FWBO gains 1,000 fans on Facebook

The FWBO page on Facebook  has recently gained its 1000th 'fan'. The page was created late last year to give the FWBO a presence on Facebook - since then it's multiplied!

There are now FWBO groups acting as contact points for the FWBO in Denmark, Finland, Karuna, Vajraloka, Padmaloka, Buddhafield, New Zealand, Scotland, San Francisco, and even India - and probably quite a few more we haven't found yet. There's a special group for young FWBOers which now has nearly 150 members (147 to be precise!).  To access any of these you'll need to join Facebook if you haven't already - then simply click the links above. 

It's also proving a rich medium for interaction between individuals - friends old and new - in the FWBO Sangha around the world. This looks set to expand yet further when the FWBO's International Urban Retreat comes around in June, when a special version of the retreat will be offered via Facebook.

Anyone wanting to participate in the Facebook version of the retreat is invited to visit the Facebook page, become a 'fan' (sorry about the terminology - not our choice of word!) and click through to the International Urban Retreat event.

From there, just follow the links… The retreat will run from June 20-27th and we'll be posting more information soon.

FWBO News celebrates 5th anniversary

Jayarava, the creator of FWBO News, has written to say -

"Hi. FWBO News will be 5 years old on the 30th of May! Keep up the good work!"

FWBO News is the main international news channel for the FWBO, carrying a steady stream of news, comment, Right Livelihood and volunteering opportunities from across the world, plus links to some of the many other FWBO sites.

For the first two years Jayarava worked on the new FWBO News 'blog' entirely in his spare time. After he retired due to ill-health it was taken over by Lokabandhu, who works in the small 'FWBO Development Team' coordinating the news reports from all over the world from his bedroom in Glastonbury, Somerset UK.

During the past 5 years it's carried nearly 1,000 stories, which are assembled each month into an 'anthology' for FWBO Centres to print out and make available. Contributions are always welcome - to submit an item simply email your story plus photograph (if possible) to news@fwbo-news.org.

Over the 40 years of the FWBO's life many magazines have come and gone: we show here the covers of some of them…

Besides FWBO News, we recommend VideoSangha and Facebook as two excellent ways to stay in touch with the FWBO as an international Buddhist community.

Launch of new FWBO Dharma Training Course for Mitras

In the FWBO and TBMSG, the first formal commitment people make to practice as a Buddhist is likely to be expressed in the Mitra Ceremony. Mitra is a Sanskrit word meaning 'friend', and in the ceremony the person declares their connection with the Three Jewels of Buddhism - their wish to become like the Buddha, to practice the Dharma, and to build friendships with the Sangha. In response, members of the Order do what they can to offer facilities to mitras across the FWBO, who now number several thousand.

For the past two years Saccanama, an Order Member living in Bristol, UK, has been working on a new Dharma Training Course for Mitras, and we are delighted to report that this has now been launched, to critical acclaim - indeed, its been described as "totally fantastic" by one delighted study leader.

The Course, which runs over four years including a Foundation Year, is a major re-presentation of the FWBO and Sangharakshita's approach to the Dharma, and for the first time has been professionally produced with source material, further reading, and teachers' notes.

The course is designed for weekly study in groups, but all the material is freely available for those not able to attend FWBO groups or centres.

It has its own permanent web address online, www.fwbomitracourse.com, though the files themselves are currently held on the FWBO's FreeBuddhistAudio site – click on the link above and it will take you straight there.

Saccanama introduced the course with a talk entitled " Giving the Gift of the Dharma", given at Padmaloka retreat centre, and available for anyone to listen to. He has also written ‘A Guide to the FWBO Dharma Training Course for Mitras’ which is now available to download from the website.

The guide includes a preface by Sangharakshita, who writes -

"Since the earliest days of the FWBO I have been concerned that men and women who attend our centres should be able to gain a proper understanding of the Dharma. I am therefore delighted that the new Dharma Training Course for Mitras is now available.

"The aim of the Course is to provide Mitras – those wishing to practise the Dharma within the context of the FWBO – with what amounts to a basic education in Buddhism. The four-year course (the first year of which is a foundation year) includes modules on the principle Buddhist teachings, both practical and theoretical, as well as on some of the more important scriptures and philosophical schools. There are modules on the Bodhisattva Ideal; on the nature of the Sangha or spiritual community; on faith, symbols, and the imagination; on ethics and the environment; on Buddhist psychology; and on the history of the FWBO. Though the new Dharma Training Course draws on the old Mitra Study Course, there is also much that is new, some of it specially written for the course. Moreover, there is a greater emphasis on the importance of putting what one learns into practice.

