[2] [3] I think the son has to cut free and maybe not have much to do with his parents for a year or two, he once explained. It was just a rather tangled sexual mess., According to Ananda, It was inevitable that it would all blow up, because people were just so messed up. A lot of us grow up under the shadow of a hidden message that men are better than women and strive hard to prove that were as good as men. Its only a flavor, but its important, because its not a flavor thats consonant with Buddhism as I see it, where the process of constantly deconstructing, constantly pulling out the rug, is essential to dharma practice. The Friends of the Western Buddhist Order is one of Britain's fastest growing religious organizations. [13] The five types of meditation correspond to five 'stages' of the spiritual life. Shop Online. [7], The community has been described as "perhaps the most successful attempt to create an ecumenical international Buddhist organization". Shorter History and Teachings of The Friends of the Western Buddhist Order. His obituary in the Times suggested that he had arguably done more than any other person to popularise Buddhism in the west. Today, much of the trusts income comes from donations and organising spiritual retreats and meditation courses. Suddenly, and in a very public display, it wasnt just Westerners who were redefining the rules, but the Tibetans themselves. The young man has to realise that he must submit and become totally passive to that which will liberate him from the domination of his mother., Having abandoned the world of mother and all that it implies, the young man can now begin to realise that his assertiveness is natural to him and that it is no longer an act that he has to put on., Many mummys boys have a fear of passivity in a homosexual relationship even though that is what they may naturally want., I would even go so far as to suggest that taking the passive role in a homosexual relationship could, for some men, constitute an initiation into manhood as (a) the man is surrendering his own pseudo-assertive side and therefore undergoing a sort of symbolic death, and (b) is experiencing his sexuality in a situation that is free from women and all their associations (ie, emotional dependency)., Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. Vajragupta, 'The Triratna Story; Behind the Scenes of a New Buddhist Movement' Windhorse Publications, 2010. Late in 1997 the Guardian newspaper ran a long, damning article on the FWBO. (modern). 5 star 83% 4 star 9% . Buddhism neatly within the framework of other religions (Backus & Cush 2008, 245; Stringer 2002, 10) or social sciences ( Baumann. But they were drawn to the Observers attention by a former member who claims he was manipulated into having sex with Lingwood. We must change Western society, and change it in such a way as to make it easier, or at least less difficult, for us to lead lives dedicated to the Dharma within that society, he declares, for example, in Buddhism and the West (1992). This issue of status touches on two of the sorest allegations against the FWBO: misogyny and coercive homosexuality. We took it out of public circulation, not as a way of covering it up but because we agreed it was unsuitable, Munisha explained. [19] Emphasis is placed on teamwork, and on contributing to the welfare of others: for example by funding social projects and by considering ethical matters such as fair trade. But from the outside, the organization does not seem to have been rocked to its core, and Sangharakshitas popularity appears undented. The talk, lasting nearly two hours, is about Atisha, the 10th-century Indian adept who helped bring Buddhism to Tibet. Head: Sangharakshita, founder of the Western Buddhist Order Affiliation: Friends of the Western Buddhist Order Contact: Paramananda, Viveka, Karunadevi, Viradhamma, Khajit, Lisa Cullen. Order members seem to take seriously their daily practices of meditation, prostrations, and sutra and precept study. But to accept that in a particular arena men might have more aptitude is liberating., But isnt this to accept that shadow rather than dispel it? [32], Beyond this, a commitment to personal dharma practice and to remain in communication with other members are the only expectations. One theory about narcissists is that they have experienced some kind of trauma in their childhood so they dont have any confidence in themselves, and they create this whole world as a compensation and manipulate other people to build up their own ego. Meditation is the common thread through activities. Towards the end of his life, Lingwood appears to have acknowledged the damage he had unleashed, expressing deep regret for all the occasions on which I have hurt, harmed or upset fellow Buddhists. I decided that the nuclear family didnt work for me. The Triratna Buddhist Community was founded in 1967 as the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order ( FWBO) by Sangharakshita, an Englishman who had spent 20 years in the India, 16 of them as a Buddhist monk. [16] Recently, community activities have begun to include outdoor festivals, online meditation courses, arts festivals, poetry and writing workshops, tai chi, karate, and pilgrimages to Buddhist holy sites in India. Despite the name, the WBO is based not only in the West but is now a worldwide Buddhist movement. Indeed, the report seems to indicate that