A search for a meaningful way of life

‘Earth Rising, Heaven Descending’ is the name given by Order Member Suryaprabha to his latest series of five films charting the evolution of the FWBO – and, more generally, of Sangha in the West - over the past 40 years. His ‘Lights in the Sky’ imprint has already given the FWBO some of its evocative images of its’ past, especially through the much-loved ‘History’ series - or click here for some trailers.

Suryaprabha sees his films as a “search for a meaningful way of life” and, on the eve of the release of the third in the series, he has sent FWBO News this summary of what he's trying to do in the present series. He says -

“THE IDEA was to capture this hard-to-define ‘spirit’ in a single film: to go around the world to observe the life of people with some connection to the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order. The fifth film is yet to be made; four preceding episodes set the scene and weave a net that will hopefully catch this mysterious ‘something’.

“SETTING THE SCENE 1: BACKGROUND (42 mins) recalls an earlier era of the Buddhist transmission to the West when FWBO founder Sangharakshita was befriended and taught by Indian and Tibetan Bddhist teachers. Now three of his disciples undertake a pilgrimage to the Himalayas to connect with their and his spiritual roots.

“The next three films explore the conditions for practice of a variety of modern Buddhists, all linked to the FWBO/TBMSG but living in very different situations and cultures. Interestingly, the ratio of personal face (persona) to public face varies greatly from east to west and this is reflected in people’s main concerns. We see conditioning factors, both inherited and acquired, needing to be recognised and worked with to develop more wisdom and compassion.

“SETTING THE SCENE 2: ONCE FREE (63 mins, now released) is set in America, where the ratio of personal persona to public persona is perhaps 9:1. With social welfare absent and individual expectations high, people work 2 or 3 jobs, many becoming virtually wage-slaves. Turning inward, people look to profit from personal change. Finding time is difficult and, ironically, there’s more chance to study and meditate in jail... ‘Once Free’ has been described by Vishvapani as “a refreshingly off-beat, sideways look at the FWBO in North America in a time of flux and uncertainty”. He goes on to say “It's candid, unvarnished approach makes for a brave exploration of the inspiring, messy, enthralling and frustrating lives of modern American Buddhists.”

“SETTING THE SCENE 3: RECURRING DREAM (64 mins - June 08 release) is set in the East, where India’s great Buddhist leader, Dr. Ambedkar, dreamt great changes would come when he, and millions from the ‘lower’ castes, rejected Hinduism and adopted Buddhism. 50 years on, Hindus still see ‘Old Untouchables’ rather than ‘New Buddhists’. Why are the changes still unconvincing when there are indisputable gains in social welfare and self confidence? We find prejudice and distrust can even mar relations between Buddhists of different caste backgrounds, with Subhuti arguing caste-based marriage (even amongst Buddhists) ensures everyone stays in their place. With a cross-caste wedding dreams come true in more senses than one. A movie with a cast of thousands.

“SETTING THE SCENE 4: UNTITLED (December 08 release) looks at a middle ground, societies with a social contract. Here the FWBO is involved in many aspects of mundane life across a range of folk. How well does can practitioners combine going 'outwards' to work with culture/environment/society with the 'inner' work on the self? Are these easier or harder to accomplish here, given that a cushy life may be a spiritually impoverished one?? Stories are set in UK, Finland, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Catalonia, the Ukraine, Germany and France – many being filmed in the speakers’ native languages.

“PART 5 UNTITLED - THE IDEA. See above. Release date not yet set. Watch this space…

Any of the above, including the original ‘History’ movies, are available from Suryaprabha’s shop in DVD format.

Amoghavajra returns to China - and the Paralympics

Amoghavajra, new chairman of the FWBO's Ipswich Buddhist Centre, has for many years been an enthusiastic practitioner of wheelchair basketball. Besides playing, he is also an ‘international classifier’, or grader, of wheelchair basketball players and an adjudicator on the sensitive questions of how to classify players with varying degrees of disability.

As a result of this he has been invited to China to classify players in the Basketball Paralympics - an event that has, for the hopeful competitors, been many years in the planning. Amoghavajra is especially excited to be going to China because of her ancient connections with his namesake, the Indian Buddhist monk Amoghavajra. “At last Amoghavajra is returning to China”, he says…! He goes on to say -

“I'm at Manchester at the moment classifying for the Paralympic World Cup - it's going very well although a huge culture shift from last week at Padmaloka on sadhana retreat!!

“I did consider the possibility of not taking up the invite but bringing to mind the hugely positive impact on disabled people in China I decided that I would definitely accept. Chine has not devoted many financial resources to assisting its disabled people but by hosting the Olympics part of the deal is to also host the Paralympics. This means that they have to back their disabled athlete programmes and provide them with direct support but maybe more importantly with wheelchair accessible social infrastructure that benefit a much wider range of disabled people - thereby benefiting many people”.

After the Paralympics he hopes to spend some time visiting China's ancient Buddhist sites - a personal journey that will undoubtedly be a test of China's disability-friendliness away from the Olympic spotlights.

Youth Dharma: upcoming event

In common with other Buddhist sanghas in the West, the FWBO attracted a lot of young people in the 60’s and 70’s, fewer in the 80’s and 90’s, and even fewer today. Why? Who knows – but we’d like to find out!

Sometimes the spiritual path is spoken of as starting with the experience of Dukkha, or unsatisfactoriness: we are sure that everyone experiences this and finds this painful, the young often more than the old. And sometimes the Goal is spoken of as ‘the Taste of Freedom’, again we are sure that all desire this, the young no less than their elders.

As a first step, in November this year, there’s going to be a weekend gathering of all those with an interest in this area. The weekend is open to everyone – of all levels of involvement and all ages. We’d especially like to get young people from centres along and hear what they have to say and encourage them to get involved. Please tell people at your centre about this event, and also come along yourself, even if you are no longer young! But just for the sake of clarity, the focus will be on folk in their teens through to the end of their twenties.

