Cambridge Buddhist Centre celebrates tenth anniversary

Tomorrow, Sunday 1st November, will be an extra-special celebration of Sangha Day for the FWBO's Cambridge Buddhist Centre: they’ll be marking their 10th anniversary at the ‘Festival Theatre’.

Abhayamati writes to say -

“Sangha day this year marks ten years for the Cambridge Buddhist Centre at its current address. The special festival day will include a re-dedication ceremony, a special celebratory puja and a graffiti wall for rejoicing in merits.

“There have been FWBO activities in Cambridge for over 20 years and until 1999 the Centre was housed along with a community at number 25 Newmarket Road. Having outgrown its space, Windhorse Trading - the Buddhist run giftware company based in Cambridge - in 1998 acquired a disused theatre (shown opposite), complete with art deco foyer and adjoining Georgian house. After much renovation, the current Buddhist Centre opened and has been steadily growing and developing - and enabling others to grow and develop - over the past ten years.

“For a complete programme of our Sangha Day Festival, check our website. Or click here if you’re interested in the history of the building, especially the historic 'Festival Theatre'.

Coming up: World Vegan Day - and a suggestion for all our readers

Jane Easton from the FWBO’s Bristol Sangha has contacted FWBO News with a suggestion for all readers - and indeed for all FWBO Centres across the world. She says -

“It's World Vegan Day on Sunday 1st November, and I’d like to invite all FWBO Centres and Sanghas to consider taking part in GoVegan350.

“The idea is simply to go vegan for 350 hours - 15 days - with the support of a vegan buddy, starting whenever you choose. It's a perfect, do-able project that’s also a perfect opportunity to work on the first and second Buddhist precepts - and for vegans in our Sangha to support and encourage non-vegans!

“In Bristol we’re launching it today at Bristol's Free Vegan Food Fair, working in partnership with Climate 350, Bristol Animal Rights Collective and Bristol Vegan Buddies.

“Taking part is simple - all you have to do is find a buddy, choose your starting date, and when you’re ready, adopt a vegan diet, which means no meat, fish, dairy or egg to be eaten. Also take a look at your lifestyle, what cosmetics you use, bath and shower gels, toothpaste, the shoes and clothes that you buy, even the food and drinks you consume on a night out.

“You could even use it as a fundraising opportunity – pick your favourite FWBO charity, find them on www.justgiving.com, make yourself a page – and tell your friends to sponsor you! FWBO Dhammaloka (www.justgiving.com/dhammaloka) is raising money for Dhamma work in India and would be delighted to receive your donations...

“Why do this? The answer’s simple really, especially for Buddhists: the meat and dairy industry inflict terrible suffering on the animals in their care. And the two industries contribute to approximately 18% of the greenhouse gas emissions that will (unless checked) lead to a drastic change in our climate. A small action such as changing your diet will make a dramatic difference, as well as being kinder to animals and better for your health. This is increasingly being recognized - on Monday Lord Stern (author of the Stern Report) used an interview in the Times to call on the world to “give up meat to save the planet”!

“To help you through these 15 days there’s recipes, information, and links available on our website www.compassion-in-the-kitchen.org.uk. And of course your vegan buddy.  Sadly, it seems there's still a lot of hostility about veganism - some people go into kneejerk mode when their comfort zones are nudged, but a lot of folk are at least getting interested and asking questions - and hopefully Buddhists (and others) can use their spiritual practice to examine such hindrances and give it a go... Onwards and upwards!"

With metta
Jane

Four women ordained in Spain

Four women were welcomed into the Western Buddhist Order on Tuesday 27th October 2009 at Akashavana, the WBO’s Women’s retreat centre in the Spanish mountains.


Gillian Enlund becomes Aryashila (long first and last 'a', and long 'i'): 'She who has noble conduct or character'. (Private Preceptor: Vijayasri)


Beverley Ellis becomes Jayakara (long second and last 'a'): 'She who has a multitude, or mine, of victories'. (Private Preceptor: Paramachitta)


Seg Gaskill becomes Chandrika (long final 'a'): 'She who has the moon / moonlight' (poetic description: 'she who resembles moonlight; who sheds light on things'). (Private Preceptor: Parami)


Georgie Reiser becomes Sanghamani: 'She who is a jewel (lodestone) of the Sangha' as well as 'she to whom the Sangha is a jewel'. (Private Preceptor: Kalyanasri)


Ratnadharini and Parami were the Public Preceptors


SADHU!


Those interested in statistics might like to know that women’s ordinations into the Western Buddhist Order (outside India) have out-numbered men’s for four of the past five years, 2005-2009. On Sunday we’ll publish some statistics illustrating this and other demographic trends in the Order.

Youth Retreat in Bodh Gaya, part II

Here's a follow-up to yesterday's brief report on the recent NNBY Youth retreat at Bodh Gaya.

Aruna Kornana from NNBY reports -

The National Network of Buddhist Youth (NNBY) organized their first regional gathering at Bodhgaya, in Bihar.

It was a great challenge - the first time for this event with an entirely new group of people, working in a new place - but so successful.

Before the retreat the team went from one village to another, house to house, with the aim of educating the local people in the benefits of attending. Some places they could only reach on foot (almost 8-10 KM) and some on tractor.

The greatest challenge we expected was to get the Bihari girls out to come on this retreat as many had never before been away from their family. The local people proved our misconceptions wrong by sending their daughters to the retreat. In fact our efforts resulted in 35 enrollments, which is a big achievement as the tradition doesn’t allow girls to come out and participate in any such activities. This clearly shows how enthusiastic the people of Bihar are.