the licentious culture the guru encouraged when he established his first centre in the 1960s, at a time when Timothy Leary was urging people to turn on, tune in, drop out, flourished across the order. (17 kb text) [66], Neither Monk nor Layman: Clerical Marriage in Modern Japanese Buddhism Richard Jaffe. The Cultural Translation of Buddhism in England, Religion, 21(1): 7393. Founded by Dennis Lingwood in the 1960s, the sect, formerly known as the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO), is a wealthy community with 30 retreats in the UK and a further 20 in countries including Australia, the US, Germany and Mexico. There has never been any serious scandal involving this organisation. Its incendiary findings have hitherto gone unpublicised: a current member explained that it was not the Triratna way to share internal criticisms with the outside world. V inter alia).Sanskrit sources:the Mahvastu, the, International Network of Engaged Buddhists, "The Friends of the Western Buddhist Order structure", "The Friends of the Western Buddhist Order", "Buddhist, teacher, predator: dark secrets of the Triratna guru", "Dangers in Devotion: Buddhist Cults and the Tasks of a Guru", "Working in the Right Spirit: The Application of Buddhist Right Livelihood in the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order", International Network of Engaged Buddhists > Committee, "Fears mount over scale of Buddhist sect sexual abuse", "A letter from Triratna's College of Preceptors", "Attorney general Suella Braverman belongs to controversial Buddhist sect", Triratna Buddhist Community Official Site, Many Bodies, One Mind: Movements in British Buddhism, Land of Beautiful Vision: Making a Buddhist Sacred Place in New Zealand, A Review of Extending the Hand of Fellowship, Dangers in Devotion: Buddhist Cults and the Tasks of a Guru, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Triratna_Buddhist_Community&oldid=1156577267. Sangharakshita, born Dennis Lingwood, teaching at the Hampstead Buddhist Temple in 1966. 4.7 out of 5. A third concern drew on complaints by the mother of a former FWBO member who had committed suicide in 1990, following a history of depression. The Triratna Buddhist Community (formerly the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO)) is an international fellowship [1] of Buddhists and others [2] who aspire to its path of mindfulness. In addition, he officiates at the Buddhist ordination of over 200,000 ex-untouchables in central India, working alongside the famous activist Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. But as Stephen Batchelor, an eminent British Buddhist, points out, this was never exactly his claim. In October 1997, a report by Madeleine Bunting, then the religious affairs correspondent of the British Guardian newspaper, made wide-ranging allegations of sexual misconduct, dogmatism and misogyny within the movement during the 1970s and 1980s. But last year, their thirtieth anniversary, was not an easy one for them. Mark Dunlop, now 69, was a victim at the Triratna Buddhist community. Bhante is the founder of our Order and Movement, and we feel enormous appreciation and gratitude to him for his teachings and inspiration and yet at the same time we must acknowledge the effects of some of his past actions. One woman who attended an FWBO centre in New Zealand in the 90s said: There was one ordained member when I was there who seemed to treat the centre as his own personal Tinder app, hooking up with one woman after another, using his position as guru to great advantage.. I am confident, though, that Sangharakshita himself is coming from a genuinely compassionate place. This is an informal process, the focus of which is to deepen one's commitment. As more than one skeptic has pointed out, if Sangharakshita himself went to many different teachers, why doesnt he encourage his disciples to do the same? Some people around today say they were very happy with those relationships, and some say, no, they didnt really want to, and felt confused by his advances and felt he should not have put them in that position. She said the order had set up a safe space for people who had been members of the order in the 70s and 80s whobelieved they were abused to have their stories heard. Many are suspicious, too, of the fact that the FWBO appears to be an ecumenical undertaking, yet is in fact highly exclusive, allowing no outside teachers. In the 1980s its Croydon centre was closed down amid newspaper reports that its members were being . I was looking for something different and what it offered helped me.. It was the way to become part of the new Buddhist revolution. For the moment, everyone seems to be waiting to see what will happen next. But to address these issues which we must dois to allow our detractors to set the agenda, ignoring all the good in the FWBO., Jim Belither, a senior member of the NKT in Britain, echoes this view: To begin with, The Files author appears to be motivated by a sincere desire to right a wrong and to address issues of genuine concern. In mid-2008, there were around 1,500 members of the order, in more than 20 countries.