Public Ordinations at Akashvana

On Tuesday 10th June the following women were ordained at the FWBO's Akasavana retreat centre in the Spanish mountains.

public preceptor Parami:
Sandy Lacey becomes Dharmamrita (long second and last 'a's), 'she who
has the nectar of the Dharma' (private preceptor Maitreyi)

Sophia Young becomes Kuladharini (long last 'i'), 'she who supports or
sustains the spiritual community' (private preceptor Viryadevi)

Tracy McLoughlin becomes Taradakini (all vowels long except first 'i'),
'she who is a Dakini of Tara' (private preceptor Kalyanavaca)

Thea Wiersma becomes Amritapurna (long 'u' and last 'a'), 'she who is
full of nectar (of the Dharma)' (private preceptor Ratnadharini)

Nicky Edmonds becomes Satyajyoti (long 'i'), 'light of truth' (private
preceptor Punyamala)

Hazel Baker becomes Maitrimala (long second 'i', and second and last
'a's), 'garland of metta' (private preceptor Vajragita)

public preceptor Dhammadinna:
Aida Fernandez becomes Rochani (long 'i'), 'she who is bright, shining,
luminous' (private preceptor Parami)

public preceptor Maitreyi:
Teresa del Soldato becomes Lilamani (long 'i's and first 'a'), 'she who
has a jewel of playfulness' (private preceptor Dhammadinna)

Mireille van der Plas becomes Mokshagandhi (long 'i'), 'she who's
perfumed with liberation' or 'she who has the fragrance of emancipation'
(private preceptor Akasasuri)

Jaine Daley becomes Ajayashraddha (long last 'a'), 'she who has
invincible/unconquered faith' (private preceptor Kalyanasri)

public preceptor Padmasuri:
Sue Westbury becomes Viryajyoti (long 'i's and 'a'), 'she who has the
light/radiance of energy in pursuit of the good' (private preceptor
Kalyanasri)

Gail Abbott becomes Vilokini (long last 'i'), 'she who looks, sees,
considers, reflects, is aware' (private preceptor Vajrapushpa)

public preceptor Ratnadharini:
Chris Zakorchemney becomes Amaladevi (long 'i'), 'pure, stainless devi'
(private preceptor Maitreyi)

Julia Simnet becomes Karunavapi (long second and third 'a's and 'i'),
'she who is a lake of compassion' (private preceptor Padmasuri)

Hayley Morris becomes Karunavajri (long second 'a', and 'i'), 'she who
has a vajra of compassion' (private preceptor Dharmottara)

SADHU! SADHU! SADHU!

FWBO News in Spanish - and the Dharma in translation...

Visitors to the FWBO News website can scroll down below the latest story to see – among many other things – an ongoing list of where the site’s visitors have come from. This currently stands at a little over 23,000 since November 2007 – from no less than 134 countries. That’s not surprising, given the international nature of the internet and the fact the FWBO/TBMSG have centres or groups in some 25 countries.

However, of course many people who are part of our Sangha don’t speak English – including many from the Spanish-speaking world. And so Moksananda, an English Order Member who has lived for many years in Spain, has begun translating selected stories from FWBO News into Spanish. Recent posts include Arte Dalit; Hacer que el Dharma trabaje; and En Krakow - polvo, ruido, sudor y alegría...

FWBO News would be very happy to hear of any other translation initiatives going on at FWBO/TBMSG centres.

FWBO News maintains a substantial database which attempts to list all existing translations of all FWBO Dharma of all sorts into all languages world-wide. This is available on the Resources tab of the site - see FWBO Translations here. This can be downloaded for ease of reference, and again, updates are welcome.

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...

Two new Spanish retreat venues

Two new retreat venues run by members of the Western Buddhist Order are emerging in the Spanish mountains.

Amitavati, which means 'full of boundless possibilities', is the home and rural retreat centre of Suratna and Vidyasri, two ordained members of the Western Buddhist Order. They ‘retired’ there from the UK a year ago and now offer a range of retreats in their working smallholding up in the hills near the small town of Villar-del-Arzobispo in the hinterland of Valencia, Spain.

Reflecting the special interests of Suratna and Vidyasri, their retreats include meditation retreats, shamanic journeying, drumming, painting and sculpture and working retreats. Above all, however, their retreats are designed to bring visitors into intimate contact with the land and its resources.

December saw their first working retreat, which they were delighted with – and which is bearing fruit with others thinking of buying land nearby. In addition their newest urban FWBO Centre, in Valencia, use the facilities for some weekends and for Order gatherings, and links with local people are developing with plans made for teaching meditation classes in the village when their Spanish is good enough.

Check their very beautiful website at www.amitavati.com which contains full details of events and travel information.


Ecodharma retreat facilities in the mountains
More remote, in altogether more wild and mountainous country, Guhyapati has been developing an ‘eco-Dharma retreat centre in the hills behind Isona, some three hours from Barcelona. His work as a professional mountain guide (see www.climbcatalunya.com) has given him an intimate knowledge of the mountains; he has used this as a base to develop facilities for an ‘ecodharma’ retreat centre, which now offers long solitary retreats and has for the past two years hosted the ‘Redwoods’, a group of Order Members who meet annually to practice together in the context of a shared commitment to and love of the environment .