Dhammachari Subhuti led the retreat educating all present in the importance of Babasaheb Ambedkar ’s great Mantra “EDUCATE, AGITATE AND ORGANIZE”, dealing each of them separately. He mainly focused on how great a difference it makes when we form a proper Sangha: how much more we can contribute to each others’ growth, leading to development of ourselves and the society.

Dhammachari Maitriveer Nagarjuna from U.P. (Uttar Pradesh) led the team with morning Meditation and a talk followed by Group Discussion. We had Personality Development sessions in the afternoon - NVC (Non Violence Communication), English, information about RTI (Right to Information), Career Counseling, Play for Peace, and NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), all led by different organizers. At night before we dispersed to bed we had daily Vandana (Puja). We also had a temple visit where we were guided around the sites where the Buddha spent 7 weeks after attaining enlightenment.

One could clearly see what difference the retreat had made on the young citizens. We encouraged them to put forward their concerns which brought into focus the lack of proper resources in the villages and the many obstacles they face in their way to growth.

Greatest of all was the need for girl’s education. The girls present were so happy that they could make it to the retreat. Most of them went back with a positive energy to do something for the other village girls, to motivate them, educate them and take this further. By the end of the retreat we had NNBY task groups (Sangha) one each for different regions. Dhammachari Subhuti in the concluding session said “Before I came to India I told my people in England that there wouldn’t be any girls on the retreat. But I can see that you had made a big difference, a great contribution.”

So a big applause to the whole team of organizers: Sailesh, Sachin, Sujivak (Govind), Suchit, Sujit, Seema, Sandhya, Preeti, Keerti, Aruna, Praneet and Ratnesh.

The whole team contributed in fulfilling the purpose of the Retreat: bringing awareness to the Youth, spreading the message of Buddha and Babasaheb Dr. Ambedkar, also personality development, career counseling, guidance, and play!

With Lots of Metta,
Aruna Kornana

If you'd like to contribute to NNBY's work in India please visit their fundraising website www.justgiving.com/indianbuddhistyouth (In the US, we recommend www.jaibhiminternational.org)

Indian Buddhist youth gather in Bodh Gaya

News is just in of the first-ever NNBY Youth retreat held at Bodh Gaya, place of the Buddha’s enlightenment some 2,500 years ago. NNBY stands for the Indian ‘National Network of Buddhist Youth’, a TBMSG project created some three years ago and now spread across India.

130 young Buddhist men and women came for 4 days from 6 states across India, creating between them a true ‘casteless society’ and giving many their first real taste of Sangha, or spiritual community.

Organising the retreat was a major achievement for them given that Bodh Gaya, up in a remote corner of North-East India, is many hundreds of miles from today’s ‘Buddhist heartland’ down in Maharastra.

The retreat was led by Subhuti on the theme of 'Educate, Agitate, Organise' - Dr. Ambedkar’s famous slogan. They meditated, studied, performed puja -and of course found time to play and sing! You can get a flavour of it from the YouTube video sent us by Dharmashalin - or check their website http://nnby.org

Shakyajata and Priyadaka set off to support ex-Nagaloka trainees

Priyadaka reports -

"We will be visiting several states in India over the next three months to follow up these young men and women, all graduates of TBMSG’s Nagarjuna Training Institute, helping them put their Dhamma and other skills training to full use in their communities. You can catch a fuller picture of this exciting project at:

www.justgiving.com/YoungIndianFutures

"We intend to help them establish Dhamma teaching; to learn fundraising; to improve their English and even set up a Buddhist materials shop, all in three months! This is ambitious, but we want to aim high and build this project over several years.

"We thought a good way to mark it would be to reproduce here her final blog post, written immediately after her return last March - it captures very evocatively the joys and struggles of working in India, the idealism, the rewards and the frustrations…

She says -
“Thank you Lokabandhu, I'd be very pleased indeed to have my blog report reproduced on FWBO news. Maybe you could say too, that I am fundraising for the future skills training of these prospective young Dhamma workers - see my new webpage 'YoungIndianFutures'.

“Hope you are very well.
“much metta, Shakyajata

Blog March '09 – Shakyajata

“Hello from Shakyajata. I am writing this in the women's community in Manchester, where I have been kindly invited to stay for a while, to recover from the physical and emotional shocks which I experienced on leaving India and returning to the UK. A combination of a nasty bug, jetlag, and the pain of parting from people and projects which had become very dear to me, combined in a devastating way, and I lost about a stone in weight in the first 24 hours after arriving in Manchester.

“However, I am now recovering rapidly (more rapidly than I did when I returned from India in January 2008) and keen to re-engage at a distance with those projects and those people. I feel thankful to the gods of the IT realm, that my little laptop seems to have survived the travelling of 1000s of miles, and the terrible spikes and surges of the Nagaloka electricity supply. It seems ready to carry me into the work of following-up the deeply inspiring initiatives that I have seen developing in India, towards a better future for the young heroines and heroes to whom we have been teaching English, and through them, for hundreds or even thousands more people from poor backgrounds.

“Let me say here a big THANK YOU, to all the people who participated in the English teaching project at Nagaloka. Thank you Jess, Julie, Ken, Jenny, Sue, and Nealey, and especially Aryagita and Achala who are keeping the project going on a permanent basis. I think we can congratulate ourselves that we have made a great difference to the lives of the students of the Nagarjuna Training Institute. At the very least they have gained greatly in confidence; those with reasonable English have become much more fluent, those even with a little have made some progress, and the majority have a sound basis for improvement now and in future, in their fluency and their life-chances. Well done us, team! We gave it our best, and I personally feel I have gained greatly from the experience (or will when I have picked up the pieces!).

