadn't been used for twenty years.
As well as the fine premises, friendly people, warm and professional welcome, I have to give a nod to the Centre's full and imaginative programme of activities. They're running lunchtime meditation sessions every day of the week; more in-depth weekly classes on Monday evenings; day courses (topics including "Experience Inner Peace", "The Art of Enlightenment", "Finding Stillness", "The Kind Heart"); and weekend meditation retreats. I particularly fancy what they're calling, "Stop the Week ... Start the Weekend" - a relaxation meditation followed by a three-course vegetarian meal. The Centre is being promoted as an island of calm in the middle of the city - and a jolly good thing that'll be too!
I'm going back tomorrow at noon, to have a talk with Kadam Chris Heyes, Resident Teacher at the Centre. There are a few ways in which we might be able to work together, such as during the week-long Leicester Speaks event (October) and during National Inter Faith Week in November. Barry Naylor (the Urban Canon) and I have also discussed making some sort of "Spirituality Trail" through the city centre, taking in Leicester Cathedral, the Jain Centre, the Dark Side Cafe in Cank Street (meeting place for local Pagans) and this new Buddhist Centre. In particular I mention the next meeting of Cathedral AM this Wednesday (21 October). The Nagarjuna Kadampa Buddhist Centre would appear to fit right in with the kind of organisations that attend that event so I'll obtain an invitation for them.
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