Sangha flourishes in Sarnath, its' birthplace

Manidhamma, an Indian Order Member writes –

“The FWBO’s Dhammaloka International Buddhist Study Centre in Sarnath, India, has been busy of late. First came ‘Sangha Day’, on the ‘Kartika’ full-moon day of 13th of November. This was celebrated by Buddhists all over Sarnath in a spectacular, devotional and grand 3-day festival.

“The highlight was the display of sacred Buddha relics, for which there was an all-night special puja and recitation of Buddhist texts. The whole village of Sarnath was decorated by thousands of lamps, flowers, incense and Buddhist prayer flags. There were several devotional and cultural programmes taking place in numerous Buddhist monasteries near the Deer Park.

“The most magnificent event was a procession carrying the sacred relics of the Buddha on 4 decorated elephants by chief guests Madam Nancy Lim from Singapore and Madam Ratsyog of France, which paraded through the main roads of Sarnath. They were followed by Venerable Sumedha Thero, the Bhikkhu-in-charge of the Mahabodhi Society Sarnath, monks, nuns, Dharmacharis, Mitras and thousands of Buddhists from many nationalities.

“As part of the celebrations, I and others organised a special puja for Mitras on our land at Sarnath. Dharmachari Bodhisagar led a special puja and I gave a talk about the importance of commitment in spiritual life.

"The event took place in the newly-built shrine room which you can see under construction in the photo opposite. The shrine room was built by Bodhisagar and myself with the help of the local Sangha. The building work is ongoing – so far the total expenditure of construction has reached up to INR 75,000/- (approx UK 1,000 pounds). Still some work is going on and for the remaining work we will require 40,000 rupees (UK 500 pounds) more for finishing. At present I am back in UK but Bodhisagar has written to me to say ‘Please manage this from any source.’

“We have plans to install a Buddha statue on the land and develop washing facilities for visitors and the resident community. So, generous donations and financial contributions are most welcome. You can give online by visiting www.justgiving.com/sarnath."

"Yours in the Dhamma,
Manidhamma

If you would like more information about Dhammaloka publications and activities, please contact Manidhamma by emailing manidhamma@hotmail.com or by calling Bodhisagar in India on +919411109061.

Wildmind on spiritual rebirth, materialism, solitude, warriorhood, and more...

Wildmind is the FWBO’s US-based website dedicated to teaching meditation.

Besides offering an easy and free way to
learn meditation on-line, their site hosts a vast library of meditation-related articles from a wide range of sources.

Every month they issue their meditation newsletter, each one dedicated to one or another theme connected in some way to meditation.

We've neglected to keep you up to date with these as they've come out, but here they are now -

· January 2009: Spiritual rebirth
· December 2008: Spiritual materialism
· November: Solitude
· October: Warriorhood
You can either browse these on their enormous website or subscribe here.

FWBO People: Shashi Kumar

This week's 'FWBO Person' features Shashi Kumar, a mitra from Bodh Gaya, India. Nearly ten years ago he was sponsored by two Dutch friends to begin a seven-year course in traditional Thanka painting, with a Tibetan monastery in Nepal. He graduated some two years ago and two weeks ago, after a long struggle, opened his first School of Thangka Painting. He’s very recently written to FWBO News to say -

“This is a very pleasant occasion for me - to give news to all my friends who have been encouraging me since I took admission at Shechen monastery to study thangka painting.

“Now I have opened a thangka painting school called BODHICHITRA, the Bodhichitra School of Thangka Painting. It’s in Bodhgaya, my home town, on the way to the Root Institute.

“As most of my friends know, I have had this dream from the time I first learned that thangka art originally came from Magadha, the area where Buddha was enlightened and spent most of his time in teaching and meditation. These days Magadha has disappeared and we know the area as Bodhgaya, Rajgir, Nalanda, Patna and Varanasi.

We’re offering a comprehensive 4-year program in the skills to create thangka in the Karma Gadri tradition, including theory, iconography, composition, and painting. We’re especially looking for local students, male or female, with the following qualifications:

* At least 15 years of age
* In Good health and of sound mind
* Secondary Education
* A strong sense of commitment to sacred painting

Of course we also offer short courses ranging in length from weekend to week-long – these will be of more interest to visiting Westerners. They will focus on specific content, such as painting a particular deity or mandala

Shashi ends by saying –

“Our students come to us with tremendous interest but few resources. The state of Bihar, in which Bodhgaya is located, is India's poorest. But because the area is so underdeveloped, even a small amount of money can go a long way.

“For less than the cost of a cup of coffee per day, you can support a student at the Bodhichitra school of Thangka Painting for one year. Prayers are said daily for the sponsor and all of the sacred art work the student produces is spiritually dedicated to the sponsor. Once a year the student will send a thangka painted specifically for the health and long-life of his or her sponsor. We are currently operating out of rented facilities and are seeking friends to help us move into a more permanent home. If you are interested in helping seed great merit, please mail me or see our website for more details on sponsorship and other ways offering support.”

They have a beautiful new website, www.bodhithangka.com, and you can also contact him by phone on +91 99319 33838 or email bodhichitra@gmail.com

Sadhu, Shashi!

Appreciation

As 2008 draws to a close, we thought we'd end it with a very simple 'news item'. This was received recently from an unknown reader; she says -

"I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often. Sarah."

Thanks, Sarah!

Happy New Year to all.

FWBO News featured in Alltop.com

FWBO News has been selected to feature in the Buddhist section of Alltop.com (http://buddhism.alltop.com/).

As the name suggests, Alltop is an “online magazine rack” of popular topics. They hand-pick sites offering exceptional content and aggregate articles into themed sections.