“THANK YOU also to all you out there who sponsored us. As well as ourselves and 3 - 4 months of teaching, we gave to the Nagaloka students (who have so little) books, stationery, a PowerPoint projector and laptop, and ongoing financial support for this year's project and the next one. (Also a lot of laughs, and sometimes oranges). You were so generous, and what you gave has gone a long, long way.

“The next big THANK YOU, is to the people who made it possible for us to do our work at NTI; to Padmavir and Vivekaratna, Nagamitra and Tejadhamma, Aryaketu, all the staff at Nagaloka and the girls' hostel, all our wonderful Guest-masters and porridge-cooks, and especially the students themselves, who threw themselves in with such enthusiasm and gratitude, who sang and danced and wrote poetry and drew pictures and mimed for us, made us laugh and cry, who bring the place alive in such a heart-opening way. A huge garland for each of you, of jasmine roses and blue lotuses. I will never forget you, you will always have friends in the West.

“Phew. What a life-changing experience it has been. If any of you out there, would like to participate in future, please let me know...”

Their plans for 2009 include an ambitious travel program visiting many Nagaloka graduates, who are scattered all over India. They’re off to Orissa, Hyderabad, Kerala, Chennai, Wardha, and Pune - India veterans will know just how much travelling this means! We hope to be reporting on some of their adventures in due course…

To contribute to their work, and to the Nagaloka Futures support fund, please visit www.justgiving.com/nagalokafutures

New Dharma materials at FreeBuddhistAudio

Candradasa writes from FreeBuddhistAudio with news of new on-line Dharma resources.  He says -

Dear Friends,

We're delighted to let you know that - after a wee summer hiatus - we have a rush of new modules just posted for the FWBO’s Dharma Training Course for Mitras. The permanent web address to bookmark for the new course is: www.fwbomitracourse.com. 

Latest up are most of the modules for Year 2 -

Module 1 - Nature of Existence 1, Conditionality and the Middle Way
Module 2 - What is the Sangha, Spiritual Community
Module 3 - Vision & Transformation, the Buddha's Eightfold Path
Module 4 - The Bodhisattva Ideal
Module 5 - Transcending Views
Module 6 - Turning the Mind to the Dharma

We hope you'll enjoy using the online version of the Course, and that you'll make steady progress in your own Dharma studies.

Year 3 coming soon!

with best wishes,

Candradasa,
The Free Buddhist Audio Team

ps. The new site has been developed to enable a free service to be kept in place for all users. To help us keep the service free, please think about making a donation. Many thanks!

Eight new Dharmacharinis in Australasia

Dharmanandi writes from New Zealand with news of eight recent ordinations there -

At the Public Ordination held at 2pm on Friday October 16th at Shambhala Retreat Centre, Golden Bay, New Zealand, the following Dharmacharinis were born:

Lynda Gill becomes Shamani (long 'i') 'The calming one/the one who calms'. Private Preceptor Chittaprabha, Public Preceptor Megha

Jennifer Jones becomes Carunalaka (long 1st, 2nd and 4th 'a') 'Red lotus'. Private Preceptor Megha.

Lea Richardson becomes Carunetra (long 1st and final 'a') 'Beautiful eyed'. Private Preceptor Megha.

Kath Dubout becomes Vimuttinandi (long final 'i') 'She who delights in liberation/freedom'. Private Preceptor Megha.

Yael Raz becomes Prakashika (long 2nd and final 'a') 'She who is brilliant/shining/bright'. Private Preceptor Chittaprabha. Varadevi was the Public Preceptor for the above

Bethwyn Malcolm becomes Amritaketu 'She who possesses the flame of the deathless'. Private Preceptor Varadevi.

Adele Chapman becomes Taralila (all vowels long) 'She who plays/sports with Tara'. Private Preceptor Varadevi.

Glyniss Cree becomes Akashamani (long 1st and 2nd 'a', long 'i') 'She who has a jewel of space'. Private Preceptor Chittaprabha.  Dharmanandi was the Public Preceptor for the above.

With Metta

Dharmanandi

SADHU!

'Wrathful Compassion' exhibition in Sydney

The FWBO's Sydney Buddhist Centre is hosting a fundraising exhibition on the theme of 'Wrathful Compassion'- and many if not all the images are available to view on the internet.

 They say "Compassion as a quality, can be quite fierce - in response to the inequities and suffering of our world".

As the two images show, some of the images follow traditional Buddhist iconography; some are much more innovative and 'modern'.

For more details, check the centre's special exhibition page - or go straight to the on-line catalogue.

Videosangha celebrates 360 videos

Videosangha is a relatively new addition to the FWBO’s stable of websites, it’s been set up to enable people within the FWBO mandala to share what they are doing, what they are inspired by and even just what they look like - through the medium of video.

They’re just celebrating their first 360 videos - allowing you to watch (if you choose) not quite one/day for a year, but close!

Among the most recent uploads are a series of talks by Subhuti, entitled the “Seven Trees of Enlightenment”, referring to the legend that the Buddha, immediately after his Enlightenment, spent seven weeks at Bodh Gaya, a week under each of seven trees.

Fittingly, his talks were given at Bodh Gaya - Subhuti himself, of course, lifts the talks out of the realm of legend and plants them firmly in the realm of our own daily practice. On the theme of India, Amitasuri’s another new addition to the site with an introduction to the plans for the FWBO/TBMSG’s land at Bodh Gaya, filmed at a fundraising evening in Manchester.

The site is divided into subject areas, ranging from Arts to Questions to Sport - under Questions, for instance, you’ll find a thought-provoking series of clips of young Buddhists offering answers to all those difficult questions Buddhists get asked.- vegetarianism, life after death, Enlightenment and more...

