In 2007 the FWBO's Padmaloka Retreat Centre began a new project to fill their main shrine room with large paintings of buddhas and bodhisattvas painted by the Buddhist artist Aloka. The main shrine room at Padmaloka is the heart of the retreat centre and is a source of inspiration to all who spend time there. And this project will make it even more inspiring!! It will become a place that progressively expresses the mythic depths of Padmaloka.
Aloka has been painting for much of his life and is concerned very much with creating images that speak to Buddhists living and practising in the modern world. So not only will this project create a wonderful environment at Padmaloka to practice in, it will also be creating a legacy for the future by providing the FWBO with inspiring images for the modern Buddhist practitioner.
In autumn 2007 Aloka began the first two paintings. Recently these were completed and are now hanging in the shrine room. They are of White Tara and Green Tara, both feminine figures of compassion, and are situated to either side of the shrine room entrance. There is no definite plan for what paintings come next – these will emerge as time goes on.
In order to continue this project Padmaloka is initiating a number of fundraising projects over the coming years. This year in August there is a special fundraising weekend event called “The Twenty Four Hour Garland of Mantras” .
Open to all men, this will involve among other things an intensive 24 hour period of mantra chanting, for which the participants will be sponsored. This will be a fantastic opportunity to deeply immerse yourself in the mysterious world of mantra and also to help call forth the paintings yet to come! If you would like to attend this event click the link above for more details.
The 13th Buddhafield Festival ended yesterday, with over 2,500 people heading home after a rich weekend on Buddhafield’s beautiful new site in the Blackdown Hills, Somerset. It was Buddhafield’s largest-ever festival and something of a risk given the new site and the increasingly uncertain weather of the British summer.
The Festival was dedicated the theme of the Six Elements – Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Space, and Consciousness, with rituals each day dedicated to one of the Elements. For Water, for instance, those participating gathered by the side of the lake for the recitation of verses of meditation. On the last night, for the closing ceremony and to celebrate the element of Space, many papier-mache hot air balloons were lit which flew up into the air and away – a beautiful sight.
Some photos can be seen in the attached slideshow or on FWBO Photos, FWBO News would welcome links to other online photos from the Festival – just let us know by posting a comment on this post. The slideshow takes you on a journey through the Festival, from arrival, to meeting the stewards, to the opening ceremony, the many shrines, a whistle-stop tour of a small selection of the hundreds of gems scattered through the site - and last but by no means least, a study of the remarkable paper stupa in the centre of the site.
FWBO News is very pleased to announce the forthcoming Ordinations of two women, Rita Homes and Sandy Bonin, both from the Aryaloka Buddhist Center, New Hampshire USA.
Their Private Ordinations will be on Wednesday 23rd July during a week long Ordination cum Order retreat in California and the Public Ordinations will be at Jikoji Zen Retreat Center on the evening of Sunday 27th July. Their Private Preceptor will be Dayalocana and Dayanandi is the Public Preceptor.
Windhorse:Evolution part IV: Dana in 2008 - and beyond...
This is part four of a series of four articles on Windhorse:Evolution, the FWBO’s largest and most successful Right Livelihood business, based in Cambridge, UK.
In 2007-8 Windhorse’s dana totalled a remarkable £265,229, all given away out of the profits of the business to a multiplicity of projects across the FWBO, TBMSG, and beyond. Part IV of this series looks at how Windhorse makes its decisions, and exactly what they chose to fund last year. There's the Dana Fund, the Growth Fund, the Legacy Fund, and the Social Fund.
Just one, the Growth Fund, was able to give money to a new FWBO group in Freiburg, Southern Germany, for continuing the development of close-to-nature camping retreats in Holland and Belgium, for publicity and basic expenses for new centre in Düsseldorf, Germany, for cushions, mats, etc for the new Buddhist Centre in Krakow, Poland and equipment and publicity for new FWBO centre in Leicester, UK.
In India it gave publicity and equipment for new city centre premises in Bhusawal, Maharastra, and a major new Indian Buddhist Youth project building on previous two years of the ‘National Buddhist Youth’ gatherings, funding for a second year to continue working with Tribal people in remote areas, also to sponsor gatherings of leaders from different caste communities in India, , for a major extension of TBMSG activities in North India - and last but by no means least, for underwriting the cost of two Order Membes visiting a woman mitra running FWBO-style activities near Ulan Bator, Mongolia.
Click here to read the full report - which also looks at Windhorse's plans for the future - which include a clear “Donations Warning!” for 2009 and beyond.
In common with other Buddhist sanghas in the West, the FWBO attracted a lot of young people in the 60’s and 70’s, fewer in the 80’s and 90’s, and even fewer today. Why? Who knows – but we’d like to find out!
Sometimes the spiritual path is spoken of as starting with the experience of Dukkha, or unsatisfactoriness: we are sure that everyone experiences this and finds this painful, the young often more than the old. And sometimes the Goal is spoken of as ‘the Taste of Freedom’, again we are sure that all desire this, the young no less than their elders.
As a first step, in November this year, there’s going to be a weekend gathering of all those with an interest in this area. The weekend is open to everyone – of all levels of involvement and all ages. We’d especially like to get young people from centres along and hear what they have to say and encourage them to get involved. Please tell people at your centre about this event, and also come along yourself, even if you are no longer young! But just for the sake of clarity, the focus will be on folk in their teens through to the end of their twenties.
