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Contents

What is the FWBO?

The FWBO - a Buddhist tradition

FWBO - its origins and history

The FWBO in Germany

The FWBO - a Buddhist tradition

Particular emphases from the teachings

The FWBO system of practise

The art of communicating the Dharma: old and new ways

FWBO Buddhist Centres

Meeting the Buddha in the meadow: Buddhafield

Old and yet completely new: Buddhism in India

Bringing Buddhism into schools

Activities for special groups

Indirect methods: art and culture

Indirect methods: body work

The FWBO - a living spiritual community

Practising in the FWBO: First Steps

From teachings and teachers - or: Where are the Gurus?

Living as a Buddhist - conventional and alternative life-styles

Buddhist practise and work

Buddhist practise in a family context

An alternative way of life: Buddhist communities

An alternative work form: Buddhist "right-livelihood" businesses

The radical alternative: Life in a Vihara

Not just navel gazing: the FWBO and social commitment

Help where it is most necessary: the Karuna-Trust

Buddhismus and ecological awareness: the P.S. network

Caring for the aged & dying: FWBO hospice work

Mindfulness-based pain/stress management : "Breathworks"

The Western Buddhist Order

The Order as a practise

How is one ordained?

Sangharakshita - the founder of the FWBO

What is the FWBO?

The essence of Buddhism doesn't change and isn't fixed to certain cultures or times. But the particular expressions of the basic Buddhist truths have always adapted to the ethnic situation. Therefore over the course of two thousand years, the Buddhist tradition has evolved into today's multi-facetted and colourful landscape defined by the different traditions and schools.

The FWBO is one of the youngest traditions within this diverse landscape. The venerable Sangharakshita founded the FWBO in England in 1967 by with the aim of offering Buddhist teachings in an accessible form to westerners and in a way that would be usable in their everyday life. In almost 40 years from the beginning of this experiment the FWBO has developed into a well established, world-wide Buddhist community, having a clear and well-supported system of practise. And although the FWBO was founded originally to address itself to the needs westerners, its spiritual community has, in the meantime, developed way beyond this goal: a large branch of the FWBO has now developed in India under the name TBMSG.

In the following sections you can learn much about the FWBO: on the one hand there are answers to some fundamental questions, e.g. which concrete practises the FWBO teaches and where we fit into the Buddhist tradition. On the other hand you can also get an impression of some of the more unusual facets of the FWBO: why do some Buddhists teach meditation in a tent in a field in the hurly-burly of a pop festival? What has Buddhism to do with an arts centre? Can a Buddhist company really function 'differently' and nevertheless be economically successful? How are FWBO Buddhists engaging themselves in the slums of Indian? Look through the following pages, in order to get an idea of the various activities of the FWBO.

Even after 40 years the development of the FWBO is not by any means complete. Bedding a spiritual tradition into a new culture needs lots of time and experience. Therefore we still regard ourselves as being in a learning phase. We are seeking to discover ever deeper, how Buddhist practise can enrich and change the life of people.

The FWBO - a Buddhist tradition

Each Buddhist school and tradition has its own emphases and offers a self-consistent method of practise. If you already know something about Buddhism, you might be interested in knowing, where the FWBO fits into the Buddhist tradition as a whole, how and why it developed and where it sets its particular emphases from the teachings. You should find something of interest in the sections below. If such theoretical questions are of less interest to you, go directly to the section "system of practise" There you can find concrete details about our system of practise and which methods we use.

FWBO - its origins and history

The FWBO - Friends of the Western Buddhist Order was created in 1967 by Sangharakshita, an Englishman, who has lived for twenty-years as a Buddhist monk in India. Following his return to England in the mid-sixties he recognized that a new Buddhist movement was necessary, which on the one hand would remain faithful to the values and the teachings of the Buddhist tradition, yet on the other hand should be appropriate to the conditions of the modern world.

Sangharakshita was convinced that it would be a major error, to try simply to transplant one of the existing Asiatic schools of Buddhism into a the new environment and culture without taking the huge differences in mentality and living conditions into account. On the other hand he was not willing to water down the Buddhist teachings in order to adapt them to contemporary taste. Instead he decided to concentrate on those core teachings which are common to all Buddhist schools, and to anchor the newly developing movement in these.

Sangharakshita began to teach in a London basement and offered there introductory meditation classes, lectures and courses, as well as retreats in the country. Very quickly a community of people built up around him, who felt attracted by his presentation of Buddhism, and these were to become the original Friends of the FWBO. A year after the establishment of the FWBO, the WBO, Western Buddhist Order came into being - the order which lies at the heart of the FWBO. Once the first order members had gained sufficient experience, they began themselves to teach Buddhism and meditation. Soon further FWBO Buddhist centres were established in Great Britain and also in other countries.

Owing to the intensive and immensely satisfying experience they contacted on longer periods of meditation - so called retreats - some of Sangharakshita's followers tried to find similar possibilities for joint living and practise outside of the retreat situation. The first FWBO Buddhist communities developed. Additionally, their wish to be able to work in conditions which were as ethical as possible and favourable for Buddhist practise soon led to the establishment of first FWBO "right-livelihood businesses", where Buddhists worked together.

During the seventies and eighties the FWBO grew quickly and became one of the larger Buddhist movements in the West. Today there are around 120 city centres and local groups as well as 17 FWBO retreat centres in over twenty countries. In Great Britain, India, Australia and New Zealand the FWBO is one of the largest Buddhist communities and in Western Europe and the USA the FWBO is also growing in importance.

The WBO itself has meanwhile grown into a spiritual community of over 1300 women and men, who have made Buddhist practise the central element of their life.

Over the years, Sangharakshita has gradually transferred his responsibilities to his most experienced pupils. Jointly, and in co-operation with the entire Western Buddhist Order, these continue pupils continue his work: the growth of the FWBO as a dynamic Buddhist movement; one which seeks to learn ever deeper how one can make effective Buddhist practise practical for as many people as possible.

Anyone who would like to find out more details about the origins of the FWBO, can watch a series of documentary films about its history, which might be able to be loaned in most FWBO centres or can be ordered directly from 'Lights in the Sky'.

The FWBO in Germany

In 1983 two members of the Western Buddhist Order moved to Germany with the intention of making the FWBO also known here. In the first years the offered retreats and weekend workshops on Buddhism and Meditation right across Germany. Finally they settled in the Ruhr district, where in 1988 they opened the Essen Buddhist Centre as the first German FWBO centre to open its doors to the public.

Today there are around 30 Order Members in Germany. Outside Essen there are FWBO centres in Berlin and Minden as well as FWBO groups in Hamburg and Frankfurt. In Sauerland the FWBO has owned its own Retreat centre, carrying the name Vimaladhatu, "pure realm", for some years.

The FWBO - a Buddhist tradition

Buddhists of other traditions, who learn about the FWBO, sometimes ask which tradition we belong to? This question does not have a simple answer.

When Sangharakshita returned to England in the sixties and decided to teach the Dharma in the West he did not see himself as a representative of a particular line of the Buddhist tradition. Although he was formally a Theravada monk, he had been convinced from the outset of the internal unity of Buddhism across the traditions; he ranked a Zen teacher as well as some Tibetan Vajrayana masters among his own most important teachers.

When he began to teach, he therefore from the outset referred to teachings and methods of different Buddhist schools. He decided against taking-on the encapsulated systems of individual traditions, which had often developed in Asia under particular cultural conditions and in geographical isolation from each other. Instead he concentrated on the basic principles of Buddhism - those which are common to all schools - and looked for ways and means of expressing and living this in the context of the modern West. He trusted that only time and experience would demonstrate, in what way Buddhism's universal principles would be able to express themselves in a new environment, so as to establish a new, western form of Buddhism.

However, when pushed, one could characterise the position of the FWBO within the Buddhist tradition as follows:

We regard ourselves as having inherited Buddhism as a whole. Therefore the FWBO does not align itself with any of the individual schools, which have developed in Asia, but respects all, and draws inspiration from the entire Buddhist tradition. In practise, the FWBO stresses the early Buddhist teachings above all, but this is set, for example, against the clear background of the "Bodhisattva Ideal", which came to prominence in later, Mahayana, schools of Buddhism.

Scriptures

When studying the Buddhist teachings, the FWBO does not follow a prescribed canon. There are nevertheless several "Sutras" (as the Buddhist scriptures are known), which have received special attention, and are seen as important study texts for the FWBO. To these belong: the Pali canon; the Bodhicaryavatara of Shantideva; the Prajnaparamita Sutras (especially the Heart Sutra, Diamond Sutra, Ratnagunasamcayagatha); the white Lotus Sutra; the Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra; the Sutra of Golden Light.

Particular emphases from the teachings

We see ourselves in the FWBO primarily as Buddhists, sharing with all other Buddhists the same basic tenets and principles. But like every other school, the FWBO also has its special emphases.

Note that the following description of some of these doctrinal emphases is addressed particularly to those, who are already familiar with the finer points of Buddhist teaching. Therefore some terms are used below without detailed explanation. However please do not feel put-off if you are a newcomer to Buddhism - please ask someone in an FWBO centre - we will gladly give further explanation!

"Going for Refuge" is the most important expression of Buddhism

If one asks, what constitutes a "genuine" Buddhist, or what the most important thing in the life of a Buddhist is, many answers are possible. Sangharakshita has always stressed that the most important thing is that one has a clear, existential, emotional and rational focus towards the ideal of Enlightenment, the role of the methods Buddhism has developed towards attaining this, and these in context of the spiritual community. If a person can just commit themselves sincerely from the heart towards these three "Jewels", using them as the highest values in their life, then they can be sure that they will make continual progress in their practise. To say that the act of Going for Refuge is the most important above all else, means however to see at the same time that other things are secondary: for example, whether one lives as a monk/nun or as a layman or which practises one actually undertakes. That is not to mean by any means to say that such decisions are unimportant, but they are, in the opinion of the FWBO, digressions; the most important thing is the sincerity and intensity, with which someone takes Refuge to the Three Jewels.

The Bodhisattva ideal is a necessary aspect of Going for Refuge

Some Buddhist schools regard Going for Refuge as one of the first steps on the Buddhist path, and the committing towards the radically altruistic Bodhisattva Ideal, that is the desire for Enlightenment for the sake of all beings, is then regarded as a higher stage of the path. In the FWBO, Going for Refuge is not regarded as an introductory practise. If Buddhahood represents the highest synthesis of wisdom and compassion, must any real Going for Refuge to the ideal of Enlightenment also contain a clearly altruistic dimension. Any purely ego-centric form of spirituality is a cul-de-sac. The endeavour involved to bring about the arising of Bodhicitta (the mind of a Boddhisattva) is therefore not a higher, or additional practise in the life of a Buddhist, but the FWBO regards this as simply the altruistic dimension of one's Going for Refuge.

Stream Entry is possible in this life

Sangharakshita always stressed that serious practise can, and will, bring fruits in this lifetime. "Stream Entry" is the point, according to Buddhist tradition, in one's spiritual development, when transcendental Insight is attained and thereafter one's practising becomes irreversible; Enlightenment is then inevitable. Even if this experience is not to be compared with full Enlightenment, after this point, the practising Buddhist can be at least certain of no longer falling back. Sangharakshita is of the conviction that by consistent and committed practise, Stream Entry can be attained in this life; he has always urged his followers in the WBO and FWBO to aim seriously towards this.

The inner unity of Buddhism

Some Buddhists consider the earlier schools of Buddhism as being the authentic form of the teaching, and the later forms as being digressions from the original teachings. Other schools however consider the later developments in Buddhism's history as being "higher" teachings, which were given to the more talented disciples. In the FWBO we look at this history more as a continuous attempt to express the same truths but in new forms and ways. In a way you could say that Buddhism has, throughout time and everywhere it has existed, always carried the same message - but in many different languages. The FWBO sees each teaching, each method, as only a tool, a pointer - which hints at the incomprehensible experience of Enlightenment - and is not the highest truth in itself. And just as many fingers from many different directions can point to the same moon, so can many different teachings and schools lead in different ways to the same experience, that is called Enlightenment.

Conditionality as the basic expression of the Buddha's enlightenment experience

All schools are in agreement, that the nature of the Enlightenment experience is inexpressible. Yet the Buddha had to use words, in order to try to express the inexpressible transcendental Insight, which he had experienced. In the FWBO the teaching of the conditionality (or conditioned co-production) of all phenomena (Sanskrit : pratitya samutpada) is regarded as the primary and thus most fundamental expression of this Enlightenment experience on the level of concepts. This teaching explains that all phenomena - from the most fleeting thought to the most ancient galaxies - arise and decay conditioned by a profusion of conditions. It is the most general description of the transcendental insight of the Buddha, and thus the philosophical foundation of all other teachings. So, for instance, the four Noble Truths or the Sunyata (emptiness) doctrine can be regarded as an elaboration and/or expression of this basic teaching.

The importance of Sangha

In the FWBO we attach a high importance to the third of the three jewels. When we speak of Going for Refuge to the Sangha, we do not just mean this in the abstract sense of the "Arya Sangha", that is the transcendental community of the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and Steam Entrants throughout time. In the FWBO we seek to express the meaning Going for Refuge in direct, intensive contact with other practising Buddhists. Thus, alongside the "vertical" element of contact with our teachers, in the FWBO we also place great importance on the "horizontal" dimensions of spiritual friendship. Friendship between fellow practitioners at the same level of experience - from beginners to the most experienced Order members - is very much encouraged. This form of spiritual friendship can also work to counteract an unhealthy dependence on the teacher or guru.

The FWBO system of practise

Those unfamiliar to Buddhism can often understand the term "system of practise" to mean just some sort of programme of meditation practises. Whilst meditation is held to be very important in the FWBO, it is nevertheless only one of many different elements of Buddhist practise.

To practise Buddhism means to be ready to change. It doesn't just mean experiencing wonderful meditative states now and again. Buddhism works on the most fundamental levels of the human mind and heart - and therefore should touch all aspects of our life. Therefore the FWBO attaches great importance to a balanced approach to Buddhism, bringing in our intellect, emotions, everyday life, relations with others, and all other aspects of our personality.

The essential elements of our system of practise can be considered under the headings:

meditation, study, ritual, ethics, friendship.

Meditation

Meditation is the most direct way to come to better understand the workings of our own mind, and work on it. The mindfulness of Breathing is one the oldest forms of meditation and helps the mind settle and become concentrated. The Metta Bhavana or meditation on loving-kindness helps us to develop a basic, positive emotional state towards ourselves and others. These two practises set down the essential foundation for all further methods. They are taught frm the start in the FWBO, and most practitioners need nothing else for a long time. During periods of more intensive practise they can be supplemented by walking meditation and by pure-awareness practises. Regularity is indispensable to successful practise; it is not a matter of knowing many different practises, but rather the solid, patient and persistent application of one or two.

Only after such thorough preparation - in the Order itself, or during preparation for Ordination - do practitioners in the FWBO learn further forms of meditation, which are especially directed towards the development of Insight. To these belong, amongst others, the six-element practise, in which the dynamic nature and impermanence of all phenomena are contemplated, as well as different visualisation practises, which are related those found in Tibetan Buddhism. Which practises are appropriate in this stage, varies considerably from person to person. Therefore, in the Order, a spectrum of different techniques is taught, from which the individual can select the most suitable, after consultation with his or her teacher.

Study of the Buddhist teachings

In the FWBO we attach great importance to one's having a broad understanding of the Buddhist teachings. However Buddhism is by natures not an academic subject, in which it is simply important to just learn theoretically. Rather, it is a practical instrument, which one can, and should, put into use. Just as it is very important to gain a clear intellectual understanding of the different teachings, it is also important to learn how to apply the teachings in our everyday life. Practitioners in the FWBO are encouraged to look at the teachings in the immediate context of their life.

Over and above talks and courses, which mostly have an introductory character, the FWBO offers in our centres on-going study groups, in which different aspects of the Buddhist teachings are explored more deeply. In such FWBO groups, one can learn about areas covering the entire Buddhist tradition. Over and above the basic Buddhist teachings, which are common to all schools (e.g. the four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, the three characteristics of causal existence, ethics, essentials of the Abhidharma and others), other teachings out of the Mahayana are explained, in particular key aspects and the spirit of the Bodhisattva path. Participants in these groups will become acquainted with writings from different traditions, including later, Mahayana Sutras as well as those from the earlier Pali canon. Study in the FWBO does not follow a fixed and rigid curriculum; its aim is to instil over time a broad yet deep understanding of the key Buddhist teachings.

Ritual

All Buddhist schools recognise the value of ceremony and ritual. Even if, in the West, many people have a fairly sceptic first reaction to religious rituals, we recognise they can nevertheless play an important role as a "spiritual tool". The important thing is to recognise the fact that rituals are not simply empty forms or cultural ornamentation, but rather practical and proven methods, which address the emotional and intuitive sides of our being.

