A death in the Order

Saricitta, who has been in close contact with Bodhilocana writes from the US to say - 'It is with great sadness that I am letting you know that Dharmacharini Bodhilocana passed away last Sunday July 17th. She slipped into a coma around 3:00 PM and left her body at 5:30 PM. Her partner and her sister were with her. Several Order Members gathered to chant the White Tara mantra. Her departure was as lovely as her presence...with strength, peace and great beauty. She suffered no pain and had absolutely no fear. Her greatest concern was for those she was leaving behind'.

Bodhilocana was diagnosed with ovarian cancer two years ago and ordained a year ago. She lived in Newmarket, New Hampshire.

Ordination in San Francisco

Dhammarati writes from America’s West Coast:

“I’m pleased to announce that Doug Chan was publicly ordained on Saturday, June 18. He becomes DANADASA, ‘Servant Of Generosity’. Viradhamma was the private preceptor, and the public preceptor was Dhammarati. There’s long first and third ‘a’s; the Westernised spelling is ‘Danadasa’.

“Sadhu!”

San Francisco Buddhist Center purchase Retreat House, helpers needed!

Suvarnaprabha writes from Triratna’s San Francisco Buddhist Center http://www.sfbuddhistcenter.org/  with news of their new retreat house.  She says - “The SFBC has purchased a modest two bedroom house on five acres of land in the mountains of Lake County, California, a two and a half hour drive north from San Francisco. We've had two weekend work parties so far (one with a snow storm and a power outage!) and have made an amazing amount progress on getting it ready for use.

“The house is rustic and basic. It is manifesting simplicity in a lovely setting.  Our first small retreat will happen in mid-April. After that it will be available beginning mid-May for solitary retreats, small retreats, and mindful vacations - we welcome inquiries from friends in the broader Triratna community who would like to come and do a solitary here.  It’s very affordable!

“For us there is still a lot of work to be done, for example adding another bathroom (so there will be two.) We are aiming to raise $9,000 US from donations from friends, Mitras, and Order Members  in the broader worldwide Triratna community who are inspired to create retreat spaces for our community.  Dana (no amount too small or too big!) is appreciated and can be offered by clicking 'Payments/Donations' at sfbuddhistcenter.org (specify it's for "the land").

You will be hearing more about this in the coming months!  In the mean time we have a blog on which we regularly post updates - check it out: sfbcnorth.blogspot.com.  There you’ll find their beautiful piece ‘Spirit of the Land Project’, where  they say -

With open handed generosity

As a community of spiritual practitioners and friends,

we practice in many ways.

This land project is a wonderful opportunity

to develop in our practice

and

in our spiritual friendships with one another.

What is paramount

in all we do as a community

is to support each other

to Awaken

for the benefit of all beings.

One way we can do this is

through the practice of Dana.

The generosity that is needed to make this project a reality

is given by all the members of the sangha,

in one form or another.

Regardless of the level of generosity

any one member provides,

access and utilization of the facilities

will be equal

for

all sangha members.

Two Gifts for Aryaloka Buddhist Center

Viriyalila, an Order Member from Aryaloka, Triratna's retreat center in New Hampshire, USA, writes with news of two art projects that contributed to their 25th anniversary celebrations. She says -

"Last fall I had the opportunity to work closely with three long term friends in the Order to coordinate Aryaloka's 25th Anniversary celebrations. There were two artistic projects that I was closely involved with, that when finished, turned out to be the perfect gifts to give to this "Noble Realm" that has helped to build such a vibrant spiritual community.

"The first gift was initiated five years earlier in the form of a talk I gave marking the 20th anniversary. I had contacted Manjuvajra, the founder of Aryaloka, to see if he could provide me with some stories of the early days. Well, what he gave me was a draft of a book he was writing, which was pretty amazing! Using this, along with personal stories collected from some of our early pioneers, I was very happy to produce a fun and inspiring booklet telling at least one version of Aryaloka's story of coming into the world."

"From the very early beginnings, in a rented apartment/Buddhist gathering place in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts:

"One day...while sorting through a pile of unopened general mail, Manjuvajra came across a flier that had been sent to the previous occupants - a yoga group. It was advertising the sale of an interesting property in Southern New Hampshire. It was an unusual place - a pair of geodesic domes joined in the middle, to form a sort of space ship resembling building. There were several large rooms as well as a number of smaller rooms and thirteen acres of woodland with a beaver creek running through the land. He took hold of the flier and put it aside with nothing more than an idle thought that this would be the sort of place that would make an ideal retreat center.

Bob [Thiradhamma] and Manjuvajra had often talked about the possibility of a country retreat place. Bob found the city to be quite noisy on Friday nights with all the traffic and city sounds, the conditions were not well suited for meditation. Bob was envisioning a quiet deserted cabin, or even a shack, deeply set in the woods where 2-3 people could sit in peace and without external interruptions. Manjuvajra’s ideas were a little bit grander – a house perhaps, where a residential community could live and practice and work together, with extra buildings and rooms to accommodate visitors for large retreats.

On one Friday night, after completing their weekly meditation and puja, the subject of having a place of their own in the country in which to practice came up again. Manjuvajra hopped up off his seat, trotted off to the back room, and when he came back, he half jokingly, yet excitedly grabbed the flier advertising the domes in NH and thrust it into Bob’s hands.

“This is the place we want - big enough, close to Boston, quiet - and only a quarter of a million dollars!” They both laughed and then Bob, being an American, suggested that they actually go and look at the place. Manjuvajra, being British, thought he was joking but realized he wasn’t and when he’d overcome his reluctance to get too involved too fast, they called the owners and agreed a date to drive up to the New Hampshire Seacoast."

The Second Gift to Aryaloka for their 25th Anniversary was a large hand painted rendition of the 1000-Armed Avalokitesvara...

"Early on in the planning [of the 25th Anniversary celebrations] my dear friend Surakshita, who's been around Aryaloka since the very beginning, enthusiastically shared his vision of seeing a very large 1000-Armed Avalokitesvara banner draped over the domes of Aryaloka. He saw it as a cosmic and symbolic welcoming of people to the celebrations, marking this very significant, historical event.

"Having a very busy summer planned, I initially sat quietly waiting to see if anyone stepped forward... but he only had to mention it a few times, before I offered as long as I could find help! Very quickly my dear friend Amala expressed interest in working together to plan and create this magnificent 9 x 5 foot painting of the thousand-armed Avalokitesvara.

"Not really being a fine artist myself, I rejoice in Amala's ability to really bring the piece into its final stages - even right up to the time it was scheduled for hanging she still had her paint brush in hand! I rejoice in her patience, skill and courage to take on such an immense project. The highlight for me, besides deepening friendship with Amala through our working together, was on several occasions when we applied paint to some of the symbols in the image something was happening on a deeper level. Like when we painted the jewels on his crowns and especially when we painted the eyes, something 'other' came alive in the painting. Recollecting the experience now still evokes a similar feeling of awe and amazement."

"With metta, Viriyalila

www.aryaloka.org / info@aryaloka.org
14 Heartwood Circle

Newmarket, NH USA
(603) 659-5456

New premises for Triratna in Portland, Maine

Dharmasuri writes from Triratna’s Nagaloka Buddhist Center in Portland, Maine - wherer they’ve just doubled the size of their Centre! She says -

“ Nagaloka Buddhist Center in Portland, Maine, USA, moved into our new spacious location on January 15, 2011. We are now located at 54 York Street, which is much closer to the Portland waterfront (Atlantic Ocean). Our new rental space is much larger. We doubled in size from a downtown storefront location to our current space with many windows allowing more natural sunlight. In addition, we have a kitchen, separate room for our bookstore, and common bathrooms for ladies and men. This enables us to offer weekend day-long retreats including a healthy vegetarian lunch made from our kitchen.

“Nagaloka continues to grow and develop in Portland increasing the number of individuals who walk through its door. We currently have a very delightful, lively group of individuals who are very enthusiastic in supporting our little Center. Currently our mitra count is 11 with interest from others. We are very grateful that so many individuals have exemplified Sangha, especially in making our move happen. Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!

“Bodhipaksa thought since we were moving into new, sunny, freshly painted space, we should update our website too. So, thanks to him, we have a fresh new updated website at www.nagalokabuddhistcenter.org Take a look!”

Dharmacharini Dharmasuri
Chairperson

Street meditations in San Francisco

We can’t resist reposting this story from Wildmind, Triratna’s meditation teaching site based in New Hampshire, USA. Bodhipaksa, its founder and director, writes  - “That’s two friends of mine, Mike and Suvarnaprabha (also known as our very own Auntie Suvanna) meditating in a shop window on San Francisco’s bustling Valencia St.

“They were just two of thirty-two people from the San Francisco Buddhist Center and the wider Buddhist community who spent a couple of weekends last month meditating in public.
Suvarnaprabha said, “For me, the experience of sitting was completely different than I thought it would be. That is, I thought the ‘being looked at’ part would be more prominent. I became deeply absorbed, just hearing the sounds of the city–cars passing, high heels clicking, dogs barking, conversations… and noticing the response in my body. There was incredible peace sitting in that window, somehow interspersed with moments of fear and wonder.”

“She was also surprised by how many people thought they were statues! Check out Suvarnaprabha blog for some of the hilarious comments made by passers-by. My favorite?

“Is she breathing?”
“No, people don’t breathe when they meditate.”

Click here for Bodhipaksa's blog 'On Practice'.

San Francisco’s Daily Kos ran a story on the event entitled ‘How sitting in windows is making the planet cooler’, which ended with a beautiful poem, Keeping Quiet by Pablo Neruda. It begins -

Now we will count to twelve
and we will all keep still.


This one time upon the earth,
let's not speak any language,
let's stop for one second,
and not move our arms so much.


It would be a delicious moment,
without hurry, without locomotives,
all of us would be together
in a sudden strangeness.

Find it in full on the Daily Kos blog.

Tipu's Chai - Right Livelihood in the States

Abhayanaga, an American member of the Triratna Buddhist Order, writes from California with news of their Right Livelihood business Tipu’s Chai (www.tipuschai.com).  Tipu’s has been taking off lately, and is now available all over the States- rumour has it that it’s even coming to the UK soon! Check www.tipuschai.com/buy-our-chai/store-locations for the current outlets.

Latest news is a TV interview with Buddhapalita, and Abhayanaga says -

“Buddhapalita was recently interviewed on the local Missoula news station KECI and the clip is available on their website.

Buddhapalita’s the President and founder of Tipu's Chai in Montana, and we think he did an excellent job! This is especially true considering that the interview was filmed at 6am, and he had just returned from a week of hard work in New York sampling out Tipu's Chai at Dean and Deluca's Manhattan locations.

“Please share this video with anyone who knows Buddhapalita, or who you think may find it enjoyable.

“Also, please follow us on facebook and twitter, or if you've had the chance to try our delectable chai, write a review on Amazon  for us. All of this online attention really helps and has a very positive impact on our business.

“Best, Abhayanaga

Ordination in America

Dayanandi writes from the US to say -

"In a ceremony at Triratna's Aryaloka Buddhist Center in New Hampshire, USA, on Saturday 4th September, surrounded by over 40 Order Members, together with numerous sangha, friends and family, Denise Connors became Bodhilochana - 'she who possesses the Eye of Perfect Wisdom'.

"Bodhilochana's Ordination came at the culmination of the 25th Anniversary Celebrations of Aryaloka and the start of the North American Order Convention.

Her Private Preceptor was Ashokashri and her Public Preceptor was Dayanandi"

Sadhu!

Tipu’s Chai receives national press!

Tipu’s Chai is a small US-based Right Livelihood supplying Chai mix across America.  Operating out of Missoula, Montana, they employ four members of the Triratna Buddhist Order.  It's not easy for new start-ups in the States right now, but looks like they're just about to break out big time!  Abhayanaga writes with their latest news - and a request for your help.  He says -

"At the beginning of August, Relish, a national magazine dedicated to celebrating the best of American cuisine that is carried in daily newspapers all over the country, published a highly positive review of Tipu’s Chai new instant mix in its inside cover. To quote the review, ‘Tipu’s Instant Chai is peppery and spicy and the best we’ve tasted. Made in Montana by Bipin Patel (Dh. Buddhapalita), whose family hails from Gujarat, India, the chai includes organic black tea and ‘spices.’’

"Since the publication of the review, Tipu’s website, www.tipuschai.com has been bombarded with over 5,000 orders and requests for samples. The small Tipu’s team, Varada, Naganataka, and myself (Abhayanaga), with the help of Sanghadevi who happened to be visiting Montana at the time the review was published, (thanks for all your help!) have barely been able to keep up with the demand generated by Relish.

2All the attention has given our small Right Livelihood business a timely boost and we are very keen to capitalize on all the new interest. Our chai has begun popping up on food blog websites like www.angerburger.com and www.perkdup.blogspot.com, and is being very favorably reviewed on specialty tea websites like www.teaviews.com, www.steepster.com, and www.teareviewblog.com.

Web commerce is an excellent way for a small specialty food biz like ours to compete with much larger companies in the same industry, as we can take Tipu’s directly to the chai lover without having to navigate through the web of distributors, brokers, and retailers who can often be resistant to newer products.

Get involved!
"If Order members, mitras, and friends would like to support us, the best thing they can do is to follow us on social media sites such as facebook and twitter and leave comments and reviews on those sites. Currently we have just under 500 facebook fans and we would like to increase that number to 1,000 during the autumn of 2010. 1,000 fans is one of the facebook thresholds after which we would come on to the radar of more food bloggers and food and drinks buyers. Additionally, if anyone who has ever savored Tipu’s chai would take the time to write reviews on the above mentioned sites, or go to Amazon.com and review us there, we would very much appreciate it.  the above links should take you to those sites.

"And lastly, if any centers would like to carry our dry mixes as an extra revenue stream we’d love to have Tipu’s Chai on shelves in Centers around the movement.

"All of this attention really does help our business and we would be very grateful if those in the larger Triratna community could take a bit of time to help boost our online profile in the ways I’ve mentioned. And if you ever find yourself in Montana, we’d love to give you a tour of our headquarters, i.e., Varada’s place. You just need to be comfortable sharing some space with horses, goats, ducks, chickens, a noisy rooster, and 3 dogs!

"With metta
Dh. Abhayanaga

PS - a few of their latest tweets copied below...

• about 16 hours ago The show in Mexico City went well....they like the spicy stuff here! served over 3000 people in 3 days!... http://fb.me/ITZ8Ee4K
• about 18 hours ago @Tipuschai New Tea Review on Tea Review Blog find it here: Tipu's Chai Slow Brew from Tipu's Chaihttp://www.teareviewblog.com/?p=13952
• about 23 hours ago Our new favorite blogger, Sunday Williams from angerburger.com, substituted our instant chai for cinnamon in a...http://fb.me/IulJvG5f
• about 3 days ago Woo-hoo! 9.5 out of 10 from another teaviews reviewer. This time it's our instant blend. Thanks Lynn! http://fb.me/COYFo9QD

Aryaloka celebrates 25 years in America

Aryaloka, the Triratna Buddhist Community’s Retreat Center in New Hampshire, US, is busy celebrating their 25th anniversary this weekend. They say -

“In 1985 the vision of a retreat center in a quiet setting, not too far from Boston, took its first steps to being realized. Dedicated Order members, mitras, and friends moved into the domes in Newmarket, NH. Since then, a sangha of practitioners has grown steadily, calling Aryaloka their spiritual 'home'. Countless meditations, discussions, confidences, vegetarian meals, and chores have been shared over the last 25 years. Thousands of beings have been touched by the Dharma and the vision of Enlightenment that is kept alive here.