The small whitish dot on the tip of the plateau beneath the middle mountain is the retreat venue...

Valencia's prison program

The FWBO's Valencia Buddhist Centre, in Spain, recently celebrated the start of the third year of their prison visiting program, dubbed the ‘Wheel of Life’ project. By all accounts it has been a ground-breaking success, both for the Buddhist centre, the inmates, and the Spanish prison authorities. They teach meditation and Dharma in Picassent prison, where they are the first to be permitted to work with the Basque prisoners from ETA.

Saddhakara, the Centre’s chairwoman, has written an account of the project’s history which you can find on the FWBO Prison Dharma website. Here you can find reports from most of the FWBO’s prison visiting programs, especially those in the US.

Anticipation of first Akasavana Retreat

Vijayasri reports from Akashavana

We were lucky to have a mild winter this year, although there has been a frustrating lull, the builders off on another job, and snow, then rain muddying the track. But this week they're back in force, doing the final clearing up, connecting up the power and water, installing the solar electricity. Some days there have been around twenty people on site!

There's six of us living in the community at the moment - the current core team of me, Padmadharini and Bianca (who'll be ordained on the retreat, wonderful!) with visitors Desiree, Rozelle and Ethel (also shortly to be ordained). We get on well, with the inevitable stormy bits here and there. It can feel a bit full up in the house sometimes, it's helpful that Rozelle brought her yurt to sleep in, being a hardy Buddhafield type.

We are all working very hard, building, mammoth shopping trips for furniture and equipment, arranging all the last things (like getting the water tested this week) as well as all the ongoing maintenance of life in the wilds which is far from simple whilst managing a large building project. But we keep a regular programme of meditation and Dharma study which gives space and a framework for all the busy-ness.

We've also employed some friends who live locally - Deb, Howard and Jan - when we realised we were getting a bit behind with the building stuff we needed to do ourselves - compost toilets, outdoor showers etc, so now these constructions are shooting up at amazing speed. They brought along a 15 year old boy they've taken in for a while as he was going off the rails getting into violence and delinquency in London, and Mark has been working fantastically hard - it has been moving to see him changing before our eyes from a sullen teenager to a helpful worker.

So I have a head full of lists of things to do, but often I just stop and look around me. I feel a spontaneous welling up - tears of inspiration and gratitude and wonder at the beauty and wildness surrounding me. Gratitude for myself that I can work on this wonderful project - have this big adventure, gratitude for all benefit to the women who will come here, for the generosity and creativity and support given by so many people to make this miraculous place happen.

Lots of people have helped, but I especially feel gratitude to Vajradevi for never compromising the vision, - she's an example of what great things can be achieved by simply keeping going and taking the next step, doing the next thing.

So soon we'll be driving the first retreatants up the track. I can't wait to see their faces!

love, Vijayasri

There are lots of photo's from Akasavana on their Flickr site.

Big Changes at Akashavana

Nothing remains static for very long in the mountains of Spain. Since Vajradevi left at the beginning of October the community has temporarily expanded to five; the weather is moving towards winter cold with gorgeous, icy frosts in the mornings; a yurt has appeared in the front garden (well, front wilderness); a new wood shed is erected on the side of the community (now we just have to fill it with wood); and the retreat centre is (we hope) close to completion.

There is also a brand new web site at www.akashavana.org full of snaps, news and info including a blog on 'moksabunny.'

The community is growing. I joined Vijayasri and Bianca, arriving from the warmth of San Francisco beginning of November. The sub-zero temperatures have not put me off, but the dirt depositing itself on my fluffy North Face gear has come close. I will be taking over the finances – mainly because I do actually know what I’m doing in this area, whereas building a wood shed is a mysterious process for me. Roselle and Desiree, part of the Buddhafield extended family, also arrived in November and will be staying through March. Roselle arrived complete with her own yurt, which she is valiantly living in despite the icy weather. Both have been an amazing help assisting Bianca to build the wood shed; researching composting toilets (details and photos can be forwarded to anyone interested); and fancying up the solitary yurt so it will be even more cosy for future retreatants. They also came with the added bonus of being well versed in the outdoors and shower shortages, which can’t really be said for me.

The building work at the retreat centre continues in typical Spanish style- i.e. there are no guarantees exactly when the workmen will show up - but thanks to continued cajoling from Vijayasri, the show goes on. A number of water tanks looking suspiciously like space ships have arrived, and the windows and doors are now installed – heating and electricity next.

The community continues to work with the daily challenges of living in such a remote place: Internet access is always a practice of patience and mindfulness; calling a friend requires walking or driving up the hill dressed in multiple layers (and with a hot water bottle if you’re smart); we now have 7 mobiles lined up on the windowsill – the only place we can pick up a signal; and a trip into town is usually a very long day with lots of regrets if you forget something essential (which does occasionally happen). Thankfully there are many laughs in the process, and the spectacular scenery always enhances the drive. So until next time, we are busy preparing for the snow, although Vijayasri says “it’s not happening this year”, and preparing for our first Ordination retreat in April.

- Padmadharini