The aim is to create energy, confidence, inspiration, and ideas. Among other things we’ll be using ‘Open Space Technology’ to maximise everyone’s opportunities for contributions and learning. We hope to encourage centres, retreat centres, teachers, and preceptors to have this as part of their perspective on their work.
There are big questions to be addressed: how can we create a vibrant FWBO culture that inspires young people with the Dharma? What are young people looking for? How can the Dharma touch them? And how can we create a sense of community in which teenage offspring of Buddhist parents will want to get involved?
The weekend is from Friday 7th to Sunday 9th November; the venue is ‘Bilberry Hill’, a little way outside Birmingham, UK. And the cost is £50, including food and accommodation. (If you can’t afford to pay that, please pay less.) Full details will be sent upon booking.
To book, please send a cheque for £50, payable to “FWBO” to: Lokabandhu, 25 St. Edmunds Road, Glastonbury, Somerset, BA6 9HX, UK; or contact him on lokabandhu@fwbo.org for more details.
Finally just to mention there’s a poster promoting the event, you can download it here. Please print and promote!
This is part three of a series of four articles on Windhorse:Evolution, the FWBO’s largest and most successful Right Livelihood business, based in Cambridge, UK. The articles have looked at the ethos of the business and recent changes and challenges it has faced. Part III explores the experiences of some individuals working in it, while part IV (to be published on July 16th) will reveal the many projects funded by their current dana or generosity.
1.Gaining Confidence
Santosh Kamble (who has just been ordained, and is now known as Sanghanatha, 'Protector of the Sangha') works in the Windhorse:Evolution warehouse in Cambridge, known as 'Uddiyana'. He's from a small village in Maharastra, India, and this is his story...
"I came into contact with the Western Buddhist Order (known in India as TBMSG) in my childhood through the Asvaghosa project. They go from village to village, teaching drama, singing songs and telling stories to the most underprivileged children, to build their confidence. I went to those classes in my village when I was a child, and I loved the singing, drama and playing games, and I was inspired by their activities. They pick up some incidents from the Buddha’s life and tell a story or do a performance. Most of the songs are about the spiritual life. I made a connection with the teachers and Asvaghosa leaders, who are practising Buddhists involved in TBMSG".
Clear Thinking in Birmingham: 'Asking the Right Questions'
Coming up soon at the FWBO’s Dharmapala College in Birmingham is a new sort of retreat. Specifically it’s a “Level Two Clear Thinking Workshop” entitled ‘Asking The Right Questions’.
The course leader, Jnanaketu, says – “This short course will briefly review the main areas of clear thinking skills using material directly related to the Dharma – identifying and developing arguments, identifying ambiguity, hidden assumptions and fallacies, and formulating questions. Using clear thinking in study groups is an area that I have been thinking and writing about over recent months. Two articles can be downloaded from the Dharmapala College website.
"Most of the time will be spent practising applications of clear thinking, which will probably include: examining ways of identifying and reflecting on views, practising the Elenkhos (investigating a topic by means of collaborative questioning), and using clear thinking skills to participate in and lead Dharma study groups effectively.
"Completely new for 2008 is 'Insight Dialogue', a very effective way of reflecting in pairs on short Dharma texts and views. I am also keen that we should cultivate metta (loving-kindness) in the course of practising these applications".
The Dharmapala College is something of a new venture for FWBO retreats – they see their principle task as that of building a ‘Community of Enquiry’, describing it thus –
“Dharmapala College plays an active part in the emerging Buddhist culture in the West. Initiated by members of the Western Buddhist Order, it invites the participation of everyone inspired by the ideals of collaborative enquiry into reality and open-handed sharing of understanding and experience. With the ending of the two-year Dharmaduta Training Course, we have been shifting our main emphasis to developing a ‘Community of Enquiry’ as the core practice inspiring our teaching activities.
“By 'enquiry' we mean dharma-vicaya, understood as practice (bhavana) comprising both critical investigation and contemplative reflection, and culminating in an ever deeper experience of insight. Our notion of enquiry thus rests on a mutually reinforcing combination of study, meditation, and devotional practice. Most simply put, the “enquiry” aspect of our vision seeks to cultivate the four iddhipadas or bases of spiritual success: concentration of intention, of energy, of mind, and of investigation”.
You can read more about this on their website, and find details of their retreats (and many others) on our GoingOnRetreat website. Highly recommended!
Sangharakshita's secretary Dharmamati has sent FWBO News this account of Sangharakshita’s engagements and activities over the past couple of months. We're pleased to reproduce it here.
“Bhante's health: Since the problems with Bhante's heart in February he continues to improve. His energy levels are good as long as he does not overdo things. The treatment for the macular degeneration appears to have been successful and there has been no further deterioration in his eyesight.
"April: (continued from last report) The last report concluded with Bhante’s trip to Manchester.
Shortly after, Lama Lhundrup, the German Kagyu Lama who is overseeing Vessantara’s long solitart retreat, visited Bhante with his South African colleague. This was during a seminar Lhundrup was leading at Madhyamaloka on the Mahamudra. Bhante was pleased to find that the Lama believed that there was only one model for the spiritual life, namely the developmental model, that the doctrine of Tathagatagarbha represented a potential and not an actuality, and that it was his personal belief that there was a connection between Mahamudra and Satipatthana.
Towards the end of April Bhante visited the FWBO’s Amsterdam centre. He had three full days there during which he gave a Q&A session for Order members at the Amsterdam Buddhist centre and met with local sangha members both in small groups for meals and individually. Unfortunately on the second day Bhante, Ksantivadin and I came down with a particularly virulent stomach bug. Thanks to Dayapadma we were all well looked after and nursed back to health. This meant, unfortunately, that a trip planned to the Arnhem centre had to be cancelled. Despite this set back Bhante managed continue as usual, making the trip to Holland a success that was much appreciated by the local sangha.