Their Buddhist section is just one of many: they have categories covering everything from addiction to yoga and auto-racing to zoology.

In their Buddhist section you'll find (besides us of course) a series of glimpses into the extraordinary diversity of Western Buddhist voices: the joys of Zen Coffee, the Dalai Lama's blog, the Strawberry Koan, beer and Buddhism, Buddhist comments on the Pope's Christmas message, and lots more... The FWBO's Wildmind meditation teaching site is also featured (they're the one's writing abouut Zen Coffee!)

Enjoy...

Three Deaths in the Order

As the year closes, we are sad to report that December saw three deaths in the Western Buddhist Order - in America, India, and the UK.

Varada, from America, writes –
“Dharmachari Punya, died on December 11th around 2:45 eastern time at his home in Massachusetts, USA. He died peacefully and with Atula
(one of his closest friends), Sucharita and Alex (his son) by his side.

His yidam was Amitabha so the chanting of his mantra would be a good way to send him off”.

Punya was ordained over 30 years ago, and was one of the first Order Members to take the FWBO to America.

Amrideeep, one of the ‘Order Convening team in India, writes –

“On 12th December night at around 11.00 pm Dhammachari Shildhari passed away due to Heart problem. He had been under treatment for some time and had Angioplasty operation on same day on 12th, on which he died. The funeral took place next day on 13th at 12.00 p.m. Many OM's gathered for his funeral at Ambernath.

“Shildhari was aged 59, from Ulhasnagar centre, nearby Mumbai. He was ordained on 6th June 1999 in Mahavihar at Dapodi, Pune. He had deep shraddha towards Three Jewels, Dr.Ambedkar and Bhante Sangharakshita. He was most of the time Chairman of Bahujan Hitay Hostel and Social project and also Chairmen of TBMSG Ulhasnagar for a short period.

“Some of his good qualities are: he was always taking initiative in many activities and also very helpful in particular in chapter meetings. He was helping to create harmony within the chapter. He was outspoken, positive and well balanced in his spiritual life. Since his ordination he has been Kalyana Mitra for nearly all who were ordained thereafter. He was widely respected amongst Buddhists and centres nearby.

"His PUNYANUMODAN DAY was on Sunday 21st at his house in Ambarnatha”.

And Ashvajit writes -

"This is to inform you that Satyashri died on Saturday 20 December at about 9:00am in the Royal Sussex Hospital, Brighton.

"Her elder sister Susan and one of her sons were with her at the time of her death, and reported that her last breaths were taken gently, with dignity.

"Satyashri had been suffering for some months from a virulent cancer that spread from her womb to her lungs. She accepted the diagnosis with great fortitude about six weeks ago and the cancer spread rapidly. However she had time to write her will and make known her wishes for her funeral before she died. She had not long ago expressed a wish to take the Yellow kesa but her illness proceeded so rapidly that it was not possible to arrange for that.

"Amongst her excellent qualities were her readiness and willingness to help in practical ways, her extraordinary ability to empathise, her quick and bright intelligence, her truthfulness, outspokenness and lack of concern for mere convention, her loving nature, and her tendency to take more thought for others than for herself. When she heard the prognosis for her disease, she was immediately more concerned for her children and for her grandchildren than for her own predicament.

"Her close friends in the Brighton sangha attended a meditation session called at short notice at the Brighton Buddhist Centre the evening before she died. The Prajnaparamita and Amitabha mantras were chanted, as Satyashri had been particularly inspired by Amitabha in the months preceding her death, as well as by the golden radiance of her yidam the Prajnaparamita".

FWBO Websites VII - Facebook

The FWBO has a growing presence on Facebook, the social networking site, and for this week’s featured FWBO website we’d like to introduce you to some of what’s on offer there.

First port of call is the FWBO Page www.facebook.com/pages/FWBO/27731048911 which now boasts some 850 ‘fans’ (not our choice of label!) from around the world. The FWBO page is a one-stop stop to the main FWBO websites, photos, books – plus interactive features such as a ‘ Discussion Board’ and a ‘Wall’ for chat. It’s starting to list some worldwide FWBO events, such as the International Urban Retreat, to be held in June next year.

Besides the FWBO’s main Page on Facebook, there’s a number of groups, all of which have sprung up pretty spontaneously over the past year. One’s simply called “FWBO Friends of Western Buddhist Order” and is for any kind of general purpose networking among folk interested in the FWBO.

Others are more specialised – there’s thriving communities based around the Vajraloka Meditation Centre and Padmaloka groups, which both now have over 200 members, plus smaller groups for FWBO Sanghas in Finland, Scotland, and elsewhere

Buddhafield NZ are taking the Buddhafield spirit to – guess where – New Zealand! It’s a good time to check them out if you’re anywhere nearby, with their summer season just starting. The Buddhafield festival group itself is surprisingly small, at just 90 members, outnumbered by the Buddhafield Scotland group – consisting of people who’d love to see Buddhafield up in Scotland! An example of the power of Facebook to connect people up and get something happening in the ‘real world’.

In the same vein, Karuna Appeals (FWBO) exists to connect past and future volunteers with Karuna’s fundraising appeals – a great place to start if you’re thinking of a Karuna appeal.

A recent arrival is the Young People in the FWBO group, started after last month’s weekend on the same theme. They’re debating stuff like “What’s it like to be a young person practising in the FWBO – what’s attractive and what’s off-putting?”; “What’s a YOUNG person - what age limits, if any, should this group or activities for younger Buddhists have?” And “Communities and Team Based Right Livelihoods: Are these attractive to young Buddhists Today?” Answers on a postcard please – or join the group and get typing!