Contributing to the site is easy - you’ll find the very simple instructions on their home page www.videosangha.net

First Funding Allocation for the Abhayaratna Trust: Seeking to help Order Members in need

We're pleased to pass on important information regarding a significant new development in the Western Buddhist Order: the launch of the Abhayaratna Trust and their first big 'give-away'.

The Abhayaratna Trust aims to relieve financial hardship among members of the Western Buddhist Order, particularly in the face of sickness, old age or disability. Their vision is to contribute to a long and vibrant life of spiritual practice for members of the Western Buddhist Order, especially in the face of old age, sickness and disability and the isolation that can bring; to be a means for Order Members to support each other where help is most needed.

Over the past couple of years they've been thinking though how best to help, and they're just about ready to go. Read on for details of their first funding allocation...

- FINAL NOTICE of -

* The ABHAYARATNA TRUST's * FIRST FUNDING ALLOCATION *

---------- Seeking to help Order Members in need ----------

£3000 to be given away at allocation meetings in December

~ Extended DEADLINE  ~

Applications are invited by Saturday OCTOBER 31st

GRANTS will be given to individual Order members to meet needs due to hardship arising out of old age, sickness or disability that are unable to be met by Local Authorities, Charities or Sangha friends. For example, we are keen to help you go on retreat, get to an Order weekend or solitary.

Our VISION is to contribute to a long and vibrant life of spiritual practice for members of the Western Buddhist Order; to be a means for Order Members to support each other where help is most needed.

To APPLY please write or email to:-

The Secretary

The Abhayaratna Trust, 7 Edward Close, Ipswich, Suffolk IP1 4BE, UK

email:- jnanamitra.emmett@homecall.co.uk

www.westernbuddhistorder.org/abhayaratnatrust

Applicants can apply on behalf of a friend.

P.S. We also invite all readers to MAKE A BEQUEST in your WILL and also think of giving by regular donation. Help more Order Members to have a long life in the Order.  Details on Application.

Still Working to End Caste: an Update from the Karuna Trust

Amalavajra writes from the FWBO's Karuna Trust, with a major update on how they've weathered the economic downturn of the past year - and with an appeal to all FWBO News readers for 2010...

He says -

"We know that many of you care deeply about the plight of India’s Dalit community and contribute in many ways to Karuna as your response to it. Some of you have been concerned about how Karuna has been affected by the recession and others have expressed confusion about our funding of Dharma projects and the ITBCI School. We hope this short piece offers you clarity and reassurance, and inspires you to continue contributing in whatever way you can.

"In many ways Karuna is faring very well – our 2008 income of £1.63 million was our highest ever and the UK team (all Buddhists) has grown to 14 men and women. However, even this record income is insufficient to cover our commitments to projects overseas and to our UK fundraising and administrative operations. With very little money ‘in the bank’, we have suffered cash flow problems and had to delay some project payments. Our response to these difficulties has been to re-focus on our two core strengths:

1. Our social and Dharma work with India's Dalit community, especially via Bahujan Hitay/TBMSG.

"After 30 years of work with the Dalit community, we have an excellent network of Dalit-led project partners, mainly through Bahujan Hitay and Lokamitra’s Manuski Centre. So we will rein in our planned expansion in the Himalayas for the time being and instead refocus our efforts and resources on increasing our impact for the oppressed Dalit community.

Dharma projects
"After a long period of consideration the Karuna trustees and management decided earlier this year that they no longer felt happy to use funds raised from the British public to fund Dhamma work that primarily benefits the FWBO/TBMSG. Over the next couple of years the new India Dhamma Trust (launched by Subhuti at this year’s order convention) will gradually take over the funding of core institutions such as the men’s and women’s Indian ordination teams. Karuna will still give at least £80,000 per year for vital Dharma projects such as the Bhaja and Bordaran retreat centres and the Nagarjuna Training Institute for young Buddhists from all over India.

ITBCI School
"Karuna is continuing to fund most of the running costs of Dhardo Rinpoche’s ITBCI School, as it has done for 25 years, to the tune of £20,000 per year.


2. ‘Personal fundraising’ by teams of FWBO volunteers

"To correct the imbalance between Karuna’s income and expenditure, we will invest in expanding our fundraising programme in 2010. As well as our traditional door-to-door appeals, we will also be running campaigns to telephone our existing donors and a new 12 month men's appeal community to be led by Jayaraja. We are confident, based on pilot campaigns, that these initiatives will be successful, despite the current poor economic environment.

"However, the crucial factor will be YOU! Karuna’s fundraising, and therefore our vital social and Dharma work, is almost entirely dependent upon volunteer fundraisers from the FWBO. Of the £1.6 million that we raised in 2008, £1.2 million, or 72% came from individual donors who were recruited on the doorstep by FWBO volunteers over the past 30 years.

"So, if you feel strongly about helping India’s Dalit community to escape the hell of caste, then please do consider giving some of your time next year to fundraise for Karuna, or encourage your friends to do so. We offer financial support. Here is our 2010 fundraising programme:

Door to Door Appeals
Spring Men's 6th Feb - 20th March Nottingham
Spring Women's 20th March – 1st May Brighton
Summer Men's 29th May – 24th July Edinburgh
Autumn Women's 4th Sep – 16th Oct Birmingham

Telephone Campaigns (Mixed, London-based)
11th Jan – 19th Feb
19th April – 28th May
25th Oct – 3rd Dec

12 month appeal community with Jayaraja (For men, London)
Try out TBRL and community living for a year: Sep 2010 – Aug 2011

Please contact me at amalavajra@karuna.org, or 0044 (0)207 7700 3434, or visit www.appeals.karuna.org

Jambudvipa reports on hard-hitting anti-caste work

Many readers of FWBO News will be aware that at the twelfth session of its Human Rights Council, the UN moved to declare discrimination based on the Indian caste system to be a human rights abuse.