"A great deal of thought has gone into the preparation of the new Dharma Training Course, and a great deal of work, and I congratulate all those who were involved in its production. The course should be available at every FWBO centre, and I hope that all Mitras who wish to extend and deepen their knowledge of the Dharma will take full advantage of it.

"Sangharakshita

Franco-Indian connections deepen through Non-Violent Communication

Aniruddha, an Indian Order Member working in India as a trainer in NVC (Non-Violent Communication) writes -

"Hi. I would like to celebrate and share the article about ‘NVC and Anger’ which appeared in the Indian ‘Guardian Health Chronicle’ recently. This magazine publishes from Delhi and has a circulation of 125,000 readers. It's on-line at www.myhealthguardian.com/manage-age.asp.

"I am celebrating the way NVC consciousness is spreading in India. I am grateful to the NVC India team and all those people out there who are supporting our activities. Please check the article - I would love to hear your feedback.

"Much love, Aniruddha

What Aniruddha doesn't mention, in his modesty, is that he's the General Manager of NVC India, and just back from a major presentation in France to the first-ever NVC Festival in Paris in early May.

He has a website www.invci.org, reflecting their recent registration as the “Institute of Non-Violent Communication, India.” The new site is still being created, but on the old one you'll find an account of his visit - he writes:

"I was scheduled to make a two-hour presentation on the developments of NVC in India since my last visit to Paris two years ago. We had both imagined about 50 participants – and we realized the day before that there would actually be 200! The room was so full that we were asked to make the presentation on top of a table so that the participants at the back could see us!

"After the traditional and warm welcome à la française by François Dusson, ACNV’s President, I in turn offered a shawl to François as a gift of gratitude from NVC practitioners in India. We are rejoicing, through this symbolic gesture, our deepening Franco-Indian connection!

"The highlight for all of us, and the joy of living moment by moment, came when I shared that it was my wife Suchita’s birthday that day and that I was missing her. Someone in the audience spontaneously suggested we all make a call to India. In next to no time, 200 members of the audience were singing Happy Birthday to Suchita in English and in French through a mobile connection! Suchita, who was in bed, (it was past midnight Indian time) was in shock, as you can imagine!

"It was exciting to arrive at the Forum, with the buzz, the connections, the individual warm welcomes, the various stands set up to promote NVC for practitioners and non-practitioners alike. Several two-hour workshops were planned, including NVC Introductions, NVC and Aikido, NVC and Mediation, Drawing and NVC, and many more… As you can imagine, we were torn trying to decide which to attend!"

Aniruddha will be touring many UK FWBO Centres this summer, thanks to Karuna, who are organising his programme.

London Buddhist Centre Grand Reopening

The FWBO's London Buddhist Centre (LBC) held a grand public reopening on 8th and 9th May - after the biggest refurbishment in its 30-year history.

The newly enlarged centre includes a dedicated venue for its Breathing Space ‘Mindfulness for Health’ programme, plus a new bookshop/reception and improved facilities and disability access throughout.

At a private function on Friday 8 May, influential public health policy commentator Lord Layard opened a new venue for the Breathing Space programme, which teaches Mindfulness Based Approaches (MBAs) to help prevent relapse into depression and addiction, and to manage stress and anxiety.

On Saturday 9 May the LBC held an open day – with all events free and open to anyone. The day included meditation sessions and talks about Buddhism and wellbeing. There were also lots of great offers at local businesses in the surrounding ‘Buddhist Village’, including the Wild Cherry Vegetarian Restaurant, Friends Organic Health Food shop and Evolution gift shop. In the evening there was a celebration, with presentations, live music, and refreshments.

The core course at Breathing Space is Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). Drawing on CBT, it uses mindfulness meditation to help challenge negative thinking that can lead to depression. MBCT is recommended by the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and has been shown in clinical trials to be more effective than antidepressants in preventing repeated relapse into depression.

Lord Layard, Emeritus Professor at the London School of Economics and a high-profile commentator on mental health policy, said: “Depression and anxiety are the biggest causes of misery in Britain today, with one in three families affected. As a society we need to act now. There is strong evidence that both CBT and MBCT are effective in preventing relapse. That’s why I warmly welcome this new venue for Breathing Space at the LBC to provide MBCT.” Lord Layard is well known for advocating a new ‘science of happiness’, which embraces philosophy, economics, and psychology. In his best-selling 2005 book ‘Happiness – Lessons from a New Science’ he cites meditation as one of a number of tools we can use to develop happiness from within.

