Amida Sanctuary
by Sujatin Johnson
(Newcastle upon Tyne, UK)
The facade of the Sanctuary (from the official website)
What is the name of the temple?
Amida Sanctuary
What is the address?
Amida Sanctuary, Beacon House,
49 Linden Road, Gosforth,
Newcastle upon Tyne NE3 4HA
What is the URL?
http://lotusinthemud.typepad.com/amida_newcastle/
What is the phone number?
+44(0)191 213 2564
What lineage/ sect or tradition does it belong to?
Amida Pureland
What languages are available?
English
What is the name of the head person and his/ her title?
Acharya Sujatin Johnson
What programs, activities are offered? (i.e. addiction recovery, meditation, etc.
Sangha meetings,
pastoral care
Are there any other information you would like to have listed here?
“I’d like to say a little about the vision that we hold here in the Amida sangha. When one looks around the Buddhist world one sees a number of organisations that have carved out a particular niche. Some run retreats of a particular kind. Some have created a particular kind of centre and aim to have as many of them around the world as possible. Some offer a particular service and want to replicate that service to as many examples of the client group as they can identify. In other words, there are many examples of groups that have found a workable formula that then look for people to apply the formula to. In worldly terms this can be a successful approach. Does it, however, have anything to do with spiritual awakening?
“The Amida sangha is not like that. We do not aim to replicate a formulaic procedure. We do not even aspire to evolve one. Our understanding of awakening is a bit different. The awake person knows that they do not know what comes next. The person who thinks they know is dreaming.
“We hope, rather, to be always specific, always distinctive, always unique to the particular set of conditions that we encounter. This is because the only dogmas in this approach are the bombu, the Tathagata and the nembutsu – nothing else….”
