Report from ‘Buddha Mind - Creative Mind?’ conference

Amitajyoti from the FWBO’s London Buddhist Arts Centre writes with this review of the recent ‘Buddha Mind - Creative Mind?’ event, held over the weekend of 12-14th June. She says -

"‘Buddha Mind - Creative Mind?’ was an intra-Buddhist Arts and Creativity event, held at Taplow Court, a beautiful venue just outside London belonging to Soka Gakkai International (SGI), and organised by the Institute of Oriental Philosophy, supported by the UK’s Network of Buddhist Organisations (NBO).

"The focus of this event was an exploration of the relationship between Buddhist thought/practice and Creativity with specific reference to the arts. Does Buddhist thought and practice help or hinder the creative process? The theme was explored through a series of academic lectures, discussion, exhibition of artworks and workshops. The event brought together around 80 people from a broad spectrum of backgrounds Buddhist and non-Buddhist, artist and non-artists all who share an interest in the theme. The exhibition of visual arts included sculpture, painting and film and represented 40 artists who each share some association with Buddhism.

"The spirit of creativity was evoked during the weekend through the spirit of participation and play that was encouraged by the organisers throughout the event. Contributors included academics, artists, singer-songwriters, curators, and art critics from a range of backgrounds and traditions including singer-songwriter Howard Jones; Robert Beer, artist and author of ‘The Encyclopaedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs’; Sister Zangmo, Buddhist nun, artist and tutor; Samanera Amaranatho from Amaravati; and members of ‘The Bodhisattvas’, an Engaged Buddhist acoustic duo! For a fuller review of the programme see Chris Wards report on TripleGem.

"Dr John Peacock gave the introductory talk on the theme of ‘Life as a Work of Art’, offering us the opportunity of being creative moment by moment through the activity of ‘giving attention’ to one’s experience, which, he stated, is the ‘opening of the creative life’ - a willingness to experience things beyond the familiar. The range of talks given covered historical developments in art from ‘The Rise of Buddhist art in India, Third century BCE to second century CE’ to the influence of Buddhism upon the visual arts in the USA since 1950’s, and poetry in USA and UK, as well as some talks given by contemporary Buddhist artists, writers, singers and musicians in the UK.

"Of the FWBO practitioners who participated in the weekend, Akasaka led a drawing workshop entitled ‘Drawing as meditation’, Ratnagarbha gave a talk on Buddhism in modern poetry, and Lilavati and myself each gave a presentation and facilitated a discussion group on the theme of how Buddhist thought and practice influence the creative process.

"On the Saturday evening we had a vegetarian dinner prepared by volunteers from SGI UK which was held in the main house. The food was delicious and was served with great care and consideration which can only be an influence of Japanese etiquette – reflective of the general care and attentiveness of the organising teams throughout the weekend. The Saturday eve soiree was an opportunity for participants to offer poetry, performance and music. The richness and diversity of this event was a real highlight, with Richard Gombrich singing Wagnerian arias, John Peacock sublimely playing the sitar, followed by poetry readings and songs concluding with ‘The Bodhisattvas’ who offered guitar, drum, singalong vocals - and the odd Sex Pistols song!

"With a healthy combination of analytical enquiry, discussion and play the event offered us an opportunity to really explore the theme and gain deeper understandings of the relationship between the creative processes of the mind and Buddhist thought and practice. Thanks to Jamie Cresswell (Director of the IOP) and Val Stephenson for their broad vision of the arts and creativity and for putting so much energy, enthusiasm and skill into the organisation of this event.

"If you would like to make contact with other people interested in this field, go to www.dharmaarts.ning.com/ - the site of the Dharma Arts Network (DAN) which was launched at the conference, or the London Buddhist Arts Centre’s website where you can sign up to their database.

For further references to the influence of Buddhism upon Western Art I recommend two American publications entitled ‘Buddha Mind in Contemporary Art’ and ‘Smile of the Buddha’.

Buddhists engage with climate change: part I

Starting today we've a few posts on environmental issues and how some Buddhists are engaging with them. Susie, a mitra with the FWBO's Buddhafield sangha, writes to say -

"Hi all, I made this vid to advertise our upcoming Energy Union show in Slovakia: it features Petra (comic actress) and Vec (rapper); it's at www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_50GYtNksg

"If you happen to have contacts in Slovakia, or the Czech Republic, maybe you could forward this on to them! thanks, x Sooz"

The video is a glimpse of a much bigger project that Susie has been working with, in fact working so hard that she turned down the chance to get ordained this year in order to see the project brought to completion!

This is the Europe-wide ENERGY UNION tour: of themselves they say -

"Environmental damage, climate change, renewable energy, intelligent energy … buzzwords from media and TV. Often heard and easily forgotten about. Our mission: to illuminate, inform and animate; to think and act. Energy Union is a campaign, music tour, party, art and discussion all in one, and it comes together with information, tips & tricks on how to save the planet!

"The Energy Union show is about transmitting the topic of ‘Intelligent Energy’ in an unconventional way, a ground-breaking piece of live cinema. The music is a 'Journeys by DJ' style approach: a montage of contemporary music both familiar and obscure, drawn from many genres, woven together by the acknowledged Grandmasters of the eclectic electric mash-up. The music is also planned to feature an orchestral element, a score performed by a live string section, adding a human dimension to the digital.

"The visuals - a mix of borrowed, contributed footage and custom animation - use the music mix as a foundation to build a narrative in 4 sections:

Celebration

Caution

Solutions

Action

"The aim is to directly change the consciousness of the audience by an overwhelmingly positive and inspirational new approach to eco-politics using dance music and visual innovation as a way to connect with the youth audience.

More on their website - http://energyunion.eu/

The tour starts on July 18th in Munich, Germany, heading from there all over Eastern Europe.

Thought for the Day with Vishvapani - tomorrow

FWBO News readers are invited to tune in to BBC Radio 4 tomorrow (Weds 1 July) for another instalment of Vishvapani's 'Thought for the Day'.

He will be on at 7.50am, perhaps a couple of minutes earlier, on the very popular Today programme. The talk will be available soon after that on the BBC website: www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/thought; and if you want more; there'll be another chance on the morning of Fri 17 July.

In addition, all previous contributions are available here.

The Today programme is one of the BBC's most-listened-to programmes, with a daily audience of over 5 million people. His previous contribution, in the wake of the UK's parliamentary expenses scandal, began "Perhaps it's the end of the culture of deference…"

Vishvapani's website is at www.vishvapani.org

A death in India

Amrutdeep, one of the Indian Order Convenors, writes with news of the death of an ex-member of the Western Buddhist Order/Trailokya Bauddha Mahasangha (as the Order is known in India). He says -

"Dear Mahasangha,

"This is to inform you all that Ex- Dh. Bakul aged about 74, has expired on morning of Monday 22 due to Heart Attack in the Hospital.  His funeral took place next morning Tues 23 at 10.00 am.

Since last 15 days when he had his first attack, he was in I.C.U. (Intensive Care Unit) under observation and treatment of expert Doctor. He was ordained in 1979 and was from the first Batch of Order Members in India.

He has done lot of contribution to the Indian movement and in particular in Gujarat state.


All friends are requested please send your Metta to him as well as his Family members.

With Metta,
Amrutdeep

New Centre opens in Mexico City

Sunday June 28th at 5pm Mexican time sees the opening of a new Buddhist Centre in Mexico City, with activities starting properly on 30/6.

Five Order Members (four women and a man) have teamed up to create the very beautiful 'Buda Mandala' space in the central and beautiful Coyoacán district of the city.

Their website (www.budamandala.com) says -

" Buda Mandala is a group formed by members of the Western Buddhist Order. It is dedicated to the teaching of Buddhism and meditation in an appropriate way for our Mexican contemporary surroundings.

"Our vision is one of a world where human beings can peacefully coexist in a network of contribution and protection that reaches to all living beings and the Earth, a network in which each honors its limitless potential of wisdom and unconditional love.

"Our mission is to make of our vision a reality, transmitting the lessons and practices of the Buddha-Dharma in an appropriate way to our context in Mexico, Latin America and the world, honoring the lessons of the Buddha and the vision of the founder of our Order, Urgyen Sangharakshita".

(Many thanks to the Babelfish website for this translation: it's remarkably beautiful and eloquent, considering that it was done by computer!)

The address is Francisco Ortega 27, Altos (in center of Coyoacán), tel (04455) 2510-4153. The FWBO's main centre in Mexico City continues: full details at http://www.budismo.org.mx/.

SADHU!

Belgium celebrates mitra ceremony on the International Urban Retreat - all invited!

Arthakusalin writes from Belgium to say -

"This is to inform you that on the evening of Thursday 25th, during the FWBO International Urban Retreat at the Ghent Buddhist Centre, there will be a mitra ceremony.

"Steven Heyde will become a mitra that evening, the ceremony will be led by the two Urban Retreat leaders Upekshadaka and Arthakusalin.

"We thought it would be a great moment for Steven to have his ceremony in this wider, international context with so many people attending the retreat all over the world...

"all my best wishes, Arthakusalin

If you're reading this - why not send them a message of support - just email the Centre!

The photograph shows the Order Members from the Ghent Centre.

Click here for more on the International Urban Retreat: happening this week!

Urban Retreat - shrines from around the world

Lokabandhu, one of the organisers of the FWBO International Urban Retreat, writes to say -

"Hi, just to say the Mosaic of Shrines and Sanghas for the Urban Retreat is now complete and can be downloaded as a high-quality PDF from the Resources page of FWBO News:

www.fwbo-news.org/resources/urban_retreat_shrines_and_sanghas_mosaic.pdf

"It's printable as an 8-page full-colour poster that should look great on your shrine. If you prefer you can enjoy it on-line at the FWBO Photos site:

www.flickr.com/photos/fwbo/sets/72157619314684733/

"The Mosaic contains over 50 photos of Buddhist shrines from around the world; also many of the FWBO sanghas participating in the retreat. Thanks to everyone who sent in their photos - more are welcome but I can't guarantee they'll be included in this edition of the mosaic!"

The retreat is going well, both online via Facebook and at over 40 FWBO Centres and groups large and small around the world. To quote an email at random, Barbara from Lyon in France writes:

"Please find attached the photo of our small group who attended the 1st day of Urban Retreat near Lyon in the French Region of Rhones Alpes (South east).

"We are a small group of 3 people practising with the FWBO. Many thanks for all your support (and all the project team) to make this happen. People find it very supportive and helpful. And it was for me a great occasion to lead a day retreat for the 1st time!"

Women's Ordinations in Dehra Dun, northern India

On Saturday 13 Jun 2009 two women had their public ordinations during the course of a women's mitra retreat at the Gorkha Military School, Dehra Dun.

These are the first women's ordinations in India outside of the state of Maharashtra. Sadhu!

Dhammamitra Sumitra from Dehra Dun becomes Dhammacharini Suvinaya – she of good, honest conduct/ethics. Her private preceptor was Jnanasuri, also from India

Dhammamitra Suman Lata from Dehra Dun becomes Dhammacharini Mettavadita -- she with speech full of Metta. Her private Preceptor was Karunamaya, who has lived in India for many years.

The Public preceptor was Karunamaya. The names were checked by Professors Sushila Muljadhav and C.R. Ingale from the Pali Department of Marathawada Dr Ambedkar University, Aurangabad.

The photograph shows Mettavadita just after her ordination.

Urban Retreat starts today

The FWBO's first International Urban Retreat starts today with over 40 Buddhist Centres from around the world - and an unknown but substantial number of individuals on Facebook - coming together for a week of shared practice.

Over the past weeks we've been collecting short talks and videos from individuals from around the world talking about their life and practice; you'll find these on the Talks and Resources page of the Urban Retreat website. Latest additions are talks and videos from India, America, New Zealand, Australia, UK, and Germany. Many thanks to FreeBuddhistAudio and VideoSangha for hosting these.