Since its inception in 2004 Breathing Space has helped more than 600 people, through 20 MBA courses and 20 two-day retreats teaching local carers mindfulness-based tools for managing stress and anxiety. It is funded by Tower Hamlets Social Services to provide free places on MBCT courses for people living in Tower Hamlets on a low income, and has contracts with Tower Hamlets and other London Boroughs to provide retreats and drop-in sessions for carers. For more information about Breathing Space and Mindfulness Based Approaches (MBTs) go to www.breathingspacelondon.org.uk.

There is a fast-growing body of medical research to show the beneficial effects of meditation on mental health. Studies have shown that it can have positive effect on regions of the brain related to emotional processing and on the nervous system and neurochemicals released in the brain. Breathing Space has produced a summary of some of these recent findings - see www.breathingspacelondon.org.uk/about-Breathing-Space/about-mbas/meditation-research/ .

The photographs show the new entrance to the LBC and Paramabandhu (the outgoing chairman) meeting Lord Layard during the opening.

"What is the Western Buddhist Order?": a 'Message' from Sangharakshita

Last week Sangharakshita, founder of the FWBO and the Western Buddhist Order, issued an important 'Message' to all members of the Order, entitled "What is the Western Buddhist Order?"

He introduces it thus -

"On 17th, 18th, and 19th March 2009, a small group of senior Order members put to me a series of questions about the nature of the Order, and related topics, and I replied to those questions. Our exchanges were recorded and I have gone through the transcript of the recording, giving clearer expression to some of the points I wished to make and cutting a few digressions which, though interesting in themselves, had no direct relation to the questions I was being asked.

"Now that I am in my 84th year, I am glad to have had the opportunity of placing on record my views concerning the nature of the Order, and related topics. My replies to the questions put to me may, indeed, be seen as my Last Will and Testament for the Order, and I therefore request all Order members not only to 'read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest' its contents but also to give it appropriate expression in their lives as Order members".

(Sd.) Urgyen Sangharakshita.
Madhyamaloka,
8th April 2009

Sangharakshita would like the Message to be available to everyone connected with the FWBO, and it has therefore been posted on his website under 'News'. The direct link is www.sangharakshita.org/What_is_the_Western_Buddhist_Order.pdf

More or less by coincidence, the theme for this summer's Order Convention has just been announced as being "What is the Order?". It will explore the theme using a variety of approaches - an informal 'conversation café' to open up the topic; a talk locating the Order/FWBO within the context of the Buddhist tradition; a series of 'Colloquia' on the three themes of Discipleship, Coherence and Experimentation, and The Collective Life of the Order - each presenting a number of perspectives on the topic followed by questions and answers; meditation and Puja, including the 'Mula Yogas'; and finally an 'Open Forum' specifically to air responses to Sangharakshita’s Message.

News from FWBO Boston: new paintwork; new energy; new people…

Sunada from the FWBO's Boston Center writes -

"Our little sangha here in Boston recently got together to paint and spiff up our tiny meeting room. It used to be this rather dark and dingy room, and well ... the transformation has been more than just in the physical appearance of the space. In fact we transformed our dark and dingy one-room meeting space into a wonderfully warm blue-and-gold Milarepa’s Cave!

"It was our first major project we undertook as a sangha, and the effect it had on us as a sangha community has been wonderful. Interestingly, we've also gotten a sudden spurt of new people join us. And these are people who asked to come without seeing our space at all. Funny how positive energy has a way of feeding on itself.

"We have Steve Wade to thank for pulling this project together -- and he still has more ideas up his sleeve. Our space is located at the far end of a long, sterile-looking hallway in the basement of an office building. Steve’s vision is that when someone walks into our door, they’re suddenly greeted with a beautiful, colorful shrine room. Since his recent trip to visit FWBO Centers in the UK, he’s gotten inspired to really do something in style.

"So this is just Phase One for now, and more improvements will no doubt come over time. We’ll probably get some built-in shelving for our zafus, and perhaps build up the shrine table so it more grandly fills the space. It’s all pretty exciting -- especially since the atmosphere already feels so changed with what we’ve done so far.