[7]. For decades the order has been dogged by claims of sexual misconduct, claims that often strayed into allegations of coercion and abuse but which were thought to involve only a handful of individuals at worst. [4], Worldwide, more than 100 groups are affiliated with the community, including in North America, Australasia and Europe. And, while some seem happy to have found their guide in Sangharakshita, others seem more concerned about their own authenticity than their teachers. For them the legitimacy of Sangharakshita as a teacher rests mainly on whether his writings and teachings are based on authentic Buddhist sources and are conducive to helping them and others toward liberation. Although scriptures and historians recognize that the Buddha himself had concerns over such issues, particularly after the birth of his son Rahula, when he left home convinced that "family life was incompatible with the highest forms of spirituality",[53] critics cite Sangharakshita's conservative views as evidence that misogynystic attitudes persisted in the FWBO during the 1980s. But the real bombshell came with the Web posting of The FWBO Files. Deep regret: Dennis Lingwood, now frail at 91, is the founder of the Triratna order. Development by Code Rodeo. "[59], In a 2009 interview with a member of the group, Sangharakshita replied to a question about sex between him and students: Perhaps in a very few cases they were not as willing as I had supposed at the time that is possible. Pema Chdrn The Times has also reported on the centre's work with those affected by alcohol dependency[24]. To what lineage could he be accountable?. One of its authors, the Cambridge-educated Vishvapani, who heads the FWBO Communications Office at the London Buddhist Centre a beautifully converted brick fire-station in Londons East Endand edits its magazine, Dharma Life, views the accusations as an unfortunate distraction from the many strengths of the FWBO as well as from its main business, teaching and studying the dharma. At the same time, to increase flexibility, the number of preceptors was expanded. As the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order, the community was founded in London in April 1967 by Sangharakshita. Western Buddhist Order or Friends of the Western Buddhist Order. The first of these was formed after a retreat where some participants wanted to continue retreat-style living. He has no real authority from any lamas. We have 7 groups and 3 centres in Scotland, each is independently organised and locally managed. Three of the seven Public Preceptors, who are effectively Sangharakshitas successors, are women., But Parami, another woman who has been an Order member for eighteen years, admits that in the past things have been different. Doesnt she feel like a second-class citizen? We were naive. What is the Western Buddhist Order? Many of the allegations are against Sangharakshita himself, but others make it clear that he was not the only alleged perpetrator. Perhaps, though, in the twilight of his life, he anticipated that a higher judgment awaited him. Matthew King, among others, has sug- You could never fight this. Many of his ideas were unorthodox. The Triratna Buddhist Community (formerly the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order), was founded by Sangharakshita in 1967, and the Diamond Way Organisation of Ole Nydahl, has founded more than 600 Buddhist centers across the world. [62], On 4 January 2017, following his treatment in hospital for pneumonia, Sangharakshita issued a statement expressing deep regret for all the occasions on which I have hurt, harmed or upset fellow Buddhists, and ask for their forgiveness. The company's filing status is listed as Merger and its File Number is 042751021. London Buddhist Centre, Bethnal Green Triratna (formerly the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order or FWBO) took over the impressive Fire Station in 1975, and officially opened the London Buddhist Centre in 1978. After a gap of a couple of years, Sangharakshita marked the end of the millenium with 'Three Lectures to the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order', a triad of new talks that reflected his spiritual concerns and thinking at the time. People took that whole sexual liberation thing too literally. They include alleged intervention on the part of one of the most high-profile OMs to try and encourage a victim not to testify to the police if questioned., Another said: Yes, I know three OMs personally who experienced sexual misconduct by other OMs and have not been invited to participate in the restorative process., A third said: I was sexually abused by older order members., A fourth added: I know of four people who this describes. With its impressive grounds and gardens, it looks like a serene place for someone to spend their final years. But now a bombshell internal report, produced by concerned members and shared with the Observer, has found that more than one in 10 of them claim to have experienced or observed sexual misconduct while in the order. Yet, despite the lurid revelations, Sangharakshitas influence lingers. "Mitra" is Sanskrit for "friend", which in this case denotes a person who considers themselves Buddhist, who makes an effort to live in accordance with the five ethical precepts, and who feels that this spiritual community is the appropriate one for them. After thirty years of study, Ananda is convinced of Sangharakshitas qualities as a teacher. The first two according to his system ('integration' and 'positive emotion'), can be correlated to the traditional category of "calming" "samatha" practices, and the last two (spiritual death and spiritual rebirth) can be correlated to "insight" or "vipassana" practices. The book that serves our recovery program includes detailed guidance on how to recover using the Buddhist practice of The Four Truths and Eightfold Path of Refuge Recovery, written investigations that explore the causes and conditions of our addictions, daily meditation practices, personal stories of recovery, advice and inspiration for finding . An official history acknowledges this to have been controversial among some Order members. As a growing number of predominantly young men flocked to Triratna, then called the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO), it expanded dramatically. Continuous new writings from leading Buddhist teachers and New York Times bestselling authors, including: Sharon Salzberg An FWBO magazine article about the building of a new retreat center quotes one young member as saying, I think we should lavish attention on the shrine room, put our money where our aspirations are, so to speak. It did get a bit out of hand and it got disbanded in 1989. One of the UKs largest Buddhist orders has been forced to report allegations of sexual abuse after a former follower claimed he was coerced into sex with one of its elders. British-born guru Sangharakshita was mired in allegations of abuse for years. There is much catching up to do. The rest is music. I felt sorry for him, in a way. For almost twenty years he studies under various teachers such as Yogi Chen, Dhardo Rinpoche, and Jagdish Kashyap, who respectively expose him to the East Asian, Tibetan, and Theravadin traditions. Customer reviews. The Adhisthana website carries many pictures of him, a bespectacled, slight man draped in holy robes. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Discover what over 27,300 subscribers have access to, Full access to 30 years of content with over 7,775 articles. Certainly many women disagree and some have been vocal in expressing that.. It was founded by Sangharakshita (born Dennis Philip Edward Lingwood) in the UK in 1967,[1] and describes itself as "an international network dedicated to communicating Buddhist truths in ways appropriate to the modern world". Friends of the Western Buddhist Order Page 2 traditions have now come to the West and present westerners with a bewildering variety of teachings, practices and forms. Those who wish to join the Order must request this in writing. The Registered Agent on file for this company is Graham Carter and is located at One Crane Place, Medfield, MA 02052. Now it seems the scandal in. Protests against the beloved Tibetan leader provoked an outcry of criticism as well as exposing an arcane feud within the Dalai Lamas own school, the Gelugpa, that originated several hundred years ago. Today it has more than 30 centres in the UK alone and operates in 26 countries. By continuing to use our website, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Sangharakshita had been ordained as a Buddhist monk in the Theravda-tra The karma sections of the fundamental meditation texts of all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism also list these acts as basic guidelines for lay or ordained practitioners intent on observing the law of cause and effect. But behind the scenes, the picture is a rather more turbulent one. A former member, Mark Dunlop, told the BBC last autumn he had been persuaded to engage in sexual activity with Lingwood at an FWBO retreat near Norwich in the 1970s. And it has been stated quite explicitly that one does not have to agree with this part of Sangharakshitas teaching in order to be ordained. An outsider could be forgiven for thinking that all was well with the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order. Each center now has a president who keeps an eye on things. Born Dennis Lingwood, the son of a French polisher from Tooting, Sangharakshita, meaning one who is protected by the spiritual community, deserted from the British army in India during the second world war and wandered the subcontinent, studying with several leading Tibetan lamas. Even the most sanguine of Buddhist communities in the West are engaged with these questions. Ananda, a poet, lives humblylike most Order membersin a book-lined room, amidst a friendly clutter, statues of the Buddha, and incense waiting to be lit. [6] The UK based international headquarters is at Adhisthana retreat centre in Coddington, Herefordshire. For many years, the community charity Karuna Trust (UK) has raised money for aid projects in India.[17]. Request PDF | On Jan 1, 2005, Martin Baumann published Friends of the Western Buddhist Order | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate 39 global ratings. In the early days, in the context of the 1970s, it was all very weird. I worry that this type of behaviour was much more widespread than generally believed., I have friends who were sexually assaulted by senior OMs in recent times, another said. Its Tuesday night in Moseley, a suburb of Birmingham, in the heart of England. [65] In July 2019, the group shared the report with The Observer newspaper. [27] "For the FWBO, Western Society as such needs to be subject to the unflinching scrutiny of Buddhist values. Explore timeless teachings through modern methods. [30] When members are ordained, they are given a white kesa to signify their ordination; golden kesas may be taken later by those