Coming soon is the Urban Retreat Shrine Mosaic: a large downloadable printable montage of Urban Retreat shrines from all over the world - it should be available Monday afternoon. Plus more talks and videos…

If you want to participate it's still possible to join the Facebook version of the retreat - visit the 'Preparation' event at www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=59381279298 and follow the links…

'Buddhafield East' sangha celebrations

The FWBO's 'Buddhafield East' sangha have just celebrated their first-ever long retreat. It seems to have been a hit! Jon Heddle writes -

"Set in a sun-drenched buttercup meadow in North Norfolk, the first ever Buddhafield East long retreat was a triumph. The perfect blend of play and Dharma practice. Padmavajra's talks on developing 'The Mind of Wisdom and Compassion' were very well received by both those new to retreats and 'old' hands alike.

"In addition to talks, meditation, ritual and discussion there was also plenty of time for frisbee, volley ball, circus games, yoga and what can be best described as dry field sledging. After the evening Puja people either sat round the main camp fire and/or enjoyed the sauna, whilst the field was bathed in a mist made silver by the waxing moons gentle glow.

"On the final evening of the retreat we held a soiree in the round house. Warmed by a log fire we shared poems, stories, jokes, dance, song, Capoeira and a lot of laughter!

"The feedback was very positive, ranging from 'the best retreat ever' to 'I never knew retreats would be so much fun'.

"Roll on the 2009 Buddhafield East Summer Gathering!"

Buddhafield East are based in East Anglia, UK, you'll find their very beautiful website at http://buddhafieldeast.com - or their blog at http://bfenews.blogspot.com

Ordinations at Guhyaloka

Manjuvajra writes with news of the recent nineteen men's Public Ordinations at Guhyaloka, the FWBO's retreat centre in the mountains of Spain.

Publicly ordained by Surata
Ken Pearson becomes Hridayamani - 'He whose heart is a jewel/jewel-like' - private preceptor Tejananda

Patrick Baigent becomes Vimokshadaka - 'The daka of liberation' - private preceptor Sanghadeva

Publicly ordained by Mahamati
Andrew Harman becomes Shantideva - 'The peaceful deva', also named after the author of the Bodhicaryavatara - private preceptor Buddhadasa

Matthew Burgess becomes Vidyaruci - 'Radiance of Wisdom/ [He who finds] pleasure in mysterious knowledge' - private preceptor Subhuti.

Publicly ordained by Saddhaloka
Murray Sansom becomes Satyadaya - 'Genuine, honest, true kindness, compassion' - private preceptor Maitreyabandhu

Peter Hunt becomes Vidyasiddhi - 'He who has succeeded in accomplishing the Wisdom of aesthetic appreciation' - private preceptor Jnanottara

Rob Thurlow becomes Vimukta - 'Completely free; released' - private preceptor Karunavira

Simon Lovat becomes Vidyadhara - 'He who is the Holder or Bearer of the Wisdom of aesthetic appreciation' - private preceptor Jnanottara

Simon Thunder becomes Sanghasiha - 'He who is a Lion of the Sangha' - private preceptor Satyaraja

Frank Spitzauer becomes Dayajina - 'gentle, kind victor ' - private preceptor Bodhimitra

John Denton becomes Saddhasura - 'Hero of Faith' - private preceptor Surata

Carl Hutchinson becomes Drdhakarin - 'He who acts firmly, resolutely, wholly, steadfastly and with perseverance' - private preceptor Saddharaja

Simon Okotie becomes Manjusiha - 'lovely, pleasing, agreeable Lion (like the Buddha) ' - private preceptor Maitreyabandhu

Francisco Guillermo-Aguilar (Paco) becomes Maitrighosha - 'The voice of loving-kindness/ He who speaks with loving-kindness' - private preceptor Ratnaghosha

Nick Ross becomes Buddhasiha - 'He who is a Lion of the Buddha ' - private preceptor Satyaraja

Robert Evans becomes Satyanatha - 'Truthful Lord or Protector' - private preceptor Kamalashila

David Beard becomes Jnanashalin - 'He who is distinguished for knowledge' - private preceptor Saddharaja

Rob Gibbs becomes Aryadhara - 'He who possesses nobility ' - private preceptor Maitreyabandhu

Richard Norris becomes Arthabandhu - 'Friend of the Good/the Goal ' - private preceptor Dharmadipa

The above names are the Anglicised versions - the scholarly transliteration of the names will appear with the fuller descriptions and photographs in Shabda.

The ordinatons took place on June 15th 2009.
The photograph shows the Dhardo Rimpoche stupa at Guyhaloka.

SADHU!

FWBO International Urban Retreat update: talks uploaded and Facebook event launched

The FWBO International Urban Retreat starts this Saturday, with over 40 FWBO Centres around the world participating - plus another 250 or more people on Facebook.

To help illustrate the internationality of the event - and of the FWBO Sangha as a whole - a series of talks and videos is gradually being uploaded to the retreat website www.theurbanretreat.org.

These are short '10-minute-talks' by Order Members around the world, each talking about their life and practice. Already up are three very different talks by three widely-separated Dharmacharinis:

Karunaprabha (an Indian woman Order Member) telling the story of how her love of medicine led her to the Dharma;

Viveka, chair of the FWBO's San Francisco Buddhist Center describing, in a very personal talk, the challenges and opportunities in the areas of marriage, work and ethnicity; and

Suvarnamaitri, from Dinslaken, Germany, reflecting on her practice as a teacher.

Last but not least is a German talk by Mokshasiddha, on his life and practice as a physician living in Berlin.

You'll find all these on the 'Talks and Resources' page of the website www.theurbanretreat.org .

On Facebook the 'Preparation' Event has been released, where people not living anywhere near a participating FWBO Centre can still participate fully. This links you to material on meditation, on creating a shrine, finding a retreat 'buddy', suggested daily programmes, retreat diaries, and lots more.

Death of Sampada

Prajnananda writes with news of Dharmacharini Sampada's death.

He says:

" I have just learned that Dharmacharini Sampada has died. She was 91. Her funeral arrangements are yet to be finalized but the ceremony will take place in Truro on the afternoon of Monday 22nd June. Anyone wishing to be kept in touch with the arrangements for Sampada's funeral should email me or phone 0044 1752 405173".

Sampada was ordained in 1996, and the second-oldest member of the Order. She lived in Truro, Cornwall, and until recently ran a meditation class from her home.

Amitabha at Padmaloka: new painting by Aloka

Aryapala, manager of the FWBO's Padmaloka Retreat Centre in Norfolk, UK, has written with news of their new and very beautiful Amitabha painting -

"As Buddhism establishes itself in the west it will develop its own form of iconography - just as happened throughout Buddhist Asia.

Padmaloka has a special relationship with Aloka, a Buddhist artist who used to live in the Padmaloka community. Aloka thinks this development of a western Buddhist art will probably take 200 years or more. He is one of the people who are starting this process, drawing on more than 30 years experience as a Buddhist and an artist to produce images that can inspire, challenge and transform us. We have commissioned Aloka to produce a series of Buddha and Bodhisattva images for our shrine room.

"The most recent painting Aloka has just completed is a wonderfully rich 12ft by 6ft image of the red Buddha, Amitabha, that we have hung on the western wall of the shrine room.

"Thank you to all who helped contribute to the purchasing of this inspiring painting. On a meditation Order practice retreat in November, we will ritually unveil the new painting. The retreat is offered on a dana basis and all donations for this retreat go toward the next painting that we will commission from Aloka".

Note: Click the image above for a larger version.  

All Aloka images Copyright Padmaloka.

'Visions of Mahayana Buddhism' - new book by Windhorse

Sarah Ryan from the FWBO's Windhorse Publications writes with new of a new book, 'Visions of Mahayana Buddhism' -

“Mahayana means 'Great Way' or ‘Great Vehicle’ and refers to a powerful current of Buddhist thought, practice, and culture. Mahayana Buddhism spread across Asia, settling deeply in China, Korea, and Japan in particular. Its emphasis on wisdom and compassion continues to be deeply felt today.

"In a unique overview of this inspiring tradition, Nagapriya introduces its central themes and huge spectrum of practices, literature, and movements. Charting the evolution and expression of the Mahayana as a whole, he tracks its movement across South and East Asia, uncovering its history, culture, and doctrines. In doing so, he blends extensive knowledge with a strong element of lived practice.

"Ideal for both educational and personal use, this far-reaching and imaginative guide provides a solid foundation for any study in Buddhism and a valuable perspective on Asian history.”

"I hope you’re well and congratulations on the anniversary of FWBO News – long may it continue! Sarah

Nagapriya is already well-known as an author thanks to his critically-acclaimed 'Exploring Karma and Rebirth'. He lectures in Buddhist studies at Manchester University in the UK, specializing in Mahayana Buddhism.

The Kshitigarbha project: Outreach in Central India

For this week's personal profile, FWBO News presents Karunashur, an Indian Order Member living and studying in Cambridge UK.  He has sent us this inspiring report of his recent four-month-long Dhamma tour in the dusty plains of central India.

With Saddharaja, also from Cambridge, they have created the Kshitigarbha project, which raises funds to run retreats for the very poorest Buddhists in rural areas of India.

Karunashur says -

"I left UK for India on 2nd of Jan. Three days later I started giving talk in every village in my region - this is near Wardha, in Central India. It is very poor and suffers for a long time from drought. Many farmers are committing suicide. Saddharaja and I (photo, left) led a big 'Kshitigarbha' retreat at our retreat centre 'Bor Dharan' near Wardha. This is an annual retreat especially for poor people - we raise money in UK to make it possible for anyone to come. We also led the Kshitigarbha retreat last year. That time around five hundred people turned up. This time there were altogether seven hundred retreatants. They were coming from rural area and poor families.

"Before that I had been giving talks many different villages. In total I gave 70 talks while I was in India. After finishing the retreat, Saddharaja and I together gave six more talks around Wardha district. While we were giving the talks, people were saying to us that a few Hindu people also came our retreat. It was very pleasing news for us. Then I realized more than fifty Hindu people were in Kshitigarbha retreat. It’s a good sign for us. Not only Buddhist people are coming but non-Buddhist people also.

"Saddharaja left India then I was giving talks again. Most of my talks are based on Dhammapada. I realised it is good to tell Dhammapada stories rather than high principle or philosophy. People in rural areas like listening to stories! They were enjoying my story telling. Dhammapada stories are related to human beings. Most of talks were arranged for the evenings when people were free.

"Also this visit I led a day retreat with TBMSG people and non-TBMSG people. The people were already Buddhist; they know how to chant the Pali Canon and do puja. But they don’t know about meditation. I was teaching them two kinds of meditation Anapanasati and Metta Bhavana. A day retreat used to start at 11 o’ clock and finish at 5 o’ clock. Buddhist people were coming from different villages.

"After that I led a Holi retreat (Holi is big Indian "colour festival"). The theme was the Maha Vagga from the Dhammapada. I gave talks every day in that retreat. Four hundred people were there. It was a great experience to lead that retreat. Afterwards again I started giving talks and leading a day retreat. And then I went to Gujarat gave a talk, and led a day retreat in Valsad. It was my first talk in Hindi - normally I speak Marathi.

"And after that I went to Sikkim for eight days. It was very cold weather and showering. It felt like English weather! I visited Namachi monastery in Gangtok, Ghoom monastery in Darjeeling, and Bhante’s 'Bhikkhu cottage' in Kalimpong. Three Order Members were with me. It was a very great experience travelling with them.

"I came back from Sikkim on 25th of April in Wardha. The Sun was pouring fire, it was 46 degrees temperature. I felt sick for three days and spent a couple of days with my family. I left India for UK on 29th of April.

"Thanks to Lokabandhu for this. He told me to write for FWBO news.

"I will write again. Karunashur"

Next year they hope for 1,000 or even more people on their retreat. They have a fundraising page at www.justgiving.com/kshitigarbha which readers of FWBO News are warmly invited to contribute to.

