Faith

It was the first time in a number of years that the Taking Refuge ceremony was held in the town.

Members of the Kettering Buddhist group, Kagyu Samye Dzong took part in the ceremony, which was carried out by The Venerable Gelong Karma Jiga, a Buddhist monk of the Tibetan Kagyu tradition.

The Venerable Gelong Karma Jiga

The procedure included reciting prayers and cutting a lock of hair to signify that the followers were giving up their old ways and life, and adopting the teachings of the Buddha.

The ceremony also involves a giving of a white scarf, known as kata and the taking of a Buddhist name.

Among those that were becoming fully-fledged Buddhists was 15 year old Alex Coleman from Kettering and Marcus Connolly from Irchester.

They spoke to BBC Radio Northampton's Suki Somal about their decision to become practising Buddhists: