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!"

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.

"The British Buddhist Landscape – Transplantation and Growth"

In June Sangharakshita will be speaking at a major UK conference entitled "The British Buddhist Landscape – Transplantation and Growth"; bookings have now opened and the organisers are advising “book early to avoid disappointment”.

Speakers so far include Sangharakshita, Stephen Batchelor, Dr John Peacock, Dr Helen Waterhouse, Ajahn Laow, Rev. Prof. Sato, Peggy Morgan, Colin Ash, Rev. Saido, Ven Sumana, Tony Kemmer, Phil Henry, Keith Munnings, Sharon Smith, Yann Lovelock, Munisha - plus others to be confirmed. It’s a chance to get a real overview of Buddhism in Britain from many different points of view.

Click for more details or a provisional program, these links include full booking details.

The conference is being organised by the Network of Buddhist Organisations (UK) & The Institute of Oriental Philosophy-UK, and will be held at Taplow Court, Taplow, Nr Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 0ER – the very splendid headquarters of Sokkai Gakkai UK. Taplow Court is a beautiful Victorian mansion in Taplow village, set in 85 acres of grounds and overlooking the River Thames, between Slough and Maidenhead

Accommodation is not provided, though there are many local Bed-and-Breakfasts– or some shared dormitories at Taplow – these are on a first-come-first-served basis so early booking is recommended.

The dates are –
Fri 27th June 2008 5.30pm - 9.30pm

Sat 28th June 9.30am-6.00/9.30pm.

Sun 29th June 10.00am-2.00pm

The costs are full conference £65.00, concessions £45.00 + Saturday eve buffet £15.00, plus the cost of your chosen accommodation.

Sangharakshita in 2007 - part 2

Following yesterday's post, this is Part II of Sangharakshita’s activities in 2007 –

Bhante's daily routine: Whist at home, in Madhyamaloka, Bhante continued his daily routine of 'reading' correspondence (all correspondence is now read to him), dictating replies, dealing with any other business, taking his daily morning walk and receiving personal visitors. Over the year he saw 245 people individually at Madhyamaloka. If we include people he saw during his many trips during the number of individuals he met with would be approaching 300.

Bhante's Health: As mentioned above Bhante's general health continues to be good. At the beginning of the year he was able to read large type, and smaller type with the help of a magnifying glass. Unfortunately, from about the middle of the year there was a return of the macular degeneration to one of his eyes. A course of treatment of Avastatin intraocular injections was started in October. This will only arrest further deterioration and his eyesight is unlikely to improve. He continues regular acupuncture with Rosie Roper.

August: He travelled to Padmaloka staying there during the combined Order Convention and for the first weekend of the Men's Convention. There he attended a number of events and gave talks. He had lunches with groups of Order members from India, Australasia, US and Canada and the Spanish speaking world.

September: He attended the Meditation forum at Madhyamaloka and visited the Glasgow and Edinburgh centres giving a talk on one of his 'Precious Teachers' at both centres, plus a Q&A for Order Members in Glasgow.

October: He attended a seminar led by Subhuti entitled 'Sangharakshita as Teacher'. He was visited by a group of Hungarian gypsies and led study on the Heart Sutra at Taraloka for the Women's Mitra Convenors.

November: This began with a visit Germany, again accompanied by Nityabandhu, where he first went to the Vimaladhatu retreat centre, then the Essen centre where he gave a Q&A session for Order Members and a talk on another of his 'Precious Teachers'. He concluded the trip to Germany with a visit to the new centre in Dusseldorf. He visited the Cambridge Buddhist centre where he gave a Q&A session for Order members and a talk and book launch on 'Precious Teachers'. The month was concluded with a trip to the Bristol Buddhist Centre where he also gave a Q&A session for Order members and a talk on his 'Precious Teachers'.

December: He spent at home but was visited by Dayaratna's chapter from Cambridge.

At each of the centres he visited, apart from talks and Q&A sessions, he met with small groups for meals and people individually. Bhante made the comment that wherever he visited FWBO centres he saw them to be in a very healthy state.