The aim is to create energy, confidence, inspiration, and ideas. Among other things we’ll be using ‘Open Space Technology’ to maximise everyone’s opportunities for contributions and learning. We hope to encourage centres, retreat centres, teachers, and preceptors to have this as part of their perspective on their work.

There are big questions to be addressed: how can we create a vibrant FWBO culture that inspires young people with the Dharma? What are young people looking for? How can the Dharma touch them? And how can we create a sense of community in which teenage offspring of Buddhist parents will want to get involved?

The weekend is from Friday 7th to Sunday 9th November; the venue is ‘Bilberry Hill’, a little way outside Birmingham, UK. And the cost is £50, including food and accommodation. (If you can’t afford to pay that, please pay less.) Full details will be sent upon booking.

To book, please send a cheque for £50, payable to “FWBO” to: Lokabandhu, 25 St. Edmunds Road, Glastonbury, Somerset, BA6 9HX, UK; or contact him on lokabandhu@fwbo.org
for more details.

Finally just to mention there’s a poster promoting the event, you can download it here. Please print and promote!

Wildmind's 'Open Circle' launched; practical mysticism explored

Two new offerings from the FWBO’s Wildmind online meditation teaching site have recently come to FWBO News’ attention.

Their new venture, the ‘Open Circle’ aims to offer participants – who may live anywhere in the world – the opportunity to participate in an ongoing online discussion forum exploring key Buddhist teachings and applying them to everyday life. Shrijnana, the Open Circle’s full-time facilitator, describes it as “part on-line book club, part Buddhism course”. What this means in practice is that each week discussions and activities are based on sections of Vajragupta’s book Buddhism: Tools for Living Your Life; besides simply reading the text there’s wide-ranging discussions, weekly exercises; opportunities to ask questions and share experience, and of course the guidance and feedback of a resident facilitator. The Open Circle doesn't assume that you are a Buddhist or that you want to be a Buddhist, but it does assume that you wish to learn something from the Buddhist tradition.

More details of the Open Circle are available on the Wildmind website and we should add that Wildmind have a policy that noone ever is ever turned away for purely financial reasons – so if their suggested contribution is not possible for you, contact them to see what they can do.

Alongside this, Wildmind’s latest newsletter is on the theme of ‘Practical Mysticism’ with, among other delights, their guest contributor, Zen teacher and author David Brazier asking the question “Are meditative experience and engagement with the world mutually contradictory?” and examining the false dichotomy of mysticism and engagement.

Wildmind, it’s worth pointing out, is far more than simply online meditation teaching: they offer courses on pain management, anger management, basic Buddhism, host extensive archives covering topics as diverse as book reviews, celebrity Buddhists, and meditation in prisons across the US. Explore the Wildmind website at your leisure...

West London emerges from the Flood – and Edinburgh says “thank you”

Last summer the West London Buddhist Centre experienced serious flooding on two separate and entirely unrelated occasions – one causing the ceiling of their shrine room to collapse and one covering the floor with water.

Undeterred, they embarked upon the necessary repairs and are now scheduled to be fully up and running again in time to celebrate Buddha Day on Sunday the 18th of May. There will be a free open day from 12 to 5, with talks, meditation, and an exhibition of Buddhist art works, followed by celebrations for the Sangha in the evening.

Among the artwork is a piece by local Buddhist artist Jason Etienne, titled “Basic Buddhism 2” – clearly inspired by the twin sources of British graffiti artist Banksy and the legendary biographies of the Buddha, which speak of lotuses springing up behind each step of the Buddha as he roared his lion’s roar..

Meanwhile, up in Scotland, the Edinburgh Buddhist Centre, who last year experienced major floods of their own, are just celebrating the second anniversary of their new Centre. Their new Director, Vajrahridaya, has written an open letter to all who have ever contributed to the FWBO in Edinburgh. Since those many people are now scattered around the world, we have pleasure in reproducing part of it here on FWBO News. Vajrahridaya writes -

“I, along with the Trustees on the Edinburgh Buddhist Council would like to take this opportunity to thank you and express our gratitude for all the support and help you have contributed towards the stability and growth of our local Sangha in Edinburgh.

“We would like to acknowledge that your help and generosity, in the form of either Donations, Standing Orders, Gift Aid, your practical help, your encouraging presence and words or even just coming along to the centre to support us, has contributed towards the creation of this new centre and thus our Sangha.

“It is due to our collective effort and enthusiasm that we have managed to buy our own new premises and establish our Sangha, the spiritual community in Edinburgh. So Sadhu! Sadhu!! Sadhu!!!

“We hope that you will continue to offer your valuable support and help towards the growth and development of our Sangha and we very much value and welcome your ideas, thoughts and vision for spreading the Buddha’s Dharma in this modern world.

“Yours in the Dharma, Vajrahridaya”

Sadhu Edinburgh!

International Retreat: last update, Sangharakshita attending

Vajragupta writes with the latest news of the FWBO International Retreat, due to start in just over three weeks.

He says -

“There is now just three and a half weeks to go to the FWBO International Retreat and it’s getting exciting. In fact it looks set to be the largest FWBO retreat we’ve ever held outside India. Over 250 people have already booked, including a busload coming from Germany and Northern Europe, and another from Spain. The family-friendly facilities mean that quite a few people are bringing their children along and more are welcome of course.

Sangharakshita attending

“Many details of the program have been settled since my last update, and there has been one major new development: Sangharakshita is planning to attend, and will be giving a talk on the Sunday morning. It’s not often that he speaks in public these days; this is therefore a rare opportunity for contact with him.