“Please join us to celebrate the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha at Aryaloka in our 25th year”.

The schedule of events is well underway, and includes -

the domes at the heart of Aryaloka Retreat Center

* Opening Ceremonies on Saturday, August 28, featuring original musical compositions by Sravaniya; procession and ritual placement of 15 foot hand-made banners as we tell a brief history of Aryaloka; mantra chanting and ritual in the Aryaloka shrine room; festive 25th Anniversary Picnic.

* Open House on Sunday 29: doors open to all members of the community, a time to enjoy a tour and hear what goes on at Aryaloka.

* A series of talks, starting with 'The Simile of Heartwood Circle', by Dayalocana, Chair of the Aryaloka Council. Dayalocana has often thought that Aryaloka's location at Heartwood Circle might have an interesting connection with the Buddha's teaching of the Simile of the Heartwood. She'll take a look at the teaching from the Pali Canon, and also what we might find at Aryaloka Buddhist Center as we search for the heartwood, Aryaloka's inner core and strength that has endured for 25 years.

There’ll also be a talk by Manjuvajra, founding Order Member of Aryaloka in 1985, entitled 'Beginnings: The conception, gestation, birth and infancy of a Buddhist Retreat Center'. Aryaloka's history can be traced back to a time eight years before it was purchased. The FWBO had to be established on American soil and then, after four years, the decision to establish a community and retreat centre was taken. Manjuvajra will talk about what led up to that leap of faith; how Aryaloka came about, helped by the generosity of some people, and hindered by extreme challenges. He will trace the development of the community and centre during the first ten years of its life and talk about the colorful characters involved in that adventure.  You should be able to find both these and more on FreeBuddhistAudio in due course.

The week will conclude with rededication ceremonies, rededicating Aryaloka to Another 25 Years of Dharma Practice - and Beyond!

They conclude by saying - “Thank you to everyone who has come in the past and who comes today to make Aryaloka a place of true practice and friendship”.

More details on their website,http://aryaloka.org

More photos from Triratna ‘name change’ ceremonies around the world

the Norwich Buddhist Centre's 'name change' shrine

More photos are coming in from the ‘name change’ ceremonies of Triratna Centres around the world.

Aryaloka's 'name change' shrine

Here’s examples from the special shrines at Aryaloka in New Hampshire, and the UK's Norwich Buddhist Centre. More welcome!

Ordination in America

On Saturday June 5th Chris Eyer, from Triratna’s ‘Rocky Mountain Buddhist Center’ in Missoula Montana, was ordained as Sarananda, meaning "He who delights in the firm heartwood (of reality)". Dhammarati was the Preceptor.

Meanwhile Padmasuri reports that the private ordinations of all 16 women attending the 3-month Ordination course at Akasavana in Spain have been taking place between 31st May and 4th June.

The Public Ordinations are starting today, mid-morning on 8th June, local Spanish time. We’ll bring you their names as soon as they are released.

Sarananda brings the Order to a total of 1,641 members world-wide.

SADHU!

Right Livelihood in the USA: Tipu's Chai

Tipu’s Tiger was a much-loved Indian Restaurant in the small mid-Western town of Missoula, Montana - and the FWBO’s first Right Livelihood business in the States. Sadly the business closed as a Buddhist Right Livelihood some years ago - but the vision lives on and is just taking off in the form of a new business - Tipu’s Tiger Chai .

Buddhapalita, the business’ founder, says - “Our chai first came to life in our vegetarian café in Montana, where it grew in popularity until it was known throughout the region. Tipu’s Tiger Chai is a complex blend of sweet spices, complemented with a strong, organic, Indian black tea with a satisfying spicy finish. This is how real chai tastes! Made with non-radiated fresh spices, fresh ginger root, Montana-grown beet sugar and waters from the Mission Mountains”. And he concludes - “We are sure it will please your customers as much as it does ours!”

