Buddhist Training

I began to practise meditation and Buddhism in 1988 through contact with the Leeds Buddhist Centre, while studying for my degree in Philosophy and the History of Science at the University of Leeds. My interest and commitment grew rapidly and, following my first residential retreat at Padmaloka, I requested to become a Mitra of the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order.

In early 1989 I moved into a residential men's spiritual community in Harehills, where I lived for just over two years. During this period I undertook an increasing number of spiritual retreats, including a working retreat at Guhyaloka in Spain along with Subhadassi, who was to become a lifelong friend.

After completing my degree, I undertook a series of training retreats focused on ordination into the Western Buddhist Order. I was ritually accepted as a Mitra on Sangha Day of 1990. In 1991 I moved to the Manchester Buddhist Centre in order to pursue my ordination training more intensively, joining a twelve-strong residential community in Chorlton.

My ordination ceremonyIn 1992, I was selected to attend a four-month long ordination course at Guhyaloka, along with Subhadassi and more than twenty other men. On June 15 of that year I was publicly ordained and given the name Nagapriya, which means something like 'Lover of Deep Wisdom.' In Buddhist mythology, a naga is a serpent creature that guards treasure.

On returning from ordination, I began full-time work for the Manchester Buddhist Centre as a teacher and administrator. During this period, I was responsible for running the FWBO group at the University of Manchester and established meditation courses in Bolton. I also served as a trustee for FWBO Manchester, mainly as treasurer.

After a period of living alone, I cofounded a new residential community called Uddiyana in Burnage. During this period, the MBC moved from Chorlton to the Northern Quarter. Around the time of the opening of the new centre, I became centre manager before entering an itinerant phase during which I travelled to India, lived in Lisbon for several months, and finally attended a second ordination course at Guhyaloka in 1998 as a team member.

After the 1998 Guhyaloka course, I moved to Vajrakuta (later Dharmavastu), the FWBO's then study centre. Initially, I served as the centre manager, and one of the residential teachers. Later, I served as Chairman for two years during which I wrote my first book Exploring Karma and Rebirth.

When the lease of our residential property expired in 2003, I moved to Mossley, Greater Manchester where I currently live. During this period, I have focused on extending my formal education and on developing my livelihood. Besides this, I have continued to write and am currently working on my second book, and planning future projects too.