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The Triratna Story Is a Courageous and Important Book Vajragupta has written an excellent synopsis of the history of an important Buddhist movement. This is of interest to all of us who are concerned with the arrival of Buddhism in the West and the vicissitudes of Buddhist movements through periods of social change over the past half century: the triumphs and disasters, the glory and the tears, the pioneering spirit and the dilemmas of suc- cess and failure – it is all set out here in an easy to digest narrative that I found, by turns, informative, nostalgic, encouraging, and challenging. This helps us to gain perspective and to see our way forward with greater clarity. David Brazier; author and head of the Amida-shu The Triratna Story is a courageous and important book. Written by a serious adherent, and commissioned by the Triratna Commu- nity itself, it defies all expectations to tell the brilliant, troubled, and inspiring history of this unique Western Buddhist movement with a thoroughness and honesty that, frankly, would not have been possible had it been written by an outsider. This is a valuable and instructive text for anyone interested in looking beyond the idealism of the Buddhist teachings to what actually happens when Buddhism becomes real in the modern world. Zoketsu Norman Fischer; poet, author and founder of the Everyday Zen Foundation Published by Windhorse Publications Ltd. 169 Mill Road Cambridge CB1 3AN, UK email: [email protected] www.windhorsepublications.com © Vajragupta 2010 First Edition 2010 The right of Vajragupta to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 Cover design by Vidyadaka Printed by Bell & Bain Ltd., Glasgow Cover credits:: Above title (clockwise from top left): 1 Ordination at Padmaloka; from Sangharakshita’s collection, held by ClearVision; 2 Renovating the London Buddhist Centre, courtesy London Buddhist Centre archive; 3 Young meditators, circa 1970, courtesy London Buddhist Centre archive; 4 Lokamitra and Ambedkar shrine, 1980 © FWBO Photos; 5 Sangharakshita, early 1970s, Clear Vision; 6 Exterior London Buddhist Centre, courtesy London Buddhist Centre archive; 7 Chintamani with Buddha sculpture, courtesy London Buddhist Centre. Below title (clockwise from top left): 1 Children making offerings © FWBO Photos; 2 Aloka with mural, London Buddhist Centre © FWBO Photos; 3 Sangharakshita portrait © Alokavira/Timm Sonnenschein; 4 People meditating with Buddha rupa © Alokavira/Timm Sonnenschein; 5 Western Buddhist Order Convention Stupa, 2007 © FWBO Photos; 6 Stupa in the warehouse of Windhorse Evolution, Cambridge © FWBO Photos; 7 TBMSG Retreat, India © FWBO Photos; 8 Golden shrine, London Buddhist Centre © FWBO Photos; 9 Guhyaloka Ordination Centre, Spain. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data: A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 9781 899579 92 1 The Triratna Story Behind the Scenes of a New Buddhist Movement n by Vajragupta Windhorse Publications You learn what it is you are trying to do in the process of trying to do it. Sangharakshita Peace is a Fire* * Windhorse Publications 1995, p.39 Contents n From the FWBO to Triratna Buddhist Community . viii The Triratna Chairs Assembly . x Preface . xi 1. Counterculture . .1 2. East end Buddhaland . .12 3. You’ve had the theory, now try the practice . 20 4. The Indian Dhamma revolution . 29 5. Getting the Dharma to work . 52 6. Trouble with angels . 71 7. Many cultures, one community . 84 8. At the heart of the Sangha . 105 9. Handing on . 119 10. Facing the shadow . 128 11. An ever-widening circle . 145 12. Postscript . .165 Notes and references . .. .. 177 Index . 192 v Acknowledgements n I would like to thank the many people who sent me stories and anecdotes for this project. I felt honoured to receive them. All of them, even the ones that I couldn’t fit into the book, gave me inspiration and encouragement. Many thanks to those who were willing to be interviewed: Dhammaloka, Dharmamati, Karunadipa, Lokamdhara, Manjunatha, Nagabodhi, Nityabandhu, Rupavati, Sona, Suvarnaprabha, Vajradhara, and Vidyamala. I’m also grateful to Vaddhaka for letting me stay in his flat during the autumn of 2008, and to Matthew Hart for allowing me to stay in his summerhouse on the banks of the Severn. The feedback from those who read an early draft of the book was very helpful, particularly from Kalyacitta, Vaddhaka, and Lokabandhu (a colleague in the Triratna Development Team who also took time to dig out statistics and snippets of information from the memory banks of his computer). Roy Peters gave invaluable help with sourcing the photos. I’d especially like to thank Siddhisambhava (another colleague in the Development Team), whose comments and suggestions have significantly improved the text. She also gave me numerous tips about useful books to read, or people to talk to. Caroline