In the FWBO, ritual does not stand out foreground; it does, however have its place. To this belongs the recitation of key texts (for instance the Refuges and Precepts; Verses in praise of the Three Jewels; the Metta Sutta; the Heart Sutra amongst others.) together with the practise of the "Sevenfold Puja" (adapted from verses out of the Bodhicaryavatara of Shantideva). The chanting of mantras is also taught and practised in the FWBO.

Ethics

In traditional Buddhist countries nobody would even dream about learning meditation or studying Buddhist teachings without first having practised Buddhist ethics. In the West this process often happens in reverse; only through meditation does it become clear that one's everyday behaviour, is out of step with one's ideals and values.

In the FWBO, we encourage people to increasingly use Buddhist ethics (non-violence, generosity, satisfaction, truthfulness and mental clarity) as central principles for their everyday life. This is a gradual process, however it can in the course of time lead to profound changes in the one's life - ethics affects all areas of our life, from our work, through our family and friends, to what we do in our spare time.

Friendship

Human beings are social animals. Our relationships with others are not just vitally necessary, they also have a huge effect on us. Therefore in the FWBO, we think it is crucially important to include this dimension of our life into our Buddhist practise. Few people succeed in keeping an effective Buddhist practise alive and vibrant over long periods of time on their own without the support of teachers or other in the spiritual community. Contact with others helps to keep our motivation fresh, provides stimulus and inspiration and also necessary "friction" together with any occasional needed corrections. In the FWBO we attach great importance to "spiritual friendship", that is, to lively and sincere communication between ourselves. You can find more about this topic in the section "Spiritual Friendship".

The art of communicating the Dharma: old and new ways

One of the greatest gifts of the Buddha appears to have been his ability to communicate with the most diverse range of people. Amongst the Buddha's followers were kings, educated priests, farmers, beggars and prostitutes - and for each, he was able to find a suitable language and fitting similes. He could put over a deeply philosophical point using a mythical picture or metaphors from politics or agriculture.

This ability - finding the most appropriate words and images in order to transmit the Dharma, so reaching as many diverse people as possible - has been valued from the very beginning. It is also held in highest regard in the FWBO - we want to make the Buddha's teachings available to as many different people as possible; sometimes we have found it sometimes necessary to break from conventional, traditional methods to do this.

FWBO centres in towns and cities are our most important and visible offering to the public. Anyone who is interested is welcome to learn to meditate and find out about Buddhism in an FWBO centre. However the FWBO has also developed a range of other, sometimes quite unusual approaches to get people interested in Buddhism. You can find out something about some of the methods the FWBO has used in the following sections.

FWBO Buddhist Centres

Most people have a personal first encounter with Buddhism, in that one day they walk through the door of a Buddhist centre and learn about meditation, hear a talk or join a course. The FWBO alone has 120 such Buddhist centres or local groups.

An FWBO Buddhist centre typically has a broad palette of offerings - from very easy Open Days, through public talks and introductory courses, through to events for regular visitors. FWBO introductory events are not just aimed at Buddhists, or those who want to become Buddhists, rather they try to talk to anyone who is interested. Many people, for example, just come along to learn to meditate. That's all they want, and that's quite in order. You don't have to join anything in order to participate in FWBO events at this level. It's open to everyone to choose how much, or how little, they take part.

However, should someone seriously want to go further along the Buddhist path, they will find suitable conditions set up around an FWBO centre. Usually centres offer regular practise evenings and study groups, which will deal with a wide range of Buddhist teachings over time. Often a lively community will build up around an FWBO centre, which will develop it's own dynamic. Sometime lifelong friendships can develop in such an environment and there should be a network of supporting contacts. New projects can also arise - on peoples' own intiatives.

Meeting the Buddha in the meadow: Buddhafield

There are many different ways to Buddhism, and sometimes one can meet the Dharma, the Buddhist teachings, in the most unusual places... For example, at one of the numerous open-air festivals in England! In the middle of this ideosyncratic mixture of music, culture, fun and mysticism, thousands of people have already learnt to meditate, and found out something about Buddhism in the FWBO Buddhafield tent.

Buddhafield is a team of those people within the FWBO, who feel drawn to alternative ways of life and who want to live closer to nature. The 'Buddhafield' project began at the end of the 80's, when a group of people from the FWBO first dared to try to teach meditation and Buddhism at the huge Glastonbury festival. Since then Buddhafield has grown and developed, and now has brought a pallet of different activities toegther, to try to reach many different people, many of whom would perhaps otherwise never find their way into a Buddhist centre in a town or city.

Camping Retreats

Buddhafield offers its own program of meditation retreats through the late spring/summer/early autumn. In the midst of unspoilt nature, participants camp, and all activities take place in the open air or in tents. Respect of the natural environment and a simple life are a substantial part of the FWBO/Buddhafield experience. The offer reaches from introductory meditation events, through child-friendly retreats up to intensive retreats in silence for the more experienced. Some retreats might have special themes, such as "Buddhism and ecology" or "Living with the elements".

Festivals

A part of the Buddhafield team offer introductions to meditation and Buddhism at different alternative festivals across England. Through Buddhafield Caf%-23%, a specially constructed tent with kitchen equipment, they supply the festival visitors with good vegetarian food.

Buddhafield-Festival

Since 1999 Buddhafield has organised its own annual festival ("friendly, ecologically compatible, drug and alcohol-free"), a large Buddhist open air celebration, which interconnects play with the serious, experiment and ritual. Nowadays the festival attracts over 2000 visitors, and apart from Buddhist meditation and ritual - as practised in FWBO centres - the programme offers all kinds of other attractions: music, dance, Qi-gong, discussion, caf%-23%s, stands, workshops of all kinds, a programme for children, cinema, play, art, handicrafts, yoga, Tai-chi, alternative welfare methods...

Buddhafield/Q

The Buddhafield team has established an FWBO outreach branch under this name, which is experimenting with different forms of Buddhist events. So far these have included: visiting the ancient holy places around England (e.g. a stone circles, including Stonehenge), in order to work there with meditations and rituals for peace; street retreats; school visits; peace marches, some of which have lasted several weeks and represent a kind of walking meditation; meditation as activism, for example, in 2004 organising meditations in the London Undergrounds as a protest against a weapons' fair.

Conservation of land

Buddhafield recently acquired 20 hectares of countryside near Broadhembury, with the aim of bringing it back into a natural ecological equilibrium. Using perma-culture as a basis, a lasting habitat with a various ecological systems is to be created here. The FWBO/Buddhafield would like to acquire country in other parts of England in the course of the time, to make a contribution towards an eco-compatible culture in Great Britain.

Old and yet completely new: Buddhism in India

Although India was the birth place of Buddhism, it died out there almost completely approximately 800 years ago. However, in the past century, Buddhism in India has experienced a spectacular revival, after hundreds of thousands of people crossed over to Buddhism in the context of mass conversions in the 1950's. Today there are over ten million Buddhists in India, most of whom were formally untouchables - i.e. at the lowest rung of the social ladder. The FWBO has a long history of helping these people, and many are now Order Members. However this culture is very different from our in the West; in order to understand, just what Buddhism means to these people, one must understand the deep-rooted workings of the traditional Hindu caste system.

Background - the Indian caste system

The Hindu caste system - a "system of graded inequality" - has divided Indian society for thousands of years. The social layer or caste, into which people are born, as regarded as one's deserved fate, and one's role and value are thereby fixed for this life. The so-called "untouchables" stood even below the entire caste system and were so little respected that even to have contact with them, for example sharing a well would be a cause of 'contamination'. Education, religion and the most fundamental human rights were denied to them. They were considered as the scum of society.

When India became politically independent, a man named Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar rose to become the political champion for the rights of untouchables. Ambedkar came from the "untouchable" caste himself, but was extraordinarily gifted, ambitious and energetic, and he managed to obtain an education in law in England and America. As a leading scholar, after returning to India, he entered politics, and was able to rise to the top of the political ladder, such that he became one of the architects of the new Indian constitution which, amongst other things, legally outlawed the caste system, and made all Indians equal before the law.

But to legally abolish a form of social suppression alone is not enough to combat its social and psychological effects. After numerous futile political attempts to eliminate the stigma of the untouchability, Ambedkar recognized that only a radical break with Hinduism could help the untouchables overcome their attitude of inferiority, which was so deeply rooted in their consciousness. In Buddhism he found a spiritual tradition, which affirmed the dignity and unlimited potential of every human. Therefore in 1956, in a historical conversion ceremony, he left Hinduism and, with hundreds of thousands of followers, crossed over to the Buddhism.

