FWBO People gets a makeover

FWBO People is a website listing over 200 personal websites of Order Members, Mitras, and Friends up and down the FWBO - and the AOBO, VWBO, BBBD, and TBMSG - as the Movement is known in various countries worldwide.

It was created some three years ago by Jayarava and during 20009 has been managed by Lokabandhu of the FWBO Development Team.

Now, thanks to the technical expertise of Dridhamati, it’s had a makeover, and we’re proud to present the new improved version. There’s more people, fewer screens to scroll through, and - most importantly - a ‘snap’ function that lets you preview each site before clicking on it...

You’ll find it at www.people.fwbo.org.

If you’re an Order Member, Mitra, or Friend, have a personal website, and would like it to be included, please write to us at people@fwbo.org. It doesn’t have to be a ‘Buddhist’ site - blogs, photo collections, YouTube videos - all are welcome...

Resignations from the Western Buddhist Order

The past six months have seen seven resignations from the Western Buddhist Order:

Achalavajra from Abingdon, near Oxford UK, and ordained in 1989;
Amaradeva from Somerville Massachusetts in the US, ordained in 2003.
Karunadrishti from Berlin, ordained in 2005;
Kuladeva from London, ordained in 1977;
Manjudaaka from Finland, ordained in 1998;
Prajnacitta from the Netherlands, ordained in 2005; and finally
Vipassi from Liverpool, ordained in 1989;

After some discussion, it has been decided the best way to report resignations from the Order is in a similar way to ordinations, ie in batches, and without giving details of individual circumstances.

FWBO News wishes all of them well as they continue their spiritual journeys in other contexts.

The Buddha walks at Nagaloka

Readers of FWBO News will know of the remarkable ‘Big Buddha’ statue recently unveiled at the Nagarjuna Institute, TBMSG’s main training centre in Nagpur, Central India.

Mangesh Dahiwale writes with further news of the unveiling ceremony, an inauguration message from Sangharakshita, and a translation of a beautiful poem by Daya Pawar, the well-known Marathi women's poet.  He says -

"Nagaloka is located in Nagpur, which is the nerve centre of revival of Buddhism in India after the Great Conversion movement that Dr. Ambedkar initiated in 1956. The aim of the Nagarjuna Institute based in Nagaloka is to train people from all over India in Buddhism and social transformation through peaceful means. The training comprises Buddhist teachings, meditation and community life, besides responses to social situation in India which is largely dominated by caste attitudes. So far, Nagarjuna Institute trained over 500 people from 20 states, and they are actively working in all over India. Their work involves teaching the Buddha Dhamma, and some of them do extensive social work in terms of running hostels and schools.

"Nagarjuna Institute is also emerging as an important centre for interaction of Buddhists from all over the world. It hosted the International Network of Engaged Buddhist (INEB) conference in 2005, and International conference on "Buddhism in Modern World" in 2006. Buddhists from various denominations and nationalities have visited Nagarjuna Institute, notable amongst them are teacher and monks from both the east and west, which also includes Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh and Sulak Sivaraksa.

"To add to the serene atmosphere of the Nagaloka, an open shrine was envisioned with an unique image of the Buddha that will inspire people to follow in the footsteps of the Buddha as the teacher of the humanity. This vision was actualised when on 12th and 13th December 2009 a 32 foot high brass statue of the Buddha walking (on a 28 foot mound and base) was inaugurated at Nagaloka. It is estimated that between 40,000 and over 100,000 visited the Nagaloka campus that day.

"For many years we have wanted to have such a statue at the centre of Nagaloka but until recently that wish remained a mere dream; now it has been actualised. Lokamitra says that it has been one of the most difficult project he has been involved with in during the 31 years he has been living in India, but at the same time the most personally inspiring.

"Urgyen Sangharakshita sent the following message for the inauguration.

After his Enlightenment, the Buddha spent the rest of his life walking from town to town and village to village. Wherever he went he taught people the truth he had discovered. He taught them regardless of caste, education, or social position. By his inspiring presence he also encouraged people to live without fear.

Years ago, the revered Dr Ambedkar, the inaugurator of the Dhamma revolution, expressed a wish that there should be a Walking Buddha, instead of the usual image of the seated, meditating Buddha.

I am therefore overjoyed to learn that a 32 foot high statue of the walking Buddha in abhaya [fearlessness] mudra has been erected at Nagaloka and I heartily congratulate all who have been involved in this historic project.

In particular I congratulate Dhammachari Lokamitra, who originated the project, Wen Kwei Chan, the gifted artist who constructed the image, Ven Kuang Shin, the main donor, Ci Xiong Li, the second main donor, and the other generous donors.

The Nagaloka Walking Buddha will, I am sure, draw visitors and pilgrims from all over India, and indeed from all parts of the world. It will serve to remind us not only of the Buddha and his life but also of the fact that his teaching is a practical one, and one that is to be implemented for the benefit of all.

"The vision of Dr. Ambedkar’s was immortalised in the Marathi poem by Daya Pawar:

Buddha
“I never see you sitting in
Jeta’s garden
sitting with eyes closed
in meditation, in the lotus position,
or
in the caves of Ajanta and Ellora
with stone lips sewn shut
sleeping the last sleep of your life.


I see you
walking, talking,
softly, healingly,
on the sorrow of the poor, the weak,
going from hut to hut
in the life-destroying darkness,
torch in hand,
giving the sorrow
that drains the blood
like a contagious disease
a new meaning.”


SADHU!

They are still appealing for funds to complete the landscaping works - please visit www.justgiving.com/nagalokabuddha if you would like to donate.