May: The first event that Bhante attended in this month was the Women Mitra convenor's meeting, during which, over a period of two days, he led study at Tiratanaloka, on the chapter Guarding of Awareness from the Bodhicaryavatara.
This was closely followed by a visit from another Lama. This time, Lama Rangdrol, the only African-American Lama recognized by the first conference of Tibetan Buddhist Centres of North and South America. He had recently attended the seminar on Beyond Race and Caste, hosted by the San Francisco Buddhist centre. He came with his companion Rebecca Walker, who incidentally is the daughter of Alice Walker who wrote The Colour Purple and is an author in her own right. After the meeting the Lama told me that he had just experienced the most spiritually enriching half hour in his life!
Around the middle of the month Bhante was visited by a group of Going for Refuge Mitras from Dublin.
The next significant event was a visit to Lambeth palace for a meeting of religious leaders organised by the Archbishop of Canterbury. This was primarily a reception for the Dalai Lama. Gordon Brown, the Prime minister, was there to have a private meeting the Dalai Lama and the Archbishop prior to the meeting. After this he greeted the religious leaders, during which time Bhante got to meet him. The Prime minister departed and the meeting got under way. There were 21 delegates representing most religions in Britain (A fuller report of the meeting appeared in FWBO news on 7th July).
Before the meeting Bhante chatted with the Dalai Lama. It was the first time they had met for many years and the Dalai Lama remembered Bhante very well and also mentioned that he was well aware of the work of the FWBO with the Dalits in India. The highlight, for me, was seeing the Dalai Lama helping Bhante up the stairs, they almost danced hand in hand in a very playful way. Bhante also got an opportunity to chat to some of the other delegates including Ajahn Sumedho from Amaravati, Ven Tawalama Bandula from the London Buddhist Vihara and Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor R.C. Archbishop of Westminster.
Two days later Bhante gave a talk on the FWBO International retreat. The talk was on 'Growing the Spiritual Community' and looked at the factors that help grow and healthily maintain the Spiritual community. The retreat certainly met one of the factors, that of meeting in large numbers.
June: At the time of writing Bhante has just returned from Padmaloka where he led study for the 2005 Guhyaloka reunion retreat. He led 10 sessions of study over a period of 5days again from the Bodhicaryavatara this from the chapter on Kshanti or forbearance. He also attended the British Buddhist Landscape conference at Taplow Course - a report on this has already appeared in FWBO News.
Apart from the highlights above Bhante continues to meet individuals daily and working on the Spoken Word book, Nagarjuna's 'Precious Garland' with Samacitta.
Next month trips are planned to Sheffield, Berlin and the Men's Mitra convenors meeting at Padmaloka.
So as you can see despite the set-back at the beginning of the year Bhante continues to be quite active.
FWBO News is pleased to present part II of a series of four articles on Windhorse:Evolution, the FWBO’s largest and most successful Right Livelihood business, based in Cambridge, UK. The first article looked at recent changes and challenges it has faced, this explores the ethos of the business,. Parts III and IV will examine the experiences of some individuals working in it, and some of the many projects funded by their current dana. Most of the articles are taken from the W:E magazine, and are reprinted by permission.
Keturaja, Windhorse:Evolution's HR Director, talks to Tejasvini about some of the Buddhist flavours to be found at windhorse:evolution. He says "Many of us have come to work at windhorse: evolution because we value working with other people who are inspired to practise the Buddhist path. Our ethos, and the five principles of the business are inspired by Buddhist practice..."
He goes on to talk of the renaissance in community living they are currently experiencing, and of the variety to be found between the dozen or more communities that are associated with Windhorse in Cambridge. Also of their flexibility in paying people - and of the simple virtues - and challenges of living on their 'support package' as opposed to drawing a wage. This is, perhaps, one of the most distinctive features of Windhorse and indeed the FWBO's 'team-based Right Livelihood' businesses generally. As Keturaja says -
"...there’s a collective element in the practice of being on support. Most of support consists of allowances, which are just taken, but there are some elements that involve discussing one’s own needs, and I think that’s a useful reflection and clarification on needs and wants. We all have a relationship with money and how we use it, and quite a lot of our conditioning is tied up with our feelings about money. Somehow the support system draws out and reflects back one’s own conditioning in regard to it. Sometimes that can be quite challenging, but personally I have found that it helps make me aware of my own conditioning and deciding whether I’m happy with that conditioning or want to change it. For example some people find it difficult to ask about their own needs, and so the people involved in administering the support system practise being open and encouraging, helping people clarify what their needs really are".
FWBO News is pleased to present a series of four articles on Windhorse:Evolution, the FWBO’s largest and most successful Right Livelihood business, based in Cambridge, UK. The articles will look at the ethos of the business, recent changes and challenges it has faced, the experiences of some individuals working in it, and some of the many projects funded by their current dana. Most of the articles are taken from the W:E magazine, and are reprinted by permission.
To give pespective, there are approximately 112 people working for Windhorse in Cambridge, and a futher 107 in over a dozen Evolution shops. Of the ones in Cambridge, 98 are Buddhist and 14 not Budhdist; a total of 72 people in Cambridge live in Buddhist communities.
And since 1990 Windhorse has raised and given away almost UK £7 million!