The FWBO presence on Facebook looks set to grow. But it's also got a presence on other sites around the web - the enthusiast will also find us on MySpace and Orkut – which has become TBMSG’s ‘social networking site of choice. And most recent of all is a Twitter feed – try following http://twitter.com/FWBO_Dharma.

The internet isn't for everyone, of course - if you're desparate for some real human contact, probably none of the above will 'do it' for you. In that case, just go to the FWBO Centres' Address List on our main site for a full listing of all FWBO Centres worldwide. Then log off, and go get on a bus!

FWBO People: Karunamaya - womens ordinations in India, good news, and an appeal!

This week, in our Saturday ‘People slot’, FWBO News features Karunamaya, a Western Order Member who’s visited India and supported women's activities there for many years. Her name means 'Embodiment of Compassion'; she's a key figure in the Ordination process for Indian women.

Karunamaya's a naturally retiring person, so we don't actually have a 'big picture' of her. Fittingly, however, you’ll find her embedded in the centre of the photograph opposite, or on the Order Mosaic (five people to the right of Avalokitesvara’s elbows!), though there is a close-up here, as part of the Order Mosaic.

We’re especially pleased to feature her because she’s written to FWBO News to say –

We need more Dhammacharinis in India.
Can you help us?

• In September 2008, 11 new women joined the Western Buddhist Order/TBM (in India). The largest number of women ordained in India ever!

• But in January there’ll be even more – 15 women – being ordained. The ordinations will be held at the Bhaja retreat centre 29 December to 11 January. The public ordinations will be January 11, 2009. This is an historic occasion - such a large group of Indian women being ordained at one time. All their names are listed below.

• Also we will be welcoming the first new Dhammacharini from the state of Uttar Pradesh who is resident in the state.

• 700 Indian women + want to train as Dhammacharinis. That’s more than in the whole of the rest of the world!

• There are thousands of women in India who need trained Dharma teachers (Dhammacharinis) to learn the dhamma.

• Our main difficulty is the absence of funds.
• We have just £600/1200 US$ per year for our project. Enough for one team member and a few other expenses.
• We had serious difficulties finding the money to pay for women to attend the two-week ordination retreat.
• And have ongoing difficulties to fund women to come on retreats and to support team members to take the Dhamma out to women in the cities and villages.

• It costs 490 Rupees (£6, 12 US$) for one Indian woman to go on a 1 week retreat.
• A woman in a low income job might earn 400-500 Rupees in a month!
• Or they are dependent on husbands who are not always ready or able to give them the fee.

Could you afford to give £6, (US$12) a month? The cost of 4 cups of coffee? Or could all the members of your group make a 50p, (US$1) donation each week when you meet?

It would all help.

You can help Indian women to help themselves and other women by visiting
www.justgiving.com/atmt

Regular donations by direct debit help us plan our work.
For details see www.indiansisters.org or you can e-mail us.

Please state that your donation is for the Arya Tara Mahila Trust Ordination process.

Thank you.

Women's Ordinations in India

Dear Friends
We are pleased to announce the forthcoming ordinations of the following 15 women in India.

The women to be ordained are:-

] Rajani Barate - Pune, Dapodi [2] Anita Gaikwad - Pune, Dapodi [3] Kamal Gaikwad - Pune, Dapodi [4] Alka Manwatkar - Pune,Yerawada [5] Nalini Chabukswar - Pune,Yerawada [6] Vishakha Mane - Pune, Pimpri [7] Shaila Ilamkar - Aurangabad [8] Shushila Ingle - Aurangabad [9] Yashodhara Narvade - Aurangabad [10] Pratibha Shende - Amravati [11] Durga Devore - Amravati [12] Shalu Meshram - Wardha [13] Lata Patil - Nagpur [14] Indubai Shardul - Ghatkoper ,Mumbai [15] Savita Gautam - Modinagar(Uttar Pradesh)

with Metta Karunamaya

Sangharakshita's news: an update

Sangharakshita’s diary last appeared in FWBO News in early October. Dharmamati, his secretary, has sent us this update. He writes -

Bhante's health:
Bhante continues to be in quite good health since the last report. His eyesight has been stable and he is still able to read large print, with the aid of a illuminated magnifying glass. He is also able to draft his own correspondence by hand.

September:
The main event for September was Bhante's visit to Krakow, Poland, where he opened the small but beautiful Krakow Buddhist Centre. Nityabandhu and others had put much hard work into creating a very welcoming space for Buddhist activities. This was Bhante's second visit to Krakow.

His first took place six years ago, when he launched the publication of a Polish translation of 'The Survey' Since then three more of his books have been translated into Polish and published. At the opening he cut the ribbon to the Shrine room. After everyone was seated Nityabandhu led a short meditation followed by an introduction. Bhante followed this with a short talk on 'Sanghaloka' the name Nityabandhu had given the centre. This was followed by the dedication ceremony led in Polish by Nityabandhu.

The opening ceremony concluded with a fanfare from a trumpeteer. This was inspired by the golden trumpet that resounds, every hour, from the municipal tower above Krakow's central square, originally signalling the approach of enemy forces. This was followed by light refreshments in the reception area.

October:
In October Bhante spent 12 days at Padmaloka, leading study for the Men Mitra Convenors, on his 1975 lecture 'Enlightenment as Experience - and as Non-Experience. He also performed a Kalyana Mitra ceremony for Nityabandhu in the shrine room. Nityabandhu's Kalyana Mitra's are Satyaraja and Paramabandhu.

