FWBO Home page now available in Russian

A new translation of the FWBO's main website, www.fwbo.org, has been launched, this time in Russian. The address is -

http://russian.fwbo.org/

As with the other versions of FWBO.org, the site carries information on basic Buddhism, meditation practices, and the FWBO's distinctive approach, as well as a short biography of Sangharakshita, founder of the FWBO.

Russian is of course not the only languaged into which the FWBO's website has been translated; below is a list of some others -

Chinese
Dutch
Finnish
French
German
Polish
Russian
Spanish

The FWBO's Wildmind meditation website is available in many of the above languages plus Portuguese.

See our contacts section for a fuller list and for details of the local centres in each country...

Boeddha Natuur experiment with ‘primitive’ camping retreats in Holland

Every year the FWBO Growth Fund is able to give money to a selection of new FWBO and TBMSG projects around the world. Last year the fund had UK £30,000 to give away - but applications totalling nearly £200,000! This year, so far, it has only £15,000 in the kitty- and is looking to make its work more widely known.


This is the time of year when reports are coming in from last year's projects - and, of course, applications for the coming year. FWBO News is pleased to be able to present a few of these; on a wet Spring day (in the UK, at least) it seems appropraite to start with the FWBO 'Boeddha Natuur' group in Holland, who are exploring creating 'Buddhafield-style' camping retreats. In their first couple of years they used 'proper' camp sites and facilites (which in Holland are very nice!), in 2007 they took the plunge and went "primitive"! Read on...

"Thank you very much for your gift in 2007 of 700 euros. It helped us to make the transition to ‘primitive’ camping and buying the gear for that. It helped us become a low budget camping retreat centre. We want to attract young people to come in contact with the dharma in the Netherlands and Belgium. We camp in cheap, primitive forest areas, without electricity and running water. We want to reach people who are not connected to a FWBO centre.

"In 2007 we had 2 retreats over a long and a short weekend. At our second one in September we had 18 people , there were 7 young people. Many people came from Belgium, because we advertised more in Belgium. In 2007 we started to camp primitive, so we could keep the costs low. It wasn’t always as wet as the photo shows! In comparison to 2005 and 2006 we have got more new people coming on our retreats. We have started to invite people to help with the building-up days for the retreat, to get more people involved in our retreats.

"Our aim for next year is to spent more time and money to advertise more in magazines and on universities in the big cities.

"Thanks again from the Boeddha Natuur team: Hanske, Dennis, Mireille, Chris, and Vajramayi"

Ordination in the Netherlands

On Saturday 27th October in the context of a retreat in Schoorl, in the Netherlands, Eric de Ruijter became UJUKARIN, 'He who makes (the mind) straight'.

His Private Preceptor was Dhammaketu, his Public Preceptor Surata.

Sadhu!

Possible new retreat centre in the Low Countries

Since 2004 METTA VIHARA, a Dutch FWBO charity started by Akasasuri and others in 2001, has been actively seeking a retreat centre for the FWBO (known locally as the VWBO) in Holland and Belgium. In 2005 the trustees decided to create 'a virtual' retreat centre as a way of demonstrating the projects’s viablility to the bank and potential dnors, and this has been an extraordinary success.

Akasasri says “last year and again this year we coordinated, planned and organised all the retreats in Holland and Belgium, running 20-22 retreats a year at 3 different locations spread over both countries. We (she and her friend the newly-ordained Manigarbha) are on all the retreats - we do the shopping, the bookings, the finances, the mail-out's, the PR, the setting-up of the retreats, the cooking, plus co-leading and leading some of the retreats etc. Everything is stored in our living room (mats, cushions, blankets, food, shrine material, etc); we bought a large van to transport everything from our house to the various retreats and back".

And nearly all retreats (but 3) in 2006 were fully booked with a waiting list – a remarkable and heroic achievement. There are 5 order members committed to living at the future retreat centre: Sarojini, Sobhanandi, Khemasiri, Akasasuri and Manigarbha; with nearly all the other Order Members in the Lowlands are involved in some way in attending, leading and co-leading the retreats.

And now they are on the verge of realising their dream – purchasing a property owned by a nature reserve organisation. It’s an old farmhouse, built in 1880, about 100 meters from a large estuary, with 5 acres of land, located halfway between the Amsterdam Buddhist Centre and the Ghent Buddhist Centre and easily accessible for the Buddhist Centres from Arnhem, The Hague and Antwerp. See photos of the building here.

Akasasuri says “Voices in our local sangha say 'this is THE place' and all are very keen for this to come off. WE ARE READY TO GO - JUST SOME MORE MONEY REQUIRED!

For their appeal they have created a website www.mettavihara.nl, have a proper brochure, became a member of the Buddhist Union and advertise in national papers, buddhist magazines and some new-age magazines.

Click here for a fuller introduction to the property and the appeal.

Mettaloka retreat centre appeal

A retreat centre for The Low Countries (Belgium and The Netherlands)

An old farmhouse, built in 1880, about 100 meters from a large estuary, with 5 acres of land, located halfway between the Amsterdam Buddhist Centre and the Ghent Buddhist Centre and easily accessible for the Buddhist Centres from Arnhem, The Hague and Antwerp.

Have a look at the pictures.

We need another ₤ 70.000,- will you help us?

Over the years Dutch Order members have, between them, lived and worked in the UK for 147 years helping to build up the FWBO and the WBO in the UK and beyond. Will you help us now that we would like to create better conditions for spreading the Dharma and building Sangha in the Low Countries? At the moment we hold 21 retreats a year even though our Sangha is still relatively small. We’ve been renting places for over 20 years.

The residential community will be Akasasuri, Khemasiri, Manigarbha, Sarojini and Sobhanandi.

Akasasuri writes -

Dear friends,

I'm writing to ask for your support for establishing a retreat centre in The Low Countries (Holland and Belgium).

A few months after my arrival back in Holland (2003) I've been involved in trying to establish a retreat centre here......from property search to fundraising. Currently Manigarbha and myself share a flat and we organise all our retreats, nearly every other weekend, from home. We go on all the retreats supporting/leading/co-leading some of them; doing the cooking and organising on nearly all of them.

This is THE place

Voices in our local sangha say 'this is THE place' and all are very keen for this to come off. We feel very well supported by the Sangha in Belgium and Holland and it has been a great delight to be on the receiving end of so much financial and emotional support, especially the faith and trust that people have put in Bhante's explanation of the Dharma and through that in us who are trying to get this off the ground.

The residentail community is keen to start and so is the Sangha here in The Low Countries.

WE ARE READY TO GO…JUST SOME MORE MONEY REQUIRED

Please send any contribution, however large or small, to:

Natwest account 65912225, branch sort-code 01-06-88, made out to Akasasuri, BIC: NWBK GB 2L, IBAN: GB55 NWBK 0106 8865 9122 25

Triodos account in Holland 212442511, made out to Metta Vihara, Bilthoven, BIC: TRIONL2U, IBAN: NL13 TRIO 0212442511

Heartfelt metta,

Akasasuri on behalf of Khemasiri, Sobhanandi, Sarojini and Manigarbha