New UK Dharma groups

Suddhacitta writes to FWBO News with news of growing interest in Dharma classes from the small town of Bridport, in Dorset on the south coast of the UK. He says -

“We have just done our first day retreat in Bridport. Alayasri and I were really happy that 10 people came for the morning, 7 stayed for lunch and 6 stayed for the whole day. It felt like a meaningful and enjoyable time. We did four lots of meditation, a couple of talks on Mindfulness and Samadhi and a little interactive session on the four levels of awareness. Generally we meet up bi-monthly on Sat mornings for a drop- in class.

“Hope all is going well for you. Keep up the good work. Suddhacitta"

Alayasri and Suddhacitta join a growing number of local FWBO groups around the UK - currently over 25 and growing.  You can find their full contact details on the main UK FWBO contacts page.

That special Xmas gift - a Sangharakshita ringtone!

Just in case there’s anyone out there still wondering what to get their nearest and dearest Buddhist friends for Christmas; FWBO News is pleased to bring you this year’s most unlikely gift: a Sangharakshita ringtone! Specifically, it's a ringtone of Sangharakshita speaking on one of his teachers, the Tibetan Rimpoche Chetul Sangye Dorje...

We discovered it courtesy of Google Alerts, it comes to you from an outfit called "Bomb MP3" who offer a multitude of ‘free’ downloads and ringtones - once you’ve created an account, started a subscription, given your mobile phone number, and so on...

The original is one section of a longer talk by Sangharakshita called ‘On Tara’, given to a gathering of women at the FWBO's Taraloka Retreat Centre and posted on the FreeBuddhistAudio website - from which you really can download it for free by clicking here.

Happy Christmas!

A Buddhist reports from Copenhagen

Today’s post is from Yogaratna, an Order Member and environmentalist from Cambridge UK, recently returned from the climate change conference in Copenhagen. We’re hoping to bring further reports later in the week from the FWBO’s EcoDharma centre in Spain, many of whose community also attended.

Yogaratna writes -
“From London it was £485 by rail, and about £18 to fly. Luckily I have the money, and I like train journeys.

“A blue sky, a big main square stuffed with thousands of people, clever banners, funny costumes, performances, dance music: a party atmosphere. I met up with some Gaia House Buddhists, and marched with their banner, which said: “what we do to the planet we do to ourselves”.

“I found it moving to be around thousands of people, all passionately wanting a positive response to climate change. A few hours later there were some angry speeches, lots of police started blocking off streets where I was; and I ran away to get my train home.

“Many people (including myself) think nowadays that it seems unlikely that we can avoid runaway climate change. So why did I bother doing 44 hours of train travel, to be in Copenhagen for 8 hours? And what has all this frankly very political stuff got to do with Buddhism?

non-harming, and not taking the not-given
“For me it comes down to the first 2 precepts. Non-harming; but in particular not taking the not-given. I think it is in principle unethical to deprive any human of the basic necessities of life, especially in terms of food, water and shelter - but also education and healthcare. Ethically speaking, I don't think that we in the West have a right to our higher standard of living, which depends on a greater share of the world's natural resources. Our relative wealth (in global terms) depends on economic and military power, not metta or wisdom.

“It's increasingly obvious that the world's resources are very limited, that we rich are maintaining our lifestyle at the expense of the poor - and that climate change will make this dynamic much worse. Reading about the Copenhagen climate negotiations, I'm struck by the extent to which the wealthy countries have given up humanist posturing, and got down to power politics. The rich countries seem to be saying to the developing countries: we accept that we are on course for runaway climate change (which was caused mainly by ourselves), we are prepared to do almost nothing to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, we believe you will die in very large numbers; here's a bit of money.

a time of great reality - and great surreality
“Copenhagen seems to have been a time of great reality, to the extent that people from all over the world did meet each other and talk on this issue, even (perhaps especially) at complete cross-purposes. But also a time of great surreality. The policing mirrored the talks, targeting official delegations inside the conference centre as well as demonstrators outside. At the same time, I would guess the politicians themselves are probably more genuinely concerned about (and knowledgeable about) climate change than the general public. They know that Copenhagen was probably the best chance of avoiding runaway climate change, and they don't dare to support measures which the science demands, but which would be unpopular.

Hopenhagen - or a corporate-sponsored narcotic?

“And in the streets of Copenhagen, the Hopenhagen posters. An advertising campaign instigated by the United Nations, essentially a positive idea (build hope for the Copenhagen conference) - but what about the corporate sponsors? One of them is Coca-Cola; a role model for doing virtually nothing on climate change. So the real message of Hopenhagen advertising is narcotic: we're nice people because we hope, it's OK to carry on sleeping and doing nothing; have a coke.

what would the Buddha say?
“So how about Buddhism? What would the Buddha say about all this? I'd love to know. I can't help thinking that he'd be surprised at the lifestyles and carbon footprints of most of his Western followers. Surely we'd seem incredibly wasteful and materialistic to him - and selfish too? Or would he say: don't bother your head with global politics, the best thing you can do is get on with your meditation and teaching at local level.

“I like to think that if the Buddha were alive today he would be concerned about global politics, because of their effect on human suffering - and even that maybe he'd be a figure somewhat like Dr Ambedkar. Of course, in his own lifetime, the Buddha talked to everyone; to beggars, but also to kings and their ministers. Arguably, the Buddha was very influential and probably wanted to be, both socially and politically.

“Of course, I'm neither the Buddha nor Dr Ambedkar; I'm just a pebble on the beach. But I want to live ethically; which is why I work to reduce my personal carbon footprint, and give some time to promoting awareness of this issue. Maybe we tend to underestimate the consequences of our actions. I think, or maybe feel, that our actions spread a long way into the future. Particularly at a time when so little is being done, every action against climate change now might be surprisingly and materially important to people in the future”.