choosing to make a public commitment to greater simplicity of lifestyle, including celibacy. It seems certain that even whenor ifthis story yields some degree of factual or moral closure, these bigger questions will continue to both irritate and energize the acculturation of dharma in the West. A heterosexual man, he felt compelled to have sexual relations with Lingwood over a four-year period. And while the women thingas it is derisively called by many women outside the organizationmay seem insufferably retro, it is not illegal, nor necessarily even lived out on the ground. For those not ordained into the Triratna Buddhist Order, the practices associated with the first two are emphasised, though the spirit of the last two is also taught. [10][25], The most detailed complaints reported were claims by Mark Dunlop, who had lived with the movement's founder for a number of years in the early 1970s, and left the order in 1985. He didnt have any charisma, Dunlop said. It helps that the order is a charity and enjoys tax perks. But if he did have close relations with Dudjom and Khyentse Rinpoche, as he says, then not to invite them to his center when they visited London in the 1970s was an unforgivable breach of protocol.. Section 2 [this page]: What is a Cult? [23] This initiative is supported by the local authority, the London borough of Tower Hamlets. Where required, we ask members of the Order to co-operate fully with any investigation, should that takeplace., Lingwood encouraged his heterosexual male followers to experiment with homosexuality as a form of self development. His delight in telling me this story said a lot: that this Buddhism was really theirs, that they were making their own way in it, and that even if their teacher did have no traditional authority in the dharma, what was religious legitimacy anyway if not innocent zeal and willingness to devote your life to your faith? Some choose, after some time, to participate in a formal ceremony of affiliation, and thus become a "mitra." If they are the women, then why more divine? Contrary to the traditional Buddhist structure of separating lay and monastic members, the order combines monastic and lay lifestyles under one ordination,[13] a practice not dissimilar to that which evolved in some Japanese schools of Buddhism. A message from Urgyen Sangharakshita. The FWBO do not place as much reliance on lineage as other traditions. I told him I hated it. [11], Suella Braverman is a member of the Triratna Buddhist Community and attends the London Buddhist Centre monthly. [29] In 2000, the first chair of a preceptor's council was chosen by Sangharakshita. The accounts explain that the trust acts as a hub for dozens of charities that operate in the UK and overseas. The online bookstore offers specialty books (e.g. That is the worrying thing, that any dissent is looked upon as: Oh, Im being very bad, I shouldnt criticize the teacher., Related: How to Heal After Your Teacher Crosses the Line. The orders safeguarding officer, who goes by the spiritual name Munisha, insisted the order had learned lessons from past mistakes and said every Triratna centre in the UK now has a safeguarding officer. He is confident that the Croydon debacle wont be repeated. So he lays the ground for the institutions now in placesingle-sex spiritual communities, Right Livelihood businesses where work can be both an ethical and spiritual practice, and kalyanamitra, a sort of semi-official spiritual friendship. Not all, but most friends and Order members live under these conditions, rooming together, working in teams, meeting regularly for meditation and discussion, and forming close friendships with one another. The first thing I want to do is to thank people for this celebration. This seems a laudable sentiment. The FWBO attach much importance to the conditions of practice. His translation of a Buddhist text Verses that Protect the Truth was read out at his funeral. Windhorse Trading, their main business trading in imported gifts, grows from a one-garage outfit to a six-warehouse, nineteen-store concern, with a turnover of close to $15 million a year. All rights reserved. . However, some of these are references to misconduct experienced by unnamed others, and we can only address a case where a named complainant is willing to tell us their story first hand. But this made them vulnerable to coercion by those in senior positions. Only one of these was in the UK. In the UK, it is one of the largest Buddhist movements,[5] with some 30 urban centres and retreat centres. Its a fairy-tale storybut, again, is it true? The Monk Who Taught the World Mindfulness Awaits the End of This Life. VIII . Three months after The Files were posted in 1998, the FWBO released its Response, a sixty-page, point-by-point rebuttal. The righteous live happily, both in this world and the next.. Please check your email to confirm your subscription. Using a quasi-theosophical scheme that posits five stages of evolutionAnimal, Woman, Man, Artist, AngelSangharakshita apparently believes that men already have a leg up, as it were, in the Higher Evolution., At Tiratanaloka, a well-appointed womens ordination center nestled in a Welsh valley, Ratnadharini, a longtime female disciple, explained how she squares this doctrine with her Buddhist practice.
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friends of the western buddhist order scandal