Dhamma tours in Northern India: a report

For Part II of our report from India, we present a long report by Order Member Maitriveer Nagarjun (shown left), a young PhD student at JNU University, Delhi. He's recently completed a major tour across North India with Subhuti, Dharmashalin, and others. He writes -

Dear Lokabandhu,
Hope you are well and having cool days.
Delhi is so hot nowadays - breaking the records of 100 years.


Please find attached my late Report of the "Dhammakranti Retreats and Dhamma Awakening Campaign, North India 2009" It is at www.fwbo-news.org/features/Dhammakranti_Report_2009.pdf


Rest is fine.
Take care.
With much metta
Maitriveer Nagarjuna

Subhuti, recently back in UK, summarises what they got up to -

"Before I got to Bodhgaya, I had spent nearly two months touring in North India with Dharmashalin and Maitriveer Nagarjun, giving talks and leading retreats in ten different places. The approach that we have developed on the basis of Bhante's teaching and in line with Dr Ambedkar's vision is quite unique and is greeted with great joy and wonder by so many who hear of it. We manage to combine a message of social change through the principles of the Dharma with real spiritual practice. This seems to be deeply appealing.


"I have just published a book with Kumarajiv, translated into Hindi, outlining this message, called 'How to Live the Buddhist Life'. There is much more to tell about all this: there is something quite remarkable going on in Dalit circles in North India. I hope to say more about it on another occasion".

FWBO News hopes to bring you more details of this work in due course.

There's a growing number of videos on YouTube exploring and explaining what TBMSG is doing in India, and the effect it is having on thousands of people's lives. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISOdeuz59rI shows Dharmashalin, Subhuti's secretary, introducing the broad background to the revival of Buddhism in India; www.youtube.com/watch?v=eO-gmuXfCvI shows Satyadeep from Pune talking about his family background and what led him to the Dharma.

Ordinations at Akashavana and forthcoming ordinations at Guhyaloka

This is to joyfully announce the ordinations of seventeen women, of seven nationalities, during the three-month women's ordination retreat at Akashavana.

Public preceptor: Maitreyi

Jan Birbeck becomes Silanandi (Pali) (both ‘i’s long, long first ‘a’) She who delights in ethics. Private preceptor: Vajragita

Stephanie Betschart becomes Padmadrishti, She having/taking a lotus view.

Private preceptor: Ratnavandana

Julia Kurcin becomes Abhayadhi (long ‘i’) Fearless wisdom. Private preceptor: Ratnadharini

Anona Bhambral becomes Karunadhi (long second ‘a’, long ‘i’) She whose wisdom is compassion. Private preceptor: Ratnadharini

Pia Tapio becomes Liladhi (all vowels long). She whose wisdom is the play (of the bodhisattvas). Private preceptor: Ratnadharini

Claire Owen becomes Padmagita (long ‘i’, long last ‘a’) She who is a song of the lotus. Private preceptor: Srivati

Public preceptor: Parami

Fran Neal becomes Pasannamati (Pali) She who has a bright, clear, virtuous and happy mind. Private preceptor: Samacitta

Linda Hanson becomes Vidyasara (all ‘a’s long) She having (liberative) knowledge as her core or strength. Private preceptor: Ratnavandana

Sharon Mercer becomes Nanasiri (Pali) (first ‘n’ pronounced ‘jn’, long first ‘a’, long last ‘i’) She who has the radiance of knowledge. Private preceptor: Dayanandi

Betsy Stirling Benjamin becomes Kiranada (long last ‘a’) She who gives beams of moonlight (of the moon of the Bodhicitta). Private preceptor: Dayanandi

Public preceptor: Padmasuri

Zoe Stephenson becomes Saravantu (Pali) (long first ‘a’) Valuable (like heartwood) She who values what has true meaning. Private preceptor: Dhammadassin

Hedwig Frerich becomes Jayalalita (long last ‘a’) As beautiful as victory, the goddess of victory. Private preceptor: Kulanandi

Angeli van den Berg becomes Parina (all vowels long) She who crosses to the further shore, she who transcends all duality. Private preceptor: Akasasuri

Public preceptor: Ratnadharini

Mari Brothers becomes Dhiragita (both ‘i’s long, long second ‘a’) Firm, steady song. Private preceptor: Punyamala

Helena Treiberg Claeson becomes Dayadharani (long second and third ‘a’, long ‘i’) Bearing, holding, possessing compassion. Private preceptor: Kulanandi

Public preceptor: Dayanandi

Cheryl McMillan becomes Tejavani (long second ‘a’, long ‘i’) Sound, voice or praise of splendour, brilliance, energy. Private preceptor: Karunadevi

Rachel Kahn becomes Dhivajri (both ‘i’s long) She who has the diamond of wisdom. Private preceptor: Viryaprabha



In addition we're delighted to announce the following 19 men will be receiving their private ordinations at Guhyaloka at an unspecified time between now and June 14th. Their Public Ordination will be at Guhyaloka on June 15th at 12:00 (Spanish time - 10:00 GMT):

Ken Pearson, Murray Sansom, Peter Hunt, Rob Thurlow, Simon Lovat, Simon Thunder, Frank Spitzauer, John Denton, Carl Hutchinson, Simon Okotie, Paco Guillermo, Andrew Harman, Nick Ross, Robert Evans, David Beard, Rob Gibbs, Richard Norris, Matthew Burgess and Patrick Baigent.

SADHU! SADHU! SADHU!

News from India's "National Network of Buddhist Youth" - an inauguration in Mumbai, Summer Camp in Northern India; Video from Nagaloka

Today we bring you part 1 of a selection of news from TBMSG in India, where there's been a lot going on!

Inauguration in Mumbai
First is news of the inauguration of NNBY's Mumbai regional centre - NNBY standing for India's "National Network of Buddhist Youth". NNBY is one of the fastest-growing and dynamic wings of TBMSG in India - you'll find a detailed account of their structure, including their decentralised philosophy and Youth Parliaments on their website at www.nnby.org/aboutus.php.

The Mumbai regional centre was inaugurated in early May by Dr. A.H. Salunkhe; should you be in Mumbai you'll find it at Parmita 8th/B Lane, Tagore Nagar, Vikroli (East) Mumbai - you'll find it on the Google map at the bottom of this post.


"We shall bring back Buddhism in Northern India"
Closely following the inauguration in Mumbai was NNBY's “Youth Summer Camp”, a thousand miles away at Dehradun, a hill station in one of the northern provinces of India. Thanks to Ratnesh for this report -

"In this camp a group of 21 youth mainly from Dehradun and its neighbouring cities participated. The aim of the event was to attune the younger generation with the Dhamma; the focus was on the needs of Indian youth. Accordingly in this retreat, we had workshops on Personality Development, Self Development and Leadership Skills - ;plus meditation and puja of course.

Interestingly this retreat was guided by two young Dhammamitras - Pranit and Ratnesh. Pranit taught basic meditation and Puja to the participants and gave talks on basics of Dhamma. He also narrated the life story of the Buddha and Dr. Ambedkar in an emotional and convincing way. His talks were followed by group discussions and Question Answer sessions.

While in the daily afternoon sessions Ratnesh explained Dr. Ambedkar’s perspective on Buddhism such as ‘No Belief in God and Soul’ and also focused on the true meaning of |Personality by referring to Buddhist teachings on ‘mind’, ‘anitya’ and ‘individual’ as the basis of personality; he recounted incidents from the life of the Buddha and Dr. Ambedkar to present the success of the individual efforts in achieving one’s goals. Besides dealing with Buddhist theories, he sung the verses of Kabir (the reformist leader of Medieval India) to develop more attention and clarity on the points.

Disha, one of the young girls present, was so impressed by this explanation that she confessed that earlier she had been considering Buddhism as a religion of the past but now she realized that Buddhism is all time relevant and very much useful in our day-to-day life. Anshu expressed her feelings by saying that ‘this retreat has bought many changes in me, now I am more confident and developed deeper connection with Buddhism’.

Most of the participants who were first timers on any retreat admitted that before coming to this retreat they were not at all willing to participate in it but they were pushed by their Buddhist parents for participation! Happy to say that during this retreat they admitted that they realized the wonder of Buddhism and ended by saying they will never again miss such an opportunity. Kamal, Bittu and Siddharth, three participants from Delhi were so overjoyed they said they will try to bring more and more friends on future retreats and they wanted to be Dhamma activists.

On the last day the teachers and participants greeted each other and paid their special thanks to the senior order members Kumarjeev and Bodhisagar for their active support and help. Bodhisagar who was present in this occasion expressed his joys and satisfaction and promised to arrange such retreats in various parts of northern India. This session was lead by one of the participants Manisha, who confidently led the thanksgiving program.

The Retreat ended with a Hindi Buddhist song ‘Aao Hum sab milkar Itihas Rachaenge’ (Let’s Come together to create a History). Participants with their full joy all together roared ‘JAI BHEEM’ and pledged their desire to bring Buddhism back in its glory in northern India.

SADHU NNBY!

Video from Nagaloka
Closely linked to NNBY is TBMSG's training facility at Nagaloka, also known as the Nagarjuna Training Institute. There's a great new video of the students there up on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-bba8s1YB4 - thanks for this goes to Jess Brand from Bristol UK, who taught English there for a while in 2008.

Four resignations from the Order

The past few months have seen four resignations from the Western Buddhist Order: Ajitasena, Amaraketu, Aryadeva, and Sakyadevi.

The news comes from Parami and Mahamati, joint International Order Convenors, who write -

"The following have recently resigned from the Order: Amaraketu from Bristol, U.K., Ajitasena also from Bristol, and Sakyadevi from Minden, Germany. These resignations have been accepted by their respective preceptors. We wish all three of them well".

Aryadeva, also from Germany, resigned a little while previously, in order to become more closely involved with the Insight Meditation Society and their teachers.

Among other remarks, Amaraketu says in his letter of resignation "I hugely appreciate everything that very many people in the Order have done for me and with me, and I hope to keep in touch with good friends. I also ask forgiveness from those I have hurt and for all unskilful actions for which I have been responsible. I wish you good health and peace. Fare well. With love and appreciation"

Ajitasena is a talented woodcarver, and the photograph shows his larger-than-life Buddha, currently on display at the FWBO's Glasgow Centre.

FWBO News also wishes all four of them well as they continue their spiritual journeys in other contexts.

Adolescents celebrate rite of passage in Essen

Jnanacandra, Chair of the FWBO's Centre in Essen, Germany, writes -

"On May 1st four teenagers celebrated an important day in their lives at the Essen Buddhist Centre. In the company of family and many friends they celebrated the fact that they had left childhood behind them and were now embarking on the exciting and challenging path to adulthood.

"This was the second time that such a rite of passage was held at an fwbo Centre. Prasadavati led the ritual very beautifully and reminded both the teenagers and the parents of the deeper meaning of this step.

"Both the parents and adolescents ritually invoked the powerful forces involved in the process of growing up. They remembered the good times that they had spent together and expressed their mutual gratitude, appreciation and respect by bowing to each other and exchanging a symbolic gift.

Then the parents enacted the process of letting go by cutting off a strand of their children‘s hair which they later cast into a river. For the adolescents this also symbolized their growing independence of their parents - and Prasadavati reminded them of the fact that growing freedom also entails growing responsibility. Finally each of the teenagers listened to a moving „rejoicing in merits“ that reminded them of the many wonderful qualities that each of them possesses and encouraged them to make the best use of them.

"Two professional musicians, the grandparents of one of the girls, played wonderful music on cello and german flute - this helped create a very special and moving atmosphere around the ritual. The pieces they had chosen conveyed the distinct flavour of the different phases of the ceremony. The ritual ended with the singing of the blessings and a loud and heartfelt threefold „sadhu“ from all present.