“Overall, Copenhagen seems to me very poignant. It's as if the West would love to persuade itself that it does care, but knows it doesn't really. Like an alcoholic who thinks he should give up, but knows he won't. But even that's just one part of the story: personally I came home feeling very inspired by the people I'd met. And each year the anti-climate change movement is growing, all over the world. Within the FWBO there is much excellent work being done towards a more sustainable world; the EcoDharma retreat centre and living situation in Spain particularly stands out for me.

Yogaratna, December 2009

Subhuti in India December 2009

Following yesterday’s report of Shakyajata’s Indian travels and Dhamma work, today FWBO News brings you an update on another Order Member's work there. Subhuti is one of the Order’s most active Dharma teachers; he is currently in India on a six-month teaching visit, criss-crossing it North South East and West... FWBO News has recently stumbled across his Facebook page and brings you a digest of some of the stories there.

They’re posted on the FWBO Features page at www.fwbo-news.org/features/SB_Facebook_09d: click to read...

For more news of Subhuti, we’d recommend you become a ‘fan’ of his Facebook page www.facebook.com/pages/Dharmachari-Subhuti

The reports were written by Dharmashalin, Subhuti’s secretary and travelling companion.

December in South India: news from a Dharma tour

As Christmas approaches, spare a thought for Shakyajata and Priyadaka,  two Order Members from the UK, both currently touring India and visiting many of TBMSG’s most remote ‘Dhamma outposts’, small projects in remote areas, mostly initiated by gradates from Nagaloka.

She says -

“Well, where to begin? We have been travelling for nearly five weeks now, and every day is packed with impressions, a rollercoaster of unfamiliar experiences. Both of us are showing symptoms of overload (poor sleep, strange dreams, loss of short-term memory etc) so have decided to spend a few days here in Kerala, meditating and chilling out - we have just spent an entire day at the beach!

Before that we were in Hyderabad, where we arrived having survived a rather trying train journey from Bhubaneshwar in Orissa... there were MICE! The situation in Hyderabad could not be more different from Orissa, a remote place where there are a bunch of young mitras full of enthusiasm and inspiration; here TBMSG is much more established.

Hyderabad
We visited a very famous site, Nagarjunakonda, an amazing place. Up to about the 5th century CE, this remote, peaceful valley of the ancient river Krishna, was a huge Buddhist monastic settlement, with many monasteries, stupas, viharas etc; then as everywhere in India, Buddhism became overlaid by Brahmanism and eventually disappeared. Then in the 1950s it was decided to build a huge dam, for much-needed irrigation for the peasant farmers of a huge area of Andhra Pradesh. The whole valley was set to be drowned; but a remarkable Indian archaeologist completed an excavation of the whole huge area, in just 6 years. Now the site is a vast lake (the dam is staggeringly huge) with an island where all the artefacts are displayed in a museum, among beautiful gardens and a setting like a Japanese ink-painting.

The Buddhist artefacts are amazing, not quite like anything I have seen before; including large standing and sitting Buddhas with strong faces of a different ethnic appearance from northern Buddhas, and unusual mudras (hand gestures). The site finds go back to the Old Stone Age, so much to take in...and we only had an hour!

The heroine of this stage of our journey is Jnanajyoti, who is making great efforts to connect and reconnect with women she knows in the Sangha here. I do hope they will continue to be supported in future, by TBMSG and the FWBO as a whole. Also great thanks are due to Padmavir who is trying to organise good things for us and, it seems, lots of other visitors at the same time! It's great to witness a revival of the ancient Buddhist traditions in Hyderabad, in a new form which will transform the lives of people here.

Kerala
Kerala, on the western coast of South India, is hot and humid, quite tropical, and very beautiful, generally cleaner and more sorted than other parts of India.

Today, meditating on the beach, it came clear that there are women here I especially want to help.
In fact we have lots of ideas for projects we want to pursue. We have had a number of successful (if rather stressful) 'programmes' and there is so much interest in people, in what we have to offer. Spending a day or 2 as a 'tourist' has made me realise what it is I love about being here - it is a sort of glow on people's faces when they realise what their potential is for a different way of looking at their lives - that brilliant gleam of human potential, it's the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

And people are so friendly and responsive - a few days ago I found myself talking (to about 100 people) about my brother Asangasila's death (it was the anniversary) in just a natural way...they are so open and uninhibited. In Kerala we have spent a lot of the time with Ratnasiddhi, an Indian Order Member from Nagpur who is very impressive. He connects with people in a way we never could - I said something that inadvertently offended someone very politically militant at a meeting, and he fielded it so expertly. We are learning so much - Priyadaka is revealing a particular talent for teaching meditation, making it simple and appealing and very effective - to a group of 150 people including lots of babies, on one occasion!

Return to Nagpur
On Saturday morning we are going about 150 km north to stay with one of the Indian Dhammamitras in Kerala, who is going to show us some historic sites and put us on the train on Monday morning, to go back to Nagpur in central India, where we shall be based for most of the rest of the time here. This is a bit of a cliff-hanger as we do not have a confirmed reservation yet....our previous experience of this was not positive, we had no space to sleep...the journey takes 2 days and a night, so wish us luck...but it should be an exciting journey, through half of India....time to go now.

Any support you can give will be most welcome, on www.justgiving.com/youngindianfutures ... and thanks to you all.

love to all,
Shakyajata and Priyadaka

The map above shows most of TBMSG's groups across India; their website is at http://tbmsg.org

Maitreyabandhu wins second poetry award

In November we carried news of Maitreyabandhu’s winning of the 2009 Keats-Shelley poetry prize. We're delighted to say he’s done it again! He writes with the news -

“Dear Friends, hope this finds you well.

