| Brief history of Taplow Court | 1000 BC: a hill fort is founded on the site
7th century AD: saxon burial mound established, which survives to this day
18th century: burial mound findings excavated and installed in the British museum
1850s: building refurbished in revival / French Gothic appearance
1887: William Henry Grenfell and his wife Ettie host gatherings of the elite, aristocratic social group, 'the Souls'
1915: Their eldest son Julian (a war poet) is killed in WWI
1945 onwards: Taplow Court owned by British Telecommunications Research and Plessey Electronics
1988: SGI-UK purchase the building |
This historic and beautiful building may seem an unusual setting for a Buddhist peace organisation, but the two go very well together - it is an ideal place to reflect on your place in the universe. However, SGI-UK is very much involved with the world. It is based on the teachings of 13th century Japanese teacher Nichiren Daishonin, who took inspiration from the Lotus Sutra. The Lotus Sutra teaches that enlightenment comes in this life and the enlightened life is one where you do good for the world around you.
 | | Taplow Court Summer Festival, 1998 |
At the centre, you won't see people wearing orange robes, meditating in silence. Some of the 7,000 SGI-UK members come on residential stays to the centre and chant in front of the Gohonzon, a scroll depicting the central tenet of Nichiren Buddhism: 'Nam-myoho-renge-kyo', roughly translated 'I devote myself to the mystic law of cause and effect'. It is this phrase which Nichiren Buddhists chant as a means to enlightenment. The movement has expanded purely on a person-to-person basis. In 1961 there was one Japanese lady practicing Nichiren Buddhism in the UK, but there are now 420 groups up and down the UK. It is likely that SGI's relatively modern roots, springing from two Japanese political prisoners, resonates with people who see problems in the world and are looking for a peaceful system of thought quite distinct from traditional, monotheistic religions.
 | | Lotus flower |
Robert Samuels, General Director at the centre, explains how the Lotus Sutra inspired Nichiren. "The Lotus seeds and flowers at the same time. This represents the simultaneity of cause and effect, which is a fundamental idea in Buddhism which comes out as karma. Nothing is random, everything has a cause... Nichiren took it further and gave a practice by which people can reach enlightenment." The Buddhist approach to good and evil is also different from Western religions. There is nothing inherently positive or negative, and the only way you can address something unpleasant which is happening to you is to change your own perspective. Robert explains how he addresses difficulties he might come across with his teenage son. "I tell him to do things, but of course he doesn't listen. So I chant, and in fact I change myself... At the deepest level of life, we are all interconnected... So it's by changing your heart and your life that the world changes." SGI is a lay organisation, which means there is no hierarchy of priests. Robert is entitled to perform weddings and funerals for members. He elaborates on how he became involved in Buddhism. "I was at a party in 1976 and got talking to someone. I wasn't particularly happy or unhappy, you know, I didn't need anything... But the more I found out about Nichiren, it just kept giving answers to all my questions... there are always challenges and questions in life, like how to raise a son or how to help run a Buddhist organisation!". The centre runs courses, has open days for people to see the house and grounds. There are educational services run in conjunction with schools, an arts festival and more. For more information on all this and the background and philosophy of SGI, visit the website at www.sgi-uk.org |
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Wendy Minogue
I would just like to say that as a new recruit Robert Samuels is a great inspiration to me,and Taplow feels like coming home. I am hoping to receive in the near future.
Chaudhry Rajinder Nijjhar
Hi,
Peace formula has been clearly stated by the Two anointed Christs, which are Christ Jesus and Christ or Satguru Nanak, the second coming of Jesus. But no one understands the fundamental that this earth is for the habitiation of the sons of Man and not for the members of political parties like Labour, Conservative, Communist, etc that cannot establish covenant with Adam. In Adam, covenant is through races, tribes, surnames, etc and the politics is of the tribes/surnames and not of any other organisation. That is why Christ Jesus said, "Every plant (person) that my heavenly father (creator Yahweh) did not plant shall be uprooted by the roots". The same by Christ Nanak. For detailed discussion, I am prepared to give a lecture on this and other topics. www.nijjhar.freeserve.co.uk/sikhism.htm
des keogh
my female friend is a member of sgi scotland. she is intertested in scotland having some automony.
i am a lay person and want some info.
ta
desmond keogh
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