Report from "The Buddhist Contribution to building a Just, Democratic and Civil Society"

Gunaketu, chairman of the FWBO’s small centre in Oslo , Norway, has for long been active in the field of environmentally and socially engaged Buddhism. He is recently returned from Hanoi in Vietnam, where he participated in a United Nations’ sponsored conference called “The Buddhist Contribution to building a Just, Democratic and Civil Society: War, Conflict and Healing-A Buddhist perspective”

He reports -

"I was lucky to be invited to Vietnam to partake in a State sponsored Buddhist Conference. Some years ago UN recognised Vesak as an international holiday. Thailand promptly arranged a large conference to celebrate, and have done so the past few years.

"Last year Vietnam decided to host the conference in 2008. This was quite an historic event because the authorities in Vietnam have been restrictive with the practice of dharma. At the opening ceremony, the Chairman of the International Organizing Committee welcomed the previous Prime Minister and Foreign Minister who were instrumental in keeping him in house arrest for many years. Things change. Now, the Government are rebuilding Monasteries on a large scale. And at the same time, the Government took over the control with the organizing of the conference, last minute.

"An example of this was related to David Blundell who was not allowed to show a 28-minute preview of a documentary about Dr. Ambedkar that he was invited for, because some party official had to see it first to approve it.

"On the other hand Thich Nhat Hanh was welcomed back to Vietnam a few years ago, and he was invited as one of the keynote speakers. He had led a five-day retreat in Hanoi just before the conference, and when it was his turn to give his speech, his followers walked onto the stage, single file, slowly. First there were the brown clad nuns and monks. Then came the light blue lay people. The procession went on for many minutes and nearly 400 people filled the stage. Thich Nhath Hanh had come back en force. They chanted and Thich Nhath Hanh delivered an inspiring talk about listening and personal practice. It wasn't challenging to the Government. The other keynote speakers were Matthew Ricard, the author of the book “The philosopher and the monk”, and Phra Dharmakosajarn, the Principal at the Main Buddhist University in Bangkok, Thailand.

"As I stood with our small Norwegian contingent of four, in the main hall, with thousands of people milling around, I suddenly saw another recognisable kesa. There was Amoghamati from our Sangha in Germany! I was very surprised and delighted. Someone had told her that I might be there. This was in fact one of the highlights of the conference: To be among Buddhists from so many traditions, to meet someone from my own Order (we had not met before), to feel a strong connection and shared point of view, and from there to explore the conference together. Salutation to the good companion!

The main theme of the conference was: Buddhist Contribution to building a Just, Democratic and Civil Society. The sub themes were:

1. War, Conflict and Healing: A Buddhist Perspective
2. Buddhist Contribution to Social Justice
3. Engaged Buddhism and Development
4. Care for Our Environment: Buddhist Response to Climate Change
5. Family Problems and the Buddhist Response
6. Symposium on Buddhist Education: Continuity and Progress
7. Symposium on Buddhism in the Digital Age

"Amoghamati delivered a clear and inspiring presentation of Karuna in Germany under 3) Engaged Buddhism and Development. It was good to see the work they are doing in this context. I was invited to speak under 1) War, Conflict and Healing, with the title: Healing Conflict with Awareness.

"Due to the size of the conference with over 4000 participants, it was quite chaotic. There were for instance twice as many people invited to speak in sub theme 1) than there was time for. Many of us were therefore given just a few minutes at the end. Rather than contend with this, I offered to give my presentation in a slightly altered form under 3), as Amoghamati had told me that they did not have that many speakers, which I did. Unfortunately, this meant that I couldn’t carry out a participatory exercise I had prepared, but c’est la vie.

"In the plenary session the following day, the moderators from the various groups summed up their activities. The moderator from group 4) presented six points to care for the Environment. I asked if he would consider a seventh recommendation for a vegetarian diet, which he partly acknowledged and yet did not fully agree with. Ajahn Brahmavamso gave the concluding speech where he too emphasized listening and finished by saying that he was careful with the earth’s resources by not having children (including a wry smile).

"Then the conference was brought to a close with various congratulatory speeches and a modern classical concert composed for the occasion, which included in the middle of it some 50 monks coming on stage to chant. The other days of the conference were also concluded with cultural performances of modern dance and a traditional Vietnamese “Reform Play” about the life of the Buddha.