TBMSG - as the FWBO is known in India - is a grass-roots Buddhist community which has been working for 30 years to spread the ‘Dhamma Revolution’ in India.  Creating a caste-free society open to all Indians has long been central to their vision, and besides their long-running Dhamma teaching and extensive social projects they have more recently moved into advocacy work. The Jambudvipa Trust, based in Pune, is their most active ‘advocacy’ project; their work is an inspiration.

We’re proud to reproduce here this editorial from ‘Padmapani’, Jambudvipa's annual report and magazine.

Lokamitra, their president, writes -

“The Jambudvipa Trust, under its Manuski project is at present targeting five of the most disadvantaged communities in Maharashtra. One of these, the Paradhi community, along with other similar communities, has been cruelly dismissed and marginalised by being termed a Criminal Tribe. The result is that as well as having to live in unimaginably appalling conditions, they are subjected to arbitrary killings by the police and administration. Jambudvipa is working with such communities to make known their plight and help them develop their own leadership.

“Dr. Ambedkar urged Dalits in the strongest terms to leave behind their traditional degrading work and live a life of dignity. And yet millions of people born into the Mehetar and other sweeper castes think they are destined to do only this work. Scattered in all the towns in India, they are still obliged to work in the most inhuman conditions and carry human excreta, despite the denials of the administration and government. Indeed the latter maintain this system. They need people to clean all the filth and sewers, and, given the caste-contaminated mindset of most people in India, can only turn to these people. To make sure these people do not try and break out of the caste mould, the government hands out sops like housing and a steady wage to the Mehetar community. But without education, and social support and stimulation, these result in little, if any, progress. [see photo on right]

“Manuski has been producing field reports to bring these denied facts out in the open, and working with other like-minded organisations to campaign to end these inhuman practices. Out of these activities Manuski has been encouraging the development of networks of activists from these exploited communities who can take this forward. At the same time it has continued to develop Its advocacy work with regard to the frequent atrocities these people are subjected to. Finally Manuski has been supporting the emergence of a strong network of Dalit women leaders, activists, educators and social workers in Maharashtra which has now developed its own momentum'.

“While our approach in social work is entirely secular, most of the Jambudvipa and Manuski team have become Buddhists, inspired by Dr. Ambedkar, who realised that only a complete change in mindset or attitude will bring about the social change required to destroy the extremely deep roots of caste and untouchability. To this end Jambudvipa works with the Nagarjuna Institute, TBMSG and other similarly inspired Buddhist organisations to teach people how Buddhist practice can bring about the transformation of mental attitudes. In March 2009 a three day retreat was held in Tamil Nadu, organised jointly by Jambudvipa and the Nagarjuna Institute. It was attended by members of the three most exploited Scheduled Castes in Tamil Nadu - quite an achievement in itself in that, as stated above, people from different castes rarely co-operate. The enthusiasm and determination of the participants to leave behind the shackles of their old designation and all that goes with it, is developing all over the country.

“India is entering into a period of the deepest and most extensive social transformation it has ever experienced, and we feel proud to be able to contribute to this. In the following pages you will be able to see some of the work we are engaged in to this effect. We would like to take this opportunity to appreciate all the support we get from all those who in one way or another have helped to make this contribution possible.

“Lokamitra
“Founder President, Jambudvipa Trust”

For more information check their website www.jambudvipa.org.

 In the UK, the FWBO’s Karuna Trust fundraises to support many TBMSG projects - you can contribute financially or by taking part in an appeal. It’s a great way to get your Dharma practice off the cushion and out into the world!

New Buddhist Centre opens in Valencia

Another belated report has surfaced on the FWBO News desk - proof of a very a busy summer for our small team! This time it’s our pleasure to bring you news of the opening of the new FWBO Buddhist Centre in Valencia, Spain.  (We should mention that in  the-speaking Spanish world the FWBO is known as the AOBO - los Amigos de la Orden Budista Occidental.

There’s been an AOBO centre in Valencia for many years, and over the years they’ve built up a Sangha to be proud of - besides the classes at the Centre itself there’s right-livelihood businesses, translation work, prison visiting, Breathworks, and - most recently - Café Azul. Café Azul is a vegetarian cafe situated inside the Centre itself, and aims to promote vegetarianism in a country where meat-eating is still very much the norm.

To back this up, the Cafe Azul section of their website contains a long section on the reasoning behind vegetarianism, vegetarian recipes, and quotations from famous vegetarians, for instance Albert Einstein. We quote a little section here (English courtesy of Google Translate)

Why Café Azul?

Blue is the name chosen for our small Buddhist cafe in downtown Valencia. It was chosen in homage to Akshobya, the Blue Buddha of the East, of water, of touching the earth, the Buddha who is supported by the elephant (the largest animal that can now walk the earth), whose Buddha-family are the protectors of the Dharma and the Bodhisattvas of compassion in action.

Blue Cafe is a place dedicated to the Dharma, its dissemination and development. Especially, it is a place where we try to spread vegetarianism in an ethical, supportive and sustainable manner.

we can choose a vegetarian diet, and start a new form of diet, knowing that it will assist us to stop being complicit in the sacrifices that are made of thousands of animals each day.

By choosing vegetarianism, we choose to save the lives of animals, knowing they are simply our fellow beings on this Planet - not our servants, much less our enemies.

Here's a video and a slideshow of the celebrations -

http://picasaweb.google.com/fotosAOBO/LaInauguracion





Sadhu Valencia!

