Historic England Recognises Beaufoy Renovation
The kind of Buddhism practiced in Diamond Way centres across the world has come down through the great hero Marpa Lotsawa (1012–1097). Marpa was a Tibetan Buddhist student who made the incredibly long and dangerous journey over the Himalayas to India and back on foot. He did so no less than three times, in order to receive and pass on the extraordinary insights of the Buddha. He later became a Buddhist teacher and lineage holder of the Karma Kagyu school, and did all this while running a farm and providing for his family.
Sometimes Diamond Way Karma Kagyu Buddhists refer to themselves as “Marpa Kagyus”, thinking of Marpa’s example. Modern practitioners might not have to cross the Himalayas to receive the teachings, but we do stand in the middle of life and strive to apply the timeless and practical wisdom of Buddhism to our everyday experiences. The most inspiring aspect of the Beaufoy project, therefore, is that it is made possible by unpaid volunteers. Balancing career, relationships, family, hectic modern life, meditation and on top of this, contributing to the community and enabling others to meet with the Buddha’s teachings is the outstanding achievement of ordinary people. It certainly wouldn’t be possible without a joyful attitude, friendship and the inspiring example of Lama Ole Nydahl, a fully qualified lay Buddhist master with a wife and a hectic schedule.
As with all challenges and difficulties in life, the great reward is the sense of achievement and contribution to something bigger than ‘me’. And there could be no greater seal of approval and source of encouragement in a refurbishment project, than official acknowledgement by Historic England. Heritage Counts was established by Historic England as an annual survey of England’s historic buildings. Please view the results of our hard work in this article and case study on the Beaufoy Institute project.
Historic England preserves and lists historic buildings and ancient monuments, and advises central and local government
The Beaufoy Institute is the largest Buddhist centre in London, and given that the building was left abandoned for 17 years, there is enough repair and refurbishment work to last a lifetime! However, with the help of capable and engaged friends, mountains can be moved; we have recently received confirmation of our successful application for a £100,000 roof repair grant from ‘The Listed Places of Worship Roof Repair Fund‘. Just applying for the grant alone required a lot of hard work and the level of competition was extremely high. Thanks to everyone who helped us to put it together we can now take yet another leap forward in the important work of keeping safe this historic and wonderful building, which from the very first brick was built in order to serve the community. Built in 1907, the Beaufoy Institute began as a school for the underprivileged. Its purpose and philosophy are clearly demonstrated by a statue and quotation on the front of the building, portraying a teacher and her students.
The Beaufoy was built to serve the community
‘Those that do teach young babes do it with gentle means and easy tasks’
The most recent development of the Beaufoy project has been the renovation of the ceiling of the great hall of the Beaufoy, which has remained untouched for decades. The greatest progress was seen during ‘Power October’ (2015), when many friends came from across Europe to help. As soon as the scaffolding was installed all the way to the top of the 12 metre high ceiling, friends from across Europe started getting to work with their scrapers, sanders, paintbrushes and hearty attitude. The scaffolding was taken down at the beginning of this New Year and the results are magnificent. Please feel free to come by and take a look!
The ceiling of the big meditation hall of the Beaufoy before its refurbishment
The ceiling of the big meditation hall of the Beaufoy after its restoration