"Yours in the Dharma,
Gunaketu

British Buddhism - now available in paperback!

'British Buddhism: Teachings, Practice and Development' is a key source for anyone interested in understanding more deeply the landscape of British Buddhism. It’s been in print for some years now, but only in hardback and at the somewhat unaffordable price of UK £65. However the paperback edition has just been released, and given that it refers extensively to the FWBO, it may be of interest to readers of FWBO News. A review was posted some time ago on the Reviews section of the FWBO News website.

The author, Robert Bluck, has written to FWBO News to say “the book describes and analyses a representative sample of the full range of traditions for the first time. It allows similarities and differences to be traced by tradition or by theme, and examines how Buddhism changes when moving to a new country. Written with the British Buddhist community specifically in mind, I hope it will encourage Buddhists in Britain to discover more about their spiritual friends in other traditions, and so promote the generosity, compassion and wisdom of the Buddha and his followers. I hope you find British Buddhism interesting, and I would welcome any feedback from readers.

“With all best wishes in the Dharma,

“Robert Bluck
“Associate Lecturer in World Religions, Open University”

For further information please see your local bookshop or visit www.routledge.com

Brighton Buddhist Centre's 'Tibet week'

The FWBO’s Brighton Buddhist Centre is playing a major role in Brighton’s forthcoming Tibet 2008 Initiative, which will run throughout August starting next Saturday 2nd.

Pete Fountain, the inspiration behind the Tibet 2008 Initiative said, ”I hope that these events will encourage people to offer whatever help they can to other human beings. They can do this in the full knowledge that they are directly making a beneficial difference to another person's life; potentially to the extent of actually saving it.”

The programme aims to promote an understanding of the issues facing Tibetans, both in exile and in their homeland. It will also offer practical ways in which people can provide support for the Tibetan nationals.

First comes an evening where Tibetan refugees will share their experiences of life in Tibet through song and the spoken word – among those present will be Dorjee, a Tibetan refugee living in Brighton, who will be talking about his reasons for leaving his homeland, his 34-day journey walking over the snow covered Himalayas to India, and his life as a refugee living in Brighton. The Gangjong Doeghar performance group, many of whose performers come from the Karuna-funded Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Cultural Institute ITBCI, will also be performing.

Later in August there will be three Walking Vigils along the Brighton Seafront in Support of the Tibetan People – an opportunity to show solidarity with the Tibetan people's desire for greater freedom, to assemble together on behalf of those who cannot.”

Of special interest to those in the FWBO might be the last event, an evening showcasing “One Lama’s Mission to Preserve Tibetan Culture” – the lama in question of course being Sangharakshita’s friend and teacher Dhardo Rimpoche.

Many other events are also planned – more details on the web at http://www.brightonbuddhistcentre.co.uk/tibet.html

Buddhafield Festival ends in beauty

The 13th Buddhafield Festival ended yesterday, with over 2,500 people heading home after a rich weekend on Buddhafield’s beautiful new site in the Blackdown Hills, Somerset. It was Buddhafield’s largest-ever festival and something of a risk given the new site and the increasingly uncertain weather of the British summer.

The Festival was dedicated the theme of the Six Elements – Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Space, and Consciousness, with rituals each day dedicated to one of the Elements. For Water, for instance, those participating gathered by the side of the lake for the recitation of verses of meditation. On the last night, for the closing ceremony and to celebrate the element of Space, many papier-mache hot air balloons were lit which flew up into the air and away – a beautiful sight.

Some photos can be seen in the attached slideshow or on FWBO Photos, FWBO News would welcome links to other online photos from the Festival – just let us know by posting a comment on this post. The slideshow takes you on a journey through the Festival, from arrival, to meeting the stewards, to the opening ceremony, the many shrines, a whistle-stop tour of a small selection of the hundreds of gems scattered through the site - and last but by no means least, a study of the remarkable paper stupa in the centre of the site.

The British Buddhist Landscape Conference - a brief report

Last weekend saw the first British Buddhist Landscape Conference, with some 70 people from across the full spectrum of British Buddhism gathering at Taplow Court, HQ of Sokkai Gakkai UK.