November:
On Sunday the 9th of November Bhante took part in the 30th anniversary celebrations of the London Buddhist Centre. In the morning he cut the ribbon, marking the sunday opening of Friends Organic. The afternoon started in the main shrine room of the LBC where Maitreyabandhu publicly interviewed Bhante on his recollections of the early days of the LBC (this interview was filmed by clear vision). After this Bhante proceeded to unveil the "magnificent" painting by Aloka in the new basement shrine room.

This painting is a triptych depicting the Buddha Shakyamuni with his two chief disciples in the central panel, flanked by the Bodhisattvas and the Arahants in the left and right hand panels respectively. Bhante spoke briefly about this painting.

A few days later Amitasuri came to interview Bhante at Madhyamoloka on the importance of the FWBO's land at Bodhgaya. He spoke about his own experience of Bodghaya, why he wanted the FWBO/TBMSG to purchase some land there and the use that he thought this land should be put to. This was significant given that Bodhgaya is the location of the next International Order Convention.

During the above period Bhante continued to see individuals virtually every day both at Madhyamaloka and wherever he travelled. He also worked on the 'Precious Garland Seminar' with Samacitta and completed study on the Parayana Vagga of the Sutta-Nipata with a local Men's chapter. The Precious Garland is due to be released by Windhorse in 2009.

December:
For the rest of November and December Bhante will be staying at Madhyamaloka and does not intend to do any travelling. He will, however, continue to meet people individually, do editing work on the 'Precious Garland Seminar' and, weather permitting, go for his daily walk in the large Madhyamaloka garden.

The next planned visit will be to the European Chairs Assembly at Taraloka in January, where he will give a talk and a question and answer session.

In 2009 he'll be making a tour of a number of FWBO Centres to launch 'The Essential Sangharakshita' - a handsome 750-page compendium of his writings now available for advance orders from Windhorse Publications. FWBO News hopes to carry a review of this very soon.

Dharmamati

Windhorse Publications releases 2009 catalogue

Windhorse Publications, the FWBO’s main publisher, have released their 2009 catalogue – and very handsome it is!

There's lots on Buddhist practice, for instance Paramananda’s pocket guide to meditation focusing on ‘The Body’ – the third book in Windhorse’s best-selling series, which includes ‘The Heart’ and ‘the Breath’, both by Vessantara.

There’s a new edition of Transforming Self and World, Sangharakshita’s guide to the Sutra of Golden Light, aand new edition of the Dhammapada.

Windhorse don’t simply publish books – there’s a growing collection of multi-media introductions to meditation.

To be released are ‘Life with Full Attention’, an 8-week course on mindfulness by Maitreyabandhu; which will accompany the FWBO’s first International Urban Retreat in June 2009, and Nagapriya’s second book ‘Visions of Mahayana Buddhism’, which looks set to be as popular as his ‘Exploring Karma and Rebirth’.

Sangharakshita’s ‘Living Ethically – Advice from Nagarjuna’s Precious Garland’, also due for release during 2009, will join his existing books ‘Living with Awareness and ‘Living with Kindness’.

The catalogue is available on-line or to download from Windhorse’s very handsome new blog, which you'll find at windhorsepublications.blogspot.com.

They are also taking advance orders for ‘The Essential Sangharakshita’, just published by Wisdom. This eagerly awaited selection of Sangharakshita’s writings, edited by Vidyadevi, is available for pre-order now through Windhorse Publications for the bargain price of £16.99.

They say, "Due for release in January 2009, The Essential Sangharakshita is the culmination of over fifty years of one man's study, practice, and personal experience of Buddhism".

And we say, "Enjoy!"

FWBO Websites VI: Red Noses Unlimited

Red Noses Unlimited (www.rednoses-unlimited.co.uk) is this week’s featured FWBO website.

Created and run by Jayacitta, an Order Member living in East London, it invites one and all to enter the world of the clown. And there is, perhaps, more to clowns and clowning than meets the eye. As she says -

“A Clown is a being that steps into the world afresh. He or she is open to new experiences, meeting things, people, events with wonder, curiosity and a sense of pleasure. Quite different from our pragmatic and often routine way of being, a clown is forever discovering the new. She enjoys being just herself however she is - so being shy, awkward, grumpy, afraid, bossy, falling in love or falling over - all those have a place and can be experienced, seen and celebrated."

More seriously (if one can use the word in such a context!), Red Noses offer professional training in team-work, communication skills, leadership, public presentation, listening & engagement. Jayacitta’s a regular trainer on street-fundraising appeals for the Karuna Trust – she’s found clown training helps people working or living together to meet in deeper understanding and with more empathy for each other, therefore to create a deeper trust and a stronger sense of community and co-operation between them.

Red Noses have also appeared in Scotland – FWBO News reported in September on what was probably the first ever ‘Clowning and Insight’ retreat, held at the FWBO’s Dhanakosa retreat centre.

Red Noses Unlimited emerged after Jayacitta trained in physical theatre at KIKLOS SCUOLA INTERNAZIONALE DI CREAZIONE TEATRALE in Padova, Italy. And according to Giovanni Fusetti, director and main teacher at KIKLOS, part of the training – in fact the final point and highest art – is the development of one’s own Clown, the “poetic transposition of the unique silliness of the actor".

Discover and enjoy…!

Red Noses is (we think) another facet of the multi-facetted spiritual community that makes up the Western Buddhist Order.

To see most (not quite all) the Order at a glance, try the Order Mosaic.

Next week’s website – the FWBO on Facebook..