The "new" Indian Buddhists

For the "new" Buddhists in India Buddhism is therefore much more than just a religious doctrine. It is an escape route, which has helped them to achieve a real status as human beings. It has therefore a much stronger social and political dimension than for Buddhists in the West.

Sangharakshita became involved with the new Buddhists whilst he was still in India. Whilst he could not continue this involvement after he returned to England, the revival of Buddhism in India remained close to his heart. In 1978 some members of the Western Buddhist Order (WBO) made contact with these new Buddhists in India. It quickly became evident however that qualified spiritual instruction was urgently needed and desired. The FWBO found enormous resonance in India and has now established itself there under the name "Trailokya Bauddha Mahasangha Sahayak Gana" (TBMSG). About a quarter of the Order is now Indian - currently over 300 Order members. The FWBO/TBMSG Dharma activities, as in the West, above all involve the teaching of meditation and Buddhism in numerous city and retreat centres. Additionally though, given a social context so different from the West, new paths must be taken to help Buddhism to re-establish itself.

Special emphases of FWBO (TBMSG) activities in India

Social work

Because most of the Indian Buddhists come from socially disadvantaged layers of society, social engagement is a big component of their Buddhist practise. In India, Buddhism is much less a private affair of the individual than in the west, but instead is seen as a force for positive transformation of the entire community. An important aspect of the FWBO communities there are therefore social projects, reaching from nursery and primary schools , through medical care, up to vocational training programs. (See also details on the Karuna Trust).

Increasing peoples' confidence and self-worth

Buddhism teaches that each person has the potential of reaching Enlightenment. In order to be able to really believe in this immeasurable potential, one must first have basic self-confidence in one's own worth. The FWBO has developed different activities in India that are purposefully designed to help overcome the deep-rooted feelings of inferiority: cultural events to help communities to develop their own identity and self-assurance, and targeted help for children and young people (e.g. nurseries and extra-curricular programs) to create good starting conditions. These are supplemented by additional material, for instance drawing, theatre, speaking, and karate courses for both children and adults, in order to let them develop personal strength and confidence. Reading and writing programmes for adults help them to acquire a rudimentary education.

The position of women

The role of women and girls has been one of subordination and inferiority for thousands of years. Therefore a number of FWBO / TBMSG offerings address themselves specifically to women: training programmes for women create a basis for economic independence; special retreats for women allow an experience of autonomy. However just the fact that in the FWBO and the Order women and men have completely equal standing, itself promotes a radical re-evaluation for both sexes.

Asvagosha

To reach those people who do not have access to books etc. owing to their poor education, a lay FWBO Buddhist theatre group called Asvagosha has come into being. The Ashvagosha team travels to villages and explains Buddhist teachings and values through song and theatre. The plays deal with concrete human problems: alcoholism, unemployment, violence to women are brought up for discussion and Buddhist solutions are explored.

Reaching the people in rural areas

In order to reach humans in rural areas, Order Members regularly travel to villages and undertake long journeys, in order to teach locally.

More information can be found on the Karuna Trust website .

Bringing Buddhism into schools

Inter-religious and inter-cultural learning is an important instrument for the development of peace and tolerance in society, and should ideally begin with children and young people. In Germany the study of Buddhism does not form part of the formal curriculum, but interest in it Buddhism, has gradually risen; today more than ever, the teachings of Buddhism are included in religious or ethical classes, usually presented to classes 10 to 12. In the FWBO we try to actively support teachers in this task.

School visits

Most FWBO centres offer the opportunity for school classes to drop in and speak with practising Buddhists. The pupils experience the special atmosphere of an FWBO centre and have might even have the possibility of trying out meditation. Often the pupils have already heard something about Buddhism in their lessons and come prepared with questions, which can discussed with them in a relaxed environment, and in a much more practise-oriented way.

Above all however they experience "real" Buddhists in an FWBO centre, who do not originate from a strange far-off culture or wear exotic clothes - and so they can experience that Buddhism is something, which can really be practised here and now. That this is a valuable experience can be seen from the increasing number of teachers who ask for a class visit each year. In the year 2002 alone, 810 pupils visited the FWBO centre in Essen.

Activities for special groups

Buddhism addresses itself to all people independent of sex, race, cultural background, education etc. Each person can learn to meditate and to successfully apply Buddhist theories and practises.

However, in order to effectively reach people from the most diverse sub-populations, special, targeted activities can be useful. At some of the larger FWBO centres therefore courses in meditation and Buddhism, retreats etc. are offered for special interest groups.

To date these special FWBO groups have included:

  • Coloured people
  • Gays and lesbians
  • People from from caring occupations
  • Young people
  • Activists for social justice
  • HIV+ people

In such courses the special interests of the particular group can be taken into account. Participants here have the opportunity to discuss aspects of their meditation or Buddhist teachings with people having a similar background, so that the discussions are more relevant to the questions of their particular everyday lives.

Such meetings do not belong yet to the mainstream activities of all FWBO centres, but instead develop from the initiatives and the special needs of the individuals at a centre. In principle though it is the FWBO's aim to seek, ever more actively where necessarily, to reach people of all communities.

Indirect methods: art and culture

"Buddhism will only become firmly rooted in the west, when it has learned to speak the language of western culture." (Sangharakshita)

The most important "fuel" for spiritual practise exercise are the emotions. Emotions are what move people, they are the things that ultimately define whether we do something or not - the understanding or intellect have a much smaller role. Buddhism has always understood this and used it to address us using different methods that appeal to our rich emotional inner being and thereby to wake genuine longing for spiritual development on this level: Rituals, celebrations and devotion exercises belong as much to this as rich colours and forms or visual symbols (like Buddha figures and pictures), sound symbols (like mantras), art and architecture. Therefore everywhere where Buddhism developed roots in the course of its growth, also fertilised and enriched cultural development.

To enjoy art or even create it - through painting, sculpture, poetry, music or theatre - can contribute to refining the ability to clearly perceive, our sensitivity and hence our very state of consciousness. To that extent art can play an important supporting role in spiritual life. But exactly at this point, it is important it to strike a bridge between East and West: we have a very rich cultural inheritance in the West. The FWBO sees it as the task of western Buddhists to unlock this wealth for Buddhist spiritual practise. Sangharakshita speaks of creating a new Buddhist culture which is authentically Buddhist and yet nevertheless speaks the language of western culture.

In the FWBO therefore large store is set on art and culture. There are many free-lance artists, musicians and writers in the FWBO. Some of them, for example, have created traditional Buddhist pictures, yet whose expression which appeal much more to aesthetics and art forms of the west. Others work completely in the context of western art traditions. Two larger musical/stage works, which deal with Buddhist themes, have been performed by members of FWBO centres in recent years.

In 1993 two FWBO Art Centres opened their doors in the UK: the London Buddhist Art Centre as well as the Evolution Arts & Health Centre in Brighton. From the many studios and ateliers of free-lance artists around the FWBO community, many divers contributions are appearing, from drawing and oil painting through dance and photography to creative writing.

"Urthona" is a quarterly FWBO Buddhist art magazine. Since 1992 Urthona has tried to shed light on the arts and world culture from a Buddhist perspective, as well as presenting Buddhist artists and aspects of art from Buddhism's history.

Under the name "Wolf at the Door" two Order Members have led very successful workshops in creative writing for some years. Their aim is to "bring the wildness of the imagination into the everyday life" and by waking our imaginative powers, set hidden energies free.

Indirect methods: body work

The Buddhist path of practise is essentially a systematic training of the mind. Direct methods of working on the mind or consciousness are meditation and reflection; however Buddhism also recognises an abundance of "indirect" methods which can positively affect our mental states.

Certain forms of body work belong to this category. Body and mind are closely connected and mutually affect each other. Apart from the fact that physical health and vitality represent a good basis for exercising meditation, body work can also help to train the attention and gradually direct it more inwards. That particularly applies to disciplines such as yoga, Tai Chi or karate, which place large stress on mindfulness and concentration in their training.

For this reason many FWBO centres offer forms of body work as part of their programme. It is not rare that through training of their body - learning to become aware of the feelings, sensations and blocks, together with the different forms of energy fine or rough - then start to develop interest in the internal mental processes and in training the mind. To that extent physical disciplines e.g. Yoga can represent a preparation for and a bridge to a meditation practise.

For example...

One form of body work, frequently taught at FWBO centres, is Iyengar-Yoga, a particularly precise and dynamic form of Hatha-Yoga. The Iyengar method promotes concentration by the exactness of working in a position. Hard work in the exercise sets energy free and strengthens our immune system. One becomes relaxed by learning how to work hard in the position with awareness and at the same time develop internal quiet and tranquillity. These attitudes positively affect our psyche, everyday life, health and work.