Recent News and Future Plans: At present, Bhante is working on a new Spoken Word book with the help of Samacitta. The book is based on a seminar he led many years ago on Nagarjuna's Ratnamala or Precious Garland. Samacitta reads the transcript to him, which has already been lightly edited by Vidyadevi, and he dictates to her any corrections or alterations. They have already completed more than two-thirds of the work. The book will probably be published under the title 'Mahayana Ethics'.

Bhante has also been having read to him a very interesting online book called 'In the Shadow of the Dalai Lama' by Victor and Victoria Trimondi.

And finally, a few weeks ago, Bhante received a visit from two members of the Rigpa centre near Montpellier in France. The purpose of their visit was to interview him about his connection with Jamyang Khyentse Rimpoche. They are creating a film archive of interviews with people who had been so fortunate as to have personal contact with this great Lama. In particular they wanted to interview the two westerners who had known him, namely Bhante and John Driver. Bhante, as far as he knows, was the only westerner to have received initiations from this eminent Lama. They spent four hours over two days conducting film interviews with Bhante.

By the time this report goes to press, Bhante should have been to Tiratanaloka to lead study with the community on the Ratnagunasamcayagatha. Dates have already been set for visits to the Manchester and Amsterdam centres, and a meeting with Windhorse Trading in Cambridge. Future plans for the year includes trips to Sheffield, Berlin, Leeds, Liverpool and Brighton, plus the ‘British Buddhist Landscape’ conference hosted by the Network of Buddhist Organisatons at Taplow in Buckinghamshire. As well asall these he will be attending various events for Mitra Convenors, Chairs and Preceptors. So as you can see Bhante really has been getting 'out and about' and long may it continue!

On a personal note the thing I have noticed, since becoming Bhante's secretary, apart from the great energy as illustrated by this report, is his care, concern and love, not just for the movement he initiated, but each and every Order Member.

I hope to continue these reports every two months. Please also see Sangharakshita's website, where many of his books are available for free download.

Dharmamati (Bhante's secretary)
Madhyamaloka, 18th February 2008.

Sangharakshita in 2007 - part 1

FWBO News is delighted to present this report from Dharmamati, secretary to Urgyen Sangharakshita, founder of the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order but a relatively rare visitor to these pages. The report will be in two parts, together covering the main features of Sangharakshita’s life and activity in 2007.

“In the last year Bhante has been more active than for quite some time, and encouraged by Lokabandhu I thought it a good idea to report on Bhante's activities over the last year. My apologies for any errors or omissions.

“Bhante is now 82 and apart from his suffering from macular degeneration to the eyes, rendering him unable to read and write, he is in very good health. This report will be a brief overview of his activities in 2007 concluding with some of his plans for 2008. If you are interested in a more detailed account from the various places he visited please contact the local centre concerned.

January: Bhante attended the Men's Mitra convenors meeting at Padmaloka where he led study on ‘The Taste of Freedom’. He was also visited at Madhyamaloka by a group of Order members and Mitras from Essen.

February: He met up with members of Windhorse Trading and attended a Q&A session with the Dharmadhuta students.

March: He made a number of appearances at the College of Public Preceptors meeting at Madhyamaloka. He gave a talk to the private preceptors at the Birmingham Buddhist Centre. A group of Order members from the 'Lowlands' (Holland and Belgium) met with him.

April: On FWBO day he gave a talk at the Birmingham Buddhist Centre, attended by more than 200 people. People came from all over Britain to attend. He also met two groups - a 'Death and Dying' group from Manchester and the Buddhafield team. He also had a meeting with the UK Chairs.

May: May started with a visit to Sweden, accompanied by Nityabandhu, whilst there he gave a public talk in Stockholm on Wesak and met the local Sangha. He also visited and named the Stockholm centre’s new retreat centre, calling it 'Dharmagiri', meaning the Hill of the Dharma. Later in the month he visited Taraloka to bless their new Tara shrine cabin.

June: He travelled to Paris, also accompanied by Nityabandhu, where he visited the local Sangha and gave a Q&A session for them at the Paris Buddhist Centre.