Rijumati’s travels: Part IX: to Mexico

The ninth instalment of Rijumati’s round-the-world travels are posted today on FWBO Features, covering portions of his time in America and Mexico.

He begins by saying “What unexpected adventures assail the lone world traveler!”

There’s love, big road trips, vivid portraits of the total inadequacy experienced by a carless traveller in America, visa problems, cheap and soulless Texas motels, the wonder of Mexican art and civilisation, the kindness of strangers, and far more.

Click to read more… You’ll find them at Rijumati_travels_IX_america_mexico .

Parts 1-8 cover his travels from the UK – which he left just over a year ago – by sea to Sri Lanka, to India, Nepal, Russia, Central Asia, Japan, and more. Also available on FWBO Features. 

1000 meditators in India, fundraising for NNBY

Last Friday and Saturday nights saw the full moon appearing at it s biggest and brightest for 15 years, according to astronomers.

It also saw over 1,000 people in India meditating – many all night – as a fundraiser for NNBY, the ‘National Network of Buddhist Youth’ created by members of the Order some three years ago. They were joined by many others around the world, in the UK, France, the US, Mexico, Australia, and elsewhere, where meditators met singly or in groups for a night of practice.

Well over UK £1,000 was raised (figures are still coming in, especially from India and the US), and the reports from India sounded almost ecstatic the morning after – “we did it!”. According to reports from Kumarajiv, one of the founder members of NNBY, the event seems to have been something of a collective milestone, a sigificant step forwards in their organising ability - and confidence in the power of collective practice!

Publicity for the event was almost entirely internet-based, with word being spread via Facebook and ‘Orkut’ (a Google-based social networking site much used by NNBY members). This hiccupped when Facebook deleted the ‘FWBO Buddhists’ profile and the associated event – it was revived but lost some momentum in the process!

As a result, NNBY are still fundraising for their annual budget – they receive no statutory funding of any sort, or from any FWBO institutions. Their three priorities for the year are -

1. Training Buddhist youth as leaders
2. Supporting their leaders to teach and organize
3. Sponsoring the NNBY National Annual Conference

The next NNBY annual conference begins very soon – on December 25th at TBMSG’s Bor Dharan retreat centre outside Nagpur. As in previous years, some 500 youth are expected to attend.

Contributions from readers of FWBO/TBMSG News are still very welcome – and two separate internet donations sites are active, for readers in the USA (via the FWBO's New York Centre) and UK (via Justgiving) respectively.

New painting unveiled at the LBC; Sangharakshita interviewed

Readers of FWBO News will know the LBC recently suffered a major flood in its basement on the eve of its 30th anniversary.

Very shortly before that, they had welcomed Sangharakahita, who on November 8th had unveiled a unveiled a major new shrine painting by Aloka to celebrate the opening of Breathing Space, a third shrine room at the FWBO's London Buddhist Centre.

As part of the opening and unveiling ceremonies, Sangharakahita was interviewed by Maitreyabandhu about his time at the LBC, and a video of this and the unveiling itself can be found on the 'talks' section of the LBC website.

The beautiful triptych painting of the Buddha, his immediate disciples, and the Arya Sangha, includes figures from the Refuge Tree of the Western Buddhist Order.

It is designed to be closable to allow the space to be used for MBCT courses as part of the LBC's new Breathing Space project.

The two photographs show Aloka, the painter, at work in his studio in Norwich, and the finished painting as installed in the LBC.

Buddhism in Mongolia: FWBO meets Lamaism meets Christianity

Following yesterday’s report on the new FWBO classes in Denmark, today we have news of another new Buddhist Centre linked to the FWBO, also started by a woman – this one in Mongolia!

The Centre is in Erdenet, some 300 kilometres from the capital city Ulaan Bataar, and was founded by a mitra, Oyuna Tgr, who still runs it. Oyuna contacted the FWBO via the West London Buddhist Centre.

Karunamaya, who recently visited en route to the biannual Sakyadhita International Buddhist women's conference (which happened to be held this year in Ulaan Bataar!), sends this report -

“Oyuna has done amazingly well to set up her small centre. When she returned from the UK, she bought a one-bedroom flat which she has converted and decorated into a Buddhist Centre, even down to the details of having dimmer switches for the lights.

“It costs something like 20 US dollars/month (I think) to keep the centre running. Often she pays this from her own money - my impression is that it's not always easy to fund oneself in Mongolia. Oyuna earns a living by tutoring students in Russian. But Russian is less in demand these days than English. So she has just started a one-year English course in Ulaan Bataar - this will cost her 500 US dollars for the year; it will also of course limit her ability to earn an income and to keep the Buddhist Centre going.

“She has nearly completed the Mongolian translation of “What is the Dharma?" by Sangharakshita, and hopes to publish it soon.

“Tarahridaya (an Indian Dhammacharini travelling with me to the Sakyadhita conference) and I visited Erdenet twice, both times staying with Oyuna and her daughter. The two of us, with Oyuna's support and translation, offered a regular twice-daily programme of meditation instruction and small dharma talks/discussion; also on the second visit we held a day retreat.

“At the time of our arrival, the Buddhist group had shrunk to a very few people attending. The enthusiasm and impetus generated by Shuddhabha's visit last year had decreased. My impression was that if I or others visited again a public talk might help generate interest. In fact I recommended this to Mahananda who was due to visit in September. (He subsequently did this)”

The story continues with Oyuna’s next visit, by Mahananda and his friends David and Joanna from the London Buddhist Centre.

