Rave reviews for the Buddhafield Festival

Further to our notice about the lineup for the coming Buddhafield Festival, FWBO News has come across a review of last year's Festival, just published in the annual UK magazine Festival Eye. Festival Eye is the UK's festival bible, coming out once a year, carrying reviews of last years' festivals and the dates for the current years'. Last year's review of Buddhafield is wonderful - we print excerpts below...

"Buddhafield's is as close... so far... as you are likely to come to a perfect community of beings living and celebrating the way we all know we should be. We all know how and at Buddhafields we are reminded of that. No drugs and drink leave the air and the smiles as clear as crystal. Add countless children, the Chai Chapel, a lost horizon with a sauna in it, a tribal Tent called Triban, some mud, but also a lot of green grass (very rare in 2007 as I'm sure you are all aware), a community notice board, some pirates, some fairies, some horses, many meditations, many dances and dancers and many naked people including myself and I think you understand. I love it, totally."

And from another reviewer - "Buddhafields is such an invitation to play, dress up, dance until you sweat so much you want to take off your clothes, till the earth vibrates so much under your feet that you want to cover yourself with it... dance till sunset, dance till dawn.. in silence.. the whole site turns silent at night... you can hear the fairies breathe.. the earth children gather in tents, or go to their nests in dream land, warm up in Sam's sauna or around the fire of Lost Horizon.. tell stories, have funny competitions, better be a nudist, a pirate or an earth woman...

"At the top of a hill, some bells, some shrines and meditation tents.. that's where non stop, someone is in meditation. It is Buddhafields.. the fields where you're invited to be as playful as a laughing buddha, playing with appearances of this world..."

Click here to read the full reviews. Sadhu Buddhafield!

This year's festival runs from July 16-20th in Somerset, UK.

The photos are from the Ecstatic Dance tent at the Buddhafield festival.

Karuna Appeal in North London – a glimpse behind the scenes

Khemajala, from the Karuna Trust's fundraising team, writes to FWBO News to say - “Readers of FWBO News might like to know we have a team of volunteers in North London right now. They’re walking the streets and talking to the good people of North London. Jo, Naomi, Abhilasa and Paddy are halfway through their six weeks of door-knocking appeal; please bear them in mind as they do this vital fundraising.“If all goes well they’ll raise many thousands between them for our many projects in India – last year we raised a remarkable £87,968 annually. And since most donations are by standing order, the money just keeps on flowing long after the appeal is over! “If you want to keep up with their story Jo Robinson is blogging away on most days on the Karuna Appeals blog. It makes great reading... Here’s a taste. 14th June: Cultivating passion"Hi, I'm calling from a charity". "You best come in then, but I'm telling you now I'm not signing up for a standing order"."I feel the warmth of the hallway and the house immediately, and realise that it is a little cold out there walking the streets. It is a familiar warmth to me, the warmth of being invited into someone's home, I am immediately grateful. My eyes scan the room, letters opened on the table, a work pass that says BBC on the counter. "Ah, you work for the BBC" "Yes", "what do you do there?" "I'm the World Services' Africa correspondent". Ah, I think, how interesting, we are going to get on well. "So, what do you want from me?" "Well, I'll tell you it straight there's no point in mucking around...I want a standing order...". I grin...he grins, "or a donation" I add, realising that this man is relatively rich and might give Karuna a big fat cheque."He tells me he had a Dalit cleaner when he lived in India. Tells me that the cook of the house said that if the cleaner was ever allowed in the kitchen of the house, she would resign as his cook. He tells me he hates Hinduism because it fosters this sense of when you're born you're screwed, you just have to put up with your lot…” Read more here...

Buddhafield Festival 2008 - new site, new line-up - coming soon!

The FWBO’s largest event outside India is the annual Buddhafield Festival, now in its 13th year and going strong. From 350 in 1996 it’s grown to around 2,500 people – small enough to retain the intimacy that’s one of its hallmarks, yet large enough to contain an extraordinary diversity of, well, everything!!!