“The overall theme for the retreat is of course ‘Beating the Drum of the Dharma’. Other speakers include Ratnaguna talking on ‘the Early Teachings of the Buddha’, Kamalasila on ‘the Meditating Buddha’, Parami on ‘Ethics in the 21st Century’ – plus lots more workshops and groups led by some the FWBO’s best teachers. Click here for a full list of the speakers and teachers.

For visitors from outside UK there will be simultaneous translation into Spanish, French, German, and Dutch. And many of the facilities are being provided by Buddhafield, so things should have that extra flavour of ‘Buddhafield magic’…

Book soon!

“It's not to late to book, although there are now only camping spaces available. After May 15th postal and Internet bookings will close - people wishing to book after then are requested to phone Taraloka on +44 (0) 1948-710646.

Weekend tickets available

One other change is that weekend tickets are now available, from Friday to Monday. So if you really can’t get Thursday off work, come anyway! And when you arrive, simply give that bit less. See the website for suggested details.

“If you are thinking to come, please do book soon – and let your friends know too. That’ll make it much easier for us to get in the necessary supplies and make sure everyone can be properly catered for.

“The Buddha said that if the sangha met in large numbers it was sure to prosper. I think this retreat will give many people a wonderful sense of being part of a big, international community of Dharma practitioners. That sense of connection can be so inspiring and important to people at Centres.

"See you there!”

Free Buddhist Audio – New Community Site

Welcome to the news from Free Buddhist Audio,
the free download, podcast and streaming service from the Dharmachakra audio and text archives. To receive more regular updates on the site, you can always subscribe to our own blog.

We're absolutely thrilled today to be able to announce the full launch of our new community site! This represents a very big shift for our service: now any Fwbo centre or institution – anywhere in the world – can upload its own talks, and have its own pages on the site. We've already got quite a few signed up, and the first talks are appearing – in English, French and German! Come and take a look...

What's very exciting for us is that the amount of material on the website will increase greatly over the next months, and is likely to be much more up-to-date and representative of what's going on in our international community. It will also allow us at the archives to concentrate on getting a lot more of the older talks and special recordings online.

Watch this space for more news of new features as we roll them out in the coming months. And if your centre or Fwbo project would like to get involved, we'd be delighted if you get in touch!

***

One other piece of news: in April, Free Buddhist Audio had its first 20,000 visitor month! We've come a long way since the days of selling scratchy old cassette tapes to about 200 people a year... Thank you to everyone for their tremendous support!

The FWBO 'Legacy Fund' - new projects for 2008

Vajragupta has sent FWBO News a report on how the Sangharakshita Legacy Fund allocated its money in 2008. The Legacy Fund is perhaps one of the less-well-known funds within the FWBO mandala, but one that’s doing important work.

Vajragupta, it's secretary, writes -

“The fund exists to help projects that are doing the following:

1) Preserving Sangharakshita's legacy: physically preserving and protecting archive materials, such as correspondence, personal effects, photos, videos, and seminars.
2) Dissemination: making accessible Sangharakshita's books, lectures, seminars, poetry, etc. to an ever-broadening audience
3) Translation: funding translations of Sangharakshita's Dharma teaching into many languages. See FWBO Translations for the current list.

In 2008 we had £32K worth of applications and £15K available to allocate, all given to us by Windhorse:Evolution. Our funds were less than last year because Windhorse:Evolution are undertaking a period of substantial re-investment in their business, in the hope of increasing profit (and therefore dana) in years to come. So, although we would have liked to fund all the applications we received to the full, it obviously wasn't possible.

We were able to give grants as follows:

* AOBO Paris: £500 towards the cost of publishing software for producing translations of Sangharakshita’s books.

* Clear Vision: £2000 towards filming Sangharakshita, making the archive of Sangharakshita photos available on the web, and preserving DVD footage of Sangharakshita and the FWBO on hard-drives.

* FreeBuddhistAudio: £3000 towards running costs and specific projects in connection with Sangharakshita material on the website.

* Lokamitra: £400 towards a translation of the TBMSG puja book.

* Manidhamma: £1100 towards the translation and publication of three Sangharakshita books (The Three Jewels, Religion of Art, and Selected Poetry) into Marathi.

* Shantavira: £1000 towards office and other costs to make pdf files of Sangharakshita’s books available on the web. See the Bookshelf on Sangharakshita’s website for titles already available.

* Vidyadevi: £2000 towards supporting her to do editorial and Spoken Word work for Sangharakshita.

* Windhorse Publications: £5000 towards converting Sangharakshita’s books into pdf’s and also reprinting some titles.

"Many thanks to Windhorse:Evolution for their generosity in funding these projects and making them possible. Like the FWBO Growth Fund, to date the Legacy Fund has been funded entirely by dana from Windhorse:Evolution - SADHU! once again to Windhorse!"

FWBO News in Spanish - and the Dharma in translation...

Visitors to the FWBO News website can scroll down below the latest story to see – among many other things – an ongoing list of where the site’s visitors have come from. This currently stands at a little over 23,000 since November 2007 – from no less than 134 countries. That’s not surprising, given the international nature of the internet and the fact the FWBO/TBMSG have centres or groups in some 25 countries.

However, of course many people who are part of our Sangha don’t speak English – including many from the Spanish-speaking world. And so Moksananda, an English Order Member who has lived for many years in Spain, has begun translating selected stories from FWBO News into Spanish. Recent posts include Arte Dalit; Hacer que el Dharma trabaje; and En Krakow - polvo, ruido, sudor y alegría...

FWBO News would be very happy to hear of any other translation initiatives going on at FWBO/TBMSG centres.

FWBO News maintains a substantial database which attempts to list all existing translations of all FWBO Dharma of all sorts into all languages world-wide. This is available on the Resources tab of the site - see FWBO Translations here. This can be downloaded for ease of reference, and again, updates are welcome.

Fundraising successes and job opportunties at Karuna

It’s nearly the end of April and 2008 is soon to be 1/3rd gone - and over at the Karuna Trust they’ve been counting their pennies.