The FWBO centers in London and Manchester operate health centres under the name Bodywise. Both are run as "right-livelihood" businesses by teams of FWBO Buddhists, although also non-Buddhist therapists also work there. From Yoga through acupuncture, Alexander Technique and Reiki to massage, the Bodywise centres offer a broad spectrum of body work and alternative therapy forms.

Details under: www.bodywisehealth.org (London)
and www.bodywisenaturalhealth.co.uk (Manchester)

The FWBO - a living spiritual community

In an interesting excerpt from the life of the Buddha, his cousin and longtime companion, Ananda, exclaims to the Buddha after deep reflection "Spiritual friendship is half of the spiritual life!". The Buddha admonishes him in a friendly way, and says "No Ananda, that's wrong. Spiritual friendship isn't half of the spiritual life, it's the whole of the spiritual life!".

The FWBO tries to take these words of the Buddha very seriously.

The traditional form to profess oneself to be a Buddhist consists in reciting a verses attesting that one "takes refuge" to the Buddha, to his teachings and his community (that is to the Buddha, "Dharma" and "Sangha" respectively). Thus everywhere in the Buddhist tradition great value is attached to the spiritual community, the "Sangha". If we want to follow the Buddhist path, we need other humans, from whom we can learn. On the one hand we need contact with more experienced practitioners - with people who have a deeper understanding of the Buddhist teachings than we do, who can be a living model and give personal guidance. But contact with those practising at the same level of experience is equally important. In these friendships we can exchange experiences and mutually encourage one another so that they can be the crucial factor, in helping us through the crisis periods, which will inevitably arise at some point. Spiritual exercise can be very challenging and we sometimes need all the support we can get.

In the FWBO we leave the development of such deep connections between practitioners not to chance, but instead actively try to promote their development. Around an FWBO centre, one will find study groups, ordination preparation groups, "chapters" in the order, as well as projects, in which people live and/or work together, form concrete conditions, in which friendships can develop by regular contact. In the end the FWBO does nor want to be an organization in the conventional sense, but above all a real network of personal, spiritual friendships.

Practising in the FWBO: First Steps

Although most local FWBO groups are legally registered charities, one cannot become a "member" of the FWBO in any formal sense. There are no membership lists, membership fees or the like. One can participate in FWBO activities as often or rarely as one wants, without obligation.

For people who come more regularly, FWBO centres offer a wider variety of activities. Many people come to centres for many years and draw obviously gain from what they receive, without ever having any desire to become Buddhists themselves or to enter into a more binding relationship with the FWBO.

Others, after a certain time, feel the need make a clearer step and to give Buddhism a more central role in their life. For these people, there is the possibility of becoming a "Mitra" of the FWBO. The Sanskrit word Mitra means simply friend, and it expresses the wish of the person concerned to have a relationship of friendship with the Western Buddhist Order. In a small ceremony and in the presence of other people from the spiritual community, he or she brings the three traditional offerings to the shrine - a flower, a candle and an incense stick. Later he or she will recite, together with the others, the traditional "Refuges and Precepts".

Through this simple ritual one expresses three things: firstly one declares oneself thereby to be a Buddhist. Secondly one declares that one would like to practise the five fundamental ethical precepts of Buddhism: not to intentionally kill or hurt; not to take anything which has not been given; not to exploit or hurt anybody through one's sexual conduct; not to tell lies; not to consume substances which cloud the mind. Thirdly one expresses the fact that one has selected the FWBO as one's concrete context for the further Buddhist practise.

For Mitras there are additional offers at most FWBO centres, above all longer-term study groups, special Retreats etc.

Those who read our programs in more detail may notice that many - although by any means all - of what is on offer may be for either men or women only. That applies, in particular, to study groups and to more intensive retreats. At first one might find this astonishing in today's society, but it simply reflects the fact that many people find it easier to relax and open emotionally in absence of the other sex. In a purely male or female group it can be easier to release old stereotypes, to develop confidence, and to be simply and sincerely oneself. In addition women and men can sometimes have quite different approaches to practise or set different emphases. It is also important, and gladdening, that both women and men are represented as teachers in the FWBO.

From teachings and teachers - or: Where are the Gurus?

The FWBO does not recognise any formal ecclesiastical hierarchy. Even the order does not have any official spiritual head. But even if teacher-student relationships are not formally regulated in the FWBO, they do however form an integral and essential part of our Buddhist practise.

The FWBO differentiates between two dimensions of spiritual friendship: so-called horizontal friendship - with those practising on more or less the same level of experience, and "vertical friendship" - with people who are more experienced in the spiritual practise. The first are important because they offer a valuable network of practical and moral support. Friendship of the second form is known in Buddhism as "Kalyana Mitrata" (Sanskrit, lit. "Noble Friendship"). Kalyana Mitras in the FWBO can give guidance and instruction, and may also inspire and encourage the practitioner, in that they represent a living example of someone practising the Buddhist life.

In the FWBO such Kalyana-Mitra connections are encouraged, however we emphasise that they should grow out of real personal contact and not just have a purely formal character. A teacher cannot simply be "assigned" as teacher; instead the teacher-pupil relationship must build naturally over time, and on a basis of on trust and respect. Most people form contacts with several Order Members so that instead of a single, exclusive relationship, they instead have a wide spectrum of supporting relationships of varying depths with others in the FWBO or WBO.

It is possible, as preparation for ordination, to ask two Order Members to take up a binding Kalyana Mitra relationship. If they consent, then this is formalised in a small ceremony. The two Order Members will then take an active role as spiritual companions to the practitioner.

Living as a Buddhist - conventional and alternative life-styles

To keep a Buddhist practise alive over time, it is important to create externally supporting conditions. The way one lives, works, the environment in which one spends the larger part of the day, have an enormous impact on one's efforts for spiritual practise. One hour of meditation per day cannot on its own counterbalance how one spends the remaining 23 hours! A long-term successful practise therefore depends on what extent we succeed in making as many areas of our life into supports for it.

Most people who practise in the FWBO lead a completely normal life from the outside; they live with their family, partner or alone and have normal jobs. However, some seek an expressly Buddhist framework for their external lives - they want to live and/or work together with other Buddhists. Out of this desire communities have grown up around the FWBO, as well as so-called "right-livelihood businesses" (i.e. businesses where Buddhists work together). For a small minority however even this is not radical enough; these people have sought a way of life representing a definite retreat from mainstream society, and offering optimal conditions for intensive meditation, - they have selected a life in an FWBO retreat centre or even a Vihara - a Buddhist monastery.

In the FWBO we do not encourage one particular life-style before all others. On the contrary: we value variety and convinced that it is good for a spiritual community when its members have different ways of life.

Whatever way of life one selects, each opens up its own particular opportunities for Buddhist practise and each has its own dangers. In the sections below we explain some ways in which the FWBO tries to support people in different life circumstances.

Buddhist practise and work

Working activity constitutes a very large portion of the waking time of most people. It is therefore inevitable that the kind of work we undertake, the working environment and our attitude to it thus have a deep effect on our consciousness. For Buddhists, who have decided to actively work on their mind and mental states, this means that they have to actively try to integrate their work into their practise.

Unfortunately people often have a tendency to split their life mentally into different parts. Right from the start of Buddhist practise one can have the feeling that an unbridgeable gap exists between spiritual practise - for instance in meditation, in discussion, ritual or Dharma study - in the Buddhist centre, and everyday, occupational life.

In the FWBO high value is set on making Buddhist tenets and teachings applicable to everyday life situations. Some FWBO centres may offer special courses for working people - for instance weekend workshops or study groups about "work and practise". Here topics can be investigated, for example on: looking at one's approach to using one's energy and one's performance; mindfulness; ethics in the workplace; right speech on the job; needs for career and status; authenticity in the vocational environment; handling praise and criticism and more. Occasionally such courses from an FWBO centre might be supplemented by personal "coaching" by an experienced Order Member.

Buddhist practise in a family context

Buddhists who have children often face special challenges: how does one bring occupation, children, household under one roof and how does one additionally create sufficient time for meditation, reflection and, importantly, contact with spiritual friends?

That this is possible is proven by the many people in the FWBO who live with their families, and yet are at the same time fully engaged in their Buddhist practise and with their Buddhist community. The key to a successful practise in the family context lies in drawing no artificial divide between these two aspects of one's life and understanding that all everyday situations in family life are an opportunity for Buddhist practise.