Darklings dance at the Brighton Buddhist Centre

Here’s a slightly belated report from the FWBO’s Brighton Buddhist Centre and their recent success in the July Brighton Carnival.

With the help of 15 volunteers, Lucy Barron and Ady Griffiths designed and created 12 dancing skeletons, or ‘Darklings’ – inspired by images they’d seen of Tibetan Buddhist Skeleton dancers, and based around ‘The Wheel of Life’ which has been the Brighton Buddhist Centre’s Carnival theme since 2007.

The skeletons danced their way around Brighton – amusing, scaring, befriending, playing and performing 8 choreographed dances -which included elements of improvisation and audience participation. The costume creation process encouraged a sense of working together on a creative project in the Sangha which then spread out into the city community - Buddhists being very visible in the community in a positive, fun, participative way!

 And - best of all - they won the Second Best Small Carnival Band award! Over 20,000 people were estimated to have come to the Carnival Village with 800 people parading - 28 different community groups and bands.

Separately, Ady and Tess Howell created a larger ‘Golden Green Carnival Queen ‘ costume which was awarded 1st prize in the ‘Best Individual Costume Award’.

To see more images go to Ady's website www.inspiringarts.co.uk or www.brightonbuddhistcentre.co.uk

For more information contact Ady Griffiths at info@inspiringarts.co.uk

"As inspiration shines through you
Imagination alights the beauty and truth within you..."


"The secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life and elevating them into art"-Unknown

September Serendipity Tour in Sri Lanka

Ujukarin, a Dutch member of the Western Buddhist Order, reports from Sri Lanka and their “September Serendipity Tour”. Proof that spreading the Dharma can be a lot of fun! He says -

“Below are my humble experiences from the last two weeks in the beautiful tropical island called Sri Lanka. The dominant memory coming to my mind is of a real team of spiritual friends, as we travelled together for most of these two weeks. At times we felt like the ‘one for all and all for one’ of the Three Musketeers, or like the Aniruddhas from the Buddhist suttas. Sometimes of course we needed to correct each other, and in one hilarious situation we almost split over two buses each going in opposite directions!

“But generally we had a lovely balanced distribution of tasks: Prajnajit as the Master of Mantras and Puja, Saddhavira as the Meditation expert and myself as the humble Dharma study contributor. Which did not prevent us from switching roles at times: Prajnajit was asked to explain quite a lot about Indian Buddhist culture, and on-the-spot we created new Reflection Meditations - e.g. with a Tara-Mara duo. But most special credits for this tour go to our dear friend Prajnajit, who now has proven to have more Sraddha (devotion) than Saddhavira and more Uju-power (uprightness) than Ujukarin!

“During the trip we conducted two separate mitra ceremonies, both long awaited; welcome to Chaminda and Devaraj into the mitra sangha! They happened during the more formal activities: two day retreats in our relocated Colombo centre (now in Moratuwa), and a weekend retreat at Sagaraloka, Saddhavira’s retreat centre on the Unawatuna beach. Along with this we did a five-day ‘road trip’ trip all along the island, with journey legs of up to 10 hours - this led to quite a few one-to-one meetings and three talks to larger audiences.

“So you might ask, what are the ‘results’ of this? Well that’s always hard to say with Dhammadhuta work, because even a new mitra is not necessarily the result of any effort from the Order  . But we laid plans for quite a few new activities, including corporate Mindfulness trainings. I was especially pleased to see that the negative prejudices against India which many Sri Lankan Buddhists have were proven wrong one by one when they met Prajnajit. Also study and ordination training visits to India by the Sri Lankan mitras are clearly on the rise, especially now that everyone has met an Indian Order Member in person. So again LOTS of thanks to Prajnajit, Saddhavira and all others involved in this wonderful trip!

“There’s some more photos on Facebook if anyone's interested.

“With folded palms,

Ujukarin”

Buddhist youth gatherings in UK and India

This weekend sees two gatherings of young Buddhists involved with the FWBO/TBMSG - but on opposite sides of the planet. Both are in response to a growing awareness that our Sangha has aged in the 40 years since the FWBO and TBMSG were founded.

In the UK’s Peak District a record 37 people (plus Lokabandhu, no longer so young but needed as organiser and cook!) will come together to practice, strengthen friendships, and explore the possibility of setting up a network of young people’s reps across the FWBO’s centres in the UK and Europe.

In India there’s a North India regional youth gathering at Bodh Gaya (site of the Buddha’s Enlightenment) organised by NNBY, the National Network of Buddhist Youth, a self-organising network that came out of TBMSG’s Dhammakranti project a couple of years ago. They say “In this gathering youth will develop their skills on Personality Development, English Education, the Right to Information Act, Mind Mapping and Social Awareness through the teachings of Lord Buddha and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. Dh. Subhuti will be the main teacher”. Hard on the heels of their event will be another, this time in Amaravati in Central India, and home to a thriving Buddhist Sangha.

For more information, check the FWBO Young People’s group on Facebook - up to 180 members and counting; or the NNBY website.

Buddhist Sanghas in the West generally seem to be experiencing the same issue - this year has seen the both UK’s Network of Buddhist Organisations and the European Buddhist Union devoting their annual gatherings to this theme. The EBU’s meeting was held last week at Taraloka, and was addressed by Lindsay Hannah, co-organiser of the coming weekend.

The chart shows how the age profile of the Western Buddhist Order has changed in the 40 years since it was founded. Pink bars represent the proportion of 20-30-year-olds; yellow 30-40-year-olds: both groups in rapid decline as a percentage of the whole!