Karuna is the FWBO’s most successful fundraising charity: it raises over UK £1.5 million every year for a wide range of Dhamma and social projects in India and elsewhere in South Asia – both inside and outside the FWBO and TBMSG. And they have good news to report – Ādarsha, their Trust fundraiser, tells FWBO News -

“Karuna has raised over £118,000 to date this year from Trusts and Foundations. This money is for a number of specific projects working to tackle caste discrimination, enable women's empowerment and provide educational access for disadvantaged children.

“We were going ask FWBO News to run this story when we crossed the £100,000 mark – then the most recent donation, of £13,000, came in. This is for our women's empowerment project tackling incidents of caste-based violence in a particularly poor region of rural Maharashtra. It’s run by our partner SPMM who do great work with Dalits and Tribal people in India, helping them combat atrocities and discrimination through accessing legal provisions and protecting their statutory entitlements to education and legal protection. You can read some of the latest – and quite shocking - news from this project on Global Giving , an American internet fundraising site that Karuna use. And click here for a fuller list of Karuna’s Global Giving projects.

“This money is of course in addition to the regular donations from Karuna’s network of more than 5,000 donors from all over the UK”.

Karuna Job opportunities
Karuna has grown substantially in recent years, and the Karuna team in London have a number of job opportunities coming up. Check our sister site FWBO Jobs for the details: they represent a great opportunity to get involved if you want to give real practical help to the ‘Dhamma Revolution’ in India.

Land of Beautiful Vision: Making a Buddhist Sacred Space in New Zealand

Sudarshanaloka is the FWBO’s retreat centre in New Zealand – a most beautiful spot, set in 200 acres of native bush looking down the valley and out over the sea. It appeared most recently on FWBO News in February, when it hosted the ordination of Dridhamati.

The story of Sudarshanaloka’s creation is a rich and complex one – and is now the subject of a book-length study. Land of Beautiful Vision: Making a Buddhist Sacred Space in New Zealand , by Sally McAra. The book (available from Amazon or elsewhere) is an academic work, and not cheap – but you can read a review here, by Jayarava, who was himself involved in its creation and is a friend of the author.

And for those who’d like to visit, but don’t plan on flying – you can take a ‘virtual journey’ from Thames, the local town, all the way up the valley to the retreat centre, and on up through the site to the Stupa itself – and then look out over the bay… Just click here to begin…

Windhorse:Evolution launch 'Friends' network

Windhorse:Evolution are by far the largest of the FWBO’s various Right Livelihood businesses. With a turnover in excess of UK £10 million/year, they are able to contribute generously to many Dharma and social projects around the world of the FWBO and TBMSG. Headquartered in Cambridge, their warehouse, ‘Uddiyana’, employs over 100 people from XX countries, many either ordained or training for ordination. They must be the only warehouse in the UK with a 7m high stupa at its centre!

They’ve already been the subject of a book by Padmasuri, ‘Transforming Work: An Experiment in Right Livelihood’, which details some of the many twists and turns they’ve encountered along the way as they experimented with practicing ‘Team-Based Right Livelihood’ in the modern Western world.

At the same time it’s been hard for people outside the business to really share in that sense of ongoing discovery: what DOES it mean to practice Right Livelihood, especially team-based right livelihood, in the modern Western world?

With this in mind – and to make it easier for potential new workers to contact them – they’ve launched the new ‘windhorse:evolution friends network’. Anyone who’d like to stay in touch is invited to write to Dharmasiddhi; you’ll then be kept informed of developments in the business. It’s a two-way thing – they’d ask you it help be an ambassador for Windhorse, even to look out for people who might be interested in joining them.

After a period of consolidation and restructuring, Windhorse has ambitious plans for the future: it’s a good time to get on board. Increasingly, their ‘dana’, or generosity, extends beyond the Buddhist world to include working with their suppliers on local projects – see FWBO News’ recent feature on their social dana projects. And you can see some more photos of the warehouse on FWBO Photos here.

Dalit art in Delhi

Maitriveer Nagarjun (shown left) is an Indian Order Member, studying at the prestigious JNU university in Delhi. Besides leading Dhamma classes at the university and travelling all over northern India to visit Buddhist local groups, he’s recently been helping organise ‘Eyes Re-Cast’ – possibly the first ever exhibition of contemporary art based on the philosophy of Dr. Ambedkar and the Buddha.

The painter, Savi Sawarkar, is India’s most eminent Dalit painter and print-maker. His art is angry, outspoken, and direct - causing Gary Tartakov, a professor at JNU, to comment "He doesn't sell real well [in India]. He sells internationally".

As if to bear this out, a simple Google search reveals an exhibition review from the Iowa State Daily in far-away America. They quote Eleanor Zelliott, a sympathetic academic who has for many years specialised in Dalit studies, and author of ‘Untouchable Saints: An Indian Phenomenon’. She comments "His art work targets Brahman orthodoxy. One painting which I find very touching is one of an untouchable carrying a dead cow across his shoulders, a comment on the traditional duty of the untouchable to carry carcasses from the village."

One painting that demonstrates Sawarkar's willingness to provoke is his interpretation of Manu, the great law-giver of India. Sawarkar portrays him as a monster because it was Manu who gave the laws that included the caste system that made Savarkar a Dalit. These laws made crimes against an untouchable insignificant, but crimes against Brahmans, the highest class, to be the worst thing a person could do. The Brahman view of Manu, by contrast, portrays him as prestigious and god-like.

You can see a small slideshow of Sawarkar’s paintings on FWBO Photos here – or see below. And if you happen to be in Delhi, go visit the Lalit Kala Academy Gallery, where the exhibition runs up to 30th April.