Lokabandhu reports –

“I've never been a ‘conference junkie’, and for me it was a rather new and stimulating experience to spend a weekend at a stately home in the company of intellectuals and leading Buddhist practitioners. One couldn’t help feeling just a little aristocratic! The programme was packed, and yet living together just for those two days lent a real intimacy to the event, for me at least it meant that we got to know one another far better than over a year of committee meetings – the only context in which I'd met most of the others previously.

"It was also fascinating to be able to glimpse other sanghas – I was especially impressed with the culture of dana and service at Taplow, which is run almost entirely by volunteers who are arranged in small teams of specialists or other shared interests. On the Saturday night, for instance, we had a lavish buffet supper cooked for us by their ‘chef’s group’. It was also fascinating to glimpse how others are engaged in translating the Dharma for the modern world – one example was the FPMT’s ’Essential Education’ and ‘16 Guidelines’ programs.

"The FWBO was generously represented, with Sangharakshita offering ‘reminiscences and reflections’ on the Friday night; among many other points he encouraged the different Buddhist traditions in the West today to face squarely the issues raised for them by (a) the insights into Buddhist history afforded by the higher criticism of the West and (b) the fact that the Buddhist scriptures are full of ‘supernatural’ beings. Besides him Vijayatara (aka Dr. Sharon Smith) spoke on People of Colour in Western Buddhism, using as case studies the FWBO and SGI (UK); also Munisha on Buddhism and Young People. Amitajyoti had organised an impressive contribution to the art exhibition, with work by Aloka, Chintamani, and Padmayogini (whose Shakyamuni is shown opposite) among others.

"More generally, there were sessions on the early history of Buddhism in the UK, with useful statistical insights – did you know, for instance, that 150,000 people declared themselves Buddhist in the last UK census? Of whom 90,000 were of Asian descent, leaving some 60,000 new converts. Or that there are now over 1,000 registered Buddhist groups in the UK? Up, it should be added, from just 30 in 1968! The diverse ethnicity of Buddhism in the UK was drawn out in four short talks from Japanese, India, Nepalese, and Thai speakers.

"Later sessions focussed on the engagement of Buddhism in many areas of modern British life – education, interfaith dialogue, hospital chaplaincy, and ‘engaged Buddhism’ in general, where a useful three-way division was offered: engaged Buddhism as 'radical activism', creating the future 'New Society' through Right Livelihood, and engagement in caring and service. The conference ended with a stimulating survey of Buddhism and Western thought by John Peacock, for many years director of studies at Sharpham College.

"Most of the sessions were recorded, in several cases by ClearVision, and it is hoped that before too long they will be made more widely available – keep your eyes on the FWBO’s Videosangha or the Network of Buddhist Organisations’ website.

"Many thanks to the NBO and SGI (UK) for an excellent weekend!"

'Sangha without boundaries' in Scotland

Kevin McConnell from the Edinburgh Buddhist sangha has sent FWBO News this report of their inter-Buddhist activities - which have been quietly growing for the past four years...

“As the days get longer and the Scottish winter slides its way into spring, green shoots force their way through the warming earth, early lambs frisk in the strengthening sunshine - and the Buddhists of Edinburgh can be seen heading south to Wiston Lodge near Biggar (shown in photo). Why, we ask? - for their annual Inter-Sangha Weekend Retreats, is the reply.

“Inter-Buddhist events, where several of the local Buddhist groups come together on celebratory occasions such as Wesak, have long been a feature in Edinburgh. Usually, one group takes the lead with other members offering contributions from their own traditions.

“At first they were evening events rounded off by a shared meal. The popularity of these inspired the idea of an annual weekend retreat where groups could share and explore their various traditions’ differing perspectives on the Dharma. The initial idea, and the organisation of the inaugural gathering, was down to Kalyanavaca, chairwoman of the FWBO’s Edinburgh Buddhist centre. However they’ve been such a success (this year being the fourth year in succession) that now the role of organisation is taken up by a different group each year.

“This year the overall theme was impermanence, and each group led those present in a practice from their own tradition based on that theme. This produces an eclectic mix where, if you attend all the sessions, you could be experiencing body scan techniques, zazen, NVC workshops, Pali chants and Tibetan puja. In between the set events there is of course the opportunity to sit and drink tea or walk in the woods and compare notes on your experience of the Dharma. This celebrating the 'unity of variation' of the Dharma is what most appeals to the participants.