It’s not easy starting a business these days, but things look good - They’ve won two gold awards already at the 2008 World Tea Championships.

Buddhapalita, founder of Tipu’s Tiger and the driving force behind their new Chai range, was recently interviewed on Montana Public Radio, and you can listen to him here - www.mtpr.net/program_info/2009-08-21-132 . Scroll forwards to the 11-minute mark (unless you want to hear about Montana's recent problems with grizzly bears!)

And the spirit of Right Livelihood and dana (generosity) lives on - Tipu's Chai have already started to donate some of their profits. Their first choice, interestingly, was not an FWBO Buddhist Centre but to a mine detector program operating in Darfur. Somewhere in Darfur, they say, is a mine detector with our name on! The donation was made through a company called Schonstedt that Thiradhamma, another US Order Member, works for. Tipu’s have received letters of thanks from the State Dept and UN as well as Schonstedt.

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

Sunada from the FWBO's Boston Center writes -

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jai Bhim International reports...

Jai Bhim International is an innovative FWBO project based in San Francisco.  “Caste Free Generation” is their slogan: Ann Dennehy, Jai Bhim’s Director, describes their mission as “providing Indian Buddhist youth with the spiritual, educational, and emotional tools to create personal and social change, for a culture freed of caste prejudice and discrimination”.

They’ve had a busy few months, as Ann reports -

“jai bhim friends and family, near and far. i hope this message finds you all well. thanks to all of you for your support, creative support, financial support, moral support, as we launched our non-profit last year. things are going really well.

India trip

i returned from my third india trip in january, and am planning projects for this year in my new homebase, the bamboo garden here in san francisco.  lots of support building here in sf for our work. hosting a monthly happy hour the last friday of every month. and facebook has been great..

“in india i spent time with our board members kumarjeev, kamalshree and nagarjuna, and re-connected with many of the youth leaders i'd met at the nnby conference last year. i spent time again in central india, in nagpur, where i piloted our teacher training workshops for indian english teachers. i also went north to delhi and to some smaller villages in rajasthan.

community english project

“in the year ahead i will be brainstorming with our indian board members and with indian youth leaders, as well as our american board members and english advisory board, about a community english project, which will be our main focus for 2009. our vision so far is to bring a buddhist-based esl curriculum to smaller dalit communities, and to work intensively with local indian english teachers to lead interactive, communicative student-centered english sessions that will empower language learning in their communities.

“we will be drawing on dr. ambedkar's vision, and on the vision of his mentor at columbia university, john dewey, as well as the revolutionary brazilian educator paolo freire. in addition to creating a curriculum, we are developing a manifesto for the project, so that everyone involved is clear on the project's goals. all this will  be posted as updates on our website.

local events

"locally we have been hosting events to bring people together. we are having a monthly happy hour, the last friday of every month. and this summer our board member maw, our artist friends and i will coordinate a bigger local arts event. in january i was asked to make a presentation about my trip to my department at the city college downtown campus. i received a very friendly reception and was asked to present further at other campuses, which we are now coordinating. and connecticut college, my alma mater, has asked me to write an article for the alumni magazine, a beautiful glossy publication that has won several awards.

"also i wanted to tell you about our big project for the fall - jai bhim international is going to declare october as AMBEDKAR MONTH!  the two goals of the project are #1 to bring people from the san francisco area into the jai bhim community through fun, and #2 to educate folks here about dr. ambedkar and the dalit buddhist movement. we are coordinating with the san francisco center, and reaching out to other buddhist centers in other traditions, as a way of spreading the word about our movement in india.

“we are scheduling a bunch of events that could lead up to a puja/kirtan on october 14th, which is a wednesday - as you know well, october 14th is the anniversary of the great mass conversion- the official start of the dalit buddhist movement.

