It seems a strange place for a spiritual haven but that’s where you’ll find the Jamyang Buddhist Centre Leeds.
Established in 1994, the centre started out in Harehills and moved to Armley, before a move to the city centre.
It exists as a place for followers and other interested parties to find peace, meditate and generally get away from the stresses of modern life.
BBC Leeds talked to the Venerable Mary, from the centre, about why it exists and the benefits of being in the hurly-burly of a busy city centre.
Mary was born Mary Reavey, and wasn’t remotely a religious person or seeking spiritual fulfilment when she encountered Tibetan Buddhism while travelling in the Himalayas in the late 1970s.
She fell ill, and recuperated in a monastery where they were running a course on Buddhism for Westerners. Something rang true about the teachings and Mary has been passing on the message ever since.
As well as the running of the centre, Venereable Mary gets involved with educational projects in schools, meditation courses with the likes of Opera North and often finds herself visiting prisoners in jail who are in need of a spiritual lift.
“I’m based here in Leeds but my work can take me all over the country – wherever I’m needed basically. The lack of doctrine means we can interact easily with other faiths. Buddhism is about self-reliance and taking control of your destiny and that doesn’t mean you have to change your faith to get something out of Buddhism.” 
“Jamyang follows the Gelugpa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism (as does the Dalai Lama) – many people aren’t sure what the differences are between the various traditions but it’s down to cultural variation and overall there’s no great differences that matter too much. Followers of another strand of Buddhism, will feel at home here.”
“Here at the centre, we our main role as helping people deal with stress and sadness in their lives and the subsequent lack of control that they feel. Meditation is used as a way to take control of your life.”
“You don’t need to be a Buddhist to come in to the centre – if you think we can help then you’re welcome. A large bustling city like Leeds can cause all manner of stresses and we’re finding that our new location is very handy for people to come in for a while and banish their worries.”
“It may seem off to some that we’re here in the heart of the financial district, but there are a lot of stressed individuals who find us conveniently placed to pop in, maybe on a lunch hour, for some calm.”
“I’ve found that here in Yorkshire, people are canny and as long as you’re honest and straightforward about what you do, they’ll accept your authenticity. They’ll take it or leave it.”
“Ours is not a judgemental religion. There’s no conflict between variants, no evangelism, and it’s purely an opt-in religion – we don’t go searching for converts, even those who come to us for meditation can do so without any pressure to join the faith.”
“It’s not about numbers anyway, it’s about achieving understanding about yourself. There’s very little formal organisation, no central funding. We rely on donations to keep us ticking over and allow us to continue to offer the public services, courses and social get-togethers.”
(From: www.news.bbc.co.uk)