“Over the four years the retreats have been held, groups from the Community of Buddhist Contemplatives (Soto Zen), the Community of Interbeing, the Forest Sangha (Theravadin), FWBO, Samye Dzong (Kagyu) and Soka Gakkai have attended - but the invitation is open to any Buddhist groups in the Edinburgh area. Enthusiasm last year spilled over to a weekend visit to Samye Ling (the Kagyu centre and monastery in the Scottish Borders), and a tentative suggestion for future visits to other home centres has been made.

“Outside of these events the group collaborates on a newsletter ‘Sangha Without Boundaries’ and of course our website. We rejoice in our good fortune in having access to the Dharma in its many manifestations and in our commitment to put the Dharma into practise.

“As the verse in the three-fold puja so succinctly says,

We reverence the Sangha, and aspire to follow it:
The fellowship of those who tread the Way.
As, one by one, we make our own commitment,
An ever-widening circle, the Sangha grows.

Major exhibition of Western Buddhist art - June 27-29th

Coming up soon is the British Buddhist Landscape conference, already mentioned in FWBO News but now with more details confirmed – including a major exhibition of Western Buddhist artists.

Amitajyoti, who is organising the FWBO’s submissions, reports “We have a really good range of some excellent work to show - do let people know. The artists involved are really 'giving it something'/'doing the business' so to speak! We’ll have work by Aloka, Akasaka, Chintamani, Padmayogini and me.”

Aloka and Chintamani have both been practicing as Buddhist artists for over 30 years, Chintamani is chair of FWBO Arts and probably best-known for his rupas which take centre-stage in both the London Buddhist Centre’s shrine rooms. Aloka’s large-scale paintings of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas grace many FWBO centre shrines – Brighton, Bristol, Nottingham, Norwich, Padmaloka, as well as dozens of personal shrines...

A rich line-up of speakers includes Sangharakshita, Stephen Batchelor, Dr John Peacock, Dr Helen Waterhouse, Ajahn Laow, Rev. Prof. Sato, Peggy Morgan, Colin Ash, Ven Sumana, Tony Kemmer, Phil Henry, Keith Munnings, Sharon Smith (aka Vijayatara), Yann Lovelock, and Munisha. It’s a unique opportunity to see and interact first-hand with major figures across the extraordinary diversity of British Buddhism.

Full details of the conference are available from the conference organisers, the UK's Network of Buddhist Organisations, this gives details of booking and each days programme; it’s possible though of course not ideal to attend only some of the events.

The dates are Friday-Sunday, June 27-29th.

The event is being generously hosted by the ‘Institute of Oriental Philosophy’, a branch of SGI-UK , at their headquarters, the very beautiful stately home of Taplow Court, set in 85 acres of grounds and overlooking the River Thames, between Slough and Maidenhead.

Transport is easy via regular trains from Paddington or Reading. Book soon as places are limited!

Nottingham Buddhist Centre hosts Dalai Lama students

The Dalai Lama has just finished five days of intensive teaching in Nottingham, UK, with up to 6,000 people attending his teachings and talks.

Although not directly involved in the event, the FWBO’s Nottingham Buddhist Centre has been playing a part, offering accommodation and food to around 30 of the participants. The centre was opened to all wishing to use it, with sleeping spaces for women on the ground floor, men in the shrine room, and three Tibetan ladies on the top floors with the community. Interestingly, only one of those present knew members of the community in advance – it was a real ‘instant community’ open to all who needed it.

Jinaraja, the centre’s chairman, said “as well as different nationalities we also had different types of Buddhist all living in harmony. Much intermingling and friendship, trust generosity and kindness abounding - and someone left us a beautiful brocade on the shrine room as a gift. So much dana given as well, though we asked for no money – we’re planning to use some of what we were given to purchase a set of DVDs of the Dalai Lama’s talks.