Windhorse:Evolution follows through on successful "survival strategy"

Windhorse:Evolution is the largest and most successful of the FWBO’s many Right Livelihood businesses, with a chain of some 20 Evolution shops and a massive warehouse on the outskirts of Cambridge, UK.

Over the years they’ve been a major source of dana to a great many FWBO and TBMSG projects around the world, often giving away £250,000 or even more in a single year. However, like most retail businesses, they’ve been hard-hit by the recent downturn. The following is an article from their internal magazine, reprinted by permission. It gives an authentic insight into the real-life difficulties of running an idealistically-based business - and their success in meeting what are probably their greatest-ever challenges.

Vajraketu, Windhorse’s Managing Director, reports -

"The year to March 31st 2009 was in business terms the most difficult Windhorse:Evolution has faced for over twenty years. The credit crunch arrived at a time when we already faced challenges that would have been a handful even in a benign economic environment, and the result was a substantial loss for the year - the first time the business has lost money since 1984.

"Once the extent of the economic downturn became clear, in the early autumn of 2008, we launched a "survival strategy", which involved extensive cost cutting, including shutting two shops, the shelving of our plan to open more shops, and some redundancies at the Cambridge head office - the first time we have had to make anyone redundant, and not a happy landmark. Those, and other measures too numerous to mention, have enabled us to cut about 5%, or £300,000, from our projected expenses for this financial year.
At the same time, both the wholesale and retail sides of the business have had to focus on how best to adapt and compete in a depressed market.

"So far both have performed better than the sales forecasts we made for them in January, and if this continues until Christmas then the business could break-even this year (we were previously expecting a substantial loss). Breaking-even may not sound like much, but in the circumstances we are dealing with it would be a considerable achievement. However I must stress that with so much of our annual sales concentrated in the September-December period, and with the economic environment so uncertain, we cannot assume that the better-than-expected sales performance of recent months will necessarily continue.

"There is no guarantee that we will survive the current recession. I have been impressed with the amount of change and adaptation we have effected in the past year or so, and with the efforts and plans of both the wholesale and retail teams to maximise sales, but we must acknowledge that there are some things that are not in our control and we could probably not survive a deep and prolonged recession.

"While much of our energy is currently concentrated on survival, we have not lost sight of the longer-term vision of an ethical business run along broadly Buddhist lines, and the need to develop that in the light of changing circumstances. There are a great many things we could do in developing and promoting our approach to ethical trade, and to the environment, that are not getting as much attention from us as they would if times were easier. There is also the need to grow sales so that we can again generate profits sufficient to enable us to give away money to Buddhist projects and to social and educational projects in the communities where our products are made, and to support those who work in the business to an adequate standard now and in the future".

Latest news just in from Windhorse indicates that they seem to have survived the worst of the recession and are turning their minds from survival to considering more broadly what type of business they wish to be in the future. Sadhu Windhorse!

More details, including their Ethical Trading policy, are on their website www.windhorse.biz. To learn more about the ‘Windhorse story’, we recommend ‘Transforming Work: An Experiment in Right Livelihood’, by Padmasuri.

New edition of Urthona explores 'Landscapes of the Mind'

Urthona is a privately-published FWBO magazine dedicated to the arts. The latest issue, Urthona 26, explores the theme of “LANDSCAPES OF THE MIND”. Packed into its 64 pages are features on the work of three visionary artists deeply inspired by notions of landscape and mindscape, previews of complete chapters from two recently published novels, an essay on philosophy in the movies, and an interview with translators of the great Sanskrit poet Ashvaghosha - and plenty more besides!

In their own words, Urthona exists to “present the best of world culture, ancient and modern, from a Western Buddhist perspective. We explore particularly the work of artists and thinkers who are working to bring about cultural renewal by expressing the sacred dimension of the arts in ways which are relevant to the 21st century””. They go on to say -

“The magazine takes its name from Blake's spirit of the Imagination, Urthona, one of the four Zoas. In his temporal form of Los, Urthona is the archetypal blacksmith who labours at his forge to beat out forms which will awaken mankind from spiritual slumber and remind us that this world is 'all one continued vision of Fancy or Imagination.'

To give you a little more of a taste of what Urthona 26 contains, there’s -

* Inner Landscapes, an interview with talented Buddhist painter Vidyalila

* Golden Sunflowers, an essay in which Vishvapani explores how Buddhist ideas have influenced Western culture over the last 200 years, from Wagner to John Cage

* Bleakness and Joy, a review of the unjustly neglected Scottish painter Joan Eardley

* And an exploration by Ratnagarbha, Urthona's editor, of John Burnside, the 'Poet of Absence and Presence', and often held to be the foremost nature poet at work in Scotland today.

More details, and ordering information, at www.urthona.com.

Coming soon - Dhammakranti 'Jumbo' Retreat at Buddhgaya

Nagaketu writes from India with news of the next Dhammakranti Retreat at Buddhgaya - and a way to take part even if you don't happen to be passing.  He says -

"We are very pleased to inform that this year too we are arranging a big Dhammakranti retreat at Buddhgaya. This retreat will be held from 18th October to 23rd October 2009 at the Triratna Centre, TBMSG land, Buddhgaya.

"This is our 8th successive Dhammakranti retreat. Up till now we have successfully arranged three of these retreats at TBMSG’s ‘Hsuan Tsang’ retreat centre at Bordharan, one at Nagpur and three at Buddhagaya. So this is going to be the fourth retreat in succession at Buddhgaya.

"It is a wonderful and spiritual experience to be in retreat at the Enlightenment place of the Buddha. On the retreat we will do Meditation under the Bodhi Tree, listen to Dhamma Talks, enjoy Buddhist Rituals, participate in Group Discussion and Cultural Activities.