This year they’re moving to a beautiful new site just a few miles from the old one on the Devon-Somerset border. They’ve written to FWBO News to say –“The new site is secluded and peaceful, away from roads, with coppice woodland, and plenty of space. We’ve been hard at work preparing for this year’s Festival – and it’s coming up soon! We warmly invite you to join us – and please do tell your friends. It’s a great way for them to meet a bunch of Buddhists and get a taste of what we’re about”.

Here is a sneak preview of some of this year's programme (all included in the ticket price!!):

Kids Area: AMAZING and varied range of activities for kids - trampolines, dressing up, carnival processing, crafts, bushcraft and nature awareness, storytelling, toddlers' space, daily theatre extravaganza; Teens Space.

Bands: Gadjo Club (superb Gypsy Balkan Jazz); Seize the Day (protest folk stalwarts); Green Angels (upbeat Breton dance); Vogue Gyratory (Brighton faves, 7 piece funk-reggae); Manjinga 7; Toggy Mess (upbeat Irish folk); Manos Puestas (super-spicy flamenco jazz); a variety of fantastic DJs, including Matt Black of Coldcut (Thurs pm), followed by Cinema

Poetry and art: Inter-Ference; open mike poetry evening; Poetry Slam; 'The Big Q' play written specially for Buddhafield!; The Buddhafield 'Artery'; carnival costume-making from found natural materials; creativity and poetry-writing; Mr Be, mime, clown and family show; Stilted butterfly walkabout; Marionettas giant puppets.

.Dharma Parlour and meditation: talks and discussions on Buddhism, speakers from the Western Buddhist Order and other traditions, including Christopher Titmuss. Meditation teaching from FWBO teachers and others. Ceremonies and devotional practice. Network of Engaged Buddhists; Amida Trust, and others.

Workshops: MASSES of all-day yoga, Tai Chi and Chi Gung. Healing Area, great range of alternative therapies, pay by donation. Dozens of workshops to die for, including Ecstatic Dance with Jewls; 5 Rhythms with Jo Hardy; Brazilian Forro; Indian Classical Dance with yoga/visualisation; Shamanic Trance Dance with Zilia; many more dance workshops; 'Soulful Singing' with Mahasukha; 'Voice as Sacred Instrument'; Tibetan singing bowls; tin whistle, bodhran, drumming; daily Buddhafield Community Rhythm event; 'Work that Reconnects'; Transition Towns; big debate on Climate; Palestine Peace Campaign; Non-violent Communication; Skilful Flirting; Heart-to-Heart tantric workshops; Green babycare on a budget; Shamanic Journeying from Northern Drum….

Special Spaces: the 12 Step Dome; Women's Space; Land and Permaculture; Radical Midwives Space for pregnant women and new mothers; Queer Spirit Space; Crafts Area; Wildheart Medicine Wheel Space; Dzogchen and Big Mind teachings; bushcraft; tracking; fire making; sky-gazing meditation.

Saunas including Lost Horizon, featuring chillout space and cabaret; cafes including the Buddhafield Café with strolling musicians. And last but not least, wood-fired showers and compost toilets; all power on site from the sun and wind.

The 2008 Festival runs from Weds 16th to Sun 20th July. The site has good public transport links; nearest train and coach station is Taunton (direct trains from many towns); there are a couple of local buses each day from Taunton direct to the site. There's also special festival mini-buses going direct to the site and back from Bristol, Brighton and London. See the Buddhafield Festival website for details. Don't be put off by the rather severe website by the way - look at the pictures to get a sense of what it's really like!


But PS - don't forget to book soon! See you there! ;-)

The Buddhafield Team

Buddhafield Festival in the news

The Buddhafield Festival has for some years been the FWBO’s largest event outside India. It’s been held every year since 1996 and has gone from strength to strength, quietly building a loyal following almost entirely by word of mouth. This year they plan to move to a new site – the third since the Festival began – and increase the size slightly, to 3,000.

By happy coincidence they’ve also hit the UK’s Sunday papers in a way they never have before, with top reviews in the Times’ list of ’12 best boutique festivals’; the Guardian’s ‘20 festivals you’ll never have heard of’; and the finally the Independent (not online so far as we know).

