Ways of Living at TBH

A summary of the different categories of residents and visitors to TBH.

Short Term Guests, including students and retreatants following Amida programmes, are welcome at all times except the few short periods when the community is closed. See the information on visiting for practical details. You may also wish to time your visit to take advantage of a retreat or course period or to follow a personal religious or therapy retreat.

Trainees
Trainees are long term residents who live as full members of the religious community studying Buddhism and learning the religious life while deciding whether to seek ordination. They make an initial payment to cover their living costs over the first few months but thereafter are kept by the community. They are expected to follow a collective lifestyle of religious practice and shared work.

Aspirants & Postulants
Aspirants are persons preparing for ordination as chaplains and postulants are preparing for ordination as novices. They live the religious life working for and supported by the community. Aspirancy and postulancy generally last one to two years.

Ordained Sangha
In the Amida Order there are two ordination tracks and each track has a probationary phase. There are thus four categories of ordained persons: chaplains and ministers; novices and amitaryas. There is no distinction between men and women in this regard. Generally speaking, chaplains and ministers live independent lives while novices and amitaryas live in community. Thus the core community of TBH primarily consists of persons on the amitarya track.

Long term Lay Residents
Long term residents pay a basic rent of £50 per week which covers all meals and use of house
facilities. They have a bed in a shared room. Usually they will stay in the same place but they may occasionally be asked to move rooms if the house is very full and a re-organisation is needed. Long term residents join in the community life (though not meetings for the training community) and are expected to help with household duties and to attend services.

Independent Residents
Independent residents rent a room for their exclusive use, have use of kitchen facilities other than the main kitchen, and live to a large degree independently, though they have some involvement in the religious life of the community.

Full Time Students
Full time students stay in the house long term whilst registered on a training programme full time. Full time students pay for accommodation on the same basis as short term students. £11 per day basic; £20 per day for guest room place. We cannot offer single rooms to long term students but in practice students in twin rooms will be on their own most of the time. These rates include meals. Full time students are welcome to join in community life, and attend services, but are not obliged to. They are asked to help with some household tasks.