A MAN who is probably Newport's most exotic commuter gets off the train clad in saffron and scarlet robes before getting down to a hard day's meditation.

Rising at six and meditating for an hour or an hour-and-a-half, partaking of a vegetarian breakfast before getting a train to Newport for more teaching and yet more meditation is all in a day's work for the average Buddhist monk.

Kelsang Rinchen, 25, used to be Peter Webber, lead guitar in a local rock band, before embarking on the Buddhist path to enlightenment.

Now a monk in the Kadampa tradition, his task is to lead others in the direction of the spiritual path he has trodden. Along this path one is unlikely to be ambushed by zealots making heavy-handed attempts at conversion.

"We introduce people to meditation. After that, it is up to them how far they want to take things. We never, ever push," said Rinchen.

His own conversion came after he realised his material and social needs were met, but that he was spiritually deadened. The feeling that somewhere, there was a message to be communicated resulted in a lot of reading, but no clear direction.

"I read around bits of Christianity and bits of Hinduism but Buddhism kept clicking with me," he said.

We are sitting in Scarlet's Cafe in central Newport and Rinchen is the only one in yellow robes. His shaven head would once have made him distinctive, but now half the male Newportonians passing the window (and one or two of the females) are similarly coiffured.

Not that the erstwhile Peter Webber pays much attention to the dictates of fashion.

"I used to want fame and all the things that go with it, but I came to realise that there was little meaning in my life," he said, stirring a cup of black tea.

"As I said, whatever else I read about, Buddhism kept clicking. I read lots and got a pretty good theoretical knowledge but realised what I needed was a teacher."

That teacher presented himself in the form of the Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, a Tibetan Bud-dhist teacher and writer. It is the teaching of Geshe Kelsang Gya-tso that insp-ired Rinchen to go forth from his retreat in Bristol and to bring Buddha to the natives of Newport via the 10.32 from Temple Meads.

Indoctrination it is not. "It is all to do with having a good mind. Happiness comes from inner peace. Everything that we do has an affect on our future lives for better or for worse."

At present, there are no more than a handful of people in Newport who would describe themselves as Buddhist, but it's a widening circle who have dipped into the religion and taken something from it, he says. "People come along to meditation classes and take what they find to be useful. There is very definitely no pressure to take it any further. Our classes in Newport have been going for a year."

The next series of classes, which are held at Newport Civic Centre, start on September 9 at 7 pm.

Those who want a contact number for classes can call the Amitabha Centre on 0117 9745 160. There is also a website www.meditationinbristol.org.uk

The notion of abstract meditation is a difficult idea for someone brought up in a Western tradition to deal with. We like to think about something with the aim of solving a concrete problem. Rinchen smiles, far too polite to point out that that is my problem.

We shake hands. The interview has been almost achingly polite. I'm not used to peace and love, it unsettles me. Meditation? I'll have to give it some more thought.