An invitation - and a challenge - from the Karuna Trust fundraising team

Khemajala, a fundraiser at the Karuna Trust, writes with an invitation - and a challenge - for all men reading FWBO News. He says -

"Would you like to live a truly meaningful and memorable year as part of a Karuna Men's Fundraising Community?

"On 29 September 2006, in Khairlanji village, central India, Surekha Bhotmange, her daughter Priyanka and her two sons, Roshan and Sudhir were dragged from their home by a mob, stripped naked, paraded through their village, beaten to death, and their bodied dumped in a nearby canal.

 Bhaiyyalal Bhotmange, the father of the family (photo opposite), escaped by lucky chance. The details of this caste-based crime are sickening, and the hatred behind it is difficult to comprehend but the viciousness is typical of many crimes committed against lower caste people in India every day.

"Most of these crimes are invisible, but this atrocity came to light through Dalit campaigns and became an international news story. The Manuski project, led by members of TBMSG (the Indian equivalent of the FWBO), and supported by Karuna, played an important part in making that happen.

"Could you tell Bhaiyyalal’s story? You could give Dalit people such as Bhaiyyalal a voice and help them escape the suffering caused by caste discrimination.

"How? Live a truly meaningful and memorable year as part of a Karuna Men’s Fundraising Community

"From September 2010 to August 2011, Karuna will be pioneering the first team of Karuna Appeal fundraisers who will come together for a year to live and work together as a community of fundraisers.

"We need a team of four or more men.

"What we’re offering:

• Community living based in London
• Blocks of 6 weeks fundraising followed by at least one week off
• A total of 10 weeks leaves including a trip to India and time for retreats
• Training in Fundraising as a spiritual practice
• A comprehensive support package
• Led by Jayaraja

"For more information -
Contact Khemajala
Phone 0207 697 3004
Email khemajala@karuna.org
Web www.appeals.karuna.org

Karuna seeks fundraisers for 2010: India needs you!

The Karuna Trust is the FWBO's principle fundraising charity, sending well over £1m/year to India to fund a wide range of social and Dhamma projects. They're seeking volunteer fundraisers for 2010.

Amalavajra says -

"If you feel strongly about helping India’s Dalit community to escape the hell of caste, then please do consider giving some of your time next year to fundraise for Karuna, or encourage your friends to do so. We offer financial support. Here is our 2010 fundraising programme:

Door to Door Appeals
Spring Men's 6th Feb - 20th March Nottingham
Spring Women's 20th March – 1st May Brighton
Summer Men's 29th May – 24th July Edinburgh
Autumn Women's 4th Sep – 16th Oct Birmingham

Telephone Campaigns (Mixed, London-based)
11th Jan – 19th Feb
19th April – 28th May
25th Oct – 3rd Dec

12 month appeal community with Jayaraja (For men, London)
Try out TBRL and community living for a year: Sep 2010 – Aug 2011

Please contact me at if you feel strongly about helping India’s Dalit community to escape the hell of caste, then please do consider giving some of your time next year to fundraise for Karuna, or encourage your friends to do so. We offer financial support. Here is our 2010 fundraising programme:

Door to Door Appeals

Spring Men's 6th Feb - 20th March Nottingham
Spring Women's 20th March – 1st May Brighton
Summer Men's 29th May – 24th July Edinburgh
Autumn Women's 4th Sep – 16th Oct Birmingham

Telephone Campaigns (Mixed, London-based)

11th Jan – 19th Feb
19th April – 28th May
25th Oct – 3rd Dec

12 month appeal community with Jayaraja (For men, London)

Try out TBRL and community living for a year: Sep 2010 – Aug 2011

Please contact me at amalavajra@karuna.org or 0044 (0)207 7700 3434, or visit www.appeals.karuna.org
or 0044 (0)207 7700 3434, or visit www.appeals.karuna.org

Priyadaka says:

I'm leaving Friends Organic after a year as manager, and joining Shakyajata with her teaching project in India. This will be for 4 months and encompass work in Nagpur, Orissa, Hyderabad and Trivandrum.

My room in East London will be free for this time [November 2009 - March 2010] and I need to rent it out, it's in a great mens community; the rent is amazing for London and the conditions are negotiable.

Please contact me on priyadaka@googlemail.com.

Thanks.

FWBO Development Team seeks Assistant

The FWBO Development Team

is looking for an Assistant… 

Might you be interested in working for the FWBO Development Team?