“Just to let you know that I won the Basil Bunting Poetry Award (it is the first time they had run the award). Which means I won £1,000 and the editor of Bloodaxe (a poetry publisher) will look at my work. I went up to Newcastle to receive the award. I'll probably spend the money on some more poetry mentoring!

“You can look at the results - and find out about Basil Bunting - on their website www.basilbuntingaward.co.uk

“Love, Maitreyabandhu

PS - here is the poem:

The Coat Cupboard

Once you close the door, once you’re in, you’re small
like you’ve shrunk – no window, no view of sycamores,
cattle or an aqueduct – a stand-alone place
big enough for one. The walls and the back of the door
are lined with coats, two or three deep, hanging
on high brass hooks: gabardines, parkas, macks –
the smart black coat your father never liked, the knitted
afternoon jacket that might’ve belonged to your aunt,
and shoes unevenly stacked, so that you almost stumble
and twist your ankle on the heel of a brogue.
You don’t push your way through to discover a landscape
where beavers can talk; you’re not reunited with your lover
coming around the headland in a ship – your face
is pressed against lambswool, which smells of camphor,
ink and dogs. Some of the pockets are torn; you have to
fish inside pearl-coloured linings yellowed with age.
Some of the cuffs are frayed. Your fingers,
which have become unaccountably small and white,
ferret inside the pockets of a waxed raincoat, among coins
and balled-up silver paper, folded receipts and pencil shavings.
And there are shadows between the coats, long scarves
of shadow that disappear when you touch them
like crows flying up from a field. You find a set of keys
without their brightness or warmth of handling –
the leather keyring almost worn through at the hoop,
an aluminium badge with a profile of a swan –
and a lipstick your grandma must have used, the 50’s pink
when you wind it out, still shaped to the curve of her lip.

New Turkish Dharma website launched

Order Member Vajracaksu has been living and working in Istanbul for the past 6 years, slowly establishing Dharma and meditation classes there, plus offering sessions in “Living Well with Pain, Illness & Stress” courses via Breathworks.

He’s recently launched a new dual-language website ‘Farkindalik Meditasyon’ (meaning, ‘Mindfulness Meditation’), plus a couple of videos of him leading simple meditation-based breathing exercises. You'll findhis videos on Videosangha or just click below…

.

‘Farkindalik Meditasyon’is at www.farkindalikmeditasyon.com/tr (Turkish) or www.farkindalikmeditasyon.com in English.

He writes to say "By the way, I’m sure this’ll interest you: I’ve broken out of Istanbul! About a month ago I led a 3.5 hour meditation workshop in Ankara that went very well, 7 women came and left peaceful & happy. I plan to return in 2 or 3 months time and this time attract 1 or 2 more people. Whenever I write to FWBO news again of course I’ll mention it! Kind wishes, Vajracaksu"

Children’s activities in Amaravati and Nagpur; India

FWBO News brings you two stories today from India, both about children.

Prompted by our September story of the London Buddhist Centre’s ‘Buddhist Sunday School’, Amitayus writes from Amaravati telling of their long-standing children's activities there ; and in the larger central India city of Nagpur Tejadhamma has been bringing together children and animated Dharma: surely a winning combination!

He says - “I recently showed the animated movie on Bodhisattva Kshitigarbha’s life to 50-60 children at Nagpur. Many children and parents appreciated the movie and some of the children expressed that they have watched the animated movie of Krishna, Hanuman, Ganesh and other Hindu god/goddesses on TV or cable channels but this was their first opportunity to see a Buddhist animated movie which was so inspiring and they liked it to watch and practice like the Buddhist great people.

“I have seen in many cities in India that the children are spending lots of time watching TV channels but they are not getting any Buddhist culture through the animated movies shown on TV. I realised they need to be shown attractive ways to learn some Buddhist teaching, which is very valuable for human life. I have found that if we talk about what Buddha said, children neglect to listen, so when I was discussing with my colleague  about children’s activities and the Buddhist culture for the next generation; we found that animated movies on Buddhism would be an easy way to communicate the teachings and this was our first attempt to show the movie on big screen by projector which was so appreciated and helpful .’

‘We would like this to show in every Buddha Vihar in Nagpur and the Buddhist centres in India. But this animated movie is in Chinese language; when we showed it, it was translated in Hindi by myself on microphone.

“Now we need to translate in Hindi and make more copies of it. To make this a success I am trying to get an expert translator and raising some funds for screen and projector, making/copying more DVDs with Hindi translation, voice experts to add the Hindi language, animation worker’s expenses, studio charges etc.’ I would be so delighted to see some interested people in this project who can help financially and through their personal contribution. They can contact me on my email tejadhamma@gmail.com

Over in Amaravati, Amitayus writes with news of their Buddhist children’s activities. He says -

“To the editor FWBO-TBMSG news, Jaibhim!

“We are happy to know that the London Buddhist Centre has started a Buddhist Sunday school focusing on children and their development. I heartily appreciate the activities the LBC team are arranging especially the stories and crafts which are the very effective way of nurturing the child’s mind. Also it is great to have the Little Buddha Children’s Club at Nagpur.

“We want to let you know that we at TBMSG Amravati in central India have a history of running successful children’s classes since 1994. The outcome of these are that we had many young men and women from that becoming Dhammamitras and many are now working for TBMSG in various places. They strongly appreciate how these children’s activities have helped them to understand Buddhism and meditation, and how the ethical practices of Buddhism have helped them to develop their personality.

"It is also prideful for us that we have regular Children’s classes in many slums around Amaravati, places like Mahadeo Khori, Panchashil Nagar, and the village Anjangao Bari.