Getting the Dharma to Work…

Last year some 45 people from around the FWBO came together and held an exploratory weekend looking very broadly at “how to make ‘Team-Based Right Livelihood’ more attractive”. Team-Based Right Livelihood (TBRL for short) has always been a core component of the FWBO’s system of practice, being part of its practice of Right Livelihood, which is of course central in the Buddha’s own Noble Eightfold Path.

Vajragupta has recently written to FWBO News to give us an update -

"We considered all sorts of topics: support, training, spiritual practice, and possible new ventures. All sorts of people came, from old-timers who’d always worked in TBRL, to new people who’d never done so. It was a unique, enjoyable, and effective combination of sangha. It seemed to touch on something people were interested in and wanted to explore more deeply.

“At the same time, one issue that became apparent – for people in all forms of work, not just TBRL – was that “work as a spiritual practice” seemed to have gone somewhat off the boil. In the past we’ve been very strong on the general idea that spiritual transformation will only work if you keep practising all day, and it won’t if your practice only means an hour on the cushion. But perhaps we’ve not developed more specific teachings and practice in this area as much as we might. This is surprising, especially given there are some really talented people involved in our Sangha and working in all sorts of areas (both in Buddhist and non-Buddhist contexts).

“So, this year, in September, we will have another weekend. This time we will look more specifically on “getting the Dharma to work”, and it is open to anyone – Order member or mitra, those working in “traditional” TBRL, those in new Buddhist projects, those working in non-Buddhist contexts. The weekend will include talks and workshops led by a variety of talented and inspired folk, including Saddharaja, Shakyakumara, Subhadramati, and myself. If you know of someone who might be fired-up by this topic, please pass this information onto them".

The dates are Friday 12 to Sunday 14 September; the venue is just outside Birmingham (UK); the cost is £45; and to book, or for more information, contact Vajragupta or phone him on +44 (0)121-447-7427.

In Krakow - dust, noise, sweat and joy...

Over in Krakow, Poland, the FWBO’s newest Buddhist centre is taking shape – with a good deal of sweat and hard work. Nityabandhu, who is leading the project, sends FWBO News a brief dispatch from the front line:

“Hi, sorry this is very laconic but not much time at the moment. We were promised dust, noise, sweat and tears and that's what we are getting apart from the latter. It is a joy however to work on this project knowing that the end result will be a Buddhist centre. At the moment we are doing the hardest work with Karunabandhu ie demolition, this creates a lot of noise and enormous amount of dust, I feel like we are in the war. But the spirits are high and next week our first helper/visitor is coming for a week”. Nityabandhu is from Poland and is returning home after several years in the UK preparing for just this move. He is being helped in the building work by his good friend Karunabandhu, originally from Germany but most recently also from Birmingham, UK. Both are shown in the photograph - enjoying a well-deserved lunch!

Photos of their work can be seen on their Flickr site and – this being the age of YouTube – we are promised a series of action movies, the first being viewable here…

Nityabandhu’s careful preparation means that they already have a substantial web presence and several books already translated into Polish. Their main website is buddyzm.info.pl , where you can read about the ‘Przyjaciele Zachodniej Wspólnoty Buddyjskiej’ – as the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order is known in Polish! Or try polski.wildmind.org to learn meditation online in Polish, courtesy of Wildmind…

Fundraising for the work is going on, and they would welcome offers of help, especially financial – please contact them at kontakt@buddyzm.info.pl if you are interested.

Sangharakshita’s Diary for March and April

Dharmamati has sent us this report on Sangharakshita’s diary for the last two months.

"The last report concluded by noting that Sangharakshita was about to visit Tiratanaloka , the FWBO’s retreat centre in Wales, specialising in retreats for women preparing for ordination, where he was to lead study on the Ratnagunasamcayagatha. The first day of the study went well. However, Sangharakshita awoke the next morning feeling very ill and was taken to hospital. He was found to be suffering from increased blood pressure and upper heart arrhythmia, which although not life-threatening meant his current medication had to be increased. The consequences were that even after a short exertion he became very tired. He needed some weeks to recuperate and due to this had to cancel a visit to Cambridge and the Windhorse Managers’ meeting. His energy levels have now improved but he has to be very careful not to over-exert himself as this can leave him very tired.

March
"Despite the setback in Sangharakshita’s health he continued to meet people nearly every day: in fact during this month there were only 3 days when he didn’t see visitors and even then he saw Samacitta to continue working on the Spoken Word book, Nagarjuna’s Precious Garland, mentioned in last month’s report.

"An important event in March was that Sangharakshita’s companion Nityabandhu returned to Krakow to start FWBO Dharma activities in Poland. There was a farewell dinner for Nityabandhu here at Madhyamaloka, which Sangharakshita attended and during it, expressed his appreciation. He specifically mentioned that one of the main things he had learned was that Nityabandhu, being Polish, saw things very differently! Nityabandhu’s leaving is a great personal loss to Sangharakshita, however, he is very glad that Nityabandhu will be devoting himself to spreading the Dharma in Poland.

"Sangharakshita also visited Vidyadevi, a long-time editor of his work, in her new home in Herefordshire. She has been working on a compendium of Sangharakshita’s teachings that is going to be published by Wisdom Publications under the title, The Essential Sangharakshita.

"At the end of March Sangharakshita stayed at Padmaloka Retreat Centre, from where he made two visits to the European Order Weekend at Wymondham College – a major gathering of the Order celebrating 40 years of the Western Buddhist Order. He attended some of the talks and had meals with “old friends”, Order members who were some of the first to be ordained by him. He thought the weekend a great success.

April
"In the second week of April Sangharakshita visited the Manchester Buddhist Centre and stayed at the Men’s community in Salford. He gave a 40 minute talk on Sangha night at the Manchester Buddhist Centre about the ‘Six Distinctive Emphases’ of the FWBO. He also gave a question-and-answer session for Manchester Order Members. He thought that the centre was very much alive with a lot of positive things happening. On the return to Birmingham he stopped at Hebden Bridge in the Pennines and visited a Mitra who is housebound due to illness".

