The Order of Buddhist Contemplatives was founded in 1980 by the late Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett, an Englishwoman who trained in Japan. On returning to the west Rev. Master Jiyu went on to found temples in Great Britain and the U.S.A. In our order and congregation women and men have equal status and train together. Men and women who ordain as monastics are referred to as both monks and priests, and they follow the traditional Mahayana Buddhist monastic precepts being celibate and vegetarian. The Order also has Lay Ministers who are householders who have long experience and deep commitment to the practise of this tradition and who serve in a wide variety of roles.
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