 * The Development Team (currently Lokabandhu, Siddhisambhava, and Vajragupta) is making a significant contribution to the FWBO, helping the European FWBO Chairs Assembly maintain the FWBO’s unity and vibrancy.

* Projects that we’ve undertaken, or commissioned and funded, include the new Dharma Training Course for Mitras, a new FWBO website, a forthcoming book on the history of the FWBO, fundraising for Bhante and other projects, the International Urban Retreat, events to help make the FWBO more attractive to young people, and much, much more…

* We’re looking for an Order member to be a part-time assistant working closely with Vajragupta, Director of the Development Team.

* Your main areas of work would be…

a) Helping to run events such as the FWBO International Retreat, International Urban Retreat, or “inspiring young people with the Dharma” weekends. You’d be involved in “visioning” the events to maximise their potential, and then overseeing their organisation, publicity, and so on.

b) Helping with the administration of the charity, keeping the books and preparing charity accounts, banking, paying bills and wages, and overseeing the FWBO Chairs Assembly Fund.

c) Helping to communicate the work of the FWBO Chairs Assembly: preparing and distributing “briefings” of our work, helping to consult chairs and centres on new proposals, collating feedback, keeping a database of chairs, mitra convenors, and centre managers.

* You’d need to be… an Order member who loves the FWBO and wants to help it to thrive! We’re looking for someone who is self-motivated, efficient, with a good eye for detail.  You’ll need to be able to organise big events that require co-ordination between people in different locations. You’ll also need to communicate written information clearly and attractively. Skills such as basic publicity design (web and printed) and book-keeping would be an advantage… but don’t worry, we can also provide training…

* It would be a big advantage, though not essential, if you lived as near as possible to Worcester, UK where Vajragupta lives.

* The job is for 2 ½ days per week, with 6 weeks retreat time, and there is a support package of £6K per year.

* For a full job description and application form, or if you’d like more information, or if you are interested but the details above don’t quite work for you, then please contact vajragupta@fwbo.org (or phone 01905-729683) and we can talk about it! The closing date for applications is Wednesday 21st October and we hope to interview on Thursday 5th November in London.

Opportunity to live in Sukhavati men's community, London

Sukhavati Men's Community is happy to ask if you would like to join us.

We are 9 Buddhist men who enjoy living and practicing as a community, following the teachings and principles of the Buddha's Dharma, as taught by Urgyen Sangharakshita, the founder of the FWBO and WBO.

We are all committed in a variety of ways, but we all enjoy the benefits of a harmonious collaboration, that supports our wish to practice Buddhism with creative enquiry, breadth and depth.

If you would like to be part of a lovely living and practicing situation, at the very heart of the London Buddhist Centre mandala, then please get in contact with us at sukhavatijc@yahoo.co.uk

Centre Manager required for Cambridge Buddhist Centre

The FWBO’s Cambridge Buddhist Centre is at the heart of a large sangha and runs a popular range of courses for newcomers as well as events for the more mature sangha. It also runs a range of courses in bodywork and mindfulness-based approaches.

The Centre is looking for a new Centre Manager. The exact responsibilities will depend on the applicant and the existing team, but are likely to include:

• Managing the office team and volunteers
• Overseeing the administration of the Centre
• Managing the day-to-day finances, including supervising a book-keeper
• Working closely with the Council and those teaching at the Centre

 The ideal candidate would be

• an Order member or mitra [1]
• good with people
• well organised
• be computer literate and able to use Word and Excel
• confident with figures and understand finances
• flexible
• work well with others 

If possible we would like someone with experience of team-based right livelihood and of fund raising. 

Further information about the job and support package is available from Tejasvini at cbcwomensmc@googlemail.com or 01223 273974.

Ruchiraketu will not be available for most of April, so please send all applications also to Tejasvini on the above contact information.

[1] Genuine Occupational Requirement - Section 7(3)(a) of the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 applies.

Cambridge Buddhist Centre, 38 Newmarket Road, Cambridge CB5 8DT

Glasgow Buddhist Centre seeks administrator

The FWBO's Glasgow Buddhist Centre is looking for a new administrator.

This full-time supported vacancy involves administering the GBC's financial systems, co-ordinating and working with our excellent volunteer receptionists and handling routine admin tasks.

Previous work experience in admin is essential for this post.