Next up is a visit to Holland and the FWBO Centre in Amsterdam - but more about that in the next report.

Hridayavani - the Song or Voice of the Heart - calling all women...

FWBO News is happy to pass on an announcement and request from Helen, Siobhan, & Sue, three women who’ve requested ordination into the Western Buddhist Order and who together produce one of the FWBO’s lesser-known publications – Hridayavani, meaning the Song or Voice of the Heart. They’re looking to make it more widely known and also for new contributors. They say -

“Hridayavani is a monthly e-mail magazine for women who have requested ordination into the Western Buddhist Order. Members can report in, express views and generally get to know other women who are similarly seeking to deepen the effectiveness of their Going for Refuge. It helps them get a wider perspective of the movement and keep in touch with women who might never normally meet, except perhaps on retreat.

"If you want to get involved, its easy – just write something for us. It could be just a brief introduction about you and your local situation, or about how you got involved and what inspired you to ask for ordination. You could report-in on anything you’d like to share with. Then send your document preferably as an email with an attached Word document to hridayavani@hotmail.co.uk

"As soon as your first contribution has been received you’ll start to receive Hridayavani each month and become part of the e-sangha. Apart from contributors, the only people who receive the journal currently are Sangharakshita and the Retreat Team at Tiratanaloka. In order to do what we can to maintain confidentiality, we ask that members don’t circulate their copy. Finally, receipt of the journal is conditional on active participation; please aim to write in at least every 3 months. – you’ll continue to receive the journal for as long as you continue to write in. And if you’re writing for the first time, please let us know your postal address, email address + date you asked for ordination.

"We look forward to hearing from you and hope that you'll join us".

Wheels Turning in Sarnath

Each of the pilgrimage places associated with the life of the Buddha has its own atmosphere. Bodh Gaya, where the Buddha gained enlightenment, is a vibrant focus for practice and devotion for Buddhists from around the world; Vultures Peak, the site of many important discourses, remains a remote and beautiful spot; and Sarnath, where he first shared his teaching, has an atmosphere of quiet concentration. Several ancient stupas mark the spots where his former disciples first saw him approaching; where he gave his first discourse; and where he later taught others who had come from the nearby Hindu holy city of Varanasi.

Across the road from the main site and set back a little is land belonging to the FWBO/TBMSG. To date, only a small building has been erected on here, but it hasn’t been unused and plans are afoot to create an international study centre. There’s another, separately administered, plot of land in Bodh Gaya.

On February 3rd Vishvapani gave a talk on the land on ‘The Unity of Buddhism’, which was attended by around fifty people. Most were dalit followers of Dr Ambedkar, tens of thousand of whom became Buddhists in the 1960s. However, there has been little follow-up in the following years, despite the presence of many Buddhist teachers in Sarnath. Two years ago Dhammachari Shantighosha moved from Pune (in the TBMSG heartland, many miles to the south) to look after the land and work with local Buddhists. The people attending Vishvapani’s talk had gathered as a result of Shantighosha’s work, and over the next three days Vishvapani and Kamalagita led a retreat for ten local dhamma-mitras.

Vishvapani reports: ‘I was very impressed by their appreciation of Shantighosha and by their enthusiasm for he Dharma. Asit, one of the mitras on the retreat, collects scrap metal, and whenever he visits a locality he gathers people around and he tells them whatever he has just learned about Dr Ambedkar and Buddhism.’

The retreat came at the end of a pilgrimage in which Vishvapani, Kamalagita, Vidyadaka and Phil Daley were taken around the Buddhist holy places by Manidhamma and his wife, Samantha. Manidhamma has recently returned to India after six years study and training in the UK, and the pilgrimage benefited from his deep knowledge of the Buddha’s life and considerable experience of pilgrimages. He plans to lead many more in the coming years.

Manidhamma is working with Manidhamma is working with the Dhammaloka Trust, which intends to develop the Sarnath study centre. Their ambitious plans include a pilgrim’s guest house, a shrine room and an library and study centre that will host courses and retreats for people around the world. He also hopes to develop contacts between Sarnath’s cosmopolitan Buddhist community and the local Ambedkarite Buddhists.

The project has Sangharakshita’s blessing, but it will depend on donations from outside India. If you would like to learn more about the project or help support it, contact The Dhammaloka Trust.

Text by Vishvapani

New Indian websites from TBMSG

According to a recent estimate, FWBO and TBMSG centres and individuals worldwide are responsible for nearly 350 different websites. Amazing – but that total is only going to grow. Despite that, TBMSG, the Indian ‘wing’ of our movement, who run a multiplicity of Dhamma and social projects all across India, have been relatively invisible in cyber-space. That is changing with three recent launches of Indian-designed and operated TBMSG websites. All three are for projects currently being funded by the FWBO's Karuna Trust in the UK, but all are looking to develop their international presence and open up other funding relationships: these websites should play a significant role in that.

BH Amaravati, at www.bahujanhitaya.org is perhaps the smallest project of the three, but with (dare we say it) the smartest website. They are a dynamic team based in Amaravati, a town some 150km west of Nagpur in the central Maharastra. Besides their Dhamma activities, they operate a hostel enabling boys from poor rural families to access proper education; 'Sukhavati’, their Women and Children's Empowerment programme, a slum Education Development Project, and the Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Youth and Social Center.

The parent trust, BH Trust, based in Pune, has also launched its own website, www.bhtrust.org, where they describe the many social programs they are responsible for - hostels for children, a Child Development Centre, after-school classes and libraries, HIV/AIDS awareness programs, a de-addiction centre, community, sports & cultural activities, and more recently, work with Tribal people who are in many ways even more disenfranchised than the ‘Scheduled Castes’ who make up the bulk of India’s Buddhists. The site contains introductions to their work, an extensive photo library, and – most importantly – details on how to make donations directly to them via Paypal.