Jestaz at Windhorse Publications gave me much advice and support, as did two of their trustees, Sagaraghosa and Vajrapushpa. I’m grateful to Maitripushpa who generously gave her time to edit the book. vi I’d also like to acknowledge my indebtedness to Subhuti and Vishvapani. They’ve written many articles and papers (often quoted in the text) that helped me make sense of the development of the FWBO, especially its last ten years. Lastly, thank you, Sangharakshita, for commenting on the manuscript, and, most of all, for having the courage to start a new Buddhist movement for the West. Without you, there would be no story to tell in the first place. About the author n Vajragupta was born as Richard Staunton in 1968 and grew up in London. He studied social science at university and first came into contact with Buddhism at the Birmingham Buddhist Centre (a centre of the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order) in the early 1990s. He was ordained in 1994 and given the name Vajragupta which means ‘secret, or hidden, diamond-like truth’. He was director of the Birmingham Buddhist Centre from 1997 to 2005, and is now director of the FWBO Development Team – working for a collective of 50 FWBO centres and projects across Europe. He currently lives in Worcester, England where he teaches Buddhism and meditation, enjoys walking and wildlife, reading, poetry, and travelling over to nearby Stratford to watch productions of Shakespeare plays. His first book, published in 2007 by Windhorse Publications, was Buddhism: Tools for Living Your Life. vii Foreword: From the FWBO to Triratna Buddhist Community n When I wrote this book, I was writing a history of a Buddhist movement known as the ‘Friends of the Western Buddhist Order’ (FWBO for short). However, just weeks before the book went to press, Sangharakshita – founder of the FWBO – proposed that it should change its name to ‘Triratna Buddhist Community’. After a couple of months of discussion and debate, it was decided that this name change would go ahead.This suggested change, which was quite sudden and unexpected, presented me and the publishers of the book with a problem. It looks very likely that the name change proposal will be accepted and that in a year or so, people contacting this movement will hear much more about ‘Triratna Buddhist Community’ than the ‘FWBO’. So, what to do about the book? Our working title was The Story of the FWBO and on almost every page the movement is referred to by that name. Would that quickly seem strange and outdated? On the other hand, it seemed artificial to go through the text of the book and replace every mention of ‘FWBO’ with the new name. After all, where the book talks about the movement in the 1970s or 1980s, ‘FWBO’ was what it was known as at that time. We have therefore decided to keep the text pretty much the same, apart from telling the story of the name change right at the end. This book is the story of a movement founded as the ‘Friends of the Western Buddhist Order’, but now known as the ‘Triratna Buddhist Community’. In a way, it’s quite neat: the book covers viii a complete phase in the movement’s history, that period of time when it was known as the ‘FWBO’, and shows the origins and evolution of that which will grow into the future as the Triratna Buddhist Community. Why has the name been changed? For a full explanation of the reasons, please see the postscript of the book. But, in brief, there was a need to have a name that could be used all over the world. ‘Friends of the Western Buddhist Order’ had been a good name in the West, but it was obviously not appropriate in India, which is where the movement is growing fastest. In India the movement has always been known as “Trailokya Bauddha Mahasangha Sahayaka Gana” (TBMSG) – the ‘Association of Helpers of the Spiritual Community of the Three Worlds’. The name “Western” would be unsuitable elsewhere too, such as in the Chinese speaking world. So there was a desire for one name that united the movement worldwide, and Sangharakshita’s suggestion was based round the sanskrit word “Triratna”. This means “Three Jewels” which are the three most precious ideals of Buddhism. Firstly there is the Buddha-jewel – the ideal of Enlightenment and the developing of Wisdom and Compassion which Buddhism teaches is the deepest potential of us all. Secondly, there is the Dharma-jewel: the teachings and practices that help us move towards Enlightenment. Thirdly, there is the Sangha-jewel: the community of those who share those ideals and practices and who are committed to helping each other on the path. By basing the name of the movement around the word “Triratna”, Sangharakshita was emphasising the importance of these three ideals, and the need for Buddhism to renew itself in the modern world by going back to the essential teachings and principles.
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