"A special thank you goes to all the sangha members who chipped in: Steve Wade, Glenn McKay, Rita Rocha, Stan Dankoski, Wyatt Greene, Doug Fosdick, and Martha Penzenik".

FWBO Boston's website is at www.bostonfwbo.org.

The photograph shows some of the Boston FWBO Sangha, with Sunada herself just to the right of the Buddha.

Buddhist Chants CD launched by Ghent Centre

Jan Deckers from the FWBO's Gent centre in Belgium writes with news of a new CD of Buddhist chants, available to FWBO members worldwide.  He says -

"We have made a wonderful CD and a booklet of Buddhist chants, sung by Arthamitra. We would like to offer it to members of the Sangha world-wide.

"For us, chanting on retreat has become a tradition in the FWBO of the Low Countries. We choose a sutra as the theme for a retreat.

"Arthamitra, a professional opera singer, teaches the participants how to pronounce and chant the words (either traditional or his own compositions). Throughout the retreat we chant the sutra twice or three times a day, before or after a meditation or as part of a puja. This strongly supports our meditation, reflection and study. Each time the chanting gets a bit more beautiful, we open our minds further for the message of the Dharma and get closer to one another.

"The profits will go to Metta Vihara, for the acquisition and setting up of a retreat Centre for Belgium and Holland. We have 500 CDs and all costs so far have been sponsored - once we sell all those we therefore make a net benefit of € 5000 for Metta Vihara.

You can find ordering and background information on our website. On it you can also listen to a beautiful singing of the Dhammapalam Gatha, watch a movie and download a small poster and leaflet. The address is -

http://users.telenet.be/jan.deckers3/Engels.htm.

Little Buddhas salute Dr. Ambedkar in India

Nagaketu writes from Nagpur, TBMSG's largest centre in India, with news of a new project.  He says  -

"The Little Buddha Children Club (LBCC) is a new project of Dhammakranti and TBMSG. It was launched in December last year when Dhammachari Subhuti inaugurated it.

It is a club for children in Nagpur and already we have a branch in Vadodara in Gujerat. So far we have four hundred members and are still growing.

In this modern age to educate children is a very big responsibility, we have to teach them human values and provide them with positive conditioning. This is our one of our aims while forming the children's club. Through games, stories, plays, songs and information we try to help them develop their confidence, concentration, sensitivity for others and friendship. We work with children through small retreats, workshops and celebrating Buddhist festivals.

"Recently we celebrated with them Dr. Ambedkar's birthday. On 14 April at around 7.30 in the morning nearly a hundred children and the same number of parents, mitras and order members gathered at the Dikshabhoomi (the 'Ground of Conversion') in Nagpur to pay homage to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and celebrate his 118th Birth Anniversary in a fitting style. At the beginning we chanted the refuges and precepts in front of Dr. Ambedkar’s statue and then walked nearly two kilometres around the Dikshabhoomi. It was a peace march, children and parents were holding flags on which were written Dr. Ambedkar's thoughts.

"We ended a programme with a song about Babasaheb by one of the members of the Little Buddha Children Club and then Ritayus spoke about Dr. Ambedkar's life followed by Mrs. Shubhangi Wanik.

"Nagaketu conducted the programme and at the end gave information about forthcoming Little Buddha Programmes, we ended with some snakes [possible typo here - though maybe not? - who knows? - ed] and ice cream".

FWBO News wishes them well.

Two ordinations in Scotland

Dhammarati, chair of the Order's College of Public Preceptors, writes - 

On Friday evening 8th May, Paul Thomson and Patrick Nicholson had their public ordination in the Glasgow Buddhist Centre.


Paul (who was the ex-Dharmapala) re-entered the Order as Dharmapala (long third "a"): protector of the Dharma. Smritiratna was his private preceptor and told us that when Bhante originally gave Dharmapala the name in 1969 he told him that he was naming him after Anagarika Dharmapala of Sri Lanka. "The Great Dharmapala". 

Patrick became Kshantidipa (long first "a", long second "i"): lamp / light of patient forbearance. His private preceptor was Suryavamsa. 


Dhammarati was the public preceptor in both cases.




The ceremony was attended by over 100 people, family and friends of both men as well as sangha members.


The College of Public Preceptors comprises about 30 senior members of the Order who are responsible for all ordinations.

The photograph shows a statue of Anagarika Dharmapala at Sarnath, India.