July: This month saw him attend a very lively gathering at the Buddhafield Festival where he gave a talk on 'Freedom'. Listen to it here on FreeBuddhistAudio. Later in the month he gave a Q&A session for Order members at the LBC and visited the Colchester centre where he gave a talk based on his latest volume of memoirs, 'Precious Teachers' , which was about to be released. He also visited Nottingham where he gave a Q&A session for Order members.

To be continued…

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

Bhante in Germany - part II

FWBO News is happy to present some more details of Sangharakshita’s recent visit to the FWBO’s centres in Germany. Thanks to Lalitaratna for sending them.

On the first Saturday morning of this November, Bhante, accompanied by Nityabandhu, flew from Birmingham to Düsseldorf airport in Germany.

Bhante's first stop was Vimaladhatu retreat centre where the public Ordination of Anissita was just taking place. Bhante did not join the throng - later in his trip he would be delivering a public talk and so would meet the Essen Sangha - but kept in the background where he later joined the new ordinand and his two preceptors: Bodhimitra and Surata, for a cup of tea.

Bhante had made it clear that, with a pretty full travel itinerary, it would be best if those who wanted to see him shared his mealtimes with him. The first of these meals took place that Saturday evening at Vimaladhatu when twenty-one men, made up of Order members and GFR mitras, sat down to an excellent meal which was eaten in silence followed by a delightful period of wit and conversation with Bhante.

The next morning Bhante was driven back to Essen - a 110 km trip - to the men's community where he had a short break before meeting Prasadavati and thirteen other women who made up the group of German ‘outlying GFR mitras’.

Apart from breakfast time, Bhante shared his mealtimes with gatherings from the Sangha. He dined with the women's community with invited friends; the Karuna group; a men's study group, and finally members of the Essen FWBO council. Bhante offered a question and answer session to the Order members on the Sunday evening and delivered a public talk at the Essen Buddhist Centre to 130 visitors on the Tuesday evening. The theme of the talk was his precious teachers, and Bhante later signed copies of his book with the same title.

The day after Bhante's visit, one of the yoga teachers came into the centre and commented on how everybody looked very bright. Bhante Urgyen Sangharakshita's visit was a true gift to the Essen Sangha and it has been, and remains, deeply appreciated.

Sangharakshita visits FWBO Düsseldorf

Paul Mcloughlin from FWBO Düsseldorf has sent us a short report on Sangharakshita (Bhante)'s recent visit to their sangha there. Sangharakshita only appears rarely on FWBO News these days and we’re very happy to reproduce his report here.

“As a relatively new (3 years) member of the FWBO and background team member in our new center in Düsseldorf, I was honoured at the chance of meeting Bhante in a small circle of people. As the weeks and days flew by, my anticipation grew. On the big day I had to laugh as we were still so involved "making everything perfect" that we almost missed greeting our distinguished guest at the door!

"Suddenly Bhante was among us and so normal and human. He was accompanied by his friend and companion Nityabandhu. Very soon it was clear that his frailness was only bodily and that below the surface was a very sharp, wise, loving spirit. Nine of us sat together two hours, laughed and discussed subjects as varied as psychotherapy, the Brahma Viharas, the importance of harmony between team members, Ayya Khema, marriage and Angela Merkel (the last two being separate subjects, smile). Bhante encouraged us, especially through his interest for new, small sangha groups to just keep going. All too soon the visit neared an end, but not before Bhante agreed with pleasure to chant a blessing in our shrine room. Those moments so intense will fire us on for a long long time, to continue to work as a "small team closely knit together by Metta" in Düsseldorf.

"As we stood together in front of our center saying goodbye it really felt as if we were saying goodbye to an old dear friend. THANK YOU BHANTE!!!"

Swedish FWBO Retreat Centre is inaugurated

The Swedish Retreat Centre has been inaugurated and given a name by Sangharakshita. Here is a report from Viryabodhi, chairman of the FWBO's centre in Stockholm.

"n Saturday the 12th of May we took farewell of Bhante Sangharakshita, who had been visiting Stockholm and our Retreat Centre for a week. It was a very successful visit, the second that our teacher Sangharakshita has made in recent years. The other visit was in June 1999 and much has happened in the sangha since then.