"Dana, Derya, Gina and Ella are all 13 or 14 years old and daughters of members of the Essen Sangha. They themselves don‘t necessarily consider themselves buddhist and the ceremony didn‘t involve any commitment to buddhism on their side – but it certainly reflected buddhist values like gratitude, respect, appreciation, personal responsibility and the possibilities of conscious development.

"Many of the buddhist and non-buddhist guests present expressed their appreciation of this event. Any centre that might be interested in offering their young people such a rite of passage is very welcome to contact Jnanacandra at the Essen Buddhist Centre for details: essen@fwbo.de.

FWBO International Urban Retreat: June 20-27th

Coming up very soon is a major new FWBO event: the movement's first ‘international urban retreat’.

Vajragupta, who works for the FWBO's development team, explains -

This year we are running the first ever FWBO international urban retreat. All over the world, over 40 FWBO centres in 12 countries will run ‘urban retreats’, all during the same week in June. On an ‘urban retreat’ you carry on living and working in your normal circumstances, but with a difference...

The week starts on Saturday 20th June with a day retreat at your local centre. During that day you'll be helped and encouraged to set up the conditions to take your practice deeper.

During the week, to support you there'll be talks, led meditations, and other resources available, both locally and on-line.

The retreat ends with another day event on 27th June – this will include the opportunity to reflect on how it went, and where you want to take your practice next…

It’s simple enough but the benefits are many –

* you can gain confidence in your practice... The urban retreat shows you how you can create positive states of mind in the midst of everyday life.
* you can go deeper... Link-up with other people at your centre and help each other to practice more intensively for a week.
* you can be inspired... You'll be part of an international event, practising with people from fwbo centres all over the world.

For those who can't attend the urban retreat at an FWBO Centre, there is the chance to do the retreat on-line - for details check the website www.theurbanretreat.org  or via the FWBO page on facebook .

As part of the retreat we’ll be collaborating with various FWBO projects – Wildmind , Free Buddhist Audio , and Videosangha .

Sangharakshita's Diary

Dharmamati, Sangharakshita's secretary, writes with his latest news -

"The first event since the last report was Bhante's visit to Cardiff in Wales. There he inaugurated the new triptych painted by Aloka for the Cardiff Buddhist Centre shrine-room. Before unveiling the triptych Bhante gave a short talk about the significance of Buddhist and Western art and its importance to the spiritual life. Back at Madhyamaloka this was followed by a study seminar on chapters 4, 5 and 6 from the Ratnagunasamcayagatha, as translated by Conze. Toward the end of March, Bhante gave a question-and-answer session for participants on the 'Sangharakshita and the History of the FWBO' seminar.

At the beginning of April, Bhante, accompanied by Dharmamati, went to Essen for the Central European FWBO Day celebrations. Besides Germany, Order members came from Holland, Belgium and France. The following day he gave a public talk on the stages of the spiritual path, which was in effect an exposition of his 'system' of spiritual discipline. During his stay he met people both individually and in small groups for meals. He was also taken to two of Essen's parks. One of the most memorable meals was a short drive from Essen in the countryside at an outside restaurant by the River Ruhr. In the warm afternoon sun a group of men Order members and Mitras enjoyed a meal followed by lively conversation with Bhante.

The following weekend, on the FWBO Day celebrations at the Birmingham Buddhist Centre, Bhante, Subhuti, and Vidyadevi each gave a talk primarily to launch Bhante's latest books Living Ethically and The Essential Sangharakshita. Vidyadevi spoke first about her experiences of compiling and editing The Essential Sangharakshita. Next Subhuti launched The Essential Sangharakshita and spoke at length about his early involvement in the FWBO. Lastly, Bhante launched Living Ethically and spoke on gratitude, ethics, and altruism, sharing his most recent reflections on these issues. (All three talks are available on VideoSangha).  In the last week of April Bhante took part in a major seminar at Madhyamaloka, 'Responding to the Cries of the World'.

Shortly after this, Bernard Stevens from Belgium visited and spent a few days with the Madhyamaloka community and Bhante. He is a writer who is hoping to write a book about Sangharakshita and the FWBO in French.

At the beginning of May, Bhante went to Tiratanaloka to lead study on the Bodhicaryavatara with the Women Mitra Convenors. Unfortunately, due to poor health, Bhante was unable to lead the study and had to return to Madhyamaloka (more will be said about this below). Fortunately he was able to recover quickly from this and could meet for two Q&A sessions with the Public Preceptors at Madhyamaloka, both providing opportunities to discuss his Message to the Order, already mentioned on FWBO News.

A draft of a new history of the FWBO entitled You've had the Theory, Now Try the Practice: The Story of the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order, written by Vajragupta, is currently being read to him for his comments.

In between, and sometimes during, these events Bhante continues to meet people individually virtually every day, deal with correspondence, go for his daily walk, and listen to various articles, including Shabda which is read to him by either Paramartha or Dharmamati.

Bhante's health: In general, for a man of his age, Bhante's health has been good.

However, he finds on occasions that he does not have a good night's sleep and this leaves him with little energy the following day to engage in activities. This is what happened at Tiratanaloka and earlier in the year at Bristol. Anyone meeting him for any reason is asked to bear this in mind : to please be aware of the time, remind Bhante of it, and try not to extend the meeting much beyond an hour, even if it looks like he has plenty more to say. Bhante also continues to have treatment to his left eye with injections for macular degeneration. He has one more session left.

Future events: At the time of writing Bhante is about to start a study seminar on the Bodhicaryavatara with four Order members and four Mitras from Belgium and Holland. Over the next couple of months Bhante has visits planned to Cambridge, Glasgow, Liverpool, Blackburn and Lancaster where he will be launching his latest books Living Ethically and The Essential Sangharakshita and, where possible, giving Q&A sessions for Order Members and others. He will also be going to Valencia to open their new centre.

So as can be seen Bhante continues to get 'out and about' and contribute substantially to the lifeblood of the Order and Movement.

Dharmamati - Madhyamaloka 15 May 2009

Living Ethically: latest book by Sangharakshita

Sangharakshita's latest book has been released by Windhorse Publications, his publishers. It's entitled ‘Living Ethically: advice from Nagarjuna’s Precious Garland’ and is based, like many of his recent books, on edited transcripts of a seminar held many years ago. That's not as simple as it might sound - the seminar would have recorded, - probably at Padmaloka in 1975 or 1976, onto reel-to-reel tapes, painstakingly transcribed some years later using a typewriter, scanned still later - and now, finally, edited...

In this particular case what survived to be edited was only a single carbon-copy. Silabhadra, who did the scanning in 2004, commented as he began it "The only remaining original was just a carbon copy of the original typescript of the seminar. Much of what follows will, I predict, be totally incomprehensible!"

To illustrate just how true his prediction was, we copy below the first few lines of the scan of transcription:

All flght, let's go
on to Chapter One
and read a verse at
a time, going round the circle
and
t4~l
-
~
)
Chapter One
I bow down to theA i~~a;-2+. fre~from all defects,
... adorned with all virtues, the sole
friend o~~beings.
S.
There's quite a number of points to go into here.
Tho is being
saluted here, who is the author bowing down to?
The Pu-ddha.

From such unpropitious ingredients, we are fortunate indeed to have the book itself! Even the process of editing was not easy: Sangharakshita is now in his 84th year and has for some years suffered with little or no eyesight. The book was therefore produced in collaboration with Samacitta, chair of the nearby Birmingham Buddhist Centre, who visited him most days over the past year, reading him the manuscript and writing down his responses.

She writes - " I have been delighting in my contact with Bhante recently. Since he can no longer read with his own eyes, I was asked to help him edit his next book by reading the manuscript to him. The decline of his eyesight is obviously a great loss, not only for him personally but also indirectly for us, but for me it has led to a situation which is giving me a great deal of spiritual nourishment and inspiration".

On the book itself, Windhorse, his publishers, say –

“In a world of increasingly confused ethics, Living Ethically looks back over the centuries for guidance from Nagarjuna, one of the greatest teachers of the Mahayana tradition. Drawing on the themes of Nagarjuna’s famous scripture, Precious Garland of Advice for a King, this book explores the relationship between an ethical lifestyle and the development of wisdom. Covering both personal and collective ethics, Sangharakshita considers such enduring themes as pride, power and business, as well as friendship, love and generosity”.

‘Living Ethically' should be available in FWBO Centre bookshops - but can also be obtained on-line via Windhorse.

FWBO gains 1,000 fans on Facebook

The FWBO page on Facebook  has recently gained its 1000th 'fan'. The page was created late last year to give the FWBO a presence on Facebook - since then it's multiplied!

There are now FWBO groups acting as contact points for the FWBO in Denmark, Finland, Karuna, Vajraloka, Padmaloka, Buddhafield, New Zealand, Scotland, San Francisco, and even India - and probably quite a few more we haven't found yet. There's a special group for young FWBOers which now has nearly 150 members (147 to be precise!).  To access any of these you'll need to join Facebook if you haven't already - then simply click the links above. 

It's also proving a rich medium for interaction between individuals - friends old and new - in the FWBO Sangha around the world. This looks set to expand yet further when the FWBO's International Urban Retreat comes around in June, when a special version of the retreat will be offered via Facebook.

Anyone wanting to participate in the Facebook version of the retreat is invited to visit the Facebook page, become a 'fan' (sorry about the terminology - not our choice of word!) and click through to the International Urban Retreat event.

From there, just follow the links… The retreat will run from June 20-27th and we'll be posting more information soon.

FWBO News celebrates 5th anniversary

Jayarava, the creator of FWBO News, has written to say -

"Hi. FWBO News will be 5 years old on the 30th of May! Keep up the good work!"

FWBO News is the main international news channel for the FWBO, carrying a steady stream of news, comment, Right Livelihood and volunteering opportunities from across the world, plus links to some of the many other FWBO sites.

For the first two years Jayarava worked on the new FWBO News 'blog' entirely in his spare time. After he retired due to ill-health it was taken over by Lokabandhu, who works in the small 'FWBO Development Team' coordinating the news reports from all over the world from his bedroom in Glastonbury, Somerset UK.

During the past 5 years it's carried nearly 1,000 stories, which are assembled each month into an 'anthology' for FWBO Centres to print out and make available. Contributions are always welcome - to submit an item simply email your story plus photograph (if possible) to news@fwbo-news.org.

Over the 40 years of the FWBO's life many magazines have come and gone: we show here the covers of some of them…

Besides FWBO News, we recommend VideoSangha and Facebook as two excellent ways to stay in touch with the FWBO as an international Buddhist community.

Launch of new FWBO Dharma Training Course for Mitras

In the FWBO and TBMSG, the first formal commitment people make to practice as a Buddhist is likely to be expressed in the Mitra Ceremony. Mitra is a Sanskrit word meaning 'friend', and in the ceremony the person declares their connection with the Three Jewels of Buddhism - their wish to become like the Buddha, to practice the Dharma, and to build friendships with the Sangha. In response, members of the Order do what they can to offer facilities to mitras across the FWBO, who now number several thousand.

For the past two years Saccanama, an Order Member living in Bristol, UK, has been working on a new Dharma Training Course for Mitras, and we are delighted to report that this has now been launched, to critical acclaim - indeed, its been described as "totally fantastic" by one delighted study leader.

The Course, which runs over four years including a Foundation Year, is a major re-presentation of the FWBO and Sangharakshita's approach to the Dharma, and for the first time has been professionally produced with source material, further reading, and teachers' notes.

The course is designed for weekly study in groups, but all the material is freely available for those not able to attend FWBO groups or centres.

It has its own permanent web address online, www.fwbomitracourse.com, though the files themselves are currently held on the FWBO's FreeBuddhistAudio site – click on the link above and it will take you straight there.

Saccanama introduced the course with a talk entitled " Giving the Gift of the Dharma", given at Padmaloka retreat centre, and available for anyone to listen to. He has also written ‘A Guide to the FWBO Dharma Training Course for Mitras’ which is now available to download from the website.