"This class especially has become known to many people in India because the villagers boycotted the local school when it admitted 22 HIV positive children. At that time our Sukhavati women’s and children empowerment project (funded by Karuna Trust UK) successfully intervened in the issue and initiated a children’s class in this village too.

"Altogether it is clear to us that in all the FWBO –TBMSG there are INCREASING children’s projects which are not known to all Sangha members. We are happy to inform you of our activities in Amaravati. I hope you will publish the same through FWBO –TBMSG NEWS , all the news on FWBO-TBMSG is inspiring and experience the sangha success.

"Many thanks, Amitayus"

International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB) celebrates 20th anniversary

The International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB) recently celebrated its 20th anniversary at Chiang Mai, Thailand, in the course of which Lokamitra led a retreat for over 100 participants from all over the Buddhist world. Priyadarshi Telang, from TBMSG's Jambudvipa project, sends us his report. He says -

"The International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB) celebrated its 20th anniversary November 9th-17th at the at Chiang Mai, Thailand, November 9th-16th with a variety of activities. Over the last few years links with INEB have grown; Lokamitra is at present a member of their advisory committee, while Mangesh Dahiwale is a member of their executive committee. INEB was founded by Sulak Sivaraksa, who at the age of 76, is beginning to withdraw from the front line of INEB activities.

"The conference therefore also marked this period of transition with the formation of larger and more diverse advisory and executive committees, as well as a secretariat more able to coordinate the fast growing network.

Sangha and Kalyanamitra

"The celebrations started with a three day retreat led by Dhammachari Lokamitra. This was attended by about 100 participants from 16 different countries. The participants included almost 30 bhikshus and bhikshunis from Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos, Ladakh, and Bhutan. Indian participants included Maitrivir Nagarjuna from the New Delhi centre, Pradeep Bansode, Priyadarshi Telang and Mangesh Dahiwale from Jambudvipa Trust, Deepak and Manish from Nagarjuna Training Institute, Anand Shakya from Karuna Vihar Hostel, Gujarat, and Anurag Meshram and Sumedh Sthool, social activists connected with The Jambudvipa Trust. Ratnadharini, from Tiratanaloka, UK, also attended.

"The idea of the retreat was to provide a situation in which people could experience deeper communication on the basis of going for refuge to Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, as a prelude to the four days of discussions that followed. The theme was “Sangha and Kalyanamitra”. INEB is trying to operate according to the principles of Sangha, while Sulak Sivaraksa has always emphasised that it is the spirit of kalyanamitrata that breathes life into the network. On the first day Jonathan Watts, Jill Jameson and Ven Kalupahana explored the question of Sangha in the modern world. On the second day, Ven Khenpo, and Tempel looked at the principle of Kalyanamitra. On the last day, Anchalee Kurutach, Dhammacharini Ratnadharini and Harsha Navaratne talked about work as spiritual practice from their own experience.

"Given the diverse traditions which the retreatants came from, Lokamitra tried to make it as inclusive as possible. Apart from the short talks and discussion groups following them, the day consisted of a number of periods of meditation, including special emphasis on the metta bhavana. The days started with traditional salutations from Theravada and Mahayana monks and nuns, as well as from the Japanese “priests”. It concluded with the Seven Fold Puja, or the Pali Puja led by Indian friends.

"The retreat was followed by the 3-day conference, the mornings of which included four sessions of talks and symposia, while the afternoon sessions were meant for group discussions based on country and general issues. On the first day Mangesh Dahiwale made a presentation on “Critical reflections on Engaged Buddhism” with Jonathan Watts. On the third Ratnadharini gave a presentation on the future of the Sangha, along with the Thai bhikshu, Ven Phaisan, who preceded her, and in calling for a thorough review of approach to Sangha, paved the way for her by indicating that more serious attention needs to be given to the approach the Western Buddhist Order. Ratnadharini approached the question by looking at her work and life as a preceptor based at Tiratanaloka, the women’s retreat centre in UK dedicated to helping women prepare for ordination. Later in the morning Lokamitra led a discussion on “Coming Home – the implications of the Revival of Buddhism in India” in which Dhammachari Viradhamma, Dhammachari Maitriveer Nagarjuna and Dr. H.C. Yo participated. The last day was taken up with a meeting of the advisory and executive bodies. The whole programme was interspersed with other talks and cultural events, some of them spontaneous.

"Most of us felt, at the end of the retreat and conference, that we had been able to communicate something of the enormous significance of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s conversion to Buddhism, as well as of the relevance of the approach of the FWBO/TBMSG in the modern world.

"But we all went away inspired by the efforts of so many Buddhists to put apply their practice of Buddhism to the social issues confronting the modern world, by their receptivity, friendliness, and by the trans-cultural situation we found ourselves in.

"It is a great tribute Sulak Sivaraksa that he has been able to cultivate this network of very dedicated but diverse number of Buddhists. INEB has grown considerably in the last 20 years and hopefully will have an increasingly positive influence on the world over the next few years".

Bristol Skills Auction raises money for Dhamma work in India

A major FWBO-wide project scheduled for 2010 is fundraising for Dhamma work in India.

The newly-formed India Dhamma Trust (www.indiadhammatrust.com) is seeking to raise funds to support around 20 of the Movement’s most central Dhamma workers in India, both men and women.

Fundraising for money to support two part-time fundraisers has been going on in the Western Buddhist Order for some time now, and an appeal to the wider Sangha is scheduled to begin in the New Year.

The Bristol Buddhist Centre have been first to get on board with a very successful Skills Auction in aid of the new fund, and Silajala writes from Bristol to say -

“Hello, it's a little while now since we had our Skills Auction so this is a final update to let you know how it all went and to say thanks again to all of you who helped in one way or another.