We start with some reflections by Vajraketu, Windhorse:Evolution's Managing Director and chief buyer, on the state of the business in this, the 'Year of the Rat'.
“A rat year is a time of hard work, activity and renewal. This is a good year to begin a new job, launch a new product or make a fresh start. Ventures begun now may not yield fast returns, but opportunities will come for people who are well prepared and resourceful. The best way for you to succeed is to be patient, let things develop slowly and make the most of every opening you can find.”
This is the Year of the Rat in the Chinese system, the first in the twelve-year cycle. It happens to be an appropriate image for us, because we are entering a new phase. The characteristic of this new phase, I hope, is that we’re going to grow again. After growing between 1986 and 2002, we’ve had five or six years of plateau or consolidation.
During that period of consolidation we made a lot of very necessary changes, particularly during the last couple of years. Firstly in 2002 we had to move into these new premises, which was an enormous undertaking. Then within a period of about twelve months three of the six people who comprised the previous management team moved on and we had to get used to running the business without them. Ratnaghosha devised a new management structure, and Keturaja systematized things and helped bring us to the position we’re in now, with every department in the business in good shape and as well or better managed than it’s ever been.
There is a certain irony here. We’re probably in the best shape ever and yet last year was our least profitable year for at least a decade. Our current estimate is that we’re going to have made about £200-250,000, compared to the previous year, which was something, over £400,000. The reason for that is that sales have plateaued, but our costs have gone up inexorably. Our personnel bill has more than doubled over the last five or six years. That’s the only cloud in the blue sky of the Year of the Rat...
Sangharakshita news - in London with the Dalai Lama
Dharmamati, who works in Birmingham as secretary to Sangharakshita, sends us this report of his recent meeting with the Dalai Lama at gathering of religious leaders in London.
“Recently Sangharakshita was invited to Lambeth Palace, official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury for a meeting of religious leaders organised by the Archbishop of Canterbury. This was primarily a reception for the Dalai Lama. Gordon Brown, the UK Prime Minister, was there to have a private meeting with the Dalai Lama and the Archbishop prior to the main meeting. After this Gordon Brown greeted the religious leaders, during which time Sangharakshita got to meet him.
“Before the meeting Sangharakshita chatted with the Dalai Lama. It was the first time they had met since the early 1960’s. The Dalai Lama remembered him very clearly, also mentioning that he was well aware of the work of the Western Buddhist Order (Trailokya Bauddha Mahasangha) with the Dalits(ex-untouchables) in India. Sangharakshita also got an opportunity to chat to some of the other delegates including Ajahn Sumedho from Amaravati, Ven Tawalama Bandula from the London Buddhist Vihara and Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor R.C. Archbishop of Westminster. After the Prime Minister departed the meeting proper got under way.
“This was a private occasion and the opportunity, according to the Archbishop of Canterbury, for some religious leaders to come together away from the media to reflect quietly on those things that are important for the wellbeing of the people of this country. There were 21 delegates and apart from the Christian and Buddhist contingent, representatives came from the Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, Bahai, and Jain communities.
“The Dalai Lama was invited to address the meeting. He stressed the importance of relating on the basis of our common humanness rather than difference in beliefs. He used the example that Buddhism and Jainism are both non-theistic and yet have a different view on atman and anatman. He then mentioned the enormous differences in the understanding of God between all the theistic faiths, concluding that because there is no end to difference, we have to find what is common to us all - which is, that we are all human beings. And, that any human being can develop wisdom and compassion regardless of what they believe. And finally, that this would be a definite step in the right direction! There was a delightful moment after the meeting when the Dalai Lama helped Bhante up the stairs, the two of them almost dancing hand-in-hand in a very playful way.
“Although this gathering of some of the most influential religious leaders in the country was very brief, let us hope that it goes some way in helping them realise their common humanity and find a path to peace and reconciliation”.
FWBO News hopes to bring you a more complete account of Sangharakshita's diary for the past two months very shortly. In the meantime we are pleased to annouce that his personal website has been totally overhauled and been given a new look by Dharmamati.
Here you will find some 15 of his books available for free download; many of his poems both old and new; a complete bibliography, many book reviews and editorials from the 1950s and 60s, and some little-known articles, such as the fascinating glimpse into Sangharkshita's early days back in the West to be found in his ‘1970 – A Retrospective’. There's more, of course – but we leave you to browse!
Further to our notice about the lineup for the coming Buddhafield Festival, FWBO News has come across a review of last year's Festival, just published in the annual UK magazine Festival Eye. Festival Eye is the UK's festival bible, coming out once a year, carrying reviews of last years' festivals and the dates for the current years'. Last year's review of Buddhafield is wonderful - we print excerpts below...
"Buddhafield's is as close... so far... as you are likely to come to a perfect community of beings living and celebrating the way we all know we should be. We all know how and at Buddhafields we are reminded of that. No drugs and drink leave the air and the smiles as clear as crystal. Add countless children, the Chai Chapel, a lost horizon with a sauna in it, a tribal Tent called Triban, some mud, but also a lot of green grass (very rare in 2007 as I'm sure you are all aware), a community notice board, some pirates, some fairies, some horses, many meditations, many dances and dancers and many naked people including myself and I think you understand. I love it, totally."
And from another reviewer - "Buddhafields is such an invitation to play, dress up, dance until you sweat so much you want to take off your clothes, till the earth vibrates so much under your feet that you want to cover yourself with it... dance till sunset, dance till dawn.. in silence.. the whole site turns silent at night... you can hear the fairies breathe.. the earth children gather in tents, or go to their nests in dream land, warm up in Sam's sauna or around the fire of Lost Horizon.. tell stories, have funny competitions, better be a nudist, a pirate or an earth woman...
