CITY CENTRE
The Retreat Centre will be situated away from heavily populated areas, in a peaceful countryside, surrounded by nature. Living in a busy town and not being able to visit the Retreat Centre, practitioners could be lacking a place, where they can meet teachers and like-minded people, listen to and discuss Dhamma, practice meditation in a suitable place. Therefore, we see a great benefit in having a smaller place in Moscow itself, a detached or semi-detached building, or even just a larger apartment in a suitable place, which will be connected spiritually to the Retreat Centre. If such property is offered or rented long-term for a symbolic price, it would be a great gift to both living in and visiting Moscow.
Ajahn Nyanadassano about City Centre
Practice of meditation seems to attract mostly inhabitants of big cities. Surely there are reasons for that, but we won't be discussing them now.

Sooner or later a practitioner of the Dhamma starts looking for like-minded people - to learn new things, to discuss their experiences and to feel support of the group. Sometimes those groups meet in someone's house or even in a flat, and in some cases a group may acquire a property for communal use. Hampstead Vihara in London was a good example of such property, where people could meet, meditate, and where eventually a group of monks headed by Ajahn Sumedho, was invited to take up residence.

Because it is located in a city, easily accessible to the townsfolk, a Dhamma Centre maintains it's "liveliness", being available for many kinds of activities: dropping in for a quiet break or for an evening meditation, meeting friends or picking up a book, attending a lecture or a day-long meditation course.

Forest monks and nuns would quickly find these conditions too busy and restrictive and at the first opportunity they will try to move to a peaceful, solitary place in nature. A Forest Monastery or a quiet retreat centre will be their preferred dwelling and a place to deepen their practice.

Gradually, the connection between inhabitants of a Forest Monastery and people in a big city weakens, it becomes more difficult for them to find time to travel to the countryside, and importance of a City Dhamma Centre becomes obvious. For example, Forest Monasteries of Ajahn Chah and Ajahn Buddhadasa have their Centres in Bangkok, and particularly "Buddhadasa Archives" became very important and influential place.
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