“It was a little stressful for the community, being responsible for security among other things, but our guests became very sensitive and considerate of us, we all ate breakfast in our kitchen together and all used the bathrooms and showers. Nothing broken! And a mild smell of socks the only unpleasant after-effect! Actually, it was like being on retreat together – we were only five minutes from the Nottingham Arena where the teachings were talking place, so people were able to come and go as they needed to.

“Several of us were able to meet the Dalai Lama personally, some at an inter-faith event and others at a reception with civic dignitaries. I was pleased to be able to remind him of the Western Buddhist Order and the work we are doing in the West – of course he has seen a lot more of us in India at some of our TBMSG centres”.

Nottingham is having a bumper year for visiting Buddhists this year, with Thich Nhat Hanh due to visit in August.

Gunaketu, chairman of the FWBO’s small centre in Oslo , Norway, has for long been active in the field of environmentally and socially engaged Buddhism. He is soon off to Hanoi in Vietnam to participate in a United Nations’ sponsored conference called “The Buddhist Contribution to building a Just, Democratic and Civil Society: War, Conflict and Healing-A Buddhist perspective” .

It is to take place in Hanoi starting May 13th and FWBO News hopes to present a review of it in due course.

Meanwhile Rijumati continues his “round-the-world-more-or-less-without-flying” travels – and has had a variety of adventures both in the world of TBMSG and on the Buddhist pilgrimage circuit of India. The second collection of excerpts from his letters home has been posted on FWBO News’ Features.

"Breaking the Mould": Buddhism Comes West & Gets Engaged

Coming up is a conference that will be of interest to all who wish to explore and practive Engaged Buddhism. The event is organised by the Amida Trust, a Western Pure Land Buddhist order who have put engaged Buddhism right at the centre of their practice. The FWBO's Parami will be one of the main speakers, along with a wide variety of others.

Known as the 5th Living Buddhism Conference, it is subtitled 'Breaking the Mould: Buddhism Comes West And Gets Engaged'.

The detailed programme is:

26-27 April: Pre-Conference Gathering: Practice, Discussions, Gatherings
28-30 April: Pre-Conference Events: Monday Outing; Tuesday and Wednesday Mini-conferences "Buddhism and Arts", "Amida Around the World", "Buddhism in a Multi-Faith World", "Buddhist Education".
1-4 May: Conference Proper: Keynote Speakers, Plenary Sessions, Presentations, Workshops, Exhibitions, Bookshop, Entertainment.
5 May: Post Conference Meeting: "Buddhism in Organisation Development".

The organisers say - "Buddhism is entering the Western world and as in each of its previous cultural transitions, it has to change and adapt. At the same time, Buddhism aims to break the mould of the society that it enters. Where there has been greed, Buddhism teaches generosity; where there has been hatred, love; where there has been pride, selflessness; and where there has been fear, faith. In the west Buddhism is so far primarily known as a quietistic practice for cultivating personal calm. It has more to offer. This conference will bring together the personal and the social, the spiritual and the practical dimensions of the Dharma and invite reflection on the path ahead".

FWBO News wishes them every success.

The conference will be held in Narborough, Leicestershire, UK, from late April - early May, and you can download a booking form here.

FWBO News ranked no.2 Buddhist blog

FWBO News has been ranked second in the Buddhism section of Blogged.com’s worldwide catalogue of blogs – and a respectable 18 out of 4,153 in the overall ‘spirituality’ group. According to Blogged, “we evaluated your blog based on the following criteria: Frequency of Updates, Relevance of Content, Site Design, and Writing Style. After carefully reviewing each of these criteria, your site was given its 8.7 score, “Great”. Please accept our congratulations on a blog well-done!!”

Dispatch from Delhi

Saul is a mitra from the FWBO’s North London Buddhist Centre. Last month he travelled to India to team up with the Amida Trust, who have for some three years now been running English classes in Delhi under their ‘Buddhist voluntary service overseas scheme’. He sent FWBO News this report -

“I’ve recently finished two weeks teaching very large classes of children from slum areas in Shahadhara in east Delhi. At first I couldn’t cope with it, or I felt I couldn’t cope with it. Then I became rather accustomed to it and I've missed it on leaving.

Classes were hectic affairs with anything from 45 to 70 children there. Shabbily dressed with big open smiles and irrepressible enthusiasm. I say hectic because children were coming and going from the classroom during the class. When I commented on this I was told that it was better than before!