"At the top of a hill, some bells, some shrines and meditation tents.. that's where non stop, someone is in meditation. It is Buddhafields.. the fields where you're invited to be as playful as a laughing buddha, playing with appearances of this world..."
Click here to read the full reviews. Sadhu Buddhafield!
This year's festival runs from July 16-20th in Somerset, UK.
The photos are from the Ecstatic Dance tent at the Buddhafield festival.
Karuna Appeal in North London – a glimpse behind the scenes
Khemajala, from the Karuna Trust's fundraising team, writes to FWBO News to say -
“Readers of FWBO News might like to know we have a team of volunteers in North London right now. They’re walking the streets and talking to the good people of North London. Jo, Naomi, Abhilasa and Paddy are halfway through their six weeks of door-knocking appeal; please bear them in mind as they do this vital fundraising.“If all goes well they’ll raise many thousands between them for our many projects in India – last year we raised a remarkable £87,968 annually. And since most donations are by standing order, the money just keeps on flowing long after the appeal is over!
“If you want to keep up with their story Jo Robinson is blogging away on most days on the Karuna Appeals blog. It makes great reading...
Here’s a taste.14th June: Cultivating passion"Hi, I'm calling from a charity". "You best come in then, but I'm telling you now I'm not signing up for a standing order"."I feel the warmth of the hallway and the house immediately, and realise that it is a little cold out there walking the streets. It is a familiar warmth to me, the warmth of being invited into someone's home, I am immediately grateful.
My eyes scan the room, letters opened on the table, a work pass that says BBC on the counter. "Ah, you work for the BBC" "Yes", "what do you do there?" "I'm the World Services' Africa correspondent". Ah, I think, how interesting, we are going to get on well.
"So, what do you want from me?" "Well, I'll tell you it straight there's no point in mucking around...I want a standing order...". I grin...he grins, "or a donation" I add, realising that this man is relatively rich and might give Karuna a big fat cheque."He tells me he had a Dalit cleaner when he lived in India. Tells me that the cook of the house said that if the cleaner was ever allowed in the kitchen of the house, she would resign as his cook. He tells me he hates Hinduism because it fosters this sense of when you're born you're screwed, you just have to put up with your lot…” Read more here...
The British Buddhist Landscape Conference - a brief report
Last weekend saw the first British Buddhist Landscape Conference, with some 70 people from across the full spectrum of British Buddhism gathering at Taplow Court, HQ of Sokkai Gakkai UK.
Lokabandhu reports –
“I've never been a ‘conference junkie’, and for me it was a rather new and stimulating experience to spend a weekend at a stately home in the company of intellectuals and leading Buddhist practitioners. One couldn’t help feeling just a little aristocratic! The programme was packed, and yet living together just for those two days lent a real intimacy to the event, for me at least it meant that we got to know one another far better than over a year of committee meetings – the only context in which I'd met most of the others previously.
"It was also fascinating to be able to glimpse other sanghas – I was especially impressed with the culture of dana and service at Taplow, which is run almost entirely by volunteers who are arranged in small teams of specialists or other shared interests. On the Saturday night, for instance, we had a lavish buffet supper cooked for us by their ‘chef’s group’. It was also fascinating to glimpse how others are engaged in translating the Dharma for the modern world – one example was the FPMT’s ’Essential Education’ and ‘16 Guidelines’ programs.
"The FWBO was generously represented, with Sangharakshita offering ‘reminiscences and reflections’ on the Friday night; among many other points he encouraged the different Buddhist traditions in the West today to face squarely the issues raised for them by (a) the insights into Buddhist history afforded by the higher criticism of the West and (b) the fact that the Buddhist scriptures are full of ‘supernatural’ beings. Besides him Vijayatara (aka Dr. Sharon Smith) spoke on People of Colour in Western Buddhism, using as case studies the FWBO and SGI (UK); also Munisha on Buddhism and Young People. Amitajyoti had organised an impressive contribution to the art exhibition, with work by Aloka, Chintamani, and Padmayogini (whose Shakyamuni is shown opposite) among others.
"More generally, there were sessions on the early history of Buddhism in the UK, with useful statistical insights – did you know, for instance, that 150,000 people declared themselves Buddhist in the last UK census? Of whom 90,000 were of Asian descent, leaving some 60,000 new converts. Or that there are now over 1,000 registered Buddhist groups in the UK? Up, it should be added, from just 30 in 1968! The diverse ethnicity of Buddhism in the UK was drawn out in four short talks from Japanese, India, Nepalese, and Thai speakers.
"Later sessions focussed on the engagement of Buddhism in many areas of modern British life – education, interfaith dialogue, hospital chaplaincy, and ‘engaged Buddhism’ in general, where a useful three-way division was offered: engaged Buddhism as 'radical activism', creating the future 'New Society' through Right Livelihood, and engagement in caring and service. The conference ended with a stimulating survey of Buddhism and Western thought by John Peacock, for many years director of studies at Sharpham College.
"Most of the sessions were recorded, in several cases by ClearVision, and it is hoped that before too long they will be made more widely available – keep your eyes on the FWBO’s Videosangha or the Network of Buddhist Organisations’ website.
"Many thanks to the NBO and SGI (UK) for an excellent weekend!"
