Hampstead Buddhist Vihara
London, England · 1964–1967
51.54890°N, -0.16260°E
Key Facts
- ◆ Sangharakshita arrived here on Wednesday 12 August 1964 — his first day back in England after twenty years in India.
- ◆ The building had a characteristically damp smell he identified as 'a combination of dry rot and boiled cabbage'.
- ◆ He lectured here every Sunday afternoon and organised the annual Christmas Buddhist Seminar.
- ◆ His room on the second floor — directly above the meeting room — was where early conversations with future Order members took place.
- ◆ The Sangha Trust also owned the house next door on Haverstock Hill, used for additional accommodation.
- ◆ Sangharakshita was eventually dismissed from the incumbency by the Sangha Trust while he was in India.
“The Hampstead Buddhist Vihara was situated on Haverstock Hill, opposite a public house and within easy reach of Belsize Park Underground Station. It was a narrow, three-storey terrace property with a basement, and it was permeated by a peculiar smell which I subsequently identified as that of a combination of dry rot and boiled cabbage.”
— Moving Against the Stream
“Wednesday 12 August 1964. Arrived Heathrow 2.00 p.m. local time. Raining. Met by Ananda Bodhi and Mrs Rauf and driven to the Hampstead Buddhist Vihara. On the way passed through St John’s Wood. Sun came out. Little front gardens full of flowers.”
— Moving Against the Stream
Source: Moving Against the Stream
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