As the Times eloquently puts it, “'Are you sure?’ you cry. ‘A festival without alcohol, or drugs, or even – whisper it – dogs?’ But yes, as its name might suggest, Buddhafield isn’t your normal bunch of loons, sorted for Es and whizz and standing in a field with 20,000 others.”

Or, as the Guardian says, "This couldn't be more different from your run-of-the-mill festival."

Each year Buddhafield aims to learn that little bit better how to create a genuine festival that occupies a respected place in the calendar of UK alternative festivals and which genuinely follows the Buddhist precepts. This year, on their Festival Volunteers Page, they say -

“Buddhafield 2008 is organised by practising Buddhists, attempting to exemplify the qualities of infinite Wisdom, Compassion and Positive Energy and to create an environment where others can experience a taste of these qualities. To help us we take on 5 training principles and as contributors to Buddhafield 2008 we ask you to join us in trying to make these training principles a way of life on the site.

"The 5 principles are -

"To Try Not to Take Life or Cause Harm
Cafes on the site are Vegetarian/Vegan. Buddhafield has a strong ecological thread.
"To Try Not to take the Not Given
We try to be aware of what we take from others in all its aspects, goods, time, energy...
"To Try Not to Indulge in Sexual Misconduct
We try not to use sexuality to exploit or coerce others.
"To Try Not to Lie
We try to be honest in our communication.
"To Try Not to Take Intoxicants
We have a policy of discouraging the consumption of intoxicants on the site. We need clear minds to put these principles into practice!

The Buddhafield Festival this year will be held near Taunton, from July 16-20th. Over 600 tickets are given away to the many crews and performers needed to run the Festival, if you’re interested in volunteering or contributing in any way please visit the Festival Volunteers Page of the Buddhafield website where you’ll find application forms and descriptions of what’s needed.

FWBO International Retreat over, feedback invited...

Over at Taraloka, site of the FWBO's International Retreat last week, the clear-up has just about finished and they are well into their next event, the UK Women's National Order Weekend. All 400 retreatants have gone their many ways - home to Belgium, Holland, Germany, France, Spain, all over the UK - and even further perhaps - there were people there from India, New York, Australia.

Sangharakshita came on Sunday morning, and spoke at length, choosing as his theme the Buddha's advice to his monks, the 'Conditions for the Stability of the Sangha' from the Mahaparanibbana Sutta, no.16 in the Digha Nikaya. Thanks to Videosangha, you can catch his talk here, look for 'The Growth and Prosperity of the Sangha' though it's also known as 'Growing the Spiritual Community'.

We'd like to invite any one who was there to add a comment to this post saying how it was for them - just click on 'have your say' below... In this way we'll build up a scrapbook of reflections and memories.

Meanwhile a slideshow of some images from the retreat is available on FWBO Photos, or just click on the photos below. They include quite a lot of Sangharakshita - many thanks to Dhammarati for these.




Click on 'have your say' to add your comment. Thanks...!

And by the way if youre reading this by email and don't have that option immediately available, just visit this post on FWBO News: fwbo-news.org/2008/06/fwbo-international-retreat-over.html

FWBO International Retreat in full swing; 400 attending

The FWBO’s first International Retreat is in full swing at Taraloka, with over 400 people attending, many camping in the bumpy fields surrounding the Retreat Centre. It is a rich and diverse Sangha gathering - those present are of many nationalities and countries, many ages (83 to just 6 months), and many levels of experience, not least of camping!

Lokabandhu reports from the retreat- “The theme is ‘Beating the Drum of the Dharma’, and we’re exploring it from many different angles – meditation, talks, story-telling (in the evenings, with the children present), ritual, and study – and, of course, in the many meetings happening between people every moment. In the mornings there have been talks – on the first day the theme was ‘Wisdom’, and Ratnaguna explored with us some of the Buddha’s very earliest teachings, the ‘pre-Buddhist Buddhism’ from chapters four and five of the Sutta Nipata. Yesterday’s theme was ‘Absorption’; Kamalashila led us through what may have happened in the Buddha’s mind immediately after his Enlightenment, as he sat beneath the trees around Bodh Gaya. Today the theme is ‘Compassion’; Sangharakshita is expected to arrive shortly, and will be giving a short talk and no doubt meeting people.

