About Us
Wellington Buddhist Centre - Maranga mai ki te MÄramatanga is a thriving, diverse and friendly community of practising Buddhists of all ages.
We teach meditation and Buddhism in a way that is relevant and accessible. Though Buddhism is old, it is timeless, and we present ways of living a Buddhist life today.
Our weekly meditation and Buddhism classes are open to all, tailored to different levels of experience; including regulars and newcomers, with one evening for younger people. All newcomers classes are drop-in and no previous experience is expected.
The WBC aims to provide a pathway from absolute beginner to experienced Buddhist practitioner, through supportive conditions to learn, deepen and refresh your practice of ethics, meditation and wisdom.
We celebrate Buddhist festival days and run workshops as well as day and weekend retreats.
We are part of the Triratna Buddhist Community (https://thebuddhistcentre.com/), a worldwide Buddhist movement in over 20 countries teaching and practicing Buddhism suitable for people, at all levels of commitment, living in the modern world.
The Team
Our team is made up of both ordained members of the Triratna Buddhist Order and regular volunteers.
Visiting Order Members
Jnanadhara
WBC President
Jnanadhara is originally from Whangarei and first encountered Buddhism through books while in his mid-teens. After completing a diploma in music, he got involved with Triratna in Wellington in 1996. His desire to deepen his involvement led him to the UK. From there he moved to Dublin, Ireland where he now lives. He was ordained in 2003.
Our Values
Safeguarding & Ethics
As an expression of our commitment to the Buddhist precepts, we are committed to ensuring everyone who comes to our centre is safe and those involved in teaching and running the centre always act appropriately and with integrity. To help us achieve this we provide a number of safeguarding and ethical policies explaining our practices.
If you have any concerns about behaviour at the Wellington Buddhist Centre or on retreat with us, please contact our Safeguarding Officer on safeguarding@wellingtonbuddhistcentre.org
Privacy
As an expression of our commitment to the Buddhist precepts of honesty and of not taking the not giving, we are committed to only using the data we hold about the people involved in activities at our centre responsibly, and being clear about the way your information is collected and used. To help us achieve this we provide a privacy policy explaining our practices and the choices you can make.
Our History
Triratna has attracted its fair share of criticism over the past 50 years, much of it valid and useful. There has also been controversy surrounding the past sexual activity of our founder, the late Urgyen Sangharakshita, and others in the United Kingdom. Sangharakshita made a statement of apology about his past actions.
Nowadays we are very clear that sexual relationships should not occur between teachers and students. We have introduced a number of measures, including Safeguarding policies to protect those who use our centres. Internationally, a great deal of effort has gone into an independent restorative process.
In Wellington, we are not aware of any allegations of abuse or coercion made against people at our centre. We take the safety and well-being of visitors and community members very seriously. We would have no hesitation in notifying police if we felt anything potentially criminal had occurred.
If you have any concerns about behaviour at the Wellington Buddhist Centre or on retreat with us, please contact our Safeguarding Officer on safeguarding@wellingtonbuddhistcentre.org
For more information about our history and the ongoing restorative process please go to:
Frequently Asked Questions: https://thebuddhistcentre.com/controversy
More on Controversy and Triratna: https://thebuddhistcentre.com/search/node/controversy