New fundraising opportunity at Karuna

The Karuna Trust, an FWBO charity working with marginalised communities in South Asia, has been running door to door fundraising appeals for nearly 30 years. Hundreds of people from the FWBO sangha have recruited thousands of UK householders who give £1.1million to Karuna each year.

Jo Goldsmid from Karuna says:

“According to research, a lot of our current supporters would be happy to give more; we just need to ask them. So that’s what we are going to do! We will be running a telephone fundraising campaign this summer from our office in London. This means we will be phoning hundreds of our loyal supporters and asking them to give a bit more. We will run the appeal in the same spirit as our door-to-door appeals: as an opportunity to deepen awareness of ourselves and our communication with others, with a strong sense of team. So each day before beginning phoning we will meet at the Karuna office, share our experience and then eat an early dinner together. Each evening will come to a close with a rejoicing in merits.

Telephone fundraising has a lot in common with door-to-door fundraising; it develops your communication skills and you can end up having some very meaningful conversations with people. It’s possible to raise even more money than you would knocking on people’s doors, so this means we will be able to reach out to even more vulnerable children, women and men across South Asia.

So if you live in London, are available on weekday evenings between 1st June and 11th July and would like to contribute, we’d love to hear from you! Full training will be given and financial support can be negotiated.”

Contact Jo at Karuna:
jo@karuna.org +44 (0)207 697 3006

The photographs show two girls, Maya and Mandodhri, going to work in the brick kiln at dawn…and later on their way to their Karuna-funded school.  Education helps people more than anything else to take control of their lives and break out of the poverty cycle.

Dharma teaching and Breathworks in Turkey

Vajracaksu, the only Order Member living and teaching Dharma in Istanbul, Turkey, writes with news of some recent successes -

"Greetings from Istanbul. I thought I’d keep FWBO News up to date a bit with my mindfulness, meditation and Dharma activities in Istanbul. Since I last wrote about 9 months ago my meditation and meditation & Buddhism courses and events have been attracting significantly more people. There have been a number of small but important developments in my teaching activities.

"I’ve given my first two full length Dharma talks; also my first “Evoking Kindness” meditation course in both Turkish and English; led a few day retreats and several “Invitation to Silence” sessions of shrine room practice. And for the first time ever I actually have a weekly Sunday morning drop-in meditation class at a health centre called "The Life Co." - mostly I get people who are detoxing/fasting coming to these classes.

"Over the past couple of months more and more openings are emerging for me. For example, just last week I gave a presentation to a foreign women’s group called “Corona.” The presentation was called, “Meditation: The Natural Healer”; it ended with a lovely period of the mindfulness of breathing. The whole session went down very well I’d say. As per usual I continue to find it a privilege introducing people to mindfulness, meditation and to the Dharma. I continue to be amazed at the subtle power of meditation practice. It often seems like magic to me! In just 20 to 40 minutes people often become peaceful and happy! Magic!

"I have some other happy news to report. In February at last I became Turkey’s first accredited Breathworks trainer…I write that with a sense of pride! (See my profile on the Breathworks site) At the moment I’m in the middle of leading a “Living Well with Pain & Illness” course which is fully booked. Again it’s deeply satisfying to sense and witness people benefiting from the wonderful tools Breathworks offers - not least making use of the simplicity and healing powers of the breath.

"At the moment I’m also leading a 6 week meditation & Buddhism course entitled “The Network of Personal Relationships” which is going very well. Our current ‘daily life practice’ is to be more aware than usual of the ways people have and do benefit us through their acts of generosity and kindness.

"I’m confident that over the next 6-12 months (if not over the next 5-10 years!) even more people will come along to events I lead. More and more people are hearing about and becoming interested in meditation and I think this trend will continue; even accelerate over the next year or two.

"I thought I’d end this bulletin with a personal write-up one person did following one of the day retreats I led:

“I had been in Istanbul a few months when I googled, “Meditation, Istanbul” and Vajracaksu popped up. Wow, someone from the FWBO was here and they were teaching meditation! It’s been hard to keep up my mediation practice as a) I’m not very disciplined and b) I’m not very disciplined. So I was very excited to hear that Vajracaksu was running a meditation day.