Free Buddhist Audio News – RSS Updates, Podcast, New Sangharakshita, Top 10
Welcome to the news from Free Buddhist Audio, the free download, podcast and streaming service from the Dharmachakra audio and text archives. To receive more regular updates on the site, you can always subscribe to our own blog.
This month, there's quite a lot to tell you about! We've been busy changing and improving the site, so here are a few of the things we've been up to...
Updates:
Whenever you see either of these symbols in your web browser's address bar, it means you can subscribe to a special version of the page you're on (a bit like a blog) and get updates whenever we add new content for that particular section – without lifting a finger...
So, it'll work to keep track of titles from a specialised area of the site (eg. meditation), or for uploads from any individual centre in our new community pages (eg. Taraloka). And it's really simple!
All you have to do is click the symbol itself. When the page changes, add it as a 'bookmark' or 'favourite' in your web browser (usually typing 'command-D' will work). And that's it. When we upload a new talk or series, you'll get a little notification in your bookmarks list.
Podcast
If you haven't discovered our free monthly podcast yet, then this is a great time to start! Over 10,000 people now subscribe to this service (you can get it easily via iTunes), and we've already distributed over 350,000 Dharma talks by podcast since late 2005.
The latest episode has just appeared online, a great talk by Ratnaguna: 'The Early Teachings of the Buddha' – a splendidly engaging evocation of the fundamentals of Buddhist thought and practice from the recent FWBO International retreat.
Come and give it a whirl!
Two talks by Sangharakshita
Over the last wee while, Sangharakshita has been steadily adding to his already considerable archive of recorded public talks. This week, we are delighted to bring to your attention two of his latest, which are well worth a listen... 'Growing the Spiritual Community' was also given at the FWBO International retreat, and is a timely exploration of what it's going to take to maintain the Western Buddhist Order and the FWBO as a vibrant and spiritually prospering community.
'Forty Years On – The Six Emphases of the FWBO' is a pleasing reprise of classic Sangharakshita, with some delightful reminiscences about the early days of the FWBO. The talk was given in Manchester, and marked the 40th anniversary of the founding of our spiritual community.
And finally...
Before we go, we thought it was high time we revisited with you our top 10 chart of most popular downloads. Try them - they're all marvellous!
The FWBO’s largest event outside India is the annual Buddhafield Festival, now in its 13th year and going strong. From 350 in 1996 it’s grown to around 2,500 people – small enough to retain the intimacy that’s one of its hallmarks, yet large enough to contain an extraordinary diversity of, well, everything!!!
This year they’re moving to a beautiful new site just a few miles from the old one on the Devon-Somerset border. They’ve written to FWBO News to say –“The new site is secluded and peaceful, away from roads, with coppice woodland, and plenty of space. We’ve been hard at work preparing for this year’s Festival – and it’s coming up soon! We warmly invite you to join us – and please do tell your friends. It’s a great way for them to meet a bunch of Buddhists and get a taste of what we’re about”.
Here is a sneak preview of some of this year's programme (all included in the ticket price!!):
Kids Area: AMAZING and varied range of activities for kids - trampolines, dressing up, carnival processing, crafts, bushcraft and nature awareness, storytelling, toddlers' space, daily theatre extravaganza; Teens Space.
Bands: Gadjo Club (superb Gypsy Balkan Jazz); Seize the Day (protest folk stalwarts); Green Angels (upbeat Breton dance); Vogue Gyratory (Brighton faves, 7 piece funk-reggae); Manjinga 7; Toggy Mess (upbeat Irish folk); Manos Puestas (super-spicy flamenco jazz); a variety of fantastic DJs, including Matt Black of Coldcut (Thurs pm), followed by Cinema
Poetry and art: Inter-Ference; open mike poetry evening; Poetry Slam; 'The Big Q' play written specially for Buddhafield!; The Buddhafield 'Artery'; carnival costume-making from found natural materials; creativity and poetry-writing; Mr Be, mime, clown and family show; Stilted butterfly walkabout; Marionettas giant puppets.
.Dharma Parlour and meditation: talks and discussions on Buddhism, speakers from the Western Buddhist Order and other traditions, including Christopher Titmuss. Meditation teaching from FWBO teachers and others. Ceremonies and devotional practice. Network of Engaged Buddhists; Amida Trust, and others.
Workshops: MASSES of all-day yoga, Tai Chi and Chi Gung. Healing Area, great range of alternative therapies, pay by donation. Dozens of workshops to die for, including Ecstatic Dance with Jewls; 5 Rhythms with Jo Hardy; Brazilian Forro; Indian Classical Dance with yoga/visualisation; Shamanic Trance Dance with Zilia; many more dance workshops; 'Soulful Singing' with Mahasukha; 'Voice as Sacred Instrument'; Tibetan singing bowls; tin whistle, bodhran, drumming; daily Buddhafield Community Rhythm event; 'Work that Reconnects'; Transition Towns; big debate on Climate; Palestine Peace Campaign; Non-violent Communication; Skilful Flirting; Heart-to-Heart tantric workshops; Green babycare on a budget; Shamanic Journeying from Northern Drum….
Special Spaces: the 12 Step Dome; Women's Space; Land and Permaculture; Radical Midwives Space for pregnant women and new mothers; Queer Spirit Space; Crafts Area; Wildheart Medicine Wheel Space; Dzogchen and Big Mind teachings; bushcraft; tracking; fire making; sky-gazing meditation.
Saunas including Lost Horizon, featuring chillout space and cabaret; cafes including the Buddhafield Café with strolling musicians. And last but not least, wood-fired showers and compost toilets; all power on site from the sun and wind.