The FWBO tries to support family practise in different ways. Many FWBO centres offer family retreats. Such retreats offer an ideal opportunity for parents to exchange views with others about the special issues, difficulties and possibilities of practise in a family context. At the same time children can learn fundamental Buddhist teachings and become familiar with FWBO rituals, but in a playful way.

Some centres also have special groups for parents, where fathers and mothers can explore Buddhist practise from the point of view of their special life situation. In FWBO Buddhist festivals a program for children is frequently offered. Some FWBO centres also offer special days or courses for children and young people, where aspects of Buddhism are explored in an manner relevant to the age group.

Those parents who want can celebrate their newborn children in a Buddhist naming ceremony. However, such a ceremony does not represent a sort of "baptism", in which the children become Buddhists, because such a decision can be made only independently by the person concerned later in life. It is rather a welcoming ceremony, in which the child is ritually welcomed by the family and their circle of friends.

An alternative way of life: Buddhist communities

In the traditional Buddhist cultures of Asia the most important alternative to family and occupation was a life in a monastery. If someone did not want to create a family and wanted instead favourable circumstances for Buddhist practise, usually the only choice was to become a monk or nun.

Today we have many more alternatives and only very few people in the West feel drawn to a monastic life. But even now people can find that collective situations - living and practising with other Buddhists - can provide huge support to practise.

It was out of this experience, of people in the FWBO, that Buddhist communities developed. FWBO communities are as varied as the people who live in them - they range from groups of friends who simply share a house, through up to intensive situations with a well-regulated program of common meditation, study, ritual and community evenings. Most frequently one finds FWBO communities consisting of just women or men, because these have proven the most successful and stable over time. Mixed communities have existed, but have generally been less successful.

The life in an FWBO Buddhist community offers an ideal context for deepening spiritual friendship, because when one lives together with someone, then one can becomes acquainted in a much more real and better way than through weekly meetings in a Buddhist centre. Living together with other people who share the same ideals, can be very supporting and encouraging - and occasionally also challenging. And it can be very helpful in transferring one's practise effectively from the meditation cushion into everyday life.

An alternative work form: Buddhist "right-livelihood" businesses

There are many occupations that could be called "right-livelihoods" in that they are, by nature, ethical. However a new form of right-livelihood grew up in the FWBO during the 70's, as people worked together in teams, trying to make money for Buddhist projects. They quickly noticed that working together could be a spiritual exercise in itself, a kind working field for awareness, co-operation and self-initiative.

Today there are numerous Buddhist right-livelihood businesses around the FWBO, among them bio-shops, vegetarian restaurants and health centres. The largest of these, Windhorse Trading, is a wholesale company for gift articles, also supporting a chain of shops "Evolution". It employs about 200 people in Great Britain, Ireland, Spain and Germany.

Such FWBO right-livelihood businesses differ in a number of regards from normal enterprises:

Although they offer financial support to their employees, they do not pay salaries in the normal way. The amount of support is measured not according to the kind of job, but by the individual needs of the people concerned. Thus a manager who is single might receive less than a warehouse worker who has a to support a family. The financial remuneration for employees is designed to be adequate to support a simple way of life, satisfying all basic needs, but without providing incentives to unnecessary consumption or accumulating personal possessions.

They strive to meet high ethical yardsticks. FWBO right-livelihood businesses aim to avoid products and activities that harm people or the environment, and strive to make a positive contribution in the world. Thus, for example, Windhorse Trading aims at for fair trade relationships with its suppliers in the third-world. In all dealings with customers, suppliers or partners honesty and friendliness should be the norm. Within the businesses sincerity and respect for one another are encouraged, and a way of working that is free from manipulation and exploitation.

FWBO right-livelihood businesses strive to offer a context for developing spiritual friendship or Kalyana Mitrata. Working together is perhaps the most efficient way of getting to know others well. In work our everyday habits come clearly to light, and thus it offers a rich field for practising the development of patience, mindfulness, friendliness and co-operation. FWBO enterprises usually set up opportunities in which such topics can be discussed (for instance in weekly meetings). Here the employees can exchange views about their spiritual practise in their working life - and thus support each other.

The profit of such business is not kept, but is instead donated for helpful purposes. In the course of the years FWBO businesses have donated large sums of money to: supporting Indian slum inhabitants, Tibetan refugee children, and for specifically Buddhist projects. Some businesses support their local FWBO centre or make funds available for new Buddhist projects.

The development of FWBO right-livelihoods has been by no means children's play. Many FWBO businesses were created with more idealism than money, with more good will than know-how and many have not survived. But there has been huge progress, many lessons have been learned and today a whole range number of FWBO businesses exist, offering both a spiritually fruitful working situation and economic success to their employees.

The radical alternative: Life in a Vihara

Since the beginnings of Buddhism, there have always been those, who wanted to withdraw themselves in completely from the bustle of the normal world, in order to dedicate themselves to a life of meditation just meditation. Even at the time of the Buddha, beside the lay followers and the monks/nuns who stayed in larger communities, there were also forest settlers and wandering ascetics.

Today too there are people who would like to lead such a life - whether for a few years or for an indefinite time. In the FWBO we see this life-style as an important contribution to our community, because people, who dedicate themselves over the long term to their formal spiritual practise so intensively, can bring deep experience of meditation and insight to the whole FWBO community. Even still, the development of such means in the FWBO is still in its infancy. But beginnings are already there:

"Guhyaloka" (lit.: "the secret place"), a remote valley in south Spain, has existed since 1986, and is solely dedicated to intensive Buddhist practise. Beside a retreat centre, which is mainly used for four-month ordination retreats, and the support team, who live permanently in the valley to support the retreat centre, there is a small Vihara in a remote part of the valley . Here live a small community of men, who lead a completely monastic life and dedicate themselves completely to meditation, study and reflection ( www.guhyaloka.com/valley.htm )

A similar FWBO project for women is in preparation in the Dandenong Ranges Buddhist Community in Australia. Land was bought by the FWBO here some years ago and a Vihara brought into life. Unfortunately the development was thrown back by some years by fierce bush fires (see www.FWBO.org.au/drbc/Events/Vihara.html).

FWBO retreat centres in the countryside offer an intermediate format between permanent life in a Vihara and life around a lively FWBO centre. In the larger FWBO retreat centres there is usually a resident community, who care for and maintain the centre. Although life in such a retreat centre is quite rich in work and not always simply meditative, it can still offer conditions similar to a monastery: life, work and common practise with other Buddhists in an environment with few distractions. Such FWBO retreat communities exist at present in the UK, Spain, the USA, India and New Zealand.

Not just navel gazing: the FWBO and social commitment

Is it possible to regard one's Buddhist practise as a purely individual affair, without any impact on one's world and environment? The FWBO says: "No".

The development of compassion, the realisation of our intimate solidarity with the world, is a substantial component of Buddhist practise. Often the motives for first taking up a regular meditation practise are purely personally: one is looking for inner peace, balance etc. for oneself. However an effective meditation practise should open us up in the course of time to the world around us. We become sensitive to the interests of others. Therefore Buddhist practise has always included a social dimension. FWBO Buddhists do not only look for personal enlightenment, but also search for opportunities to have a positive influence on the society in which they live.

Much of this happens from individual initiatives and in small ways. Thus some Order Members and other friends engage themselves as prison counsellors, in the care of the dying, in youth work or as mediators. Many of those involved in the FWBO have vocations in various social care fields, including social workers, teachers, psychologists, doctors, nurses etc., jobs where they try to act out of a basis of compassion and connectedness, and to have a positive effect on their vocational surroundings.

Beyond that there are additionally larger, collective projects in the FWBO dedicated to social engagement. The largest of these is the Karuna-Trust, an English charity, which has successfully supported numerous relief initiatives in India for over 25 years.

Help where it is most necessary: the Karuna-Trust

Since 1980 the Karuna Trust, an FWBO charity, has worked with some of the most disadvantaged people in India. Many of these people originate from the lowest level of the former Indian caste system, under which they were known as "untouchables". Even today many of them live under degrading conditions, without proper housing, medical care or education. The Karuna Trust finances projects such as nurseries in slums, hospital wards or adult education, and thereby improves the living conditions of thousands of people.

A goal of Karuna is the building of self-confidence and respect, and overcoming the barriers between caste and religion. The projects are open to anyone who needs help. Many of the projects sponsored by Karuna are directed by Karuna's Indian partner organization "Bahujan Hitai", which is led by Order Members of the WBO. Meanwhile Karuna supports additionally, many other promising projects in other Indian organizations.