David writes -

“We arrived with our wonderful host Oyuna who looked after us so well despite study and work commitments. We were assured that the talk on 'Buddhism in England' which we had agreed to give at Oyuna's request would be a small affair - maybe ten people. However, as the taxi took us past the town hall we gaped in disbelief at a twenty-foot high poster outlining our rosy cheeks with names transcribed intoMongolian. Oyuna had left the local Gelugpa monastery in charge of publicity and they had ramped the affair up by hiring the Palace of Culture! The next day we were whisked to a TV studio for a half-hour live interview. We came on in-between re-runs of Nu Pagadzi - Joanna's favourite Soviet era cartoon! We ended up giving a talk in a University as well and Mahananda kept everyone amused leading some idiosyncratic stretching exercises and simple meditation”.

Karunamaya concludes –

“There’s a long history of Mongolian society and Buddhism. In 1921 the Russians helped the Mongolians free the country from Chinese occupation. Around that time it became the Mongolian People's Republic. In the 1930s Stalin told the Mongolians that they had two masters, Buddhism and communism. He said that until they only had one master it would never truly be a Communist state. Subsequently, the Mongolians themselves destroyed Buddhism. Monasteries were ransacked, monks/nuns were disrobed, forced to marry or killed. Buddhism was very much equated with superstition. From what I can understand, there was some truth in this. The Buddhist monastic system did promote superstitious belief and was the source of some corruption and moral laxity.

“Currently, there is still some suspicion about Buddhism in areas that I mentioned above - eg, superstition, that it's incompatible with modern science, and allegations of immoral behaviour on the part of the monastics. Interestingly, on the Sakyadhita conference there was a talk entitled ‘Democratic changes and the conversion to Christianity’ by Narantuya Danzan, exploring a lot of the background and suggesting reasons why some modern Mongols have become Christians. It'll hopefully be published in a forthcoming book based on papers presented to the Sakyadhita conference.

“I wish to thank the FWBO Growth Fund and other donors for helping us with this trip.
Karunamaya

We are exploring the possibility of setting up a Translation Fund to help with the publication of basic Dharma materials in Mongolian – and of course other languages. Please contact FWBO News if you are interested.

FWBO classes in Denmark

Advayasiddhi, one of the Order's only Danish members, has recently returned to Denmark and begun classes in Copenhagen. She's running what looks like a pretty full programme of meditation and Dharma classes.

To advertise these she, and members of the small Danish Sangha, have created the FWBO's first Danish website -

www.buddhistmeditation.dk

This gives full details of the classes, short introductions to the Mindfulness of Breathing and Metta Bhavana (Development of Loving-Kindness) meditations, an interactive map for finding their small centre in the centre of Copenhagen, and finally their 'Dharma Calendar' at www.dharmakalender.dk, which she describes as " a common calendar for the Buddhist community in Denmark".

Advayasiddhi's classes in Denmark are in addition to the existing FWBO presence in neighbouring Finland, Norway, Germany, Estonia, and Russia.

FWBO Websites V: Buddhist Pictures

This week’s featured website on FWBO News is Buddhist Pictures, http://www.buddhist-pics.com/. It’s the showcase for artwork created by Visuddhimati, Chairwoman of the FWBO’s North London Buddhist Centre.

The site includes several collections of beautiful and evocative female Buddhist figures – Tara, the ‘ Prajnas’ (the consorts of the Five-Buddha Mandala); Mamaki; Dakinis; and Prajnaparamita.

There’s finished work and work-in-progress - which Visuddhimati calls ‘Buddha Jottings’. Among these is the enigmatic African Tara, drawn in 1999, of which she writes “the idea for an African Tara hinted at in the above sketch has yet to work its way into a more developed painting...”

Alongside Visuddhimati’s Buddhist images there’s more personal work – the ‘Bestiary’ and ‘Handmade Books’. Of these she writes “To fully appreciate these works the viewer needs to hold them and carefully turn the pages of the exquisite papers. What lies within is gradually revealed. That may include carefully constructed sculptural elements. The time it takes to discover the contents is part of the experience of the work, as is touching and enjoying the texture of each page. There is an inherent contradiction in engaging with this work in glimpsing it on your computer screen!”

Finally, there’s links to a Commissions page and places to buy or download her work – ClearVision have a special page for this at www.clear-vision.org/Pictures/Visuddhimati.aspx

Next week will feature Red Noses Unlimited – Jayacitta’s exploration of the world of the clown – a being who "steps into the world afresh"…

FWBO People II: Aniruddha

This week’s profile in our new series of ‘FWBO People’ features Aniruddha, an Indian Order Member working in the field of ‘NVC’ (Non-Violent Communication).

His professional training in this and other areas has allowed him to make a crucial contribution to TBMSG’s work in India, especially in the areas of ‘capacity building’ and change management. He’s now moving away from this training work to focus on his NVC work – and we’re delighted to be able to celebrate him as he makes this move.

Aniruddha’s website is called ‘Connect to Life, you’ll find it at www.connect-2-life.com.

His final report, detailing some of the successes (and challenges) in his work with TBMSG and other movement trusts can be found on FWBO Features here. The report focuses especially on what he calls ‘Social Change through Mind Change’, an area where Buddhism and NVC find themselves in especial harmony, able to offer something of great value to the world. He leaves behind a well-established ‘Capacity-Building Team’ to take his work with TBMSG forwards. The team is called ‘Sekho’, a Pali term meaning “One who facilitates learning”.

Coming next for Aniruddha is a major seminar in January up in the Himalayan foothills at Rishikesh. It’s for a wide spectrum of Indian NGOs and will explore ‘NVC and Social Change’. The conference flyer is also on FWBO Features, more details are on the NVC India website, also run by Aniruddha.