You will work alongside Gunasiddhi, the centre manager and Dassini, the centre director as part of the centre team, who are Gunasiddhi, Dassini and Suriyavamsa.

The Glasgow Buddhist Centre is a friendly and thriving place, having been established for 35 years. For a look at the range of what we teach, see http://www.glasgowbuddhistcentre.com/

For more information please contact Dassini at dassini@glasgowbuddhistcentre.com

Friends Organic, London seeks Assistant Manager

Friends Organic, the London Buddhist Centre's Health Food shop, seeks a man or woman, preferably Buddhist, to be their new Assistant Manager.

Priyadaka, their Manager, says - "If you love wholefoods, have a flair for retail and enjoy teamwork we have a place for you; experience will be useful but not necessary as we want someone with the right attitude, an ability to learn and to take initiative.

"Please send in your cv and covering letter to priyadaka@googlemail.com, or to Friends Organic, 83 Roman Road, London E2 OQN. You can call 0208 980 1843".

They have a website, www.friendsorganic.co.uk/

Three vacancies in Friends Organic

Friends Organic is urgently looking for enthusiastic and friendly people to work in its team-based, right-livelihood business. We are an eco-friendly, organic, vegetarian, wholefood shop, linked to the London Buddhist Centre. We are looking for two full-time team-members and one part-time person (3days a week).

Friends Organic has been around for almost 30 years and has always operated on the basis of Buddhist principles. We would therefore prefer applicants who are Buddhist, as we wish to continue running the business on the same basis.

Please visit our website at: http://www.friendsorganic.co.uk/ for more information.

Job applicants should contact:
The Manager
Friends Organic,
83 Roman Road,
London
E2 0QN

Tel. 0208 980 1843

Would you like to live in a men's Buddhist community in London?

Sukhavati currently has 2 spaces.

Based above the London Buddhist Centre (LBC), Sukhavati is a community of 9 practicing Buddhists. We are a friendly group of men who enjoy living together and aim to support each other in our practice and to overcome differences through communication. The community has a long and distinguished history going back 30 years. It is being refurbished at the moment and should be shiny and new by this August. We're looking for people who would enjoy living with others and who are willing to engage in communal life.

This is an ideal opportunity for someone who wants to experience the richness of the LBC mandala. The LBC is at the heart of a thriving local sangha and close by is the lovely Victoria park. We are very close to a tube station with good connections to central London.

Interested?

Contact us to find out more or come and visit us!

Sukhavati
51 Roman Road
Bethnal Green
London
E2 0HU
Tel. +44 (0)208 980 5972

The LBC at 30: looking for Men and Women of Vision

The London Buddhist Centre is the FWBO's largest and most successful Buddhist Centre. It is thirty in November and is currently in the middle of the most exciting phase since its inception. We are improving all six floors of the Centre in a building project costing over £1.5m so that we can reach out to even more people.

We are:

- creating Breathing Space, a 'mindfulness for health' centre
- creating an access from Roman Road - making the centre's work much more visible
- building a new glass-atrium entrance, thereby enlarging our reception and bookshop
- making the centre much more accessible for people with disabilities
- completely refurbishing the community on the top three floors
- providing central heating to both communities above the LBC for the first time.

The new office for the LBC team has recently opened - alongside 'The Sangharakshita Study Room' - providing a beautiful and bright new environment in what was Bhante's flat.

We are looking for men and women of vision and commitment to join us.

Do you want to:

- play your part in an enthusiastic team of Order Members and Mitras trying to realise Bhante's vision?

- teach meditation and Dharma, or learn how to teach?

- lead or support retreats at Vajrasana, our retreat centre?

- learn to teach Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy or other 'mindfulness for health' initiatives.

- help to manage and expand Breathing Space, which is attracting significant funding and media interest (Guardian, The Times, The FT, The BBC, CNN)?

- actively go out to 'hard to reach' groups and help them benefit from the Dharma?

- help run the expanded LBC bookshop?

- work in the women's team at the Wild Cherry restaurant or take part in one of our other businesses, which we are also hoping to expand and revitalise?

- develop new projects and initiatives for Dharma work?

We have places for men on the Centre Team and for men and women in our businesses. We believe that we have a precious opportunity for the LBC to expand and to become a much greater force for good. We need your energy to help make it happen.

Contact us -

Maitreyaraja (020 8709 9984)

or Vidydaka (020 8709 9983) by 30 June.