“It’s going very well indeed, it’s real meeting between people and a real coming-together of our Sangha. In the evenings we have chanting and puja; circumambulating a rather wonderful papeier-mache stupa as we go. For those who can receive it, there's a video clip of this on Youtube or embedded below”.



Meanwhile FWBO News has heard that the Buddha Festival in India also went very well, with some 500 attending. We will be publishing a full report once we have some photos of the event – expected shortly.

FWBO International Retreat setup under way at Taraloka

In two days time the first FWBO International Retreat begins at Taraloka, the FWBO’s women's retreat centre in Shropshire, UK. Setup is well under way, with over 50 people on site and new marquees, tents, and domes springing up by the hour. FWBO News went to have a look, and brings you this small videoclip that hopes to bring a little of the magic of the situation to you, wherever you may be... If it's not visible belo, it's also available on Youtube.

The setup is itself a mini-retreat, with walking and sitting meditations in the morning, short meditations before lunch and supper, and pujas and other ceremony in the evenings. And yesterday, two birthdays were added to the mix! This may sound a bit of a luxury given the amount of work to be done, but actually it’s crucial – it creates the atmosphere into which newcomers arrive. And Buddhafield has discovered that if this embodies a sense of Sangha, an event can grow and grow and grow to an almost unlimited size while preserving the same friendliness and sense of welcome as there was when only half a dozen people first showed up in an empty field in a couple of vans…

Over 400 people are expected from across Europe and beyond; there will be simultaneous translation into four languages for the main talks, a children’s area, a selection of accommodation (including bedrooms, dormitories, camping, and even the local village hall), and food provided by the Buddhafield café. Multiple meditation spaces include meditation outdoors in Taraloka’s grounds around their very beautiful Prajna-Paramita rupa. In a few days time, Taraloka and Buddhafield will play host to four hundred retreatants - for now though, there’s much to be done – from filling in the rabbit holes in the carpark to setting up the compost toilets to digging down to discover and tee off the deeply-buried water main. Who said it was simple leading the simple life…?!

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!”

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!

FWBO International Retreat - update; special offerings needed

The first FWBO International Retreat is coming up at the end of May. Vajragupta, the main organiser, sent FWBO News this update – and a couple of requests –

“The bookings are coming in steadily and it looks like it will be a big event. We’ve got groups coming from FWBO Centres in Germany, Belgium, Eire, Holland, France, Spain, and two people from New York, even we hope, some from India - so it’s looking sure to live up to its name as an “International FWBO Retreat”. Groups from Berlin and Essen are hiring a bus that will travel across Europe, picking up people from Amsterdam and Gent on the way, and meeting up with the Parisians on the ferry! They will then drive the last leg of their journey up to Taraloka. Bookings are coming in fast with only a few dormitory places left - book soon! - though still plenty of room for campers.

“On the retreat we’re going to be exploring some of the themes and stories of the Buddha in the period immediately after his Enlightenment. This will culminate on the last evening with a puja, on the theme of compassion / responding to the cries of the world / beating the drum of the Dharma, which will be lead by Parami.

“One element that we'd like to have in this puja is offerings from as many FWBO projects (Centres, businesses, communities, family groups, outreach groups etc. etc.) as possible. The offerings would symbolise how each offers the Dharma to the world in some way, in the puja they'd build up all together into a inspiring evocation of the work and vision of the FWBO. We're envisaging that perhaps most of the offerings will be "physical" offerings that can be placed on the shrine, but we are also open to other suggestions and ideas - e.g. musical offerings, dramatic offerings... let people's imaginations fly!! Please talk about this at your centre or community and promote and co-ordinate the making of offerings. If you could let me know if and how you’d like to participate this would also be appreciated.

“Lastly, just a reminder of the post on FWBO Jobs about volunteers for the event. If you know anyone who might be interested in being on the team for 10 days, and having a free place on the retreat, do encourage them to contact me.

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.

New article on FWBO News Features – Kamalashila on community

Following on from Akasati's article on Climate Change, “Community, Nature and Buddha Nature” is a new and thought-provoking article on the Features section of FWBO News. It's by Kamalashila, and looks at possible – and necessary - new patterns and paradigms for Buddhist communities in the light of insights gained during his 18-month-long solitary retreat at Tipi Valley in Wales.