Some of Karuna's fields of activity:

Education

Education is one of the most important factors in enabling people to take their lives into their own hands. Nevertheless millions of children in India do not finish their school career, owing to poverty and their family environment. Karuna sees therefore education as its most important contribution towards the overcoming of poverty. At present projects in this area include:

  • 70 nurseries and kindergardens for over 2500 children
  • 30 after-school classes for 896 pupils
  • 11 reading and writing courses for 262 women and girls
  • Nursery school places in Poona for 30 children whose mothers work in the neighbouring brick factory
  • A school for 200 Tibetan refugee children in Kalimpong, which allows them to study both a modern curriculum as well as the Tibetan language and culture.
  • 18 students' hostels, which allow almost 1000 girls and boys from poor families to obtain an education. The hostels help to minimise the chance that children will have to finish their school career prematurely - to start earning money - and they give necessary support and company for learning.
  • A street-school for the homeless children who live and work in the station of Gaya.
  • A school for orphans and other children without means in Sikkhim

Health

The hospital ward in Poona offers basic medical care to eight slum districts - thereby reaching a population of 12,000 people. In particular it focuses on mothers and very young children. The employees (all women!) originate from the local community, and so can win the confidence of local people. They concentrate particularly on inoculation, family-planning and the prevention of malnutrition; they use simple, economical methods, appropriate to the conditions.

  • A central hospital in the Dapodi district of Poona cares daily for 30 patients.
  • A hospital ward in Nagpur.

Culture

Culture has always been an important aspect of Karuna's work, because it helps people from disadvantaged communities develop self-confidence and self-respect. Within this area Karuna currently supports:

  • Asvagosha, a team of lay actors, who tour villages and urban slums and using theatre, songs and stories, bring up important social issues for discussion - for instance alcoholism, and women's issues.
  • 20 karate courses for 415 boys and girls
  • Sport and other cultural events for children

Financial independence

Karuna's projects always aim to make people independent of aid. The vocational training and start-up assistance belong to this category. Currently Karuna is undertaking:

  • 14 training courses in making clothes for 198 women
  • Micro-credit projects for women's saving-communities
  • 3 shops for the sale of craft-related products
  • An arts and crafts project
  • 2 agricultural projects
  • A program for annually training up to 40 female social workers

More information, in particular on the newer Karuna projects, can be found under: www.karuna.org

Buddhismus and ecological awareness: the P.S. network

Buddhism has a view of the world that is not static, but one that instead stresses the nature of all things as processes: Nothing exists independently and in complete independence from the remainder of the universe; all things are connected with one another, affect each other, and flow through unfathomably complex interrelations...

Such a view of the world exhibit has many similarities to an "ecological" viewpoint. Buddhism has taught from its start how intimately entwined the network between people and nature, animals and plants is. As some old texts impressively set out, even at the time of the Buddha great importance was attached to respectful and non-violent dealings with other organisms and natural resources.

In the FWBO an informal network of Buddhists has gathered, whose aim is to increase awareness of the present ecological crisis and promote concrete initiatives for environmental protection.

P.S. - Pratitya Samutpada

P.S. is an abbreviation for "Pratitya Samutpada", one of the central theories of the Buddha concerning over the conditioned nature and interconnectedness of all things. The P.S. network wants to:

  • work out the relevance of traditional Buddhist theories for current ecological questions and make these more well-known
  • invite all FWBO Buddhists to follow a five point program, which is necessary for the protection of the natural environment and can be undertaken by everyone, and which can be derived from Buddhist principles (see below)
  • initiate campaigns at regular intervals on concrete issues (e.g. changing supplier of electricity)
  • Making available materials, suggestions and inspirational texts about ecology
  • Engaging with other ecological Buddhist networks

So far P.S. is particularly established in Great Britain, and nearly all FWBO centres there have at least one P.S. representative. In the FWBO in Germany likewise a small P.S. group has been formed.

The P.S. five point program

Consume less

Buddhism teaches us to lead a simple life, which does not seek happiness from material things. Satisfaction and the overcoming of greed are central values in the Buddhist teachings. A serious Buddhist practise will involve examining and questioning one's consumer habits again and again: What are our actual needs, and which "needs" are we just talking ourselves into?

Consume more wisely

Ever increasingly we are able to choose between different products. With each purchase we add our voice to deciding the kind of world we wish to live in. Our practise of ethics therefore should include informing ourselves and using discrimination in selection: against products that involve the exploitation or harming of people, animals or nature, and for products, which were produced ethically and to last. Our money can support many positive initiatives - bio-agriculture, animal protection, fair-trade, local products, energy saving etc.

Live carbon dioxide-neutrally

One of the most urgent ecological problems is the global climate change threatened by the greenhouse effect. The main cause for this is carbon dioxide output. We can do much to reduce our own contribution to this: drive less, avoid flying and products whose ingredients must be transported long distances, use heating more efficiently, save electricity and use electricity from renewable sources... P.S. invites all Buddhists to reduce their carbon dioxide output as far as possible and to calculate and offset this by financing tree plantation. Assistance and web addresses can be found on the P.S. homepage.

Create and preserve conservation areas

The core problem causing environmental damage is a spiritual one: we do not recognize our interconnectedness with other forms of life. One of the most direct methods to strengthen this feeling of interconnectedness is to become more aware of the animal and plant world directly around us. Both with groups and in small, private ways we can set aside and conserve natural areas.

Sharpen our awareness

P.S. regards it as the task of every Buddhist to develop awareness of our solidarity and interconnectedness with our natural environment. P.S. strives to include ecology as an integral part of our ethical practise, and not just to leave it as an area of interest only to alternative fringe groups.

You find the homepage of P.S. under: www.ecopractise.FWBO.org

Caring for the aged & dying: FWBO hospice work

One of the areas of social work in which people in the FWBO in Germany have become very active, is supporting the ill, elderly and dying.

At the Minden FWBO Buddhist Centre a "life-assistance group" has formed, whose members visit homes for the elderly and do voluntary work there, helping old people and those with dementia, either personally or in group work. By personal arrangement, the dying they will keep company with dying people, for shorter or longer periods, at home or in hospital. Every fortnight the members of the group meet to discuss their work. This will include reflecting about one's personal motivation, how one conducts oneself, ethical questions etc. against a background of Buddhist practise. The Minden assistance group is member of "the Minden-Luebbecke hospice network". (Contact through the FWBO Minden Buddhist centre).

Also people at the FWBO centre in Essen wanted to create a professional framework for accompanying seriously ill and dying people. After some years' preparation, the non-profit charity "Hospizdienst Mandala e.V" was formed in March 2005. It offers company for the dying and advice on pain relief. Approximately 20 trained volunteer men and women of varying age and occupations from the Ruhr region are engaged here. Most have a Buddhist background, however the group is open for people of different social, ethical and religious criteria. The professional coordinator is available for medical and care questions. She also organises the care service, basic and advanced training, and is trying to build up a comprehensive care network. Since 2006 the charity has been a member of the Bochum palliative network.

See www.hospizdienst-mandala-ev.de

Mindfulness-based pain/stress management : "Breathworks"

Meditation and other methods of the mindfulness training can be a highly effective means for the positive handling of physical pain. Since 2001 the FWBO project "Breathworks" in Manchester, UK has offered courses in pain management for people with chronic diseases. The project was created by an Order Member, Vidyamala, who had had to deal with chronic pain since her youth owing to a spinal column injury . Other Order Members with many years of experience are also teaching at Breathworks. Owing to the great success of these teaching methods, courses in stress management have now been added to the program.

The program outlines different methods of mindfulness training, such as relaxation exercises, awareness of the breath, meditation, as well as other strategies for self-management. The applied methods help people to creatively and positively meet the feelings of pain, even when the source of the pain itself cannot be healed. Although Buddhist meditation techniques are instructed in the courses, they are taught in a secular way and can be taken up by people of all faiths.

You find the Breathworks homepage, with more details on these courses under www.peacemind.co.uk

The Western Buddhist Order

The actual heart of the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO) is the Western Buddhist Order (WBO). The WBO is a spiritual community of men and women, who have decided to follow the Buddhist path towards enlightenment. This striving - which one traditionally calls Going for Refuge to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha - has been made by Order Members the central aspect of their lives. And they have selected the WBO as the context for their practise.