Aniruddha is especially keen to be able to offer bursaries to workers for grassroots and less-well-off NGOs, and we’ve set up a donations page to assist in this. He writes –

“I was going to make this request to you some time back but was feeling bit hesitant, may be now I have the courage to do so, as you might be aware that we are inviting NGO’s working for social change from all over india for this seminar at Rishikesh. There will be some NGO’s who cannot afford to pay the seminar fees which is around £30 GBP for 5 days, I would really like to see these NGO’s coming and benefiting from this conference; if you could help me do that, that will be such a great support for me, so that I can put more of my energy in making this conference a success..

£30 will allow someone to attend this conference, which, as Aniruddha says, may bring “about extraordinary transformation in thinking, speaking and acting around the world” If you’d like to donate please visit www.justgiving.com/aniruddha

We wish Aniruddha all the best in his future plans and work.

Sponsored Full Moon meditation for Indian Buddhist Youth - tomorrow!

Tomorrow night, Saturday December 13th, sees an international ‘Sponsored Full Moon meditation’ raising funds for NNBY, India’s National Network of Buddhist Youth, an autonomous project under TBMSG’s ‘umbrella’.

The target is for them to raise their entire annual budget of UK £4,500 in a single night - all readers of FWBO News are invited to contribute, either by meditating (and seeking sponsors for yourself!) or simply by donating.

Making a donation is very simple – there is an internet fundraising page at www.justgiving.com/fullmoonmeditation.

In India over 500 youth are expected to be meditating, in places as far afield as Nagpur, Delhi and Pune; with others joining them in countries around the world.

The initiative has met an enthusiastic response in New York among the FWBO Sangha there, they have created a special webpage that can accept American donations.

It was spreading virally through the Facebook network before an administrative hiccup meant the event was inadvertently deleted!

A full introduction to NNBY is available on their main fundraising page; they also have a website. Please do consider taking part or donating.

Inspiring Young People with the Dharma

November saw a weekend gathering of 24 people from a range of FWBO Centres in the UK and beyond. They had met in Birmingham UK to explore the topic “How can we Inspire more Young People with the Dharma?”.

The meeting had been called because of what can only be described as the aging of the Order.

As the chart on the right makes clear, in the 1970s, when the Order was first founded, over half its members were in their 20s (the purple bars to the left of the chart). Although the Order has grown enormously over the intervening 40 years, both 20- and 30-year-old Order Members are now almost entirely extinct! (30-year-olds being represented by the yellow bars)

If we follow a trend of 'like-attracts-like' it’s hard to see how the FWBO (as a Sangha) will do other than grow older and older – and older. Hence this weekend. Interestingly, despite Buddhism’s positive reputation, this seems to be a problem across the whole Buddhist world, not just with us - the NBO (the UK’s main inter-Buddhist forum) is dedicating it’s next AGM conference to the same theme.

Over the course of the weekend the participants – who ranged in age from 17-60 - generated a rich collection of ideas for how we might move forwards.

A summary is available on FWBO Resources; they’re summarised in the mindmap...

Two talks from the weekend are available on the Community section of Free Buddhist Audio – one actually being three short talks, two highly autobiographical.

Lindsay’s, the third, was especially clear and practical, giving a three-point plan for how FWBO Centres could inspire more young people with the Dharma. She is currently living and working at Taraloka Retreat Centre. Her's is available here.

Also, Munisha used the opportunity to conduct video interviews with many of the younger people present, they were asked to answer in just one or two minutes one or another of the most popular (and tricky!) questions that Buddhists get asked again and again. They’re available on ClearVision’s excellent ‘VideoSangha’ site.

A Facebook group has been created, for any and all younger people who are Buddhists or are exploring Buddhism in the FWBO (Friends of the Western Buddhist Order). It’s a forum to get to know each other, discuss ideas and advertise events and retreats.

What comes next? There’s no current plans for any big ‘central’ initiatives, we’d welcome comments and ideas – just leave a comment here or write to FWBO News.

Postscript:
Other Western Buddhist groups are also looking at ways to involve more young people:

* Shambala have a special website http://www.youth.shambhala.info/, an annual Buddhist Youth Festival (focussing on the three themes of Discussion, Art, and Socialising); plus a ‘Vajra Dawn’ study programme for youth.

* Plum Village have a youth project called “Wake Up”, subtitled “Young Buddhists and non-Buddhists for a Healthy and Compassionate Society” – see http://www.wkup.org/.

* Soka Gakkai are reported to have a thriving youth wing but we have no information on it.
* In Germany there’s a BuddhaTeens website, in German - see http://www.buddhateens.de/
* In Australia there’s a Tibetan initiative “Loving Kindness Peaceful Youth” (LKPY) at http://www.lkpy.org/

* Books about/by/for Buddhist Youth have been published, especially ‘Blue Jean Buddha’, ‘Buddha’s Apprentices’, and ‘Dharma Punk’.

And - as mentioned several times on FWBO News - TBMSG in India have created the very successful NNBY, the National Network of Buddhist Youth – see www.justgiving.com/indianbuddhistyouth or their website http://www.nnby.org/.

First retreat for NNBY Youth in Delhi

Maitriveer Nagarjun, a young India Order Member studying at the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, has sent us this report of NNBY’s first big retreat in the Indian capital. NNBY is India’s National Network of Buddhist Youth, started a couple of years ago by Order Members from TBMSG’s Dhammakranti ‘outreach’ project.

Maitriveer writes –

“For the first time, in the capital of the country – Delhi, we organised a gathering of the youth for four days. It was an energetic and inspired retreat, organised successfully by the National Network of Buddhist Youth (NNBY) and Dhammachakra Buddhist Centre; our newly opened TBMSG Centre in Delhi.