It is also a call for people to come forwards and join him in establishing a new, large, ecological, practice-based Buddhist community in the West of England that would be large enough and spacious enough to include a wide diversity of practitioners – men and women, celibates and couples, children and elders, mechanics and musicians…

Kamalashila is currently on a four-month retreat at Guhyapati's mountain retreat centre in Spain, but is returning in March. You can contact him via FWBO News, who will be pleased to forward messages to him for his return.

FWBO International Retreat update

Here's a short update on arrangements for the upcoming FWBO International Retreat - May 22-26th, at Taraloka, in Shropshire, UK. Vajragupta, the main organiser, has sent FWBO News this report -

"The bookings for the FWBO International Retreat are now flowing in. We’ve just booked the local village hall in order to be able to provide more accomodation, and we’ve also heard that one group are going to arrive by barge, and moor it on the canalside near to Taraloka!

The programme is continuing to come together with talks, groups, workshops, and rituals led by Dhammarati, Kamalasila, Padmavajra, Parami, Maitreyi, Ratnadharini, Ratnaguna, Sona, Vessantara, and Vidyamala - with more to be announced nearer the time…

Children most welcome!
There will also be facilities for children and families, and special facilities for those travelling from beyond the UK.

The event is sure to be an inspiration for someone on his or her first retreat. Likewise, for those who’ve already been on many retreats, this will be a great opportunity to experience the magic of practising together in large numbers and to experience the greater FWBO Sangha.

Translations and non-UK Visitors
We’ll be able to provide some simple translation facilities for those who don’t speak English. During the big talks we will have headphones on which people will be able to listen to simultaneous translations in Dutch, German, Spanish, and possibly other European languages (depending on the numbers in each language group).

Some of the study groups and workshops will also be run in two languages e.g. English and German, or English and Spanish. So, although this means that non-English speakers will have less of a choice of groups and activities to attend, there will always be at least be one group in their language.

Rituals will mainly be in English, but we will be bearing non-English speakers in mind, and will sometimes have sections in other languages. Hearing the Dharma in many languages during rituals can actually be very inspiring!

Lastly, we can also offer first priority for dormitory accommodation to those who’ve travelled from abroad, provided they book before 22nd April. If you could book even earlier, this will help us with planning.

For more details of what’s on offer, please contact your local Centre or check the FWBO International Retreat website.

A Jewel appears in the Heart of Devon

For some years now a most beautiful and unexpected jewel has been emerging in the heart of Devon – a sanctuary to Prajnaparamita, the Buddhist ‘Goddess’ of Wisdom. Finding it isn’t easy – it isn’t marked on any map or signposted in any way – and Sagaravajra, its creator, doesn’t expect it to be finished anytime soon. Indeed, he describes it as his “lifetime’s work”. Should you stumble across it, however, in the woods overlooking the quaint village of Broadhembury, you would be entranced.

Outside the village, around on the other side of the valley and up the slope, the tarmac ends and the road becomes a track – which in turn becomes a bridleway pressed in on either side by trees. At the far end of this, where it finally peters out, you would find yourself ducking under a young and lovely beech and emerging in a secret glade, to look down at two ponds separated by a narrow pathway – which leads across and up to the shrine of the goddess herself. All around are strange and exotic plants, and looking beyond the shrine, deeper into the woods, you would begin to see the strange shapes of the guardians of the place – nagas, dragons, horned gods, even the beginnings of a labyrinth…

Sagaravajra has had the land for over seven years now, and Prajnaparamita has been there for nearly two. She – in her form at Broadhembury at least – is a larger-than-life sculpted figure, made by Sagaravajra many years ago in the basement of Rivendell Retreat Centre in Sussex. She then followed him to Guhyaloka, the FWBO’s mountain retreat centre in Spain, where Sagaravajra lived for several years in the Vihara, and then back to the UK and the Buddhafield Festival. From there they went together, at very short notice, to the ‘Living Arts Festival’ in Devon, whose centrepiece that year was a competition to design a shrine – with a prize of four acres of land donated by a local philanthropist. Buddhafield, who had been invited to provide plumbing for the festival, ended by winning the competition and the prize – but Sagaravajra and his sculpture so impressed the landowner that he was spontaneously given the two ponds and the surrounding land on which to create a sanctuary and home for the sculpture. The rest, as they say, is history - or at least, history in the making…

Sagaravajra has created a simple website explaining his vision and plans, and you can also go on a virtual ‘photo-journey’ on FWBO Photos - leading you from the road’s end up to the shrine itself– click here to begin. Buddhafield use their land, adjacent, for a number of retreats each year, and are slowly implementing on it a permaculture design they have created.