These classes were usually conducted in half built Buddhist viharas in the slum districts. The conditions were extremely basic. Blackboards, when there were any, were crude and basic. Power cuts would frequently plunge the vihara into darkness. Equipment minimal. Paper rare and books next to non-existent.

We travelled to these outreach classes on rickshaws or in auto-rickshaws “tuk-tuks’ through the chaotic Delhi traffic. All manner of traffic: bicycles, motor bikes, ox carts all vied with lorries, buses and cars. The rules were pretty minimal, nobody worried too much about traffic lights or the right of way, not everyone even drove on the same side of the road. I confess I found it all rather exciting.

Outside the vihara there was the seething mass of humanity: beggars and street vendors, endless stalls and tiny stores; incessant activity and the omni-present smell of sewerage. Sometimes our classes were conducted in order to increase the harmony in conflict torn communities. Occasionally they were in relatively harmonious Buddhist communities. Their poverty was what they all had in common.

After two weeks’ I was used to it! The classes were led by two spirited individuals – Shiasnu (Joy) and James Goodman – who against all odds managed to maintain their teaching. We were working for ADEPT – the Amida Delhi Education Project Team. At first I can’t say I really I really warmed to their approach, which involved lots of song and movement. Then I realized that actually it did really work because it motivated and enthused the young learners. Mostly I’ve been used to teaching adults so it was a bit of a culture shock. The sessions with the children didn’t seem like ‘real lessons’ but then I'd been thrown into a situation where they didn’t necessarily have blackboards, only occasionally notebooks, and so on. Use of movement motivated them and they clearly enjoyed the classes. Whenever someone did well Joy would call out ‘give that child a sticker’ and they would proudly walk out to the front of the class to get their sticker. The teachers refused to allow any smacking to discipline the children and they tended to get overexcited and classroom control seemed problematic. Then I started to realize that they were actually succeeding in increasing the confidence and self-esteem of these children.

At first I found it all rather exhausting and overwhelmed by these classes. Delhi in midwinter was a hard way to start in India, not even the food would stay in my stomach! Everything, just everything had changed. But I got used to my little room on the roof of the block, even when the cold North West winds blowing off the Himalayas tried to invade it. My tolerance of noise shot up, and later, as I started taking tea at roadside cafes with the workers, neighbours started to recognize me, little routines started to take over – and then, so quickly, my stay there was over and it was time to take the train south to Nagpur and more English teaching with the TBMSG’s many projects there…

Sangharakshita to speak at 'British Buddhist Landscape' conference

This summer Sangharakshita will be speaking at a major conference, entitled “The British Buddhist Landscape – Transplantation and Growth”. Bookings have just opened and all are invited to attend.

The conference is being organised by the Institute of Oriental Philosophy (UK) and the Network of Buddhist Organisations (UK), of which the FWBO is an active member.

The dates are the 27th, 28th, 29th June 2008 and the venue is the Sokkai Gakkai headquarters at Taplow Court, near Maidenhead, Berkshire, where the Institute of Oriental Philosophy is based - shown in the photograph.

The aim of the conference is to look at the history and development of Buddhism in the UK from its early days up to the present. It will be suitable for anyone with an interest in Buddhism as well as other religions in the UK, the teaching of religion, as well as social action and ethnic social groups.

Topics will include the History and Development of UK Buddhism, Ethnicity and Buddhism in Britain, Buddhist Scholarship (including areas such as teaching Buddhism in schools and universities and over the internet), Buddhism and Psychotherapy, and Engaging with Society.

The speakers will include Sangharakshita, Stephen Batchelor, Dr. John Peacock, Dr Helen Waterhouse, Ajahn Laow, Prof. Sato, Dr. Peggy Morgan, Colin Ash, Rev Saido, Dharma Shakya, Keith Munnings, and others.

The approximate fee will be £65.00 and attendance for part of the conference is possible, for a reduced fee. Concessionary rates are also available. Please enquire for further information. Latest details will be on the IOP website.

Artists and performers are being invited to join us to present their work, please make contact if you would like to be considered.

For further information please contact the conference organiser Jamie Cresswell, Director, IOPUK, tel : UK 01628-591213, email : jc@iopec.org