"First Bhante took part in the second half of our Wesak celebrations, held at the Ethnographic Museum in a beautiful setting in Stockholm, and Bhante delivered a thoughtful and long talk on the significance of Wesak and the Buddha's Enlightenment. We had an audience of almost 100 people. In the first half I gave a presentation of the FWBO, with some photos (mainly of the Refuge Tree and Bhante at different times). We also had a short meditation. Taraka introduced Bhante and also concluded by leading a the puja, flanked by two massive Tara rupas from the museum’s collections. It was such a privilege to have Bhante here in real life - a big event for us.

"Bhante saw people for personal interviews with Order members and some mitras who have requested ordination, as well as having dinner and informal talks afterwards on three consecutive nights with the women and men who have requested ordination, as well as the members of the local Order. All these meetings were successful and joyful. Everyone seemed pleased to have met Sangharakshita, many for the first time.

"After 5 days in the men's community in Stockholm we set off to the Retreat Centre (2 hours drive northwest of Stockholm), for the 'inauguration' and the giving of a name that Bhante so kindly had agreed to do. This was the culmination of the visit and a delight and blessing. In a simple and profound ceremony Bhante imparted the name: Dharmagiri Retreatcenter (Swedish spelling). Which means: 'The hill where the Dharma is practiced'. 'Giri' (which is pronounced with short "i's") means 'hill' or 'mountain', in this case 'hill'. The place lies on a little hill overlooking fields and a river in the distance, so it feels most appropriate. We could also say 'Dharma Hill' or in Swedish 'Dharmakullen', we'll see. When I got back to Stockholm I looked up 'Dharmagiri' on google and found out that there are several others, a hermitage in South Africa, and also Dhammagiri in India (Goenka's main centre). But I'm sure we can co-exist.

"Before the ceremony we walked around the garden in silence, taking in the surroundings and houses. We concluded with the Dedication ceremony (often used in the FWBO) and a meditation with Bhante, which at least for me was profound.

"There were about 40 people attending the event, some who came up for the day, plus about 25 who stayed overnight. We had a festive meal in the evening and I had a chance to express my appreciation and gratitude to Bhante in public. It seems that he made a strong impression on many people here. Now it is up to us to live up to the vision of the Dharma and the FWBO. I believe we now have a good place and conditions - especially at Dharmagiri - to do that more fully and satisfactorily.

You’ll find photos of Dharmagiri here or at my photo site.

FWBO Discussion website launched

A new website, 'FWBO Discussion' (www.discussion.fwbo.org), has recently been launched. Building on work done by Vishvapani, it’s a collection of articles by members of the Order, with the aim of presenting some of its more internal reflections and discussions, plus various accounts of the main changes in the FWBO and Order over the past decade or so. Vishvapani introduces the site by saying "The Friends of the Western Buddhist Order is a diverse and thoughtful community, whose members frequently debate matters of teaching and issues affecting the FWBO, its history and its future. This debate has often been invisible to non-members, and this site aims to open that debate and reflection to a wider audience."

The site is divided into various sections – ‘The Order’, ‘Changes’, ‘Controversy’, ‘Sangharakshita’, ‘Gender’, and ‘Academic’ (a bibliography of academic articles on us).

Lokabandhu, the current editor of the site, says "I'm very pleased with it, I think it’d be impossible to read it and not conclude that we (the FWBO) is a serious, open-minded, self-aware buddhist community with genuine independence of mind and interest in the truth. Comments welcome of course! I'd like to add to it, so if you have any suggestions please let me know."

Sangharakshita in Paris

Sangharakshita recently spent three days in Paris, on the occasion of a visit to the Paris FWBO Buddhist Centre (locally known as the “Centre Bouddhiste de l’Île-de-France - AOBO”). It wasn’t his first visit to Paris, but it was his first visit to the Centre, which was founded nearly 10 years ago by Varadakini.

During his visit he met several groups of people: mitras, mitras who have asked for ordination, the council of the Centre, and Vassika and Suvannavira, the local Order Members. The highlight of his visit, however, was a well attended two-hour question & answer session on Saturday afternoon, with questions on subjects as diverse as emptiness, the sevenfold puja, Sangharashita’s own Going for Refuge, the teaching of conditioned co-production (pratitya-samutpada), or the language spoken by the Buddha, to mention just a few. Two mitras, Barbara and Christian interpreted for the session which was appreciated by all participants.