The 2008 Festival runs from Weds 16th to Sun 20th July. The site has good public transport links; nearest train and coach station is Taunton (direct trains from many towns); there are a couple of local buses each day from Taunton direct to the site. There's also special festival mini-buses going direct to the site and back from Bristol, Brighton and London. See the Buddhafield Festival website for details. Don't be put off by the rather severe website by the way - look at the pictures to get a sense of what it's really like!
But PS - don't forget to book soon! See you there! ;-)
FWBO News is pleased to present part III of a series of excerpts from the travel diaries of Rijumati.
Six months ago Rijumati left his home town of 24 years and headed off on a freighter bound for Sri Lanka. These excerpts find him entering Kazakhstan en route for Russia.
He says "I now am on my way to Kyrgyzstan, which is probably the most unpronounceable sovereign state in the world. Try saying Keer-gish-stan but with a strong 'zzz' at the end of the 'gish' I hear you asking “How on earth have you ended up there, Rijumati...?"" Click hereto find out...
FWBO News is pleased to be able to mention two lesser-known journals published by members of the Western Buddhist Order – Urthona and the Western Buddhist Review.
Urthona Urthona (www.urthona.com) is the fruit of a small but dedicated band of lovers of the arts; for them, Urthona is “a magazine for rousing the imagination”. It’s been published since 1992 and issue 25 is just out: Celtic Connections.
They say – “It’s an exploration of the myths of the Celtic world, their enduring appeal and their continued relevance. This issue is for those who are trying to make connections with the pagan roots of our culture, who want to make these wonderful old stories meaningful for their lives, and who want to make links with the pre-christian ways of spirituality which existed in the British Isles before the Roman invasion”.
Back issues are available here, and a generous selection of online articles cover such subjects as The Five Storied Palace (A journey around the symbolic cosmos in the company of Dante with some notes for twenty-first-century travellers); A Fountain Sealed (Reflecting on the tragic split in Coleridge’s poetic Imagination); and Experiments and Values: Sangharakshita talking about the arts in the twentieth century, his likes among its artists and writers, and his new collection of poetry.
Urthona is available from FWBO bookshops or by online ordering.
Invitation to participate in on-line research study for meditators
FWBO News is pleased to pass on this request for volunteers to take part in an on-line project looking at some of the effects of meditation.
"Hi there,I'm Rebecca, a Mitra with the Letchworth FWBO group.
"I'm currently doing some research for my MSc project that involves looking at some of the effects of meditation.
"I'm looking for volunteers who meditate regularly and who would like to take part in the study. It will be available online in the next few weeks, and will consist of some questionnaires (about 20 mins) and two very short experiments (less than 5 minutes each).
"In total, participation should take around 40-45 minutes, and can be done wherever you have an internet connection and a Flash plug-in (most computers have this already).
"We are going to submit this research to an academic journal so that it can be published, and the results will be available to anyone who is interested. If are interested in taking part, please click the links below. Do pass it on to anyone you know who might be interested, or please feel free to contact me if you would like more information, with no obligation to take part at any stage.Thanks for your time!
"With Metta,
"Rebecca
MSc Student (Research Methods in Cognitive Neuropsychology)
BPS Transpersonal Psychology PsyPAG representative
Division of Teacher and Researchers in Psychology PsyPAG representative
Below are the 'instructions' and link for the study. There are four sections, which should take around 30-40 minutes to complete.
Please click here to take part!
The Karuna Trust is the FWBO’s largest and most successful fundraising charity, sending well over UK £1,000,000/year to a wide variety of projects in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Tibet. In recent years their focus has shifted from the approach of ‘Aid for India’ (their original name!) to encouraging projects that specialise in helping India’s disadvantaged peoples effectively and peacefully access their legal entitlements.
These naturally include India’s more than 200 million Dalits and Tribal people, from whom come the vast majority of India’s Buddhists, including of course members of the TBMSG. While India as a whole has become increasingly prosperous over the last decade, discrimination of all sorts is still rife, and especially discrimination based on the age-old and scripturally-sanctioned caste system.
Two such projects which have been funded by Karuna are the 'Dalit Rights Initiative' (a part of India’s ‘Human Rights Law Network') and ‘Social Jurist’. Both have hundreds, if not thousands, of stories to tell, and we have posted a few of these on the FWBO News Features page.
Ananta from Karuna comments “In spite of the harrowing content, the stories move towards a 'happy ending' which I found uplifting not least because our efforts are supporting this work. The full list of cases is available on their websites if you want to read more”.
There is a growing trend of ‘advocacy’ work that often uses the internet – Karuna’s attention was recently drawn to Meena Kandasamy’s blog, a 24-year–old Tamil woman who is self-confessedly “obsessed with revolutionary Dr.Ambedkar’s message of caste annihilation”. Her blog describes the punishments meted out to ‘dangerous Dalit women’ seen as witches by caste Hindus.
She ends with words that could almost have been written of the ‘witches’ and witchcraft trials of Briain and the US in earlier centuries: “…in witch-hunting, the victims are also single (read widowed/ deserted/ divorced) women of a certain age who are no longer burdened with reproductive duties. The word ‘witch’ is thrust on these ‘dangerous’ women who asserted their entitlement to rights and thus challenged patriarchal and caste supremacist diktats. Dalit or Adivasi (Tribal) women who dared to contest elections and directly challenged the political power of the landed caste-Hindus have been labeled hags. They have been accused of exercising black magic when in fact they have only been exercising their fundamental rights. Witchcraft, when used by brutal caste-Hindus in the modern context, has come to signify women’s resistance to oppression, and the price they have paid for it”.