On the day I made my way over to Ortakoy on one of the many old ferries that zig zag across the Bosphorous. Vajracaksu’s apartment has been converted into a lovely shrine room with a small garden at the back. The other participants had already eaten three raisins mindfully and introduced themselves by the time I arrived. We settled into body awareness which was very relaxing and then a period of the mindfulness of breathing. As there were both Turkish and English speakers, Vajracaksu taught in both languages which was very useful. During the tea break we all got to know each other a bit better. There was a woman who had been in Istanbul for nine years and had lost touch with meditation, there was a Georgian woman from America whose dream it was to meet a Sufi, there was a young Turkish guy who had been passionately meditating by himself for years and there was a Turkish woman who was trying to practice daily. 

As usual on these kinds of days everyone was looking to get to know themselves better and get in touch with reality. The atmosphere was lovely and soon everyone bonded over a huge curry cooked by Vajracaksu. At the end of the day, everyone wrote a letter to themselves to remind themselves of what they had learnt. It was a magical day, greatly appreciated by everyone and I hope to attend many more in the future!”

SADHU Vajracaksu!

You can find more details of his classes on his website www.aydef.com/meditasyon.

Taraloka's 'Great Gathering'

It seems the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are gathering this month in Shropshire, UK - in readiness for Taraloka's annual Great Gathering, to be held over the late May Bank Holiday weekend, ie May 21st - 25th.

Taraloka (www.taraloka.org.uk) being, of course, the FWBO's women's retreat centre in Shropshire, UK - and the proud holders of two "Retreat Centre of the Year" awards from the Good Retreat Guide.

They say -

"The programme this time will be based on Tsongkapa's Three Principle Paths : Renunciation, Bodhicitta and Wisdom. The weekend includes a talk on each of the three paths; led reflections; discussion groups; pujas; and conversation cafes. This last being a conversational process that Parami and Kuladharini have been using successively in various situations - on the women's day of the Indian convention was one occasion, for those of you who were there. See www.theworldcafe.com for details".

All women Order Members and Mitras are welcome, please see their website for details and booking.

New Anthology of FWBO News

There's a new 'Anthology' of FWBO and TBMSG news available, covering the stories that appeared over the month of April this year. It's available (along with other Anthologies) on the 'resources' page of the FWBO News' website, where it is easy to print out for use in Buddhist Centres.Click the link above to access it. 

In case you missed them; stories over the past month covered such topics as -

A major conference coming up in the UK on Buddhism, Arts, and Creativity;
Buddhafield seeking volunteers for its summer season;
a new FWBO centre in Belgium;
a 'Safety Net' launched for UK Buddhists,
Youth events
and (very important!) the upcoming FWBO International Urban Retreat….

There's news from Hungary, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Germany; and India. There's new images on FWBO Photos offering glimpses into the FWBO's archives - and plenty more.  

This month we've also made it available in a new interactive on-line format using ISSUU - you'll find it and other FWBO literature, including Sangharakshita's Complete Poems here - http://issuu.com/fwbo.

Death of Sanghapalita

Amrutdeep, from the TBMSG's Order Convening team in India, writes with news of a death in the Order -

Dear Order members,

This is to inform you that Dhammachari Sanghapalita passed away on Friday 8th May at 10.30 p.m. Indian time.

He was at the age of 92 from Wardha Centre, Maharastra, India. He was still active in his Dhamma life.

On Friday about 7 pm, he was crossing through the road to the Wardha Hostel (which is also our Buddhist centre) for attending a special Sevenfold Puja arranged by centre and all of sudden one bike rider dashed him, he was seriously injured, his right leg and right arm got fractured. He was immediately taken to the nearest Hospital but was in very critical situation, struggling to survive but unfortunately could not survive.

This is a great loss to the Whole Order. He was one of the oldest Order members in India. He was ordained in 1987. His sadhana was Sakyamuni Buddha. Please send your maitri.

With Metta.

New video of Sangharakshita available online

Upekshapriya, from the FWBO's ClearVision video team, writes with news of Sangharakshita's recent talk in Birmingham, UK, given as part of their FWBO Day celebrations. He sys " You might want a heads-up that the talks from FWBO day in Birmingham are now on VideoSangha".

There's three talks, all around the launch of 'The Essential Sangharakshita', Wisdom Publications' new collection of Sangharakshita's writings.

Vidyadevi, the book's compiler, begins her talk by describing the difficulty of adequately representing in a book the "ongoing process that is Sangharakshita", an author who Wisdom describes as being “equally at home with science, philosophy, myth, art, and poetry,” and using “every inner avenue to communicate the timeless Dharma.”

