Ven Myokyo-ni

Visvapani's obituary of Ven Myokyo-ni appeared in The Guardian on April 23 2007. Ven Myokyo-ni was one of the first Westerners to undertake Zen training in Japan, and brought an uncompromising spirit to her teaching. She had been head of London's Zen Centre, which began life as the Zen group within the Buddhist Society, and is located in the house bequeathed to them by Christmas Humphries.

The Buddhist Society website says that there will be a memorial for her sometime in the future.

Death of Maha Ghosananda

The Guardian Newspaper recently published an obituary written by Vishvapani for Maha Ghosananda the Cambodian Buddhist leader and peace activist.

He was a leading figure in the revival of Buddhism in Cambodia following the period of the Khmer Rouge killing fields. Vishvapani comments, 'I approached The Guardian about writing obituaries of Buddhist figures just before Maha Ghosananda died. I knew a little about his work and his reputation as a very saintly and compassionate man, but I was moved to learn more in writing this piece. He deserves to be as well known as figures like Thich Nhat Hanh, but he never taught in the West and wasn't a writer.'

Maha Ghosananda was also the spiritual head of the International Network of Engaged Buddhists

Vishvapani's article on Dr Ambedkar and recent dalit conversions to Buddhism is published in the most recent issue of Tricycle magazine. An article on Buddhism in Tamil Nadu will be in the next issue. He will be broadcasting on BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day on Wednesday 11 April at 07.45, and will be doing three more broadcasts on 2, 9 and 16 June.

Death of Dharmacari Jnanajit

We have received the very sad news from India that Dhammachari Jnanajit died on Saturday March 24th. Jnanajit was ordained in 2003 and was a Mitra for many years before that. He was resident in Pimpri (adjacent to Pune) and leaves behind his wife, a son and a daughter.

Lokamitra has sent us the following information: "Jnanajit had just celebrated his 50th birthday on 3rd March 2007. On 4th March he was knocked over when riding his small motorbike and suffered two fractures in the leg. He was operated on, on 9th March, and discharged from hospital on 19th March with his leg in plaster. On the evening of Friday 23rd March he was uneasy and while being taken to the hospital went into a coma. A blood clot from the leg had reached the lungs. He died on Saturday 24th March at about 5.30 pm. His funeral was conducted the same evening.

Jnanajit was very keen on study, especially of Bhante's writings. He had recently translated "The Meaning of Conversion to Buddhism" into Marathi and was keen to translate more of Bhante's writings."

If you would like to leave a message about Jnanajit you can do so by clicking on the words "Have you say" below this item.