Contemporary Spirituality in Glastonbury

Archangel Michael's Soul Therapy Centre

The Glastonbury Tales showed Lama Jake at Archangel Michael's Soul Therapy Centre (a former Christian church) in Glastonbury preparing for a visit by His Holiness Tulku Buddha Maitreya Rinpoche, the founder of the Centre, believed by his followers to be an incarnation of both Jesus and Buddha. Lama Jake is now at the organization's Omaha Centre in America.

His Holiness Tulku Buddha Maitreya Rinpoche established his first centre in Glastonbury c1992, and has made a number of visits to Glastonbury since 2001; in 2003 Dharshans were held not only at Archangel Michael's Soul Therapy Centre, but also at Chalice Well. He has particular reasons for wanting to have a centre in Glastonbury, and he considers Glastonbury to be of enormous spiritual and planetary significance.

His Holiness is now known as H.H. Gyalwa Jampa, the Tibetan form of Buddha Maitreya. H.H. Gyalwa Jampa continues to visit Glastonbury, and between August 2004 and February 2005 nine Tibetan monks were based at Maitreya Monastery, taking part in various events in Glastonbury and elsewhere in England.

There have also been changes to the building, with the original entrance opened up again, and the exterior painted white. There are plans to build a large stupa at Maitreya Monastery, due to be opened with great ceremony in May 2005.

One of Glastonbury's most important legends concerns Joseph of Arimathea, the person who provided a tomb for Christ; it is said that after the Crucifixion, Joseph traveled to Glastonbury and established the first Christian Church in England. Furthermore, Joseph is said to have been a rich merchant accustomed to visiting the west of England in search of the tin and lead mined in the area, while Jesus is said to be his nephew. What could be more natural, the logic runs, than for Joseph to have brought Jesus along on his business trips? The idea that Jesus came to England, specifically to Glastonbury, has been a tremendously significant myth for English Christians, and is still an important draw for Christians today.

His Holiness Tulku Buddha Maitreya Rinpoche confirms that Jesus did indeed visit Glastonbury as a young man, after which he traveled through India and then ended up in Tibet. His Holiness refers to traditional knowledge in Tibetan Buddhism that Jesus visited Tibet and to contemporaneous written accounts of his appearance there, which until now have not been known in the West. This, he points out, explains the similarities between Tibetan Buddhism and older forms of Christianity, and the blend of Tibetan Buddhism and Christian ideas in his present teaching:

Before being enthroned as a Tulku in Tibet, His Holiness Tulku Buddha Maitreya Rinpoche spent time in Glastonbury, self-consciously repeating that previous pattern: 'I've known all this since I was a child, so I knew when things are to be started where I needed to go, and how to set it up.' He hopes to bring over to Glastonbury Tibetan Buddhist monks who can teach people in the west about the Tibetan traditions concerning Jesus, and broaden their understanding of both Buddhism and Christianity.

His Holiness regards one of his main missions as the restoration of monasteries and monasticism, and his organization raises money for a number of Tibetan monasteries. His long term vision for Glastonbury also involves the restoration of Glastonbury Abbey, with all of Glastonbury becoming a monastic enclosure on the Tibetan Buddhist model, 'a completely spiritual environment.'

His Holiness Tulku Buddha Maitreya Rinpoche envisages spending an increasing amount of time in Glastonbury in the coming years, as Archangel Michael's Soul Therapy Centre increasingly becomes a significant spiritual education centre, hosting 'hundreds' of Tibetan teachers This is a matter of great importance because, he claims, 'If holy people go back to holy sites, the site reawakens and the whole earth can be healed.'