Prajnapriya is a devotee of meditation and the Great Wisdom it can reveal. He is grateful for the immeasurable causes and conditions that led to this, to all friends and
teachers, and with renewed appreciation to Bhante Urgyen Sangharakshita.

After encountering the Dharma in the Low Countries, where he became a Mitra in the nineties, he crossed the North Sea, coming ashore in the flat lands of East Anglia. In Cambridge he immersed himself in the “Three Cs” of Centre, Community and Co-operative. He espoused the semi-monastic ideal and applied himself as a knight of the road for Uddiyana (Windhorse Trading). The “cremation ground” of the van sales team of that Right Livelihood company led him to ordination in 2007 by Vessantara, who named him Prajnapriya, Dear to Wisdom. Subsequently he travelled to the realms of the North, the East and the West, practicing “the art of the Tenzo” in the kitchens of Dhanakosa, Uddiyana and Vajraloka. His creativity started to flourish in unexpected ways. Aside from his gastronomical craft, he found himself chanting mantras to new melodies, while spending many a night in a cave, dancing
with the spirits in the moonlight among the rocks of the mountain stream. He imaginatively cooked his body in a magical cauldron and offered it as food to gods and demons. Apparently for no obvious reason he completed 100,000 prostrations, which took him three years, instead of the traditional three months. Maybe it was the timeless Dharma beyond words and concepts he prostrated to. In Vajraloka he deepened his meditation practice, and he received further training from the masters Radiant Bliss (Tejananda) and Upright Friend (Rijumitra). Under their guidance he started supporting and co-leading retreats. Thus, he gained experience of the teachings of the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, dedicated to the “direct way for the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation”. Here also learned the importance of the somatic aspect of meditation and the value of direct experience free from concepts. This even led him to write an article for Shabda, “The Blessings of Awareness”. A few days later he had a heart attack. And just in case the fragility of life wasn’t quite clear to him yet, he suffered a serious bout of Covid. Now he lives in Cambridge with his partner. Still passionate about meditation he offers meditation events for order members. He very much enjoys providing a space for people to explore and deepen their meditation. He is looking forward to seeing you at Vajraloka. Together we can go deeper in meditation.