Buddhafield celebrates an ordination

On Wednesday a special Buddhafield women’s retreat culminated with the public ordination of Jackie Willson, who became Vishvadakini, meaning Universal Dakini.

Maitreyi conducted the ceremony, and Kalyanasri acted as Vishvadakini’s private preceptor. She gave a very beautiful explanation of the name, which we are happy to reproduce in full.

‘Vishva’ means “pervades, all, every, entire or universal”. And ‘dakini’ has many levels of meaning: it can mean messenger, protectress, inspirer. It can mean a helper, or ally - a sky traveller: the sky dancer, one who protects and serves the truth. Therefore a dakini is a spiritual friend to others, someone who stimulates others to practise the Dharma, who attracts/fascinates others to practise. Or even a trickster: one who pokes us when needed.

And I think Vishvadakini is a trusted spiritual companion who is sincere, open and has an aspiration to be free from all disguises: trustworthy. She is skilled in communication, inspiring one to practise - hence she’s a trusted spiritual friend in her friendships. A dakini too can be the embodiment of our upsurging energies from our depths. She represents our own passionate energies that we can integrate and use for the benefit of the Dharma and Sangha.

Vishvadakini embodied this passion in the early days of Buddhafield, doing her circus course, in looking after her little son Keir and now in her yoga training. But there is a teaching in this too: trying to transform her sometimes rather ‘driven’ energy into more centred energy whilst keeping it free and spontaneous, and to remind her to keep faith in her knowledge that the Dharma is big enough and deep enough to contain all of her in the present, open, moment, as well as to inform all her actions. To remind her that she needs nothing else.

To do that one needs wisdom. So the dakini can be the supreme embodiment of the highest wisdom: the Enlightenment principle: a Buddha in female form. So she can also be a shock therapist: one who shows us Reality, directly. The dakini symbolises freedom. Freedom from everything that binds her to samsara: she tramples on ignorance and conquers all unskilfullness, all ego-clinging.

I wanted to emphasise the Universal aspect of her name, the ‘vishva‘, as well as the dakini. Vishvadakini has had to call on all her resources to face very difficult circumstances in the last few years: finding out she had a long-term illness just after she’d completed her circus training and started getting her trapeze act together; finding out there were very likely difficulties when she was pregnant; and then, of course, calling on all her dakini energies to wholeheartedly and lovingly care for little Keir since his birth nearly 3 years ago - and his story is still unfolding. And more difficult news has come recently. So there have been many times Vishvadakini has had to dig deep to take in more truths, more reality into her life.

Even though her life is totally dedicated to Keir’s care, her motivation is more global. She is a wise lady: who always seems to be able to come back to a wider perspective (as a sky dancer can) even though often totally exhausted and depleted in energy through lack of sleep and hardly any space to herself. And that is quite something. She is an inspiring woman, with a big heart. She does respond to ‘all’. She is a good and loyal friend, she cares deeply for the environment and all life; she is very ethical, she has an innate intelligence and wisdom. So Jackie becomes Vishvadakini: Universal Dakini (spelt with a dot under the ‘d’, long ‘a’s and last ‘i’).

Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!


The Buddhafield 2008 retreats programme is now available.

Buddhafield expands into cyberspace...

Rupadarshin of Buddhafield has contacted FWBO News to inform us -

“Buddhafield has a new way into cyberspace - there is now a Myspace contact point for 'fans' of Buddhafield and of our particular take on spreading the Dharma. The Myspace format allows for fast updates about us to be sent out to our friends, and it also gives a flavour of Buddhafield to the Myspace network, through photos and slideshows, mantras, comments, and more. Just go to http://www.myspace.com/buddhafieldfwbo and have a look...