"This way we feel and experience ourselves to be close to the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. These retreats have already made a considerable impact throughout India, giving people from all castes and classes and opportunity to practise the Dhamma together and form a casteless Society in the true sense. In India this is truly a precious opportunity.

"Hence you are kindly invited to join us in this noble work by personally attending the retreat or by making generous donations. To make a donation please visit www.justgiving.com/bodhgaya. Thank you.

"Your contribution will help us to take the Dhamma to hundreds of people in India.

"With metta, Ritayush, Nagaketu, Sadhanaratna, Maitriveer Nagarjuna, Padmadarshi, Ratnadarshi, Kshitivajra and All the Dhammakranti Team".

Second helpings at Bristol's 'Compassion in the Kitchen' project

Jane Easton from the FWBO’s Bristol Buddhist Centre writes to say -

“We just had our 2nd "Compassion in the Kitchen" ethical eating retreat, led by Achintya and myself, and thought readers of FWBO News would be interested.

"Last year saw our first vegan cooking retreat ‘seasoned with Buddhist meditation and study’, and the second in the series was equally successful. Run by Jane and Achintya in a way that challenged preconceptions but didn’t moralise, we had huge fun. Everyone left with new skills and recipes as well as information about the issues.

"We hope to take the idea forward next year, so watch this space and keep an eye on our website www.compassion-in-the-kitchen.org.uk".

Jane Easton is a mitra at the Bristol Buddhist Centre and South Bristol Meditation Group, who works as Food and Cookery Consultant for Viva! and the Vegetarian Foundation. She has a wide experience of cooking and writing about vegan food.

Achintya has been a Buddhist since 1980 and was ordained into the Western Buddhist Order in 2000. He teaches at the South Bristol Meditation group. He is also a practicing Counsellor. Achintya has studied Mindfulness with Bangor University and is involved in Non-Violent Communication (NVC) training events across the UK.

Jai Bhim! - links develop between 'Dalit' Buddhists in India and Hungary

Amitayus, an Indian member of the Western Buddhist Order, and Chair of the FWBO/TBMSG centre in Amaravati, central India, writes to say -

“Congratulations and Bon Voyage to Dharma Mitra Bharat Wankhade who leaves Amravati, Maharashtra, India this week for a 10 week visit to Sajokaza, Hungary, where he will meet with Roma tribal Gypsy communities.

“The visit, which has been organised by the Jai Bhim Network, an organisation dedicated to integrating marginalised Roma tribal communities into society, has invited Bharat who will represent Bahujan Hitay Amravati Boys’ Hostel.

“Inspired by the message of Dr. Ambedkar for parents of marginalised communities to educate their children, in order to escape oppression and poverty, Bharat’s mother and father entered him into the Bahujan Hitay Amravati Boys’ Hostel at the age of ten. For the next eight years, Bharat boarded at the hostel whilst completing his education. Bharat is now studying in his 2nd year of Chartered Accountancy at The Institute of Chartered Accountants, Pune, Maharashtra.

“Commenting before his departure Bharat said “My parents are marginal farmers which is the only profession in the small village where I am from. My mother read an article about the hostel in a newspaper and once she had enrolled me into the hostel my life started to change. I feel indebted to Dh. Tejdhamma, Dh. Nagabhadra and Dh. Amitayus who guided and cherished me both through my education and more importantly my spiritual development. I met with Tibor Janos, of Jai Bhim Network in 2004 when he visited the Bahujan Hitay Amravati night study class which I was leading at the time. We have kept in touch since then and each time we’ve met he has invited me to Hungary. Eventually I said yes. In Hungary I hope to share my life experience with the beneficiaries of his project. I will meet students and perhaps share my knowledge of accountancy too.”

“Wishing him farewell Dh. Amitayus, project leader, BH Amravati commented, “Bharat is a young man with a very compassionate heart; he is kind and generous and being with him gives people a sense of security. I wish him good health on his journey; otherwise, I am confident he will help meet the needs of many people.”

“BH Amravati Boys Hostel is one of 24 hostels run by Bahujan Hitay and TBMSG and supported by Karuna Trust, the FWBO’s main fundraising charity which raises and sends over £1m/year annually to many social and Dhamma projects in India. To contact the Hostel direct please email Amitayus.

If you would like more information about Karuna and the work they support in Asia please visit the Karuna website www.karuna.org - or to find out how to donate to Karuna please go to www.karuna.org/donate

Ambedkar celebrations in San Francisco

Following yesterday’s post announcing the run-up to the anniversary of Ambedkar’s conversion to Buddhism on October 14th, news is in of an ‘Ambedkar Month’ in San Francisco, organised by Jai Bhim International and the FWBO’s San Francisco Buddhist Centre.

Ann Dennehy of Jai Bhim says -

"on October 14th at the sfbc sangha night we’ll be celebrating with our buddhist friends around the world the 'diksha bhumi' or great mass conversion of 1956, when dr. ambedkar and 500,000 of his followers converted to buddhism, in nagpur, india.

"The theme will be 'the great mass conversion: spark for a buddhist revival in india'. I’ll introduce some background on this event, and there will be a video feed of dhammachari maitriveer nagarjuna, an order member and scholar in india, who will explain the history and significance of october 14th in our global buddhist movement. maitriveer will be speaking from nagpur in central india, where dr. ambedkar converted to buddhism over 50 years ago.

"More details of our other events at www.jaibhiminternational.org/ambedkarmonth2009 - or find us on Facebook".

For those wanting to know more, FreeBuddhistAudio hosts some great talks on the significance of Ambedkar and his conversion  - or check ‘Ambedkar and Buddhism’, available from Windhorse Publications.