The WBO is an alternative to the traditional model, found in many forms of Buddhism in Asia, which draws a clear dividing line between monk/nuns and lay followers. The WBO is open to anyone who has sincerely decided to follow the Buddhist path, and not only those who decide to adopt a monastic life. Although each Order Member strives to lead a one hundred percent Buddhist life they are not nuns or monks. What is really important, is not the life-style that an Order Member follows, but the seriousness of their spiritual effort. Some Order Members lead a meditative and monastic life in an FWBO retreat centre; others live with their families and have normal occupations. Some work in an FWBO right-livelihood business, and yet others might work for their local FWBO centre, possibly receiving some financial support for this.

At the point of ordination, all Order Members commit themselves undertake to practise a traditional list of ten ethical precepts. These represent basic ethical principles, which cover all acts of body speech and mind. Women and men obey the same precepts and practise with completely equal standing.

The Western Buddhist Order has adopted as its symbol a figure from the Buddhist iconography, the thousand-armed Avalokitesvara. The WBO wants to act from a spirit of deep harmony and unity yet, at the same time, work with a thousand separate arms through the world for the well-being of all. Currently there are over 1300 Order Members worldwide. About half of them live in Great Britain, a quarter in India and the remaining in many countries covering all five continents.

The Order as a practise

In the WBO there are no rules. Buddhism is a path of individual practise - to this belongs acting ethically since one has taken responsibility for one's thoughts and actions. The WBO would like to be a free association of people, who work toward a common goal. It believes that one cannot bring about a spiritual community by force or power. Therefore there are no regulations and order committees; in the Order all decisions are taken by consensus.

Order Members take their task of striving to form a true spiritual community very seriously; therefore there are many opportunities for meeting and for common practise. Once a week Order Members will meet in local "chapter meetings". Chapters are the smallest cells of the order at a local level and cover up to around 10 Order Members. These weekly meetings are "spiritual workshops", in which one can discuss questions of practise, insights, progress or difficulties. Once a month the Order Members in a region will meet for a weekend, in order to exchange views and practise together. Every two years there is an international convention for Order Members from the whole world.

"Shabda" is the monthly Order magazine, by the Order Member across the whole world keep in touch with one another. Here many personal stories are related, but it is also a lively and well-used forum for the discussion of all possible topics concerning Buddhist practise.

How is one ordained?

Ordination represents a lifelong obligation and is therefore a very serious step. Therefore preparation for it usually takes some years.

Anyone can ask for admission into the Order and then will be able to participate in special retreats, which prepare one for ordination. These are offered in different parts of the world. In England there are two retreat centres that specialise in this task (Padmaloka for men and Tiratanaloka for women). Those who prepare for ordination, can also ask two experienced Order Members to be mentors for him or her during this process (Kalyana Mitras). Currently, well over a thousand women and men are preparing for ordination.

Ordination is a self-commitment, demanding a large degree of self-knowledge from people, together with experience of Buddhist practise, and of the FWBO, and sufficiently deep friendships with Order Members. The ordination process itself is directed by a group of particularly experienced Order Members, called Preceptors. The Preceptors must know the people, who would like to be ordained by them, well and have experience of their spiritual striving. They will consult the Kalyana Mitras and other Order Members who know the person concerned well and, when someone is ready for admission into the Order, undertake the appropriate rituals.

The ordination ceremony usually takes place in the context of a special ordination retreat and includes a private ceremony, in private with the private Preceptor and a public ceremony. At that the new Order Member receives thereby a special meditation practise, a new, Buddhist name and a "Kesa" - a kind of traditional neck-band carrying the symbol of the three jewels. The new name expresses special characteristics of people concerned and also contains implicitly the "order" to steadily develop the spiritual potential suggested in the name.

Sangharakshita - the founder of the FWBO

The FWBO was founded in 1967 by the venerable Sangharakshita in London.

Sangharakshita is an Englishman and had from childhood a close interest in all forms of European culture. He founded the FWBO, after returning from living for 20 years in India, 18 of them as a monk, ordained monk in the Theravada tradition. When he eventually decided to bring the FWBO, a new Buddhist tradition, into being, he therefore united two things of the most important things to himself: on the one hand a deep experience of many years' Buddhist practice, and on the other hand an intimate understanding of the western culture and psychology. In those years this was an extremely rare combination, which made it possible for him to bring Buddhist theory across in a way which could be heard by his western pupils.

Sangharakshita is versatile, talented and interesting person. He is a connoisseur and lover of western literature and art, he is a poet, teacher, was an activist and is author of numerous books. On his own homepage www.sangharakshita.org you can find a selection of his poems and articles.

A short biography of Sangharakshita

Sangharakshita was born 1925 as Dennis Lingwood in London. Although he was brought up as an Anglican, he developed an interest in eastern culture and philosophy in his childhood. At the age of 16 years he realized after reading the Diamond Sutra that he was a Buddhist. He met other Buddhists in the London Buddhist Society and so, by study and spiritual practise, he began to deepen his understanding of Buddhism as a religion.

However then he was called up into the army, which took him as a radio operator to Sri Lanka and India. After end of his service he decided to remain in India in order to actively search for contact with spiritual teachers in Buddhism's native country. But at this time there were only very few Buddhist monks in India and he quickly became disappointed by those religious groups he got to know. In 1947 he therefore decided on a radical step and did what is traditionally called "going forth" (into homelessness); he destroyed his papers, dyed his clothes in the traditional earth colour of wandering ascetics, and survived living from alms whilst traveling across India, dedicating himself completely to meditation and the study of Buddhist teachings. After two years it became clear it that this way of life, even if it represented a radical form of the renunciation did not offer the ideal conditions for deeper practise. He decided to look for formal Buddhist ordination.

In 1949 he asked for admission into the Theravada order of monks and received ordination from the venerable U Chandramani, who gave him the name Sangharakshita ("protected by the spiritual community"). Hiss teacher and mentor at this time was the venerable Jagdish Kashyap, under whom he studied Buddhist texts in Benares.

One year later Sangharakshita found himself, at the wish of his teacher, in the extreme North of India, in the hill town of Kalimpong, bordering Nepal, Bhutan and Sikkim. His teacher instructed him to stay in Kalimpong and work there "for the good of the Buddhism". He obeyed this instruction for the next 14 years with tremendous zeal. He founded a Vihara (Buddhist monastery) and dedicated himself to the practise of the Dharma. He started a Buddhist youth organization, was for many years editor-in-chief of the Mahabodhi journal, the magazine of the Mahabodhi Society, and he taught and published.

Following the Chinese invasion of Tibet, there was a steady stream of Tibetan refugees crossing the border and some respected teachers from the Tibetan tradition passed through, or settled in Kalimpong. Sangharakshita studied under some of these, since he had always regarded the Buddhist tradition as a single entity and had never felt constrained to Theravada teachings and points of view. In 1956 he received tantric initiation from Chetul Sangye Dorje. Among his other teachers he also includes Khachu Rimpoche, Jamyang Khyentse Rimpoche, Dilgo Khyentse Rimpoche, Dudjom Rimpoche, Dhardo Rimpoche and Yogi C.M. Chen, the last of whom instructed him in the basis of Ch'an (the forerunner of Zen).

An further important aspect of his practice and teaching during those years would become to work with the "new Buddhists" of India - those former caste Hindus, who from 1956 started converting to Buddhism in hundreds of thousands.

After twenty years in India Sangharakshita returned to England in 1964 on the invitation of the English Sangha Trust. He had been asked to teach for some months in the Hampstead Vihara in London. The few months quickly became two years, and it became clear to him that genuine interest in the Buddhism existed in the West at that time. In particular he recognized the deep yearning for spiritual purpose and new values amongst the rebellious youth of the period. After a short return to India, in order to say good-bye to his teachers, pupils and friends, he finally resettled in England. Looking around though he did not see suitable conditions in the Buddhist organizations in England existing at that time. So, in order to make Buddhism broadly accessible and also to address the needs of the youth, in 1967 he created the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO) in London and one year later, in 1968, the Western Buddhist Order (WBO) itself. He regards this as his most important legacy.

His main sphere of activity was for many years the leadership of the FWBO and WBO. He held hundreds of lectures, instructed meditation, led study seminars and gave his followers personal guidance and company. Although he had from a very early stage seen the need to eventually transfer the responsibility for leading the WBO and FWBO to the Order Members themselves, it took thirty years before he could formerly withdraw himself from this leadership role completely. In August 2000, at the age from 75, he transferred the responsibility for the WBO and FWBO to a group of his most experienced pupils.

Today Sangharakshita lives in Birmingham. His eyesight is failing and therefore he concentrates particularly on personal meetings with people. Even if he hardly gives public teachings these days, he continues to work on new publications, and keeps in contact with many of his followers; occasionally he gladly even visits FWBO Buddhist centers.