TBMSG Amaravati: youth, Dhamma tours, and an appeal
FWBO News has received this report from Amitayus, a leading Order Member in TBMSG’s Amaravati sangha, in central Maharastra, India. The Buddhist community in Amaravati has long has a reputation for innovation and dynamism, it looks like they’re not resting on their laurels! Their report concludes with an appeal, and we urge readers to log onto the Amaravati appeal website and also pass news of the appeal to their friends and others in the Sangha.
Amitayus says -
“The TBMSG-Bahujan Hitay Amaravati sangha (Maharashtra) has for many years been having regular dhamma and social activities including especially activities planned and designed for youths. We know well that youths should get attracted to the Dhamma as this is a very important part of forming the New Society. As well as this, we run many regular other activities which we feel should be known to the wider sangha , we request you to help us doing this effectively through publishing these events on FWBO TBMSG news.
Amaravati Youth Conference 2008 “At present we wish to inform you of two things. First is the Youth Conference 2008, organised by our Dr. Ambedkar Social and Youth Center in Amaravati. Our aim is to organise Indian youth for self development and to help them so that they can help their people, we have been working with the youth since 1993 and we have supported thousands of youth. Many are now regular practitioners of Dhamma and have become effective social activists.
“Our Youth conference 2008 was held from 26th to 30th May, we accepted 125 participants including men and women especially from slum and rural backgrounds. Dhammachari Amoghasiddhi and Aniruddha explored the various areas of self-development including teachings of Dr Ambedkar, basic Dhamma, and ‘secrets of success’ using NVC. The organisers are accepting the wishes from the broader sangha worldwide for the success of the event.
‘Jumbo Retreat’ in October 2008 “Second we wish to inform you that in October 2008 we are planning a big programme of public talks all around Amaravati, followed by our largest retreat. There will be 15 public talks before the retreat, we estimate more than 400 people will be present in small towns and 1000 people at the bigger towns. Those who are inspired may come forwards to participate in our ‘Jumbo’ retreat which will run from 24 October to 30 October. It will be led by a team of 25 Order Members from the Amaravati area including Chairwoman Dhammacharini Jayamani, Chief Organiser Dhammachari Nagabhadra, and also Dhammachari Ashvajit from the UK. We will be including youths, rural, tribal, and nonbuddhist people: in this way we begin to create the true casteless society.
“This is a very big task for us and our first step is to fundraise for it. We need Indian Rs. 6 lakhs, or UK £8,000 approx. We are planning to raise these funds through door knocking, sponsoring the events , publication and looking for contributions from our international sangha.
'National Network of Buddhist Youth' Conference in India
Ann Dennehy, a mitra from the FWBO’s San Francisco Sangha sends us this report of TBMSG’s ‘National Network of Buddhist Youth’ Conference in Dehra Dun, northern India, held June 1-7, 2008.
She writes -
“I have just returned from a week on retreat with India’s National Network of Buddhist Youth (NNBY) in the hill station of Dehra Dun, in northern India. I worked as part of a team of 4 Trainers - the Indian Order members Kumarjeev and Kamalasri from Nagpur, and Maitriveer Nagarjuna from Delhi, alongside the NNBY Student Leadership Team.
Altogether we were 35 people on the retreat, practicing in an old colonial school building, miraculously transformed for our use by the local Senior Dhammachari Bodhisagar (who had been ordained by Bhante in India in the 1980's) and his tireless wife Sumitra. They turned classrooms into dormitories, food pantries and shower facilities; hallways into kitchen prep stations and a dining area; and a meeting hall into a shrine room and central study space.
“Dehra Dun is green and peaceful, providing a cool break from city heat, and a chance to practice in a lush, serene environment. Our team worked harmoniously, providing opportunities for students to learn meditation, practice English, study the legacy of Dr. Ambedkar, chant, and do pujas. Students established new friendships, shared tasks, played cricket, sang songs, and even danced. Our last night was a diksha, where two students became Buddhists, followed by a cultural evening, which included comedy and a kirtan.
“The primary goal of the NNBY is to establish a network of Buddhist friendships across India, and train up the next generation of young Buddhist leaders. I am satisfied that such connections were created on this retreat.
“Most of the retreatants were first-timers, and as the week came to a close they told me how much they had learned, how their meditation practice had deepened, how they'd made new friendships, and how much more confidence they felt after a week of supported practice.
“Myself, I leave feeling grateful for my deepening friendships with the team, and inspired by the energy, creativity, and curiosity of all the students. May this Sangha continue to thrive”.
You can check the NNBY’s new website on www.nnby.org.
They've also got an internet fundraising appeal going, seeking funds for their India-wide youth leaders training programme - you'll find full details on the appeal site.
Meanwhile, a thousand miles south, in Maharastra, there's ambitious plans afoot among the Amaravati sangha for a major Dhamma tour of rural areas this autumn, building in part on their own recent successful Youth Conference - we hope to bring you news of this tomorrow.
In 2007 the FWBO's Padmaloka Retreat Centre began a new project to fill their main shrine room with large paintings of buddhas and bodhisattvas painted by the Buddhist artist Aloka. The main shrine room at Padmaloka is the heart of the retreat centre and is a source of inspiration to all who spend time there. And this project will make it even more inspiring!! It will become a place that progressively expresses the mythic depths of Padmaloka.
