State of the nation

On Sunday, at our AGM, I gave a talk. It was a chair’s report but I decided, as I did last year, to do a talk - a kind of "state of the nation / state of the community”. A few people afterwards suggested that the script of that could be this week’s blog.  So, here it is

Chair’s Report: Parami AGM July 2026

State of the Community Address – Triratna Glasgow

I am going to do what I did last year and offer a State of the Nation. Normally I just have a few notes and ad lib but today I decided to write it out and read it as I wanted to make sure I said what I want to say.

Our Present Moment: Vitality and Growth

This will be my final address as Chair.  I know we thought that last year but…. The best laid schemes of mice and men, gang aft agley and leave us naught but grief for promised joy

But before we look ahead to the transition, I want to celebrate where we are right now.

The past year has been one of significant growth and deepening commitment. One thing to mention is that we welcomed twelve new Mitras. Twelve friends who looked at the Dharma, saw its truth, and chose to walk this path more fully. These are not just statistics; they represent twelve households touched by mindfulness, twelve workplaces infused with greater compassion, and twelve hearts committed to liberation.

Our Tuesday mandala nights remained for many of us a steady anchor for our week, and our Friday evening classes, although now on a break, continued to offer a reflective start to the weekend. Other classes and courses were held offering meditation and the Dharma to a significant number of people.

We celebrated solstices, we enjoyed fundraisers which brought the sangha together as well as making money. The most recent was the silent walk which, as well as raising over £1500, was an opportunity to show the power of silence.

Since the last AGM, we celebrated various festival days: In 2025,Dharma Day, Padmasambhava Day and Sangha Day, In 2026, Buddha Day, Parinirvana Day, Triratna Day.  All were well attended and the atmosphere was friendly and inspiring.

Despite the logistical challenges of administering two properties, our Kula system kept us connected. Almost 30 people have been involved in the various kulas.This coming together is our resilience and our strength. It proves that even when the world outside feels chaotic and, even, dangerous, people are still seeking refuge, connection, and wisdom. We have done our best to offer that.

I would say that the atmosphere here remains what it has always been: open, grounded, friendly, and sincere. This is a direct reflection of our practice—not just on the cushion, but in daily life. 

It has been delightful to witness new friendships being formed and older friendships go deeper. There have been Kalyana Mitra ceremonies and I have enjoyed watching people - especially some of our younger sangha - form bonds that will, hopefully, last them a lifetime. I still have friends from early retreats almost 50 years ago!

Facing the Shadow

But we must also be honest about the context in which we practice. We often speak of building a Pure Land, a Buddha-field here in Glasgow. But we must acknowledge: a Pure Land is not a place where darkness does not exist. It is a place where darkness is met with light, where shadows are acknowledged rather than denied.

We live in a world currently gripped by its own shadow. We see this in the world at large where greed, hatred and delusion walk with increasing strength and power. We have seen this in the streets of our own city, in the rise of racism, hate and violence against our neighbours. 

But we also know that shadows can dwell within our own walls. As a community, we are human. We carry histories. And I want to speak directly to that truth today.

I am aware that for some among us, the path has been harder than it should have been. I know that trust has been broken in the past. I know that there are scars—some old, some newer—that still ache when we gather. Or perhaps even stop some of our community from gathering. These hurts may predate my time as Chair, but their effects do not. They linger in the way we relate, in the hesitations we feel, in the silence where belonging should be.

So, on behalf of the Council, and from my own heart, I offer an apology. I apologize for any time this Centre has failed to be the sanctuary it promises to be. I apologize for moments of exclusion, for misunderstandings left unaddressed, for times when the Dharma was used as a shield rather than a bridge. If you have felt unseen, unheard, or unwelcome here, please know that your pain is valid, and it is seen.

We cannot rewrite the past. We cannot undo what was done or said. But we can choose how we meet the present and move towards the future. Forgiveness is not about forgetting; it is about releasing the grip of the past so we can build something new. Forgiveness is an act of courage.

As we prepare to move into our new home, let us make a commitment: that this new space will be one of repair. Let us commit to listening more deeply, to speaking more kindly, and to creating a culture where mistakes are met with accountability and compassion, not silence.

Looking Ahead: Padmasambhava and Transmission

It is no accident that we are celebrating the move into our new home on September 20th—Padmasambhava Day. 

Why is Padmasambhava so relevant? Because he was the Guru who came to Tibet when the land was wild, hostile, and filled with forces that resisted the Dharma. He did not run from the darkness. He faced it. He tamed it. And he transformed those hostile energies into protectors of the path.

The world needs padmasambhava. Our city needs Padmasambhava. Our sangha needs Padmasambhava.

According to the teachings of Padmasambhava, there would come a degenerate age.  In many ways, I think we are living in that. Traditional Buddhist cosmology describes the age of degeneration as a period where defilements increase, moral and spiritual capacities fall away, and the ability to attain genuine realisation through the teachings becomes exceedingly rare. 

It is hard not to see parallels between these signs of decline and contemporary global trends such as:

• Rising social conflicts and wars

• Environmental and ecological stress

• Decline in general ethical conduct

• Increasing confusion around spiritual or moral values

• Difficulty finding the conditions to maintaining our Dharma practice in daily life

One canto of the Life and Liberation says:

Sealed aims! Until the times of coming forth are perfect;

signs of the earth, which is trembling, decadence and disgust

wars born of hate, famines proceeding from desire, epidemics caused by error.