The guide includes a preface by Sangharakshita, who writes -

"Since the earliest days of the FWBO I have been concerned that men and women who attend our centres should be able to gain a proper understanding of the Dharma. I am therefore delighted that the new Dharma Training Course for Mitras is now available.

"The aim of the Course is to provide Mitras – those wishing to practise the Dharma within the context of the FWBO – with what amounts to a basic education in Buddhism. The four-year course (the first year of which is a foundation year) includes modules on the principle Buddhist teachings, both practical and theoretical, as well as on some of the more important scriptures and philosophical schools. There are modules on the Bodhisattva Ideal; on the nature of the Sangha or spiritual community; on faith, symbols, and the imagination; on ethics and the environment; on Buddhist psychology; and on the history of the FWBO. Though the new Dharma Training Course draws on the old Mitra Study Course, there is also much that is new, some of it specially written for the course. Moreover, there is a greater emphasis on the importance of putting what one learns into practice.

"A great deal of thought has gone into the preparation of the new Dharma Training Course, and a great deal of work, and I congratulate all those who were involved in its production. The course should be available at every FWBO centre, and I hope that all Mitras who wish to extend and deepen their knowledge of the Dharma will take full advantage of it.

"Sangharakshita

Franco-Indian connections deepen through Non-Violent Communication

Aniruddha, an Indian Order Member working in India as a trainer in NVC (Non-Violent Communication) writes -

"Hi. I would like to celebrate and share the article about ‘NVC and Anger’ which appeared in the Indian ‘Guardian Health Chronicle’ recently. This magazine publishes from Delhi and has a circulation of 125,000 readers. It's on-line at www.myhealthguardian.com/manage-age.asp.

"I am celebrating the way NVC consciousness is spreading in India. I am grateful to the NVC India team and all those people out there who are supporting our activities. Please check the article - I would love to hear your feedback.

"Much love, Aniruddha

What Aniruddha doesn't mention, in his modesty, is that he's the General Manager of NVC India, and just back from a major presentation in France to the first-ever NVC Festival in Paris in early May.

He has a website www.invci.org, reflecting their recent registration as the “Institute of Non-Violent Communication, India.” The new site is still being created, but on the old one you'll find an account of his visit - he writes:

"I was scheduled to make a two-hour presentation on the developments of NVC in India since my last visit to Paris two years ago. We had both imagined about 50 participants – and we realized the day before that there would actually be 200! The room was so full that we were asked to make the presentation on top of a table so that the participants at the back could see us!

"After the traditional and warm welcome à la française by François Dusson, ACNV’s President, I in turn offered a shawl to François as a gift of gratitude from NVC practitioners in India. We are rejoicing, through this symbolic gesture, our deepening Franco-Indian connection!

"The highlight for all of us, and the joy of living moment by moment, came when I shared that it was my wife Suchita’s birthday that day and that I was missing her. Someone in the audience spontaneously suggested we all make a call to India. In next to no time, 200 members of the audience were singing Happy Birthday to Suchita in English and in French through a mobile connection! Suchita, who was in bed, (it was past midnight Indian time) was in shock, as you can imagine!

"It was exciting to arrive at the Forum, with the buzz, the connections, the individual warm welcomes, the various stands set up to promote NVC for practitioners and non-practitioners alike. Several two-hour workshops were planned, including NVC Introductions, NVC and Aikido, NVC and Mediation, Drawing and NVC, and many more… As you can imagine, we were torn trying to decide which to attend!"

Aniruddha will be touring many UK FWBO Centres this summer, thanks to Karuna, who are organising his programme.

London Buddhist Centre Grand Reopening

The FWBO's London Buddhist Centre (LBC) held a grand public reopening on 8th and 9th May - after the biggest refurbishment in its 30-year history.

The newly enlarged centre includes a dedicated venue for its Breathing Space ‘Mindfulness for Health’ programme, plus a new bookshop/reception and improved facilities and disability access throughout.

At a private function on Friday 8 May, influential public health policy commentator Lord Layard opened a new venue for the Breathing Space programme, which teaches Mindfulness Based Approaches (MBAs) to help prevent relapse into depression and addiction, and to manage stress and anxiety.

On Saturday 9 May the LBC held an open day – with all events free and open to anyone. The day included meditation sessions and talks about Buddhism and wellbeing. There were also lots of great offers at local businesses in the surrounding ‘Buddhist Village’, including the Wild Cherry Vegetarian Restaurant, Friends Organic Health Food shop and Evolution gift shop. In the evening there was a celebration, with presentations, live music, and refreshments.

The core course at Breathing Space is Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). Drawing on CBT, it uses mindfulness meditation to help challenge negative thinking that can lead to depression. MBCT is recommended by the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and has been shown in clinical trials to be more effective than antidepressants in preventing repeated relapse into depression.

Lord Layard, Emeritus Professor at the London School of Economics and a high-profile commentator on mental health policy, said: “Depression and anxiety are the biggest causes of misery in Britain today, with one in three families affected. As a society we need to act now. There is strong evidence that both CBT and MBCT are effective in preventing relapse. That’s why I warmly welcome this new venue for Breathing Space at the LBC to provide MBCT.” Lord Layard is well known for advocating a new ‘science of happiness’, which embraces philosophy, economics, and psychology. In his best-selling 2005 book ‘Happiness – Lessons from a New Science’ he cites meditation as one of a number of tools we can use to develop happiness from within.

Since its inception in 2004 Breathing Space has helped more than 600 people, through 20 MBA courses and 20 two-day retreats teaching local carers mindfulness-based tools for managing stress and anxiety. It is funded by Tower Hamlets Social Services to provide free places on MBCT courses for people living in Tower Hamlets on a low income, and has contracts with Tower Hamlets and other London Boroughs to provide retreats and drop-in sessions for carers. For more information about Breathing Space and Mindfulness Based Approaches (MBTs) go to www.breathingspacelondon.org.uk.

There is a fast-growing body of medical research to show the beneficial effects of meditation on mental health. Studies have shown that it can have positive effect on regions of the brain related to emotional processing and on the nervous system and neurochemicals released in the brain. Breathing Space has produced a summary of some of these recent findings - see www.breathingspacelondon.org.uk/about-Breathing-Space/about-mbas/meditation-research/ .

The photographs show the new entrance to the LBC and Paramabandhu (the outgoing chairman) meeting Lord Layard during the opening.

"What is the Western Buddhist Order?": a 'Message' from Sangharakshita

Last week Sangharakshita, founder of the FWBO and the Western Buddhist Order, issued an important 'Message' to all members of the Order, entitled "What is the Western Buddhist Order?"

He introduces it thus -

"On 17th, 18th, and 19th March 2009, a small group of senior Order members put to me a series of questions about the nature of the Order, and related topics, and I replied to those questions. Our exchanges were recorded and I have gone through the transcript of the recording, giving clearer expression to some of the points I wished to make and cutting a few digressions which, though interesting in themselves, had no direct relation to the questions I was being asked.

"Now that I am in my 84th year, I am glad to have had the opportunity of placing on record my views concerning the nature of the Order, and related topics. My replies to the questions put to me may, indeed, be seen as my Last Will and Testament for the Order, and I therefore request all Order members not only to 'read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest' its contents but also to give it appropriate expression in their lives as Order members".

(Sd.) Urgyen Sangharakshita.
Madhyamaloka,
8th April 2009

Sangharakshita would like the Message to be available to everyone connected with the FWBO, and it has therefore been posted on his website under 'News'. The direct link is www.sangharakshita.org/What_is_the_Western_Buddhist_Order.pdf

More or less by coincidence, the theme for this summer's Order Convention has just been announced as being "What is the Order?". It will explore the theme using a variety of approaches - an informal 'conversation café' to open up the topic; a talk locating the Order/FWBO within the context of the Buddhist tradition; a series of 'Colloquia' on the three themes of Discipleship, Coherence and Experimentation, and The Collective Life of the Order - each presenting a number of perspectives on the topic followed by questions and answers; meditation and Puja, including the 'Mula Yogas'; and finally an 'Open Forum' specifically to air responses to Sangharakshita’s Message.

News from FWBO Boston: new paintwork; new energy; new people…

Sunada from the FWBO's Boston Center writes -

"Our little sangha here in Boston recently got together to paint and spiff up our tiny meeting room. It used to be this rather dark and dingy room, and well ... the transformation has been more than just in the physical appearance of the space. In fact we transformed our dark and dingy one-room meeting space into a wonderfully warm blue-and-gold Milarepa’s Cave!

"It was our first major project we undertook as a sangha, and the effect it had on us as a sangha community has been wonderful. Interestingly, we've also gotten a sudden spurt of new people join us. And these are people who asked to come without seeing our space at all. Funny how positive energy has a way of feeding on itself.

"We have Steve Wade to thank for pulling this project together -- and he still has more ideas up his sleeve. Our space is located at the far end of a long, sterile-looking hallway in the basement of an office building. Steve’s vision is that when someone walks into our door, they’re suddenly greeted with a beautiful, colorful shrine room. Since his recent trip to visit FWBO Centers in the UK, he’s gotten inspired to really do something in style.

"So this is just Phase One for now, and more improvements will no doubt come over time. We’ll probably get some built-in shelving for our zafus, and perhaps build up the shrine table so it more grandly fills the space. It’s all pretty exciting -- especially since the atmosphere already feels so changed with what we’ve done so far.

"A special thank you goes to all the sangha members who chipped in: Steve Wade, Glenn McKay, Rita Rocha, Stan Dankoski, Wyatt Greene, Doug Fosdick, and Martha Penzenik".

FWBO Boston's website is at www.bostonfwbo.org.

The photograph shows some of the Boston FWBO Sangha, with Sunada herself just to the right of the Buddha.

Buddhist Chants CD launched by Ghent Centre

Jan Deckers from the FWBO's Gent centre in Belgium writes with news of a new CD of Buddhist chants, available to FWBO members worldwide.  He says -

"We have made a wonderful CD and a booklet of Buddhist chants, sung by Arthamitra. We would like to offer it to members of the Sangha world-wide.

"For us, chanting on retreat has become a tradition in the FWBO of the Low Countries. We choose a sutra as the theme for a retreat.

"Arthamitra, a professional opera singer, teaches the participants how to pronounce and chant the words (either traditional or his own compositions). Throughout the retreat we chant the sutra twice or three times a day, before or after a meditation or as part of a puja. This strongly supports our meditation, reflection and study. Each time the chanting gets a bit more beautiful, we open our minds further for the message of the Dharma and get closer to one another.

"The profits will go to Metta Vihara, for the acquisition and setting up of a retreat Centre for Belgium and Holland. We have 500 CDs and all costs so far have been sponsored - once we sell all those we therefore make a net benefit of € 5000 for Metta Vihara.

You can find ordering and background information on our website. On it you can also listen to a beautiful singing of the Dhammapalam Gatha, watch a movie and download a small poster and leaflet. The address is -

http://users.telenet.be/jan.deckers3/Engels.htm.

Little Buddhas salute Dr. Ambedkar in India

Nagaketu writes from Nagpur, TBMSG's largest centre in India, with news of a new project.  He says  -

"The Little Buddha Children Club (LBCC) is a new project of Dhammakranti and TBMSG. It was launched in December last year when Dhammachari Subhuti inaugurated it.

It is a club for children in Nagpur and already we have a branch in Vadodara in Gujerat. So far we have four hundred members and are still growing.

In this modern age to educate children is a very big responsibility, we have to teach them human values and provide them with positive conditioning. This is our one of our aims while forming the children's club. Through games, stories, plays, songs and information we try to help them develop their confidence, concentration, sensitivity for others and friendship. We work with children through small retreats, workshops and celebrating Buddhist festivals.

"Recently we celebrated with them Dr. Ambedkar's birthday. On 14 April at around 7.30 in the morning nearly a hundred children and the same number of parents, mitras and order members gathered at the Dikshabhoomi (the 'Ground of Conversion') in Nagpur to pay homage to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and celebrate his 118th Birth Anniversary in a fitting style. At the beginning we chanted the refuges and precepts in front of Dr. Ambedkar’s statue and then walked nearly two kilometres around the Dikshabhoomi. It was a peace march, children and parents were holding flags on which were written Dr. Ambedkar's thoughts.