Lastly, the Aryatara Mahila Trust, a TBMSG women’s project, also based in Pune, have a new and very beautiful website at www.indiansisters.org. If the difficulties of reviving Buddhism in India are great, those faced by Indian women are even greater. As they say, “Because of poverty and very challenging past conditioning which reinforced feelings of inferiority, many women who have converted to Buddhism face personal and social difficulties - lack of confidence, low self-esteem, inability to take initiative. Through the Arya Tara Mahila Trust, we are building on 25 years of experience of humanitarian work to alleviate poverty in the social, medical, educational and economic fields for women and their families. Also, currently, nearly 50 women members of our orde, along with several hundred other actively involved women, are engaged in teaching and supporting meditation and Buddhist study in many parts of India”.

They’re asking for financial support; they say “To help us to support a child in a hostel for one month costs 800 Indian Rupees (US$18); a three-month course in basic computer skills for a woman or child from the slums costs 1400 Indian Rs (US$32); and the monthly payment of one health worker costs 5000 Indian Rs (US$112)”. Contact them on atmt@vsnl.net if you’d like to get involved.

You can find a map of all TBMSG groups in India (and there are many!) on the FWBO Photos website here

Wildmind on Purification

Wildmind has recently released their latest Newsletter, on the theme of Purification. Highly recommended – but so is the rest of the Wildmind site. Although they are basically in the business of teaching meditation on-line to all who wish to learn, their site has, over the years, grown to include contributins on many subjects from many people.

While researching this article, FWBO News’ eye was caught by their recently revamped guest column ‘Ask Auntie Suvanna’ – a unique, on-line, opportuniity to put your burning questions to a wise and kindly Buddhist auntie… In her own words, she says, “Ever despair at how to cultivate lovingkindness for Dick Cheney, or ponder the effect of anti-depressants on Buddha Nature? If so, check out Auntie Suvanna, who applies her unique wisdom and wit to your queries about life, meditation, Dharma, family and relationship issues, or anything else that comes up…” Just in case you’re wondering, she goes on to say “They don’t have to be Buddhist troubles - any kind will do!”.

They’re also pretty good at keeping up with meditation in the news.

If you are pretty new to Buddhism and want to learn basic Buddhist meditations as practiced in the FWBO, and if you’re not near a Buddhist Centre, Wildmind is the place for you. It’s all here – mindfulness, loving-kindness, posture, mantra, and walking meditations.

Getting even more interactive, their new Open Circle is a discussion forum, currently looking at Buddhism: Tools for Living Your Life, by Vajragupta. To quote Wildmind’s own introduction, “Open Circle is part on-line book club, part Buddhism course. It provides an opportunity to explore key Buddhist concepts and be guided through reflections and activities designed to integrate them into your life. The emphasis of Open Circle goes beyond understanding Buddhist principles, and we do much more than just discussing the concepts presented. Each week the facilitator suggests specific reflections and activities to make the material for the week relevant and applicable. There is ample opportunity to ask questions, receive guidance, and share your ideas and experiences”.

Enjoy!

Moving Sounds annual report

Being a world-wide community, the FWBO is full of diverse people and projects, all more – or less – closely affiliated with “The FWBO”, and, as a result, all more or less well-known among the wider FWBO sangha.

Moving Sounds is an example - they’re a small but innovative ‘Community Interest Company’ run by Keith, Ed, Caspar, and Jo, four mitras from the UK’s Buddhafield and Brighton sanghas. They specialise in music and drama workshops for schools, everything they do carrying a skilfully-delivered social message but also being a lot of fun - a certain Head of Geography is on record as saying "The only way the students could have enjoyed it more is if they had been stuffing their faces with chocolate at the same time!"

Their recently published annual report is full of gems such as the RECYCLED ORCHESTRA, which combines the experience of playing recycled percussion as a group with performance, video, discussion and group activities about waste and climate-change; the ECO SHOW, which presents broader ecological issues in a fun and entertaining way using theatre, clowning, plenty of music and different characters to explore topics including energy use, global foot printing, oil consumption, and alternative energy sources. They’ve just commissioned a local artist to make a pair of giant feet (for the USA, we wonder why!) and performed music and storytelling workshops about ‘How to Make the Best World Imaginable’ at the World Environment Day

Alongside that, they have a strong link to Africa – Ed and Caspar recently returning from an extended trip there with ‘THE GREAT EMBAIRE’ in their hand luggage. The Embaire is the biggest xylophone in the world, originating in Uganda and played by 10 people simultaneously for several hours – usually accompanied by plenty of dancing and celebration.

In Africa they made a promotional DVD for XPERA UGANDA - Africa’s first opera company. The idea is that this will enable XPERA to apply for funding to run community opera projects in Uganda, there will then be many possible links to Moving Sounds' own community opera projects in the UK through the UK's Knowledge Transfer funding programmes.

As part of their trip Ed and Caspar made many links with people and organisations in Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, Zanzibar, Malawi and Mozambique – all of which could potentially become projects that integrate creative workshops with cultural sharing, documentation and training trainers for capacity building. Moving Sounds plan to focus on funding for these projects in 2008. They're a great example of how Buddhist principles can make a real difference in the world without ever calling themselves 'Buddhist'. We wish them well…

Retreats of all shapes and sizes on offer in 2008

Following Friday’s post on the FWBO International Retreat, FWBO News is pleased to present a short roundup of some of the more unusual retreats on offer this year around the FWBO and TBMSG. If you want to highlight others, send us a comment on this post…!