The more friends Buddhafield has on Myspace, the better - for both Buddhafield and the FWBO generally, so please get into MySpace, become our 'friend', and boost our profile. As my skills in this strange world improve I hope to add further links and features as seems appropriate. Any advice is more than welcome.

For those who prefer Facebook for online networking, Buddhafield events will be announced here too as the dates come clear. In fact there is already a Facebook ‘Event’ for the Buddhafield Festival 2008.

FWBO International Retreat 2008 - bookings opening soon

The publicity and booking information for the FWBO International Retreat is being launched in the next few weeks. The retreat is a new venture, organised by the European FWBO Chairs Assembly, and is taking place from 22nd to 26th May next year. The format will be a long weekend retreat, and it will be held at Taraloka in the UK, with some of the FWBO's best and most experienced teachers.

So far, the list of confirmed teachers includes Dayanandi, Dhammarati, Kamalasila, Kulaprabha, Padmavajra, Parami, Maitreyi, Ratnadharini, Ratnaguna, Tejananda, Vessantara, and Vidyamala, plus members of Buddhafield leading ritual and storytelling, and members of Buddhafield North running activities for children.

The weekend takes place just a few days after Wesak, the full moon day of May, on which Buddhists all over the world celebrate the Buddha's attainment of Enlightenment. On the retreat we'll be hearing about what it was the Buddha had discovered, how he then spent many days reflecting and meditating on its significance, before finally deciding to share his experience and “beat the drum of the Dharma”.

We are envisaging an unfolding theme over the weekend - looking at the stories and incidents from the tradition, but also their meaning, relevance, and "equivalents" in our own lives. There will be a day looking at the Buddha's Enlightenment and the topic of insight and understanding, a day exploring absorption, depth, assimilation... and a day looking at going back into the world with the message of the Dharma...

On 12th October the English language version of new website www.internationalretreat.fwbo.org went live, with full information about the event. There will soon be facilities to book on-line, or download a postal booking form. Also coming are versions of the website in various other European languages. Brochures about the event (also with booking forms) will be available at UK Centres in the next couple of weeks.

Is Jesus the answer?

Is Jesus the answer to Cambridge FWBO’s Buddhist Footballing success?

This was the question posed by Jayaraja after the FWBO’s little-known but much-loved annual football knockout competition. He told FWBO News -

“For the third year running, the Cambridge FWBO football team (led by none other than Jayaraja!) returned from London tired, hungry but satisfied with the success of retaining the FWBO’s 6-a-side football trophy. That ache deep in the muscles, the knocks and grazes, the weariness, is - I am sure - much easier for the victors.

"I don’t think we have the strongest team in terms of footballing know-how. For example the LBC had two players in the running for Player of the Tournament, and depth throughout their team including a very strong goalie. In contrast our goalie Mike had only played keeper before when wearing ice hockey skates – but what he lacked in knowledge he made up for in enthusiasm, application and focus. Other members of our team were equally new to football - Peter ‘s background is gymnastics and volleyball, Arthasiddhi’s rugby. To a trained eye it is only Pat, Mario and myself who look as if we have spent endless childhood hours scoring the winning goal in a world cup final in some distant dream.

"I think our success has been down to a willingness to learn, and plenty of practice and fun down at Jesus Green, a beautiful bit of Cambridge green space by the river where you’ll regularly find our guys playing amongst themselves or with the many keen footballers in the city. We know what we can do as individuals and as a team, and we like to play with each other. And friendship, affection and trust have built up over time.

"One of the hardest games we had was against ‘Live United’ a team made up of players from different FWBO centres including three of our own Cambridge lads who were perhaps extra-determined to show that maybe I had made an error of judgement in leaving them out of the first team. I felt and thought a lot on the journey back. A touch of shame at losing my composure in a couple of games. Pleased I didn’t lose it in others. Feeling delighted at a couple of my goals, chuffed with my guys, pleased with a couple of planned moves that came off and the turnaround after trailing to a strong Irish team at half-time – thanks to us keeping our cool and playing as a team.