Sealed aim! May a revealer bring the treasure to light:

It is the Dharma,

May our new centre bring the Dharma treasure to light! Gunasiddhi, Moksadhi and I have made a pact to call to mind Padmasambhava every day till we move and open our new centre.

Our journey to the new building has not been without problems. We have navigated financial uncertainty, bureaucratic hurdles, and an awareness of the internal shadows I’ve just spoken of.  But we will arrive.

Here, I want to do a wee shout out to our council, the centre team and to the various kulas who have been working so hard - and continue to do so.  Even where there have been disagreements we have worked in harmony and I think we have done a fantastic job. 

On Padmasambhava Day, we will consecrate our new centre not by denying our past, but by integrating it. We are building a Pure Land not in spite of our history, but because of our willingness to face it.

There will be ritual aspects as well as practical work to be done over the months ahead. We will ask all of you to contribute in different ways. Ritually we will ask for small objects to be given to be put into the walls of Woodside crescent following the tradition of various centres of triratna, including sauchihall st. We began this last year on Dharma day and we have a wicker basket in Woodside crescent with objects offered.  There will be the opportunity to bring more - so our walls will literally be a consecrated space.

This move is also a moment of transmission. Just as Padmasambhava passed the Dharma to his students, ensuring its survival for generations, so too we must ensure the longevity of this community. For this reason, I consider this move a legacy project. We won’t have the perfect centre to begin with. We won’t even be able to start with our vision complete, but we are building for future generations. People not even yet born will find the Dharma there.

A permanent home requires a mature sangha—one that can hold its own shadow without being consumed by it. It requires us to pass on not just bricks and mortar, but values, care, and commitment.

As we prepare to step across the threshold of our new home, I want to propose something for us to consider—not as a replacement for our public identity, but as an inner compass for our community. We will, of course, remain the Glasgow Buddhist Centre. That name serves us well; it connects us to the city, it allows those seeking the Dharma to find us online, and it connects us to our wider Triratna family. 

But internally, within the walls of our new home, I suggest we embrace the name Uddiyana. Candrika texted me with this suggestion just an hour after I ha been meditating on the Precious Guru and he ‘told’ me of Uddiyana.

Uddiyana was the homeland of Padmasambhava. It was a land of mystery, of power, and of transformation. It was not a place of escape, but a place where the sacred and the wild could meet.

It resonates deeply with our existing spiritual landscape here in Scotland. Here, we already hold a piece of that sacred geography. At Balquhidder, we have Dhanakosa—named for the very lake where Padmasambhava emerged from the lotus, the source of his wisdom and power. Were we to embrace Uddiyana for our new city centre, we could complete this circle. We could connect the stillness of the loch with the energy of the city. We could link the place of his birth with the place of his taming. 

Together, Dhanakosa and Uddiyana would form a living lineage right here in Scotland —a sacred geography where the Dharma is both preserved and actively engages with the world.

There is also a beautiful resonance in our location. The traditional invocation to the Guru begins: 'In the north-west of the land of Uddiyana...' Geographically, Glasgow stands in the north-west of our island. And Woodside Crescent is in the north west of our city. In a sense, we are already located in the direction that Padmasambhava is calling forth.

And Uddiyana is what we are building here. We are not hiding from the world’s shadows; we are integrating them. We are creating a space where the fierce compassion of Padmasambhava can reside. 

Should we embrace this, when we say 'I am going to Uddiyana,' it could remind us that we are entering a space of consecrated ground, where we commit to facing our own inner demons with wisdom and kindness. This would be an esoteric name, known only to us, a whispered reminder of our lineage and our intention. 

I invite you to carry this idea with you over the coming weeks. Let it simmer. And perhaps, when we finally walk through those doors on September 20th, we can do so as the guardians of Uddiyana.

Another important event to look forward to. Later this year, on Padmasambhava Day itself, I will be handing over the Chairship to Moksadhi.

Moksadhi will no doubt bring a fresh perspective, both younger in age and newer in the Order. There is a particular beauty in passing the torch to someone who sees our community with clear eyes, unclouded by the habits of the past.  Her energy represents the future of this Centre—a future that is dynamic, inclusive, and deeply rooted in the Dharma.

These transitions are not endings; they are acts of faith. Faith that the Dharma is strong enough to be carried by new hands. Faith that this community is resilient enough to grow beyond any single individual.

Closing Reflections

To close, I’d like to invite you to take a moment of silence.

Close your eyes if you wish.

Bring to mind the image of our new home. 

See the light coming through the windows. 

Feel the solidity of the floor beneath your feet.

Have the sense of the cavelike atmosphere of padmasambhava’s realm

Imagine yourself walking through those doors on September 20th.

Imagine the sense of belonging, of safety, of purpose.

Now, imagine Moksadhi standing beside you, ready to walk with you.

Feel the continuity. 

The Dharma is not dependent on any one person. 

It is alive in all of us.

Hold this vision for a few breaths.

And when you are ready, open your eyes.

May we embody the skillful means of Padmasambhava. 

May we face our shadows with courage. 

And may we build a community where everyone belongs.

Meanwhile, as always

May all beings be well, may all beings find true happiness and its causes and may all beings be free from suffering.

Where the Bodhichitta has not yet arisen

May it arise

Where it has arisen

May it flourish

Where it flourishes

May it never die