Her talk is at www.videosangha.net/video/FWBO-Day-2009-Talk-1-by-Vidyad-3

Subhuti, in his first public talk in the West for three years, rejoices in the "glittering but muddled heap" that has been bequeathed to us in the FWBO - meaning the sum total of Sangharakshita's output over the past 60 years of Dharma teaching and practice. He goes on to evoke the spirit of the times when the FWBO and Order were founded, when in the air there was a thirst for something new, for radical change - and Sangharakshita was there to meet it. His talk is at www.videosangha.net/video/FWBO-Day-2009-Talk-2-by-Subhut-3

Sangharakshita, in his talk, available at www.videosangha.net/video/FWBO-Day-2009-Talk-3-by-Sangha-3, expresses very eloquently his gratitude to Vidyadevi and others. He goes on to launch 'Living with Ethics', and offers a series of reflections on ethics and altruism.

VideoSangha www.videosangha.net hosts over 260 videos, long and short, related to the FWBO and Western Buddhist Order.

Two ordinations in Scotland

Dhammarati writes from Scotland -

"I'm happy to let you know that there will shortly be two public ordinations at the Glasgow Buddhist Centre:

"Patrick Nicholson, who is on retreat now with Suriyavamsa, his private preceptor, and Paul Thomson (the ex-Dharmapala), on retreat with Smritiratna, who will privately ordain him.

"The public ordinations will take place at the Glasgow centre on Friday May 8, beginning at 7pm. I'll officiate at the public ordinations, welcoming Patrick into, and Paul back into, the Order."

Dhammarati

Smritiratna adds some background -

"Dharmapala was originally ordained in 1969 but resigned in 1999. Six years later in 2005 he returned as plain Paul Thomson, to attend one of my monthly day retreats at Dhanakosa and has rarely missed one since, also attending the local FWBO group in Stirling. We have become very close friends.

"Last year he requested re-ordination, asking me to be his new private preceptor, and the College agreed. His private ordination will now take place in the first week of May, on a dual retreat here in the forest near Dhanakosa. The public ordination will take place on Friday 8th May (eve of Wesak) at Glasgow Buddhist Centre. Dhammarati will be his new public preceptor and will ordain Patrick Nicholson on the same day. Paul Thomson, who has asked to resume his old name, will therefore be the once and future Dharmapala".

SADHU!

Lokamitra on India: two articles and a photographic archive

We conclude this week's series of stories on India with some photographs from the early days of TBMSG, as the FWBO is known in India. For the curious, TBMSG stands for 'Trailokya Bauddha Mahasangha Sahayaka Gana", the "Friends of the Great Buddhist Sangha of the Triple World".

These are part of Lokamitra's archive and have been added to the FWBO Photos collection on Flickr, which now hosts over 3,800 photographs from all over the FWBO and TBMSG.

Click here to play a slideshow of the images.

To complement the slides we have posted two articles by Lokamitra, one describing his first experiences of India and one looking back after 30 years of work helping to create TBMSG.

Click here to read The Day that Changed my Life. 

And here for 30 Years in India.

Both are moving testimonies of the situation in India and the amount that has been achieved through people working together, inspired by a common vision.
 
For further reading, we recommend 'Jai Bhim', Nagabodhi's book-length account of the revival of Buddhism in India and the part Sangharakshita, Lokamitra, and many others played in it. It's now available on-line on Sangharakshita's website at www.sangharakshita.org/bookshelf/jaibhim.pdf.

A Green Elephant in Sydney: fundraising for India

Last summer after feverish weeks of preparation, the Green Elephant Buddhist charity shop opened in Sydney, Australia, close to the FWBO's Sydney Buddhist Centre.

Varada reports - 

"The project is the brainchild of two women Dhammamitras, both of whom have asked for ordination. They have since been joined by a third women mitra, who also has asked for ordination. She gave up her well paid, part-time job in IT to become the shop manager, which is the only paid position in the shop.

"The profits from the shop, once they are fully established and have paid off the loans taken out for set-up expenses will be divided 60% to the projects for women and children in India, such as those run by Arya Tara Mahila Trust, and 40% to the Sydney Buddhist Centre. The public has responded warmly and strongly to the shop, and are very interested in the Indian women's projects being supported.

"Already in only a few months of operation the shop is breaking even and should soon be able to start paying off the loans taken out. We hope to make a profit distribution this financial year.

"An enormous amount of vision, planning, enthusiasm and hard work is going into this project to provide money that will benefit women and children in India.

"Sadhu, Sadhu, Sadhu"