Some of the people who met Bhante Sangharakshita commented afterwards:

I had the privilege of meeting Bhante twice, in a sangha-wide Q&A session and then as a small group of mitras having asked for ordination. Bhante was very sharp, he truly shone with his clarity and pointedness. We are fortunate to have met a man of his stature in our lifetime.
. PIERRICK

I was struck by the youthfulness of his words, his clarity, his liveliness, his humour… I was also moved by this different, foreign voice chanting the refuges and precepts; it was no meaningless litany but something already recited… elsewhere, and repeated many times, since long ago. I was very interested by the way he described the development of Buddhism in the West and its re-appearance in India as part of its evolution.
. PASCAL

Meeting Sangharakshita in Paris was for us a deep and unique experience: a warm and unique encounter with the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha as well as a personal encounter. There are three things we remember specially about Sangharakshita’s visit to Paris:
• The depth in his chanting of the salutation, refuges and precepts; there was no difference between the words and their meaning, and no difference between the message and the one who was chanting.
• The clarity and precision of his answers and teachings; the simplicity of the language and of his choice of examples from daily life; and the self-evidence of the Dharma – Sangharakshita makes no distinction between the Dharma and common sense, friendship, calm; humour, determination…
• The real interest that Sangharakshita takes in each person and what preoccupies them, and his encouragement to us to continue along the path with calm, joy and determination.
. BEGGA, IOANA & JAN, who came from Ghent for the occasion

Sangharakshita dedicates new Tara Shrine Room at Taraloka

At the end of May, the International Sangha Gathering was held at Taraloka - an annual event for women who have asked for Ordination and run by women from Buddhafield, Tiratanaloka and Taraloka.

The event was called: ‘Entering the Tiger’s Cave’ and was based on the theme of renunciation. Throughout the weekend we listened to talks, studied words from Padmasambhava, participated in special pujas and finished with a talk from Parami about the connection between renunciation, Ordination and the Bodhisattva Ideal. And somehow, within all of that, we managed to fit in a visit from Sangharakshita.

He arrived on the second day, beginning with lunch with the Taraloka Community and a couple of guests. Then, after a short rest, he gave a talk on his connection with Tara – highlighting the importance of metta and vegetarianism. Then everyone followed Sangharakshita, as he made his way to the new Tara shrine-room, all of us chanting the Tara mantra. Surprisingly, all 70 of us managed to fit into the new shrine-room – either standing or sitting – and a poem written by Sangharakshita called ‘White Tara’ was read by Saddhanandi. This was followed by the Dedication Ceremony (also written by Sangharakshita) and the White Tara long life Mantra.

Then it was time for a cup of tea. Sangharakshita sat in the lounge and, as more and more women joined him, a very informal ‘question and answer’ session developed, with a spontaneous photo-call in which Bhante held on his lap the two 5 month old babies that were attending the event with their mothers. Sangharakshita then had supper with a group of Dharmacharinis and Mitras, after which Dhammamati drove him back to Madhyamaloka.

It had been a very beautiful and moving day, and when the Sangha Gathering was over many of us left Taraloka with a strong sense of Bhante’s presence and the blessing of having spent some time around him in such relaxed and easy circumstances. The Tara Shrine Room now stands quietly at Taraloka, fully dedicated and already containing a strong atmosphere of meditation and devotion; a new focus to this Realm of Tara.

See here for more photos of the event, and here for photos of Taraloka in general.

White Tara
Appearing from the depths of heaven
The white robed goddess calm and light
Sheds moon-like on this lower world
The blessing of her silver light.

Seven eyes she has all open wide
In face and forehead and hands and feet
For she of Pure Awareness is
Embodiment and paraclete.

One hand in teaching gesture raised
Imports a wisdom thrice profound T
he other open on her knee
For endless giving is renowned.

A lotus at her shoulder grows
Complete with flower and bud and fruit
Her form is straight and still,
For she Is grounded on the Absolute.

Awake! Arise!
She seems to say
Leave dreams, leave sloth, leave passions vile!
Oh may we, seeing her, go forth
Encouraged by her perfect smile.