"Yes, I thought - Jesus was the answer to our success. Long may the tournament continue. I would love it if someone else wins it next year, but we certainly aren’t going to give it away.

"To all who took part: the spirited and resolute guys from Ireland, the strong and determined men of Bristol, the free and talented men of Buddhafield, the energetic and passionate men of Live United, and the organised, fair and experienced
men of the LBC, a big thank you.
.
Metta Jayaraja

FWBO News back in action…

There’s been very little activity on FWBO News these past few weeks. That’s not been through lack of news to publish – in fact we have a queue of nearly 40 items! - but a changeover of editors plus personnel absences during the summer retreat season. But now we’re back and eager to get going again. Expect to see reports soon on –

The Jai Bhim Community in Hungary
The Mitraloka School of Languages in Nagpur, India
Ethical Investment opportunities in Valencia, Spain
The recent Preceptors College meeting in Wales
News from Order Members active in the world of Non-Violent Communication (NVC)
The Golden Rainbow Appeal
Poetry and Art in New Hampshire
An Ordination in Berlin
Progress towards an FWBO Centre in Beijing
Glasgow Buddhists ‘Sitting in Peace’ at the Faslane nuclear submarine base, others at the DSEI arms fair in London
The Western Buddhist Order Convention – celebrating ‘What is Alive in the Order’
The recent Team-Based Right Livelihood weekend in Birmingham
Indian Mitra presents paper at United Nations conference
The 9th Buddhafield ‘Child-Friendly’ retreat on their new land in Dartmoor, UK (from which comes the pink heart above!)
An update on the 2008 Dr. Ambedkar Conference planned in San Francisco
New websites at FWBO Discussion and FWBO Developments

There’s plenty more but hopefully that’s enough to whet your appetites…

In addition we hope to be bringing you more in the way of in-depth features (click the Features tab above) and an FWBO-wide Jobs advertising service for those interested in working or volunteering for the FWBO in one way or another.

Suggestions and contributions for news items are always welcome – please email us at

email:
news@fwbo-news.org

12th Buddhafield Festival gets underway

Today sees the start of the 12th Buddhafield Festival – the FWBO’s largest event outside India, and a much-loved part of many people’s lives. It was sold out over a month ago, with the 500 places for helpers (stewards, site crew, café, healers, and many more) full well before that.

The theme this year is “A LIVING MANDALA - the magic of community”, reflecting Buddhafield’s growing interests in both creating a large rural practice community and Deep Ecology.

Over the past years the Festival has become more and more of a meeting-place for Buddhists of many traditions, and this year it is hoped there will be people (and in many cases teachers) from the Amida Trust, the Network of Engaged Buddhists, the Network of Buddhist Organisations, Sokkai Gakkai, Gaia House, the Tigers Nest Dzogchen community, Vipassana, and others such as the ‘Meditation at Work’ project. This is in addition to many meditation and Dharma teachers from the Western Buddhist Order. In particular the FWBO's founder Sangharakshita is expected to attend for the first time and to give a talk, despite his advanced years.

Too much happens over the five days it’s on to ever list here, see some past Festival Eye reviews and check out the pictures from last year here or the dharma teaching to get some idea.

And book early for next year!

‘pilgrimage’ for Buddhafield

At the end of July Eric Friar from Bristol will be undertaking a ‘pilgrimage’ to raise money for the Buddhafield land appeal. He intends to walk along the St Michael ley line between Cwm Les Boel (near Lands End in Cornwall, UK) and the ancient stone circle of Avebury.

He is hoping for sponsorship and invites supporters to contact him on erichafriar [at] yahoo.co.uk

He says, “I will walk about 185 miles, on top of which I will do some legs by public transport, to arrive at Avebury in time for Lughnasad. I'm thinking of posting the route and inviting people to join me for as long or as short as they like. I will be travelling light and sleeping out, so people will need to bring their own food and
shelter”.

The Buddha and his followers walked everywhere, and were known as ‘yatrikas’, meaning simply ’walkers’. For several years Buddhafield led annual walks, known as Yatras, along the Ridgeway to Stonehenge for the Summer Solstice celebrations. It’s therefore a pleasure to see this tradition being maintained.