Urgyen House
set in the grounds of Adhisthana
Urgyen House comprises two small buildings adjoining the main house at Adhisthana
Sangharakshita’s modest rooms were situated on the ground floor of an extension to the Adhisthana community building.
Upstairs was an office for his secretary, an archives room, and his personal guest room.
Soon after his arrival at Adhisthana, then still known as Coddington Court, Sangharakshita let it be known that his new accommodation would be called the Urgyen Annexe.
‘Urgyen’ (Uḍḍiyāna in Sanskrit) is the name of the land that gave birth to the great legendary figure, Padmasambhava. In 1962, it was the name bestowed on Sangharakshita by Kachu Rimpoche, who also gave him the Padmasambhava abhiṣeka or initiation. In the memoir, Precious Teachers, he describes how the bestowal of the name suggested to him that his ‘true home was in the mysterious land of Uḍḍiyāna.'
After Sangharakshita's death, in recognition of its significance, the trustees of the Urgyen Sangharakshita Trust renamed the annexe where Sangharakshita spent his final years, Urgyen House.
Urgyen House was Sangharakshita’s home for the last five-and-a-half years of his life. This building and the Sangharakshita Library (which is located in a different building at Adhisthana) provided not only living quarters for Sangharakshita but a place for his entire collection of books, letters, papers, thangkas and artefacts.
We have now embarked on a project to ensure the long term preservation of this collection and of the building.
Sangharakshita’s living room and bedroom have been left untouched. The expanded lobby of Urgyen House offers a place to sit and read from The Complete Works of Sangharakshita, a photographic display from his extensive collection, and information about some of the objects you might notice whilst visiting his living-room, conservatory and bedroom. The former dining room has become a special exhibition room. The room that was once Paramartha’s bedroom is now a shrine room where you are welcome to meditate. The upper floor houses the various archives, the collection of objects not currently on display, and an office.
Our perspective needs to be long term, bearing in mind future generations. Stories associated with Sangharakshita’s possessions need to be collected and recorded. The archives need to be properly managed, scanned, duplicated, arranged and protected in suitable conditions from where they can be accessed for research, enquiry and exhibition.
This project has a significant role to play in the building of a strong and inspired sangha, particularly within the context of the vision of Adhisthana. It offers a unique access to the legacy of Sangharakshita, to inspire, educate, enlighten, enrich and delight.