"We ended a programme with a song about Babasaheb by one of the members of the Little Buddha Children Club and then Ritayus spoke about Dr. Ambedkar's life followed by Mrs. Shubhangi Wanik.

"Nagaketu conducted the programme and at the end gave information about forthcoming Little Buddha Programmes, we ended with some snakes [possible typo here - though maybe not? - who knows? - ed] and ice cream".

FWBO News wishes them well.

Two ordinations in Scotland

Dhammarati, chair of the Order's College of Public Preceptors, writes - 

On Friday evening 8th May, Paul Thomson and Patrick Nicholson had their public ordination in the Glasgow Buddhist Centre.


Paul (who was the ex-Dharmapala) re-entered the Order as Dharmapala (long third "a"): protector of the Dharma. Smritiratna was his private preceptor and told us that when Bhante originally gave Dharmapala the name in 1969 he told him that he was naming him after Anagarika Dharmapala of Sri Lanka. "The Great Dharmapala". 

Patrick became Kshantidipa (long first "a", long second "i"): lamp / light of patient forbearance. His private preceptor was Suryavamsa. 


Dhammarati was the public preceptor in both cases.




The ceremony was attended by over 100 people, family and friends of both men as well as sangha members.


The College of Public Preceptors comprises about 30 senior members of the Order who are responsible for all ordinations.

The photograph shows a statue of Anagarika Dharmapala at Sarnath, India.

New fundraising opportunity at Karuna

The Karuna Trust, an FWBO charity working with marginalised communities in South Asia, has been running door to door fundraising appeals for nearly 30 years. Hundreds of people from the FWBO sangha have recruited thousands of UK householders who give £1.1million to Karuna each year.

Jo Goldsmid from Karuna says:

“According to research, a lot of our current supporters would be happy to give more; we just need to ask them. So that’s what we are going to do! We will be running a telephone fundraising campaign this summer from our office in London. This means we will be phoning hundreds of our loyal supporters and asking them to give a bit more. We will run the appeal in the same spirit as our door-to-door appeals: as an opportunity to deepen awareness of ourselves and our communication with others, with a strong sense of team. So each day before beginning phoning we will meet at the Karuna office, share our experience and then eat an early dinner together. Each evening will come to a close with a rejoicing in merits.

Telephone fundraising has a lot in common with door-to-door fundraising; it develops your communication skills and you can end up having some very meaningful conversations with people. It’s possible to raise even more money than you would knocking on people’s doors, so this means we will be able to reach out to even more vulnerable children, women and men across South Asia.

So if you live in London, are available on weekday evenings between 1st June and 11th July and would like to contribute, we’d love to hear from you! Full training will be given and financial support can be negotiated.”

Contact Jo at Karuna:
jo@karuna.org +44 (0)207 697 3006

The photographs show two girls, Maya and Mandodhri, going to work in the brick kiln at dawn…and later on their way to their Karuna-funded school.  Education helps people more than anything else to take control of their lives and break out of the poverty cycle.

Dharma teaching and Breathworks in Turkey

Vajracaksu, the only Order Member living and teaching Dharma in Istanbul, Turkey, writes with news of some recent successes -

"Greetings from Istanbul. I thought I’d keep FWBO News up to date a bit with my mindfulness, meditation and Dharma activities in Istanbul. Since I last wrote about 9 months ago my meditation and meditation & Buddhism courses and events have been attracting significantly more people. There have been a number of small but important developments in my teaching activities.

"I’ve given my first two full length Dharma talks; also my first “Evoking Kindness” meditation course in both Turkish and English; led a few day retreats and several “Invitation to Silence” sessions of shrine room practice. And for the first time ever I actually have a weekly Sunday morning drop-in meditation class at a health centre called "The Life Co." - mostly I get people who are detoxing/fasting coming to these classes.

"Over the past couple of months more and more openings are emerging for me. For example, just last week I gave a presentation to a foreign women’s group called “Corona.” The presentation was called, “Meditation: The Natural Healer”; it ended with a lovely period of the mindfulness of breathing. The whole session went down very well I’d say. As per usual I continue to find it a privilege introducing people to mindfulness, meditation and to the Dharma. I continue to be amazed at the subtle power of meditation practice. It often seems like magic to me! In just 20 to 40 minutes people often become peaceful and happy! Magic!

"I have some other happy news to report. In February at last I became Turkey’s first accredited Breathworks trainer…I write that with a sense of pride! (See my profile on the Breathworks site) At the moment I’m in the middle of leading a “Living Well with Pain & Illness” course which is fully booked. Again it’s deeply satisfying to sense and witness people benefiting from the wonderful tools Breathworks offers - not least making use of the simplicity and healing powers of the breath.

"At the moment I’m also leading a 6 week meditation & Buddhism course entitled “The Network of Personal Relationships” which is going very well. Our current ‘daily life practice’ is to be more aware than usual of the ways people have and do benefit us through their acts of generosity and kindness.

"I’m confident that over the next 6-12 months (if not over the next 5-10 years!) even more people will come along to events I lead. More and more people are hearing about and becoming interested in meditation and I think this trend will continue; even accelerate over the next year or two.

"I thought I’d end this bulletin with a personal write-up one person did following one of the day retreats I led:

“I had been in Istanbul a few months when I googled, “Meditation, Istanbul” and Vajracaksu popped up. Wow, someone from the FWBO was here and they were teaching meditation! It’s been hard to keep up my mediation practice as a) I’m not very disciplined and b) I’m not very disciplined. So I was very excited to hear that Vajracaksu was running a meditation day.


On the day I made my way over to Ortakoy on one of the many old ferries that zig zag across the Bosphorous. Vajracaksu’s apartment has been converted into a lovely shrine room with a small garden at the back. The other participants had already eaten three raisins mindfully and introduced themselves by the time I arrived. We settled into body awareness which was very relaxing and then a period of the mindfulness of breathing. As there were both Turkish and English speakers, Vajracaksu taught in both languages which was very useful. During the tea break we all got to know each other a bit better. There was a woman who had been in Istanbul for nine years and had lost touch with meditation, there was a Georgian woman from America whose dream it was to meet a Sufi, there was a young Turkish guy who had been passionately meditating by himself for years and there was a Turkish woman who was trying to practice daily. 

As usual on these kinds of days everyone was looking to get to know themselves better and get in touch with reality. The atmosphere was lovely and soon everyone bonded over a huge curry cooked by Vajracaksu. At the end of the day, everyone wrote a letter to themselves to remind themselves of what they had learnt. It was a magical day, greatly appreciated by everyone and I hope to attend many more in the future!”

SADHU Vajracaksu!

You can find more details of his classes on his website www.aydef.com/meditasyon.

Taraloka's 'Great Gathering'

It seems the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are gathering this month in Shropshire, UK - in readiness for Taraloka's annual Great Gathering, to be held over the late May Bank Holiday weekend, ie May 21st - 25th.

Taraloka (www.taraloka.org.uk) being, of course, the FWBO's women's retreat centre in Shropshire, UK - and the proud holders of two "Retreat Centre of the Year" awards from the Good Retreat Guide.

They say -

"The programme this time will be based on Tsongkapa's Three Principle Paths : Renunciation, Bodhicitta and Wisdom. The weekend includes a talk on each of the three paths; led reflections; discussion groups; pujas; and conversation cafes. This last being a conversational process that Parami and Kuladharini have been using successively in various situations - on the women's day of the Indian convention was one occasion, for those of you who were there. See www.theworldcafe.com for details".

All women Order Members and Mitras are welcome, please see their website for details and booking.

New Anthology of FWBO News

There's a new 'Anthology' of FWBO and TBMSG news available, covering the stories that appeared over the month of April this year. It's available (along with other Anthologies) on the 'resources' page of the FWBO News' website, where it is easy to print out for use in Buddhist Centres.Click the link above to access it. 

In case you missed them; stories over the past month covered such topics as -

A major conference coming up in the UK on Buddhism, Arts, and Creativity;
Buddhafield seeking volunteers for its summer season;
a new FWBO centre in Belgium;
a 'Safety Net' launched for UK Buddhists,
Youth events
and (very important!) the upcoming FWBO International Urban Retreat….

There's news from Hungary, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Germany; and India. There's new images on FWBO Photos offering glimpses into the FWBO's archives - and plenty more.  

This month we've also made it available in a new interactive on-line format using ISSUU - you'll find it and other FWBO literature, including Sangharakshita's Complete Poems here - http://issuu.com/fwbo.

Death of Sanghapalita

Amrutdeep, from the TBMSG's Order Convening team in India, writes with news of a death in the Order -

Dear Order members,

This is to inform you that Dhammachari Sanghapalita passed away on Friday 8th May at 10.30 p.m. Indian time.

He was at the age of 92 from Wardha Centre, Maharastra, India. He was still active in his Dhamma life.

On Friday about 7 pm, he was crossing through the road to the Wardha Hostel (which is also our Buddhist centre) for attending a special Sevenfold Puja arranged by centre and all of sudden one bike rider dashed him, he was seriously injured, his right leg and right arm got fractured. He was immediately taken to the nearest Hospital but was in very critical situation, struggling to survive but unfortunately could not survive.

This is a great loss to the Whole Order. He was one of the oldest Order members in India. He was ordained in 1987. His sadhana was Sakyamuni Buddha. Please send your maitri.

With Metta.

New video of Sangharakshita available online

Upekshapriya, from the FWBO's ClearVision video team, writes with news of Sangharakshita's recent talk in Birmingham, UK, given as part of their FWBO Day celebrations. He sys " You might want a heads-up that the talks from FWBO day in Birmingham are now on VideoSangha".

There's three talks, all around the launch of 'The Essential Sangharakshita', Wisdom Publications' new collection of Sangharakshita's writings.

Vidyadevi, the book's compiler, begins her talk by describing the difficulty of adequately representing in a book the "ongoing process that is Sangharakshita", an author who Wisdom describes as being “equally at home with science, philosophy, myth, art, and poetry,” and using “every inner avenue to communicate the timeless Dharma.”

Her talk is at www.videosangha.net/video/FWBO-Day-2009-Talk-1-by-Vidyad-3

Subhuti, in his first public talk in the West for three years, rejoices in the "glittering but muddled heap" that has been bequeathed to us in the FWBO - meaning the sum total of Sangharakshita's output over the past 60 years of Dharma teaching and practice. He goes on to evoke the spirit of the times when the FWBO and Order were founded, when in the air there was a thirst for something new, for radical change - and Sangharakshita was there to meet it. His talk is at www.videosangha.net/video/FWBO-Day-2009-Talk-2-by-Subhut-3

Sangharakshita, in his talk, available at www.videosangha.net/video/FWBO-Day-2009-Talk-3-by-Sangha-3, expresses very eloquently his gratitude to Vidyadevi and others. He goes on to launch 'Living with Ethics', and offers a series of reflections on ethics and altruism.

VideoSangha www.videosangha.net hosts over 260 videos, long and short, related to the FWBO and Western Buddhist Order.

Two ordinations in Scotland

Dhammarati writes from Scotland -

"I'm happy to let you know that there will shortly be two public ordinations at the Glasgow Buddhist Centre:

"Patrick Nicholson, who is on retreat now with Suriyavamsa, his private preceptor, and Paul Thomson (the ex-Dharmapala), on retreat with Smritiratna, who will privately ordain him.

"The public ordinations will take place at the Glasgow centre on Friday May 8, beginning at 7pm. I'll officiate at the public ordinations, welcoming Patrick into, and Paul back into, the Order."