“We raised over £700 including the gift aid. In fact the final figure is £756.32! I'm very pleased with this sum and it shows how much generosity there is within and for the Sangha. The atmosphere generated on the evening seemed to so strongly rub off on people that we ended up with extra skills being offered at the last minute, plus an extras like a one-off donation.

“To my mind the skills auction was a great way to build Sangha, in that it encouraged us all in our generosity, forged links with one another and brought us together in a lively and enjoyable way. Please come to the next one if you can!

“So a big final THANK YOU to everyone who offered skills and to those of you who came and bid for them too. I'd also like to thank Satyalila, Amaladevi, Achalavira, Adrian Bonds, Padmavyuha, Jnanarakshita, Karunavapi and MahaRatnajyoti for all their help in getting everything set up. And finally thanks to the auctioneer himself - Satyadarshin. With me as his assistant the two of us worked well together and along with everyone else we had a lot of FUN!

“Yours in the Sangha
Silajala

Please look out for the India Dhamma Trust as we move into 2010 - their website www.indiadhammatrust.com is just on-line but they’re planning a series of Centre visits and other events.

FWBO Dharma Training Course now complete and on-line

More breaking news just spotted on Facebook -

Dharmachari Candradasa Dharma Training Course now complete! Two years in the making, a lot of work by a lot of people... 'Evolutionary Buddhism' is the final module to go live. Enjoy!

The FWBO Dharma Training Course is a four-year Dharma study course which aims to give people in the FWBO a thorough grounding in Dharma study and practice. It also makes an excellent general course for anyone interested in putting Buddhist teaching into practice in their life.

Find it at www.freebuddhistaudio.com/study

The course was commissioned by the FWBO Chairs Assembly, and developed by Saccanama in conjunction with many Order Members who prepared individual modules under his guidance.

Windhorse Publications move to larger offices

Sarah Ryan, from Windhorse Publications, the FWBO’s publishing house, writes to say -

“Dear all,

"After lots of preparation we are finally moving office to a larger space on Mill Road here in Cambridge, UK. This will be great as we will have more space and light, which we definitely need. It’s also going to be wonderful to be located on one of the most vibrant and independent streets in Cambridge.

"Having said this, our time at the Cambridge Buddhist Centre has been wonderful and we will miss sharing the space with such cheerful and friendly people – thank you very much to everyone there.

"From Tuesday 15th December our new address is:

Windhorse Publications
169 Mill Road
Cambridge
CB1 3AN

"Our telephone numbers and email addresses will be staying the same, and of course our website www.windhorsepublications.com .

"Wishing you all a warm winter
Sarah”

Big Buddha inaugurated in India

Breaking news is just in from India (via Facebook): Yogesh Wanjari reports - 


"just back from inaugration ceremony of the 56 feet standing BUDDHA.  About 100,000 people were there [at TBMSG's Nagaloka campus in Nagpur] to attend that ceremony. everything was just so beautiful. hats off to all those BUDDHIST heroes who have been contributing their wealth, skill, time and whatever they have given, to accomplish this thing. with metta.
about an hour ago · Comment · 


We'll try to bring you a full report and more photos soon.  

Fund-raising for the finishing touches to the Buddha and landscape works is still going on; please visit www.justgiving.com/nagalokabuddha if you'd like to contribute.

Sadhu!

Christmas at Clear Vision...

 Christmas at Clear Vision

Following up their post of a few days ago introducing their new website, the Clear Vision team, Aparajita, Munisha and Upekshapriya, have written with some suggestions for where you could buy your Christmas prezzies - from them! And why not...?

They say -

• Children 4 to 8 years old are captivated by our Buddhist story DVD, The Monkey King.
• The DVD What is Buddhism? (adults and young people 12 years +) could be the answer for someone interested in your Buddhist practice but unlikely ever to read a book.
• Give someone a flavour of meditation with our DVD Meditation for Everyone.
• Buddhist friends might enjoy receiving our new poster of Aloka's Wheel of Life.

A Death in the Order

Maitreyaraja, Centre Manager at the London Buddhist Centre, writes with news of a death in the Order. He says -

“Dear Dharmachari/ini,

“I am writing to let you know that Aryamitra died on Wednesday morning the 9th of December at around 6am. Nityabodha led a ritual for him in the Breathing Space shrine room at the London Buddhist Centre the same evening at 9.45pm.

“Aryamitra was ordained in 1974 and was aged 61.

“Details about Aryamitra’s funeral will be sent around in due time.

“In the Dharma,
“Maitreyaraja.

FWBO News adds -

Aryamitra contributed to the life of the Order and the Movement in many ways. To mention
just a few things: in the late seventies he was involved in establishing the FWBO Printing
Service at Aryatara in Croydon with Mangala. In the eighties he left Glasgow and went alone
to set up the Leeds Buddhist Centre. In the nineties he was involved with the Ordination team
at Padmaloka for a while and became part of the process of helping men to prepare for
ordination. In 1995 it was discovered that he had a brain-tumour. The tumour was removed
and after recovering Aryamitra moved to London. At the London Buddhist Centre he led
meditation courses and retreats, and for many years regularly led lunchtime classes.

New image of the Western Buddhist Order's Refuge Tree

Saraha writes from Birmingham, UK, with news of an exciting project to paint a new version of the WBO’s 44-figure ‘Refuge Tree’.

He says -

“Hello from Saraha, I'm raising funds for a new and very special painting of the FWBO's Refuge Tree, to be painted by my friend Chintamani.

“The Refuge Tree of the FWBO was created by Urgyen Sangharakshita and shows the primary sources of inspiration we draw upon in the Western Buddhist Order and FWBO.

