Wat Charoenbhavana
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On 8 February 2004 saw the establishment of Wat Charoenbhavana, Manchester - also known to westerners as the North-West Centre for Buddhist Meditation. It is the first Thai Buddhist temple the Northwest of England. It is presently located in a converted curtain-rail factory in Salford.
The temple was named Wat Charoenbhavana (Manchester) by the Thai community (lit. `the temple for cultivation of meditation') and was consecrated with the blessing of the Most Ven. Phrarajbhavanavimol head of the Thai Buddhist mission to England.
The temple was accepted as an official place for religious worship (no.81212) on 4 June 2004 with the help of the Thai Culture Forum UK.
Originally the temple had no Buddha image. The eight-foot Buddha image which has pride of place in the main shrine room was rescued from a roadside in Cardiff.
Presently the temple runs a variety of pastoral services for the Buddhist community in Manchester and marks most of the events in the Thai Buddhist calendar. A variety of evening classes on Buddhism and meditation are run on weekdays and Thai language classes on weekends.