Approximately 120 Youths attended, coming from eight different states in North India (Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Maharashtra , Madhya Pradesh, and even Ladakh). The Theme for the event was ‘Ambedkar and Buddhism for the Youth’, we met in the Ladakh Buddhist Monastery.

“Even though people came from all over North India and were from different regions , cultures and Castes, they were able to form a common vision for the Casteless society based on the teaching of the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and the Buddha.

“The goal of the event was to infuse a new confidence and energy among the youths present; to make them sensitive to the spiritual life and to encourage them in their careers for the betterment of the fractured Indian society based on Caste. Most of the youths were from the so-called ‘Untouchable community’, so trying to understand the relevance of Buddhism in modern society in the light of Dr. Ambedkar’s Buddhist vision is of vital importance to them.

“NNBY and Dhammachakra Buddhist Centre is thankful for the Lama Londang Damchoe, Secretary of the Ladakh Buddhist Vihara, to the NNBY Nagpur team and the core team of the Prabuddha Bharat Vichar Manch, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

“With Maitri, Maitriveer Nagarjun”

NNBY is currently appealing for funds for their 2009 budget. They have created an on-line fundraising page introducing themselves, and are holding a world-wide sponsored meditation this coming Saturday night, the Full-Moon. Over 500 people are expected to take part in India, plus others in 7 countries.

Please see their special fundraising page at www.justgiving.com/fullmoonmeditation - all readers of FWBO News are invited to join us or to contribute! For the benefit of American readers, the FWBO's New York Sangha have created a dollar-based donations page at www.fwbo-nyc.org/byindia.php

Where have all your savings gone - and where could they be going?

This week’s Economist magazine carries the headline “Where have all your savings gone?”

If any UK or European readers of FWBO News are wondering the same, they might like to consider joining the ‘Dana Partnership’ the FWBO has had for many years now with the Triodos Bank .

Triodos describe themselves as “the UK’s most actively ethical bank”, and FWBO members in the UK have over three-quarters of a million pounds depositied with them. They pride themselves on their transparency, and it’s a delight to read their annual reports - which largely feature project after project in fields as diverse as nature, the environment, culture, social business, the arts, housing, and much more.

You can see their current list of borrowers at www.triodos.co.uk/uk/who_we_finance. They have for many years been the lender of choice for new FWBO projects, financing many of the FWBO’s communities and Right Livelihood businesses.

Triodos has been conducting research among members of the UK public, asking how the recent banking crises have affected their relationship with their money. They report: “Following the Northern Rock crisis, 61% of those interviewed who have a banking product, said that they now wanted to know more about how their bank invests their money”.

Triodos have recently launched a new range of savings accounts - and there’s a free copy of the popular ‘Go Slow England’ book on offer to new customers. If you’d like to know where your savings are going, try looking into Triodos...! When you join there's an option to donate some of the interest payable to one or another charity - including the FWBO.

Although small compared to the high street giants, Triodos are a fully-fledged bank, describing themselves as “a fully independent bank and a pioneer of sustainable and transparent banking”. They say “Our mission is to make money work for positive social, environmental and cultural change. For Triodos Bank, banking has always been a matter of trust, transparency and a long-term relationship with our savers and borrowers...”

Anyone interested to read more around the mysterious topic of money is invited to read the fascinating ‘Mindfulness and Money’, written by two Order Members, Kulananda and Mahaprabha. Kulananda founded Windhorse Trading, the FWBO’s largest and most successful Right Livelihood business, and is now an honorary research fellow at Bangor University, where he teaches a module on Buddhist Psychology, while Mahaprabha lectures in Strategic and International Management at Britain's prestigious London Business School.

What Buddhists do at Christmas - on the BBC

Dharmacharinis Munisha and Vajramudita, Vajramudita's family and the FWBO's Manchester Buddhist Centre all appeared on BBC1 TV last Sunday morning (7th December).

Their short series 'Christmas Voices' is taking a very short look each week at how people of other faiths celebrate Christmas. This week it was the Buddhists' turn.

Munisha says: "The interviewers asked me what Buddhists think about Jesus. I was sorry they didn't use the bit where I said most Buddhists worldwide have probably never heard of him! But it was very good that they featured Manchester's Chinese Buddhist temple as well as us. After all, minority ethnic groups account for about 60% of UK Buddhists but are very marginalised. (In case you wonder, the Chinese Buddhists were invited to be interviewed but none was willing.)"

Click here to see the programme on iPlayer.
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00fzb7y/Christmas_Voices_Series_2_Episode_2.
Skip ahead to about 18 minutes – and stop when you see Munisha! (Note - this link may stop working after Dec 20th)

FWBO Websites IV: the Sanctuary of Prajnaparamita

This week’s featured website was created by Sagaravajra, an Order Member from Bristol UK. It is dedicated to Prajna-Paramita, a beautiful female Buddha figure embodying the qualities of the Perfection of Wisdom.

More specifically, his site is devoted to the ‘Sanctuary’ he has created to her.

He writes -
"The Prajnaparamita sanctuary is the culmination of a personal spiritual odyssey. On my ordination into the Western Buddhist Order I received a visualisation practice of Prajnaparamita, who embodies the qualities of the Perfection of Wisdom.

“Basing my own work on a stunning Javanese rendition of her, I began working on a sculptural representation as part of my own exploration. After completing the figure, I felt the need to come into closer relation to her essence, and I was fortunate enough to be involved in founding a small contemplative co