Dhammarati

Smritiratna adds some background -

"Dharmapala was originally ordained in 1969 but resigned in 1999. Six years later in 2005 he returned as plain Paul Thomson, to attend one of my monthly day retreats at Dhanakosa and has rarely missed one since, also attending the local FWBO group in Stirling. We have become very close friends.

"Last year he requested re-ordination, asking me to be his new private preceptor, and the College agreed. His private ordination will now take place in the first week of May, on a dual retreat here in the forest near Dhanakosa. The public ordination will take place on Friday 8th May (eve of Wesak) at Glasgow Buddhist Centre. Dhammarati will be his new public preceptor and will ordain Patrick Nicholson on the same day. Paul Thomson, who has asked to resume his old name, will therefore be the once and future Dharmapala".

SADHU!

Lokamitra on India: two articles and a photographic archive

We conclude this week's series of stories on India with some photographs from the early days of TBMSG, as the FWBO is known in India. For the curious, TBMSG stands for 'Trailokya Bauddha Mahasangha Sahayaka Gana", the "Friends of the Great Buddhist Sangha of the Triple World".

These are part of Lokamitra's archive and have been added to the FWBO Photos collection on Flickr, which now hosts over 3,800 photographs from all over the FWBO and TBMSG.

Click here to play a slideshow of the images.

To complement the slides we have posted two articles by Lokamitra, one describing his first experiences of India and one looking back after 30 years of work helping to create TBMSG.

Click here to read The Day that Changed my Life. 

And here for 30 Years in India.

Both are moving testimonies of the situation in India and the amount that has been achieved through people working together, inspired by a common vision.
 
For further reading, we recommend 'Jai Bhim', Nagabodhi's book-length account of the revival of Buddhism in India and the part Sangharakshita, Lokamitra, and many others played in it. It's now available on-line on Sangharakshita's website at www.sangharakshita.org/bookshelf/jaibhim.pdf.

A Green Elephant in Sydney: fundraising for India

Last summer after feverish weeks of preparation, the Green Elephant Buddhist charity shop opened in Sydney, Australia, close to the FWBO's Sydney Buddhist Centre.

Varada reports - 

"The project is the brainchild of two women Dhammamitras, both of whom have asked for ordination. They have since been joined by a third women mitra, who also has asked for ordination. She gave up her well paid, part-time job in IT to become the shop manager, which is the only paid position in the shop.

"The profits from the shop, once they are fully established and have paid off the loans taken out for set-up expenses will be divided 60% to the projects for women and children in India, such as those run by Arya Tara Mahila Trust, and 40% to the Sydney Buddhist Centre. The public has responded warmly and strongly to the shop, and are very interested in the Indian women's projects being supported.

"Already in only a few months of operation the shop is breaking even and should soon be able to start paying off the loans taken out. We hope to make a profit distribution this financial year.

"An enormous amount of vision, planning, enthusiasm and hard work is going into this project to provide money that will benefit women and children in India.

"Sadhu, Sadhu, Sadhu"

New issue of Varada: women's social projects in India

The Arya Tara Mahila Trust www.indiansisters.org (ATMT) is an all-women's project in India run by Order Members and Mitras from TBMSG. They've just released the second edition of their newsletter Varada. You'll find it on-line here.

They say -

"Welcome to the second edition of our newsletter and another chance to catch up on developments in women’s projects in India. Full details are on our website www.indiansisters.org

"Despite the heat of early April, another new project successfully was launched in Pune. It is a community-based social project for girls and young women living in slums. We have started work in five slums in the Vishrantwadi area, Pune. The project is for teenage girls from 11 to 20 years of age who either go to school or have dropped out for some reason. We are including aspects of personality development, helping to develop self-confidence, negotiation skills, communication skills and also vocational courses so that the young women will be able to earn something and develop confidence about life. Another new Right Livelihood venture we have helped with is Mudita Screen Printers in Nagpur".

Karunaprabha, the team leader of this new venture explains why these projects are needed: "In the news almost every day we hear about India's rapid economic growth. While increasing prosperity is happening for some people, this development is exacerbating the divide between rich and poor. In a recent Pune University survey, 89% of girls/young women were found to be suffering from anaemia. We arrange anaemia detection camps for the girls and then provide the treatment they need".

They continue -

"ATMT is steadily building international links and a network of supporters - in Germany, Karuna Deutchland has successfully raised an impressive Euro 6000 for ATMT projects. Amoghamati's hard work and the commitment of her team will enable new initiatives to support women’s development.

"Two of ATMT’s Trustees, Karunadeepa and Jayamani were funded to visit Europe in the summer. They gave talks and took part in retreats in UK, Germany and Holland, raising awareness about ATMT’s work and collecting some extra funding too!

"Shakyajata from Manchester, UK, took up the challenge and is now fundraising to sponsor an Indian woman Dhamma teacher to travel with Dhammajyoti team support. Indian women from many backgrounds tell us they benefit from learning to meditate and studying the Buddha’s teaching. They feel more confident and happy in their families and their working lives.

"And in Croydon, south of London, Sue Bolton has started a cushion making enterprise which will fund poor women to escape the pressure of their family situations by going on retreat where they can rest, study the Dhamma, meet other kindly women, eat good food and meditate. Even the $2 per day retreat cost is too much for these women to afford despite the benefits of retreat life".

"If you're interested to support us, please see our website where's there's forms to make a regular donation. There's also our JustGiving page at www.justgiving.com/atmt.

"VARADA celebrates the generosity of ATMT’s friends across the world".

Tomorrow FWBO News looks at another fundraising project raising money for Dhamma and social work in India, using a green elephant in Sydney...

Retreat in Tamil Nadu, South India

Continuing this week's theme of stories from FWBO and TBMSG events in India, today we report on a recent TBMSG retreat in Tamil Nadu, South India - which is seeing a revival of Buddhism led in part by graduates from Nagarjuna Training Institute, TBMSG's training centre in Nagpur. They say -

"Namo Buddha. We are graduates of NTI in Nagpur. We are happy to inform you recently we arranged a three days retreat in Pallavoyal village, 70 kms from Chennai in Tamil Nadu. NTI has trained over 500 people from over 18 states in India.

"This was the first of its kind retreat in Tamil Nadu, it brought together Ambedkarites from various districts of Tamil Nadu, well wishers from Sri Lanka including Dhammachari Jinasena, and others including Dhammachari Viradhamma of the San Francisco Buddhist Centre. The ex-students of Nagarjuna Training Institute (NTI) constituted the core of the retreat organisation, arrangement and co-ordination. Over 120 men and women participated in this retreat.
 
"The major components of the retreat were Group Meditation, Dhamma Talks, Buddhist Formalities, Chanting Buddhist songs, Group Discussions and Buddhist Cultural Activities, it was a great help to revive Dhamma in the South India.

"In the beginning of the retreat, a small meeting was arranged between Buddhists from Sri Lanka and people in Tamil Nadu to clear misperceptions about current ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. Media and hardliners across the strait are trying to fuel enmity on religious lines and propaganda is trying to show that Buddhists in Sri Lanka are pro-war and are party to present war in Sri Lanka. This propaganda is creating negative impression of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, and the people inclined towards Buddhism in Tamil Nadu, mostly the followers of Babasaheb Ambedkar, get confused about role and involvement of Buddhism. However, Sri Lankan delegates made it clear that majority of the Buddhist monks and laities do not support the war and they are extending the humanitarian help to the people affected by war in North Sri Lanka.

"The theme of the retreat was why Babasaheb Dr. B. R. Ambedkar chose Buddhism, and his key points regarding Buddhism. Dh. Lokamitra gave two talks, which were followed by discussions in the small group. Dh. Lokamitra also introduced two meditation practices.

"Tamil Nadu is a new situation for Buddhism, though it has the 100 year history of revival of Buddhism initiated by Pandit Iyothee Thass, who hailed from the untouchable castes, and saw in Buddhism the potential to end caste system. There is an overwhelming response to the teachings and people are keen to explore Buddhism.

"The images of the Buddha are found all over Tamil Nadu. The images are very beautiful and of artistic excellence. At one place, the famous image of Manimekalai, the famous Buddhist nun in Tamil literature, was also found.

"In all, Tamil Nadu like most of the states of India is having huge potential for revival of Buddhism and this retreat is one of the initiatives, there is so much still remains to be done to make Buddhist teachings available to millions of people here. The members of the Sakya Hostels took tremendous pains to make this event a great success.

"Thanking you, with all our metta. Dhammamitra S. Jayasridhar, Visuddhalok, Tamil Nadu".

The photograph shows Lokamitra, who led the retreat, with some of the participants from Sri Lanka.  Tomorrow we report on developments in ATMT, the women's Dhamma and Social project in India.

Fire in India: Jeevak social work building badly damaged

Karunadipa, Director of Jeevak, TBMSG's woman's social project in Dapodi, India, has sent us this report -

"For twenty years I have been working for Jeevak - we are a team of women doing social and educational work in the slums of Pune. We serve the needs of 200,000 women and their families, providing basic healthcare, life-skills training, legal support and a thriving micro-credit scheme.

"By now you must have heard that fire broke out last month in Jeevak building and the medical and creche in Jeevak has been burnt down because of a short circuit, especially the medical project has been completely destroyed, 5 fire brigade came for help.

"We are fortunate that the whole building did not catch fire or else it would have been a great loss. The fire broke out in the early hours in the morning about 4am on 16th March, since then we have been very busy clearing up the burnt heap. The ground floor looks terrible hence the medical unit has been closed down.

"WE NEED HELP to set up the ground floor for painting, fixing new doors, windows, grills, complete new wiring, electrification etc, which will cost at least 5 lac (about UK £7,000) for renovation of the building, it will be good if you will be able to give this news in the FWBO news letter.

We have a fundraising page at www.justgiving.com/karunadipa.

Thank you."

"With Metta Karunadeepa"

social activism in Hungary: the Jai Bhim

This is an unusual article for the FWBO News.

Regular readers will know of the close connections between the FWBO/TBMSG in the West and India - they are two names for the same Sangha. Less well known are their connections with the Roma gypsies of rural Hungary - where there is a growing Buddhist sangha within the gypsy community there. This came about by chance when, a little over five years ago, a group from that community made contact with Subhuti and others from the FWBO.You can read previous FWBO News stories here. The photograph shows Tibor Derdk: a mitra, Buddhist and local gypsy activist.

They had heard about the work of Dr. Ambedkar in India and had been deeply impressed by what they had read of his work and the suffering of his people, the Dalits, or ‘untouchables’ of India. They had in fact come to feel a deep connection with the Dalits of India, even, to see themselves as the Dalits of Europe and Dr Ambedkar’s message of social transformation as being deeply relevant for them. In many ways the prejudice they face in Hungary is indeed comparable to the prejudice faced by the Dalits in India - see for example an article in today's New York Times exploring the current "wave of violence" against gypsy families.

Recently Saul Deason, a mitra from the FWBOs North London Buddhist Centre, visited the Jai Bhim Network (www.jaibhim.hu) in remote rural Hungary - a social and educational project they'd created, and named in honour of Dr. Ambedkar. This is run by mitras from the local Gypsy community, who had become Buddhists some years previously after being inspired by the example of Dr. Ambedkar and making contact with the FWBO.

When he arrived he found the gypsy community in turmoil. Not speaking Hungarian he did not understand what was happening until, at their request, he collaborated on an article for the Western press, part of an attempt by the local community to draw attention to their plight. You can read it on FWBO News' Features page or on the Jai Bhim website (click through to the English version).

It gives an insight into the problems of the Gypsies in Hungary and the challenging work of the Buddhists trying to achieve social justice for the downtrodden Gypsy minority.

At the time of writing this, the core of the Jai Bhim sangha is in UK, on retreat with Subhuti, who is himself recently back from Hungary.

Buddhafield prepares for the summer; volunteers needed

Buddhafield is a major FWBO sangha in the West of England. They run the ever-popular Buddhafield Festival, a series of camping retreats through the summer, the Buddhafield Café, an organic vegetable growing business, and manage two very beautiful pieces of land. They also teach meditation at many of the UK's alternative festivals and have inspired a series of offshoots - Buddhafield North, Buddhafield East, Buddhafield New Zealand...