Sangharakshita (‘Call of the Forest and Other Poems’ Windhorse Publications)

FWBO Authors

You might want to read the Summer 2007 edition of Tricycle magazine which features three FWBO Authors. Bodhipaksa's exposition on the six-element practice is an "editors pick" and therefore on the website. He introduces the practice which he describes as both highly analytical, and intensely poetic. Vishvapani who is becoming a regular in Tricycle wonders whether our new Buddhists in India hold the key to ending Sri Lanka's decades-long civil war. And finally Montreal based mitra Vanessa Sasson writes about conflict and the images we have of foreigners. The articles by Vanessa and Vishvapani are only available online to subscribers.

The issue also includes an article about Michael Dillon who was possibly the first person in the UK to have gender reassignment surgey from female to male. He studied medicine and became a medical doctor. Seeking to escape the glare of publicity Michael fled to India with the intention of becoming a Buddhist Monk. He headed for a monastery in Kalimpong run by an Englishman known as Sangharakshita who gave him the Buddhist name Jivaka. Jivaka lived with Sangharakshita for a time and acted as his secretary. He actively opposed Dillon's ordination on the basis that he was born female and was therefore not eligible. Jivaka died in India in 1962.

Sangharakshita FWBO Day DVD

On FWBO Day this year Sangharakshita gave a talk titled "Looking back, looking forward". This talk was filmed by Clear Vision and is now available on DVD from their website. Clear Vision have more than 20 DVD's of Sangharakshita speaking in a variety of settings on a broad range of topics.

Sangharakshita - FWBO Day

It is a rare treat these days to be able to attend a talk by Sangharakshita and it was delightful to see him at his best celebrating the 40th annivesary of the founding of the FWBO at the Birmingham FWBO Centre on Saturday. While obviously quite frail of body these days there was no doubt as to the sharpness of his mind. In an hour long talk - with many digressions - he only consulted his notes towards the end in order to get a list "in the right order". For some people it was their first opportunity to see Sangharaskhita in person.

His talk began with the early days of the FWBO and the spirit of the times when he was starting out forty years ago. The first meeting were held in a small basement room in Monmouth St in central London, but soon things began to expand and after a few years the developments that we now associate with the FWBO - communities and right-livelihood businesses - began to come into existence. Had he tried to start a new Buddhist movement 10 years earlier he might not have found many receptive to his ecumenical teachings, and had he arrived 10 years later he would have missed the boat - the late 1960's seem to have been the best possible time to attempt what he did. Sangharakshita remarked that the present zeitgeist seemed to be more marked by materialism and individualism. One of the regretable changes he noted was the decline of interest in rightlivelihood, noting that Windhorse Trading had been not only a source of considerable funds, but an important training ground for order members. The talk would not have been complete without some "teaching" and so Sangharakshita, true to form, drew our attention to Francis Bacon (the 17th century philosopher) whose Theory of Idols he suggested might help us to see the errors which prevent us from understanding reality. He concluded by reminding us of the six distinctive emphases of the FWBO.

The people attending the event had come from as far afield as Southampton and the Outer Hebrides, and the Birmingham did an excellent job of accomodating and catering for the the crowds.

image by Roy Peters

FWBO Day in Birmingham

Sangharakshita will be giving a talk in Birmingham, UK for FWBO Day. This year is the 40th anniversary of the FWBO,the 50th anniversary of the publication of Sangharakshita's A Survey of Buddhism and the 60th anniversary of his going forth. Please contact your local centre to coordinate transport, and so that Birmingham are able to get some idea of numbers to cater for. The talk is titled "Looking back - and forward" and will begin at 4pm. A puja will follow.

Sangharakshita Online

Did you know that you can now get many of Sangharakshita's books online as pdf files? The list of titles includes all of his volumes of memoirs as well as the seminal History of My Going for Refuge. The books that haven't been uploaded contain quoted material which requires the permision of the copyright holders which can take quite a bit of research, and require payment of substantial fees. You can also find Nagabodhi's book Jai Bhim! on this website.

Sangharakshita is currently working on a new volume of memoirs.