It was surreal. Sitting closely packed in a once-gracious room at Alfoxton House, where the poet William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy entertained their friend Samuel Taylor Coleridge, watching Michael Lunts acting Edward Elgar at a particularly emotional point in his life - the death of his wife Alice. We listened to a man reflecting on the love of his wife, while playing the Enigma Variations, revealing how he captured the moods and laughter of his friends in the music.    

Lunts (pictured right as Lear) is a Buddhist and a friend of Jayarajah, the Chair of the Community which now owns Alfoxton House. The house looks grand from a distance in its 52 acres of wooded parkland. Close to, it becomes a shabby building with holes in the roof, heating that doesn’t work, ripped up floorboards and roof rafters supported by stanchions. The Buddhists bought it in June 2020 for nearly £1.4 million. 

It seems something went very wrong with the grand plan to renovate the house, create a Buddhist Retreat Centre and reach into the local community.

The story began when Jayarajah, who has been a Buddhist since he was 27 years old, was approached by Sumitra who had spent his childhood holidays in a cottage just above Alfoxton.  

Sumitra, flush with Bitcoin currency, having bought in early in the digital finance revolution, had cash to spare. He wanted to buy Alfoxton House and develop it as a Buddhist centre. He invited Jayarajah, a well respected member of the Buddhist community, to take on Alfoxton and turn it into a retreat centre.   

Jayarajah was sceptical. Together they drove to Somerset, and down the long rutted drive to Alfoxton, It wasn’t until Jayarajah had walked up the hill and stood in the shade of a 920-year-old oak tree (pictured, below left) watched the deer grazing and then wandered through its  walled garden, that he recognised Sumitra’s dream. This was a space where a Buddhist community could flourish. 

The Buddhists set up a Charitable Foundation and Sumitra gifted the house. Jayaraja and a core team of Buddhists started work. They gave a tea party for Holford residents, held their first retreats and everything looked good. Then Sumitra became ill. Everything changed. The money flow stopped.  Plan A had to be ditched. But the intention to share the core of Buddhist belief remained.   

Jayaraja asked his friend Indrabodhi, an experienced builder, to take over and supervise the building works. Caravans were parked on the lawn for people to sleep in as they began the gargantuan task of rebuilding the coach house and outbuildings, to make them habitable before starting on the house itself.   

Teams of young people and not so young arrived for working retreats.   Tree experts advised how to restore the woodland as a safe and managed space. Now, nearly three years later, the Community has completed about £750,000 of building works for a third of the cost had they used contractors. 

People come on retreats for many reasons, running from extreme life events, seeking a meditative way of life, or greater awareness of themselves. Some come to Alfoxton traumatised by life events, like 23-year-old Hannah, when her brother suddenly died and a year later she was dumped by her partner. She arrived seven months ago wanting to free herself from the confusion, pain and suffering she was experiencing. She joined in the group meditations and daily teachings. By contemplating the great truths like the effect of karma, developing compassion for self and others and recognising that the only constant in life is change, she found peace. Gradually her extreme emotional responses changed. She became calmer and more accepting. She stayed. Now she uses her skills as a designer and artist to help support the community. 

People come to Alfoxton seeking enlightenment, to awaken to their true self. The Buddha was a royal prince who lived in the 6th-5th centuries BCE. He left home to find meaning in the universe. He became enlightened, awakening to the reality of what it is to be human. He understood that everything in this world is interconnected, worthy of compassionate respect and honour. 

Buddhism appears bewildering, hidden behind complex words and rituals involving statues, flowers, beauty and music. Being among Buddhists is not, as they seek to be alert, awake and alive to how their experiences have shaped them and carefully choosing how they behave. Their intention is to bring harmony, by being both respectful and compassionate to everything and everybody.  

Information about Alfoxton House 2023 Programme of Cultural Events and Retreats is available on the website www.Alfoxton.org.uk