Right now they are recruiting volunteers for their summer season. Check their website www.buddhafield.com to see what they need - the advert shown is for workers in the Buddhafield Café…

As well as recruiting, they're hard at work preparing their kit for the summer season. There's some great photos of 'Buddhafield backstage' - see for instance "The Working World of Rupadarshin" on Facebook (you'll need to be logged in to Facebook to see them)

FWBO Photos has lots of them 'in action' see for instance pictures of last summer's festival,
or a meditative journey up to their land at Broadhembury in the beautiful Somerset countryside...

Most importantly though - if you're interested in volunteering with them over the summer, get in touch now!

Urban Retreat piloted on Facebook

June sees the first-ever International FWBO Urban Retreat, in which some 40 FWBO and TBMSG Centres around the world will be taking part. It's open to all, and all readers of FWBO News are warmly invited to take part.

The retreat has a special website, at www.theurbanretreat.org , on which there's links to the participating FWBO Centres and where you can find basic information on what an Urban Retreat is. We are expecting well over 1,000 people world-wide to participate.

If you don't live near a Centre, that's not a problem, as there is also an on-line version of the retreat. This will start from the FWBO's page on Facebook  and lead participants through a series of day 'Events', each containing a full programme of Dharma and meditation material. Already over 150 people have signed up.

If you're interested in the on-line version, click the link above (you may need to log in to Facebook), go to the FWBO page, become a 'Fan', and look for the Events in the left-hand column… You'll see an 'Urban Retreat' event, and if you register as attending it we'll keep you fully-informed as it unfolds.

This will be the first time we've held a 'virtual retreat' and this week a group of 10 volunteers have been piloting it: in fact the pilot retreat ends today - it's gone very well and a lot has been learned about how to make it 'flow'.

To wet your appetite, here's a retreatants diary from an Urban Retreat held at the LBC in London earlier this year, held to mark their 30th anniversary -

Notes on the LBC Urban Retreat

"I thought Sunday would be the highlight with Sangharakshita being interviewed & unveiling the triptych but I was wrong, everyday was a highlight in its own way, each as special as the last.


"Sunday morning we set our intentions for the retreat. After sharing a picnic lunch in the new Breathworks space in the LBC's basement, we head upstairs for Sangharakshita's interview, he talks about the early days - fascinating! We then troop back down for the grand unveiling of the 12ft triptych. It is breathtaking.


"Monday morning my flatmate leaves for the daily morning meditation at the LBC while I head off to work chanting a manta as I go. This is to be our routine for the week. Monday evening Parami gives a rousing talk during which I feel rather envious of the people who helped make this all happen back in 1978 - it seems a very passionate and idealistic time.


"Tuesday night Subhadramati gives a moving account of what it means to go for refuge, five order members speak about the point in their lives at which they realised that their going for refuge had been effective. I love the talks on retreats and hearing of peoples own personal experiences - I come away with something from every speaker, feeling very inspired.


"Wednesday night the 'circle of friendship' talks are kick started by Maitreyabandhu giving a very funny account of the difficult start to his friendship with J---. My friend A---- and I have been thinking about starting a new community and the talks of friendship and community life confirm that this is definitely something we want to pursue. A---- and I both give a talk, I feel nervous but enjoy the experience of sharing the joys of our friendship with everybody in the room. I love her talk which is funny and all about me.


"On Thursday the theme is team based right livelihood, Maria who has taken over the management of the Wild Cherry symbolically lights a candle from Padmasri, who has just told us about the early days of the Cherry and Priyadaka lights a candle from Ratnaguna's candle I have a mental image of Ratnaguna driving around in a van with the side door open selling his wares out of open-topped sacks at markets - I sincerely hope the two businesses survive these tough times. The evening ends on a positive note with Claire handing over a donation from Evolution's profits to the LBC. The full moon puja follows.


"On Friday evening Atula calls up the forces of darkness and later that night there is a fire in the doorway which is to be used as the new entrance - coincidence?


"On Saturday we spent the day reflecting on the retreat and the commitments we made at the start of the week. What an incredible experience this week has been. A huge big Sadhu to Subhadramati and Maitreyabandhu for leading it."

The International FWBO Urban Retreat will run from June 20-27th. If you want to take part, please contact your local FWBO Centre via the retreat website www.theurbanretreat.org, or register for the on-line version via the FWBO's Facebook page.

Vijayaloka's Meditation Marathon raises $6,000 AUD

Vijayaloka is the FWBO's Retreat Centre near Sydney. 

Members of the Sydney sangha have recently completed their first 'Meditation Marathon' - and raised nearly $6,000 AUD for Vijayaloka in the process.

They say - "Over the Easter weekend, we held our 'Growth and Contentment' Meditation Marathon to promote the benefits of meditation and raise much-needed funds for the urgent upgrade of the Vijayaloka Buddhist Retreat Centre near Sydney. The buildings are fairly makeshift (temporary buildings built circa 1940's) and need urgent repairs to be safe enough to meet local council requirements. The Sangha have raised a good part of the money so far, and a great deal of work has already been done, including fireproofing and refurbishing of most of the bedrooms".

Altogether 15 people took part, and one, Aaron Matheson, formerly from the LBC in London, commented -

"Being with the Sangha from Sydney has provided the conditions for me to change in dramatically positive ways. To express my gratitude, I took part in the meditations".

Work at Vijayaloka is still going on, and their fundraising site at www.everydayhero.com.au/meditation_marathon is still open.

In addition, the Vijayaloka retreat centre's transformation received a welcome boost recently with the awarding of nearly $42,000 from the Australian Government Community Water Grant, as part of their $2 billion Australian Government Water Fund. The Vijayaloka proposal qualified for support because it is a community orientated initiative that demonstrates public benefit and puts in place practical solutions to help save and protect local water resources.

The photographs show the river at the bottom of the Vijayaloka land, and Chris Hayes MP, the local Federal member, joining the Elements retreat with Chittaprabha (retreat leader) and Viraja (Chairman).

Wildmind hits a million!

Bodhipaksa, founder of the FWBO’s Wildmind meditation teaching website, reports on Twitter –

“My meditation site, www.wildmind.org had over a million page views last month! Looks like April will be about the same”.

FWBO News says, Sadhu Wildmind!

They’ve been branching out, and now have an active presence on Facebook, Twitter, and, most recently, YouTube. 

Of YouTube, Bodhipaksa says “Wildmind has started putting mantras and guided meditations on YouTube as part of an effort to reach more people with what we're doing, and maybe you could do a story about that on FWBO News as well. There's not much up there yet, but we'll be continuing to add more video over the next few weeks”. 

The YouTube page provides a tantalising glimpse of the more personal tastes of the good folk at Wildmind – of their 19 favourites no less than 17 are ‘Peter, Paul, and Mary’ songs…

Their latest Newsletter has also just been released, on the theme of “Celebrating impermanence”.

FWBO Day celebrated in style in Essen

Sanghadarsini sends us this report from Germany -

"Last weekend FWBO friends from Holland, Belgium, France and Germany gathered to celebrate the 42nd FWBO Day, in Essen, Germany. This year's celebration was the best attended ever, which was very much due to Bhante Sangharakshita's visit to the occasion. For each of the last 7 years FWBO friends from the Middle European Region have gathered in either Ghent, Amsterdam or Essen, to celebrate together.

"On Saturday afternoon, we began the programme with a meditation, followed by short talks from the different centres about their new developments. The French read out some of Bhante's poetry which had been translated into French and will soon appear as a book. Jnanacandra talked about the Essen Centre's step to offer all Dharma activities on a Dana basis, a big, but seemingly already very successful step for the Centre. Upekshadaka talked about the new Centre in Ghent, which now occupies a former restaurant - it was a big project for their Sangha to renovate the place and to turn the old kitchen, with all its white tiles which looked more like a slaughter house, into a shrine room. Akasasuri spoke about developments with Metta Vihara, Holland's new retreat centre and Mokshasiddha spoke about the plans for a new town centre in Berlin. Ingrid Menzel told us about the opening of a new FWBO Centre just outside Hamburg, and Abhayada and Tanja Stevanovic talked about Breathworks activities in Germany and their wish to become more of a Right Livelihood Team one day.

"At 5.30 we had an Indian meal, laid on by some of the Essen women. At 7.30 there were three more talks, the theme being "sitting under the Bodhi Tree" - and miraculously, in the Shrine room, a large Bodhi Tree had appeared! Three very different Order Members - Gunabhadri, Suvannavira and Lalitaratna - talked about their quite different Experiences on the Order Convention in Bodhgaya this year. Lalitaratna's very lively talk about the noises in India made us nearly roll over the floor with laughter.

"After that, Vimalavajra beautifully led a three-fold Puja, gathering and focussing all our energies together and bringing the day to a perfect close.

"The next day brought more than 150 people to the Essen Centre. The reason for so many people coming was ... Bhante Sangharakshita. The shrineroom was packed, but quite magically, it didn't feel crowded. When Bhante appeared, the atmosphere became very mindful and light and quiet and after saluting the Shrine together, Bhante gave a talk about the 'The FWBO and the Path of Spiritual Development'

"He talked about integration and the importance of mindfulness, about positivity and the importance of Metta and about spiritual death and the cutting away of our ego through acts of selflessness.

"Without a script and with his sharp clarity and humour, Bhante's talk moved many people.

"The talk has been recorded by Clear Vision and will soon appear on one of the FWBO's websites.

"After the talk we all went into silence to prepare for a 7-fold Puja done in three languages: Dutch, French and German.

"At about 3 pm, after a lovely lunch, most people made their way back home, to Amsterdam, Ghent, Arnhem, Berlin, Paris, Minden, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Southern Germany. We met in large numbers for the weekend and the effects will be felt for some time to come".

Vajraloka launches new on-line newsletter

Vajraloka Retreat Centre in Wales is the FWBO’s oldest meditation retreat center, founded in 1979.

They’ve launched a new e-newsletter, which is full of colourful photos, news items, short articles and some poetry. You can sign up to receive a copy by visiting their website at www.vajraloka.com and entering your email address - for a taster, check the first edition, already on the web at Amongst other things, it contains an update on Vajraloka’s finances, details of a future retreat, a poem from Claire, which was written on her retreat at Vajraloka last summer, and exotic tales from ex-team member Kieran - now teaching yoga in Africa!

Balajit, their resident webmaster/photographer/journalist, writes “Its hoped that the e-newsletter will develop organically over time, and capture different aspects of life at the retreat centre, with offerings from the resident community and people who visit”.

The first issue also launches a Shrineroom appeal. If you would like to contribute, please visit their new and rather minimal fund-raising page at www.justgiving.com/shrineroomappeal .

Balajit spells out why -‘With some spilled contents, frayed edges and fading colours, one by one, our shrineroom gear is falling prey to impermanence! We would like to buy a whole new set of mats, blankets, and cushions. Into the bargain, if possible, we would also like some new shrinecloths and tibetan style puja instruments, to add more colour to our evening rituals. To use the much proclaimed fund raising mantra – ‘every little bit helps!’'

There’s more about Vajraloka on the web – check their photograph albums on Flickr, at http://www.flickr.com/photos/vajraloka; their main website at www.vajraloka.org . A supplementary Newsletter at vajralokanewsletter.googlepages.com contains (among other things) reminiscences on the early days of Vajraloka by Vajradaka and Kamalashila. Last but not least there's their Facebook group.

Vajraloka has played a crucial part in the FWBO's ongoing exploration of meditation and Sangharakshita's teaching; you'll find selections of the articles and talks they've produced over the years on Tejananda's (Vajraloka's chairman) personal website at http://tejanandajohnwakeman.googlepages.com. Plus there's a wealth of talks by him and others on FreeBuddhishAudio, of course!

Enjoy!