“Altogether there are 44 figures on the Tree, in the following arrangement -

Archetypal Buddhas - Vajrasattva

Amitabha, Ratnasambhava, Vairochana, Amoghasiddhi, Akshobhya

Teachers of the Past –

From India: Nagarjuna Asanga, Vasubandhu, Shantideva, Buddhaghosa

From Tibet: Milarepa Atisha, Padmasambhava, Tsong Khapa

From China: Huey Nung, Chih I, Hsuan Tsang

From Japan: Hakuin, Kukai, Dogen, Shinran

The Sutra-Treasure - All the scriptures of all the schools of Buddhism

The Bodhisattvas - Manjusri, Vajrapani, Avalokitesvara, Aryatara, Kshitigarbha

The Buddhas of the Three Times - SHAKYAMUNI, Dipankara, Maitreya

The Disciples of the Buddha - Maudgalyayana, Ananda, Sariputra, Dhammadinna, Kasyapa

Sangharakshita and his Teachers - Dudjom Rimpoche, Jamyang Khyentse Rimpoche, Dilgo Khyentse Rimpoche, Chetul Sangye Dorje, Kachu Rimpoche, Dhardo Rimpoche, Yogi Chen, Urgyen Sangharakshita, Ven. Jagdish Kashyap

“The tree is unusual and even unique in the Buddhist world, in that it places the Buddha at the centre and includes figures from the whole Buddhist tradition.  It’s been painted before, but never on such a large scale.

"The project is going well. With some substantial help from Aloka, Chintamani has been researching all the figures, including discussing finer points of their iconography with Bhante. One intriguing issue has been deciding on the mudras (hand gestures) that would be appropriate for Bhante’s teachers.

“He has done most of the drawings although not yet started painting. Having started on a 6ft by 4ft canvas, he decided it was too small to give the figures the space that they deserved, and so now is working on a canvas measuring 8ft by just under 6ft. This allows room to keep the figures from overlapping, and gives each the space needed for conveying its own unique qualities. I'm really looking forward to seeing the image and prostrating to it.

“It’s clear from my conversations with Chintamani that he’s very keen to paint our refuge tree because of his love for our tradition, our Order and our connections with the wider Buddhist world. This is his motivation. He’s been an artist all his life and painting images for our Movement for 30 years now - his image of Padmasambhava (shown right) is known and loved by many of us.

“However he does need money to live, and our donations to him allow him to focus full time on this project. Currently he is living on a very tight budget, so I hope we can continue to raise money to ease the financial strain. Please click on my fundraising site www.justgiving.com/refugetree to see more photos of his work and to make a donation”.

Technology and Enlightenment: new Wildmind newsletters out

Wildmind is the FWBO’s US-based website dedicated to teaching meditation. Each month they publish a newsletter exploring one or another aspect of meditation or dharma practice. 

October 2009 looks at the interesting topic of ‘Technology and Enlightenment’, in which contributors explore whether immersing ourselves in a world of gadgets may also distance us from more authentic connections with teachers, family, and friends - or not. There’s reports too on recent scientific research disproving the notion, still common in the West, that Buddhists must be a miserable lot because their teachings dwell so much on suffering. The research in fact suggests what Buddhists have believed all along - that Buddhism -- or at least Buddhist meditation- leads to happiness.

November, by contrast, is on the theme of ‘ Making your meditation work’. One article sees Sunada explain how working with (as opposed to fighting against) our fears can point us toward our own place of freedom: she describes fearlessness not as the absence of fear, but the ability stay with one's fear and use its energy wisely. Meditation teacher and life coach Srimati offers a ten-stage guide to getting the most out of your meditation practice -and new contiributor Rev. Canon Renée Miller explores Buddhist practice from the perspective of her own Christian faith.

December, just out, is simply on the theme of ‘Practice’ - especially appropriate at a time of year which often seems dedicated to anything but! There’s a rich collection of articles here too - but we’ll leave you to find out more by clicking here...

If you want to keep in touch with Wildmind they’ve recently launched a new Wildmind Facebook page and Twitter feed, which will deliver ‘tweets’ right into your Twitter in-box each time they post an article - sign up at twitter.com/medit8.

Clear Vision launch new website

Clear Vision are the FWBO's experts in educational and media work, offering a wealth of  resources for school teachers, students, and young Buddhists, plus a huge photo and video library, much of it available or free on the internet.  

They've been working for a while on a whole new website to display their wealth, and have just written to FWBO News to announce it - and to appeal for a bit of financial support.  They say - 

Clear Vision launches new website!

Our new website contains a mass of information, DVD, online video and pictures, for adults and young people. Please give generously to support this work for the FWBO.

Five hundred video clips

       [yes, that really is 500! - ed]

Over 500 video clips, mainly of Bhante Sangharakshita, organised into themes such as

• Sangharakshita's life
• Buddhism in the Modern World
• and even The Buddha! 

Young people's section

                             There are a lot of teenagers out there surfing the net looking for the Dharma.

We've always had a section for schools but this new section is for young people following up an independent interest in Buddhism.

As well as quizzes and information, you'll find here our recently completed Life of the Buddha interactive materials for 8-14 year-olds, combining video, questions, information and activities, as well as notes for parents/Sunday school leaders.

We believe that online interactive Dharma materials are the future - especially ones featuring Bodhi, the help lion!

General improvements

• Better FWBO photo section
• Clearer navigation 

Please give money to support this work.

All this free material, for the FWBO and for young people, costs money. Previously supported by sales to schools (now dwindling in recessionary times), we have had to reduce the hours of one of our three workers simply to stay in the black. There is so much Clear Vision is uniquely qualified to do, especially encouraging more young people around the world to engage with the Dharma through modern media. (We're very grateful to the FWBO Chairs for money for materials for teenagers.)