First to catch our eye was Dhanakosa’s ‘Clowning and Insight’ retreat, led by Tejananda (chairman of Vajraloka meditation centre) and Jayacitta, founder of Red Noses Unlimited. The connection between clowning and insight, once explained, is surprisingly obvious. As the Red Noses website puts it:

“A Clown is a being that steps into the world afresh. He or she is open to new experiences, meeting things, people, events with wonder, curiosity and a sense of pleasure. Quite different from our pragmatic and often routine way of being, a clown is forever discovering the new. She enjoys being just herself however she is - so being shy, awkward, grumpy, afraid, bossy, falling in love or falling over - all those have a place and can be experienced, seen and celebrated…”

Dhanakosa, in Scotland, have in many ways led the way in developing ‘Buddhism and…’ themes – this year they are offering Photography & Meditation, Hillwalking & Meditation, and Dance and Meditation, plus the more predictable yoga and shiatsu...

Buddhafield, in the South-West of England, focus more on Buddhism and the natural world: their retreats include Tree-Planting, the much-loved and very child-friendly “Germinal Eco-Arts Dharma School” on their land in Devon, and a green retreat where retreatants will “cook with fire, harvest food from the land and eat and drink only local produce”. A taste of things to come? They have also developed retreats on the 'Work that Reconnects', using practices and exercises from the American Buddhist teacher Joanna Macy. A close connection is developing between Buddhafield and Guhyapati’s new Eco-Dharma mountain retreat centre in Spain, where, they say, towards the end of the year, “Immersed in the teachings of wild nature, we will explore interconnectedness…”

Rivendell, the Croydon Buddhist centre’s well-loved retreat centre, runs a wide range of arts and creativity retreats, including the ‘Magic Heart Crucible’ and ‘Wolf at the Door Creative Writing retreats’. And if hill-walking on a Scottish mountain is too much, they offer Rambling - with Taravajra and Dharmavasita!

In Spain, Amitavati, another small and privately-owned retreat centre run by Suratna and Vidyasri, is also focussing on the elements with their ‘Deep Peace of the Quiet Earth: Meditating with the Elements’ retreat at the end of May. Over in the US, at Aryaloka Retreat Centre there’s a retreat coming up that “explores major world issues and how we might engage with them in ways that are informed by Buddhist wisdom and practice”, and if you’re in Australia, check Vijayaloka for its intensive meditation or Qi Gong retreats.

All these retreats are open to newcomers; but there are many more intensive retreats on offer as well. In the UK Padmaloka and Tiratanaloka specialise in retreats for either men or women who have requested Ordination into the Western Buddhist Order. Both have resident communities who worked for many years with candidates for ordination, and many of the Order’s Public Preceptors live at either one or the other. Back in Spain, Guhyaloka and Akasavana host annual long Ordination retreats; these have just started for the men and will begin soon for the women. Once they are complete, more open retreats are generally on offer.

If this seems a bit bewildering, it’s not surprising – the FWBO is a large and diverse community. In the UK the Going on Retreat will hopefully help cut through the many options and help you find the one you want.

FWBO International Retreat update

The FWBO's first International Retreat is now just six weeks away, and to date we have 200 bookings from people in 9 countries. It looks set to be an inspiring and important date in the FWBO year. The dates are 22nd to 26th May, it will be held at Taraloka, the FWBO's beautiful retreat centre in Shropshire UK (a panorama of the grounds is shown in the photo).

The programme is shaping up: so far we have talks from Ratnaguna, Kamalasila, and Parami, meditation workshops with Vessantara, Tejananda, Kamalasila, Vidyamala and Sona, study groups with Padmavajra, Ratnadharini, Dhammarati, and Maitreyi, and ritual and storytelling with Ratnaprabha, Padmavajra, Dhiramati, and Parami. More to be announced in a few weeks time!

Centres are being asked to make special offerings for the puja on the Sunday evening. If you’re reading this and you go to an FWBO Centre – go ask them what they’re doing and if you can help! We’re assuming most offerings will be a physical object that someone has made, but if you want to do something different – like a musical or dramatic offering – do let us know, so we can incorporate it into the ritual.

The organisers have asked FWBO News to say they are looking for a few more team members to help run the event. You’d need to be available from around Sunday 18th to help with the set-up and you’d get a free place on the event. Interested? - contact Vajragupta, the event's main organiser. More details of volunteering are on FWBO Jobs.

You can book until the deadline of Thursday 15th May, but please note that there are now only camping spaces available, plus a few spaces in simple "canvas dormitories" (about 6 people sharing a big tent that we provide if you don't have your own tent).

Please book by using the brochure available at FWBO Centres, or by downloading the postal booking form (in five languages) on the website http://www.internationalretreat.org.uk. You can also book on-line, but we've been having some technical problems with this. It should be fixed by mid-April; in the meantime book by post if you can. The website contains full details of the retreat - transport, childcare, translation facilities, and much more...

And if you’ve not already done so, please think about arranging collective transport to the event, so that a group from your sangha can travel together. To make it easier for lifts offered and needed to find each other, we’ve created a special page on the Freewheelers international lift-sharing site.

See you there!

The Western Buddhist Order at 40, part VII: harmony, conflict, and thoughts of resignation in the Order.

In the last instalment of this week’s theme, looking at some of the key features and characteristics of the Western Buddhist Order, today looks at the more difficult issues of harmony, conflict, and thoughts of resignation in the Order.

The three charts display very clearly Order Members’ answers to three key questions for any spiritual community – “Do you feel you are in harmony in your chapter?”, “Do you consider yourself to be in conflict with any other Order Member?”, and “Have you ever considered resigning from the Order?”, the answers being separated out in each case by both gender and order age for ease of comparison.



It’s much easier, perhaps, to ask questions than to draw conclusions, but the degree of harmony in Order chapters seems striking – also that among those ordained over 10 or even 20 years, over half have never considered resignation. This despite the almost inevitable conflicts most reported experiencing at one time or another.







The data comes from a major survey of the WBO conducted last year, which asked many other questions – the practices Order Members do or don't do (and whether or not they found them satisfying), the state of their friendships and relationships, their ethical observances, their wealth and he