“before then, in august and september,  we're going to make as many presentations as possible all over the city/bay area, at libraries, bookstores, university and high school classes, other buddhist centers, with the theme of "who is dr. ambedkar?" i imagine plastering the city with simple posters with an image of dr. ambedkar and that line ("who is dr. ambedkar?"), and a link to the jai bhim website. a guerilla campaign! i am coordinating with friends of the public library, my colleagues at city college, and others.

“more prosaically, lots of paperwork to keep up on as we get the non-profit established. board member sarah brown has been helping me do our books and we ended 2008 with a surplus of $278.15! now we are getting ready to file additional paperwork with the i.r.s. in order for them to approve our 501c3 status.  We’re still busy fundraising – please visit our page http://www.jaibhiminternational.org/wealth
 

“in closing i'd like to again express my gratitude for sharing the vision for our work. thank you for all your gestures of encouragement and support. jai bhim. love, ann”

Youth of India Roars in 2nd National Convention of NNBY

The FWBO/TBMSG is an international Buddhist Sangha, with Buddhist Centres in over 20 countries. This internationality is never more evident than when people from opposite sides of the world come together for our big sangha events.

NNBY’s recent annual conference was an example, bringing together people from many communities across India (a major achievement in itself) – and beyond. NNBY is India’s ‘National Network of Buddhist Youth’, a major initiative started some five years ago under the auspices of TBMSG, as the FWBO is known in India.

We’re proud to bring you two reports from the Conference, one from two Indian participants – a colourful and moving photo-journal – and one from Ann Dennehy, a mitra from San Francisco who’s founded ‘Jai Bhim International’, an American not-for-profit. Her aim is to “Connect spiritual communities, social change groups, and educators worldwide with Buddhist youth projects in India”.

You can read Deepa and Amrita's account here, boldly entitled “YOUTH OF INDIA ROARS IN 2nd NATIONAL CONVENTION OF NNBY”

and Ann’s wide-ranging account of her travels here.

NNBY is still fundraising for its 2009 budget, contributions are invited and can be made online on their Justgiving page www.justgiving.com/indianbuddhistyouth.

Wildmind on spiritual rebirth, materialism, solitude, warriorhood, and more...

Wildmind is the FWBO’s US-based website dedicated to teaching meditation.

Besides offering an easy and free way to
learn meditation on-line, their site hosts a vast library of meditation-related articles from a wide range of sources.

Every month they issue their meditation newsletter, each one dedicated to one or another theme connected in some way to meditation.

We've neglected to keep you up to date with these as they've come out, but here they are now -

· January 2009: Spiritual rebirth
· December 2008: Spiritual materialism
· November: Solitude
· October: Warriorhood
You can either browse these on their enormous website or subscribe here.

Rijumati’s travels: Part IX: to Mexico

The ninth instalment of Rijumati’s round-the-world travels are posted today on FWBO Features, covering portions of his time in America and Mexico.

He begins by saying “What unexpected adventures assail the lone world traveler!”

There’s love, big road trips, vivid portraits of the total inadequacy experienced by a carless traveller in America, visa problems, cheap and soulless Texas motels, the wonder of Mexican art and civilisation, the kindness of strangers, and far more.

Click to read more… You’ll find them at Rijumati_travels_IX_america_mexico .

Parts 1-8 cover his travels from the UK – which he left just over a year ago – by sea to Sri Lanka, to India, Nepal, Russia, Central Asia, Japan, and more. Also available on FWBO Features. 

FWBO People I: Dayamati - a 'Clearness Process' in Albuquerque

This is the first in a new series on FWBO News: every Saturday starting now we hope to feature a profile of one or another of the many wonderful and diverse people who make up the Buddhist 'Sangha', or community, of the FWBO and Western Buddhist Order.  There's over 1,600 members of the Western Buddhist Order, so it may take us some time to get through them all - especially as it's growing all the time!