Please make a one-off or monthly donation. It's very easy: check here for information about donations or go straight to our Just Giving page.

With many thanks from

Aparajita, Munisha and Upekshapriya

PS - coming soon - another message from them with suggestions for Christmas at Clear Vision

Watch this space - it's possible it'll be the first time Christmas has been mentioned on FWBO News!

Some statistics on the Western Buddhist Order...

In 2007 the first comprehensive Survey was carried out of the 1,400 members of the Western Buddhist Order.

 This has now been updated and a selection of charts are posted below, examining the growth of the Order (now 1,600 and counting); its gender balance and how this has changed over the past 30 years; its age profile; and finally the absolute numbers of men and women being ordained.

Noteworthy are the continuing decline in younger Order Members (ie those below 40) and the dramatic expansion of the over-60s, also the steady trend towards equality in the numbers of men and women in the Order.

The Western Buddhist Order has always offered the same ordination on equal terms to both men and women, and has always had a policy of women deciding on the ordinations of women (and men on the ordinations of men).  This has not however meant there have always been equal numbers of men and women in the Order: the second chart shows a striking progression in the gender ratio over the past 30 years, from a peak imbalance of  over 5 men to every women, to the present ratio of 1.5:1 (or three men to two women) - with a marked trend towards parity.

The full results from 2007 are on-line at www.freebuddhistaudio.com/ordersurvey

The age chart especially will be slightly inaccurate due to the facts that (a) it has not been possible to incorporate resigned Order Members; happily there have been relatively few of these over the years; and (b) a number of newly-ordained Order Members are not included in the age profile as we do not yet have their dates of birth.

 This means the numbers of younger Order Members is likely to be slightly understated - there are at least a couple in their twenties, while the chart says zero.

The final chart shows the absolute numbers per year of men and women's ordinations into the Order.  This naturally jumps about as individuals become ready, but the dotted lines show trendlines for each, and a clear growth in the numbers of women joining the Order each year.

Young FWBO Buddhists gather in Sheffield

Last month saw a gathering of 35 young Buddhists from FWBO Centres all over the UK. They met at Whirlow Hall Farm outside Sheffield, for a busy weekend connecting with one another, practicing together, sharing inspiration, and making plans for finding ways to inspire more young people with the Dharma. Demand for spaces was so high that eight participants ended up camping!

They explored a total of six specific questions, three near the beginning of the weekend and three near the end -

* What is it about the FWBO that inspires your practice?
* Where is your radical edge?
* What do you want to make happen in the FWBO?

* What are the DOMINANT THEMES that have emerged for you?
* What DISCOVERIES have you made?
* What would you like to EXPLORE FURTHER?

The last questions gave rise to a rich collection of ideas, available on the FWBO News Resources page.

Lindsay Hannah from Taraloka, one of the organisers of the weekend, commented afterwards -

“On the weekend retreat there was a real sense of energy and enthusiasm from those present to go back to their centres and run events for young people. Some individuals were interested in becoming young person’s facilitators at their centres and I hope we can identify a named young person’s facilitator for every centre or region in the UK in the coming months. We have also set up a Kula of inspired young FWBO Buddhists on facebook, this is a closed group where we can get to know each other and inspire and support each other to run initiatives at our centres to inspire other young people; it’s in addition to the public group which is at www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=49821059114 and now has over 200 members.

“In 2010 there is a weekend retreat for young women at Taraloka (January 29 -31st), we hope to establish activities for young people on the FWBO international sangha gathering in May and there will be another mixed retreat from October 8-10th, again near Sheffield (details on Facebook) I also hope events will be run at individual centres (these have already been organised in Cambridge, London, and Sheffield).

“We need to inspire young people in the Dharma to ensure we pass the Dharma and the WBO onto the next generation! There’s energy building amongst the young Buddhists in the FWBO to try and inspire more young people to join us – it is important and exciting!

“Young people at FWBO centres are very welcome to contact me or they can check out our facebook group at: www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=49821059114”

Three talks from the weekend are available on FreeBuddhistAudio at www.freebuddhistaudio.com/talks/details?num=LOC185

Ambedkar in Hungary - a report from India

Pardeep Jade, a journalist and blogger from TBMSG in India, writes with news of his recent fact-finding mission to the new Ambedkarite Buddhists of the Roma community in Hungary. His article has been published in The Hindu, one of India’s largest English-medium newspapers, plus Countercurrents, a major on-line alternative media site.

He tells the story of how he came into contact with two Roma leaders, Derdák Tibor and Orsós János, as they were discovering Buddhism and the inspiring example of Dr. Ambedkar, India’s great Buddhist leader - and how this led to his own visit to Hungary this Autumn. And how he discovered during his visit the deep parallels between the prejudice experienced over centuries by the Dalits, or Untouchables, of India, and the Roma, or Gypsies, of Europe.

He writes - “Jai Bhim, Namo Buddhay!  “Please read my article on "Ambedkar in Hungary" in The Hindu newspaper at www.hindu.com/mag/2009/11/22.

We quote an excerpt -

“After discovering Ambedkar, Tibor and János visited Maharashtra in 2005 and 2007. They felt a deep connection with the Dalits of India and with Dr. Ambedkar's emancipatory agenda. After returning to Hungary, in 2007, they founded the Jai Bhim Network, embraced Buddhism and opened three high schools named after Dr. Ambedkar in Sajókaza, Ózd and Hegymeg for Roma children. One of the activities of the Network is to invite young Dalit activists to Hungary and provide them with opportunities to interact with the Roma community. Recently, I was part of one such three-member delegation and lived with the Roma community in the village Sajókaza for almost a month…

Read more on The Hindu newspaper website or in Countercurrents.

You can contact Pardeep on pardeep.jade@gmail.com.