We start with Dayamati, an Order Member from Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.  He's perhaps best-known for his book, ‘Land of No Buddha’ published by Windhorse Publications, the FWBO’s publishing wing.

Anyone familiar with the book will know him as “a sceptical Buddhist” (quoting here Windhorse’s description of him on their website, where he is known by his secular name of Richard Hayes) – but one who nonetheless proposes the radical path of the Buddha to those seeking genuine wisdom, “not just slogans to stick on the bumpers of their cars”.

His explorations have now led him to what is perhaps an unexpected place. He writes –

“Dear friends,

“Earlier this month I formally became a member of the Albuquerque Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). The request for membership came after attending the meeting regularly for three years, and after about five years of experience attending Quaker meetings in Canada from 1968 through 1975.

“The step of being what is called a convinced Quaker involves a number of steps, including meeting with a committee of Quaker elders and discussing one's intentions. In my case I also consulted with my kalyanamitras in the FWBO and sought their opinion on whether being a Quaker was in their eyes in any way incompatible with being a dharmachari in the WBO. No objections were voiced by my kalyanamitras. On the Quaker side there was no objection to my being a Buddhist going for refuge in the WBO context and being a Quaker.

“Now that the step has been taken, I am feeling that making an announcement to the wider FWBO community is in order. I have written something about my motivations and experiences on my blog site, the address of which is under my signature below. I am curious what the range of opinion within the FWBO is on membership in more than one religious organization, especially when one of them does not have Buddhist roots.

“Something to bear in mind in my case is that I live about 1000 miles from the nearest FWBO chapter. Attending dharmachari chapter meetings regularly is out of the question. The closest thing I have found to a WBO chapter meeting is a Quaker meeting. The ways that Quakers make corporate decisions, and the way they meet for spiritual practice, is very similar to the way things are done in the (F)WBO. That said, I am sure I would attend Quaker meetings regularly even if there were a nearby chapter of the WBO...”

“Dayamati
http://dayamati.home.comcast.net/
http://dayamati.blogspot.com/

Comments welcome!

His article is also available on the Order page of FWBO Discussion - a website full of thoughtful perspectives on the FWBO and its appreoach to the Dharma.

Razor-Wire Dharma: in prison in America

Priyamitra, an Order Member from Spokane, Washington, USA, has written to FWBO News to say –

“One of the prisoners I've had the pleasure of practicing with for a number of years has just had a book published.

“Calvin Malone practiced for more than a dozen years with the "Gateless Sangha", a Buddhist practice group at Airway Heights Corrections Center, the largest prison in the Washington penitentiary system. Razor-Wire Dharma recounts Calvin's life in prison, his turning to the Buddha-Dharma, and ways that his life, and the lives of those around him, have changed through his going for refuge to the Three Jewels.

“Each chapter tells of an event common to life in prison life; each illustrates how his practice has been challenged and grown through living out the Buddha's teaching. These are very personal tales he tells, full of real suffering, real people, and real transformation.

“Until this past June Calvin was a cornerstone of the Gateless Sangha. He was then transferred to another prison, initially leaving the Sangha somewhat at a loss - over the years he had encouraged, guided, coaxed, and supported a huge number of inmates as they struggled to find some peace in the hell-realm that prison can seem.

“Prison is a fearful place. Shakyamuni's exclamation that 'Friendship is the whole of the spiritual life' rings true in Razor-Wire Dharma. Calvin learned the power of friendship from his teachers, one of whom was Aryadaka – another Order Member, who died five years ago. My entry into prison Dharma teaching was similarly through a friendship with Aryadaka.

“Both Calvin and Aryadaka have gone; I'm left to practice with the Gateless Sangha in their absence, and every week I practice with them I experience this friendship with my razor-wire Dharma brothers. As the Gateless Sangha continues without Calvin, its members are finding that they are able to pass on to new-comers the guidance and friendship that they received from him”.

Razor-Wire Dharma has just been released by Wisdom Publications.