Jump to content

Triratna Buddhist Community: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Line 31: Line 31:
}}</ref> and (b) "The [[metta]] bhavana", which approximately translates from the original [[Pali]] as "the cultivation of lovingkindness".<ref>{{citation | title = FWBO: The metta bhavana | url = http://www.fwbo.org/meditation/metta.html }}</ref> These practices are felt to be complimentary in promoting equanimity and friendliness towards others. Some friends of the order may have little, if any, other involvement in its activities, making the Triratna Buddhist Community comparable, in this respect, to the [[US]] new [[vipassana movement]], personified by [[Jack Kornfield]], [[Gil Fronsdal]] and the [[Insight Meditation Society]], which insist that [[mindfulness]] is essential to [[Buddhism]], but that Buddhism is not essential to mindfulness.
}}</ref> and (b) "The [[metta]] bhavana", which approximately translates from the original [[Pali]] as "the cultivation of lovingkindness".<ref>{{citation | title = FWBO: The metta bhavana | url = http://www.fwbo.org/meditation/metta.html }}</ref> These practices are felt to be complimentary in promoting equanimity and friendliness towards others. Some friends of the order may have little, if any, other involvement in its activities, making the Triratna Buddhist Community comparable, in this respect, to the [[US]] new [[vipassana movement]], personified by [[Jack Kornfield]], [[Gil Fronsdal]] and the [[Insight Meditation Society]], which insist that [[mindfulness]] is essential to [[Buddhism]], but that Buddhism is not essential to mindfulness.


The founder, Sangharakshita, described meditation as having four phases. The first two, he felt, are "calming" or "[[samatha]]" practices, and the last two are "insight" or "[[vipassana]]" practices. For those not ordained into the WBO, the first two are given almost exclusive emphasis.<ref name="Partridge 2004 194">{{citation | first=Christopher | last=Partridge | year=2004 | title=Encyclopedia of New Religions | publisher=Lion | isbn=0-7459-5073-6 | page=194}}</ref>
The founder, Sangharakshita, described meditation as having four phases. The first two, he felt, are "calming" or "[[samatha]]" practices, and the last two are "insight" or "[[vipassana]]" practices. For those not ordained into the Triratna Buddhist Order, the first two are given almost exclusive emphasis.<ref name="Partridge 2004 194">{{citation | first=Christopher | last=Partridge | year=2004 | title=Encyclopedia of New Religions | publisher=Lion | isbn=0-7459-5073-6 | page=194}}</ref>


These phases are:
These phases are:

Revision as of 09:46, 8 July 2010

FWBO: The Friends of the Western Buddhist Order
Formation1967
TypeNew Religious Movement
Leadership
WBO
Key people
Sangharakshita
Dharmachari Subhuti
Part of a series on
Buddhism
History
Buddhist texts
Practices
Nirvāṇa
Traditions
Buddhism by country

The Triratna Buddhist Community (formerly The Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO)) is an international fellowship[1] of Buddhists, and others who follow its path of mindfulness, under the leadership of the Western Buddhist Order. It was founded 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".[2] In keeping with Buddhist traditions, it also pays attention to contemporary ideas, particularly drawn from Western philosophy, psychotherapy, and art.[3]

In the UK, the Triratna Buddhist Community is one of the largest Buddhist new religious movements, supported by a federation of some 30 urban centres and retreat centres[4]. Worldwide, more than 100 groups and centres are part of the Triratna Buddhist Community family, including in North America, Australasia and Europe. Its largest following is in India, where Triratna Bauddha Mahāsaṅgha (TBM) (formerly the Trailokya Bauddha Mahasangha sahayak gana).[5]

Historically, there has been controversy surrounding the Triratna Buddhist Community.[6] It has been accused of radicalism[7], and criticised for what some commentators have seen as unorthodox teachings[8]. During the 1990s, some order members, including its founder and former leader, Sangharakshita,[9] were accused of sexually exploiting a number of members. It has also been accused of misogyny.[10] The FWBO has been considered by some commentators on Buddhism to have features of a cult[8].

Practices and activities

Meditation is the common thread through Triratna Buddhist Community activities.[11] Order members teach two practices to friends: (a) "The mindfulness of breathing" (anapanasati), in which practitioners focus on the rise and fall of the breath;[12] and (b) "The metta bhavana", which approximately translates from the original Pali as "the cultivation of lovingkindness".[13] These practices are felt to be complimentary in promoting equanimity and friendliness towards others. Some friends of the order may have little, if any, other involvement in its activities, making the Triratna Buddhist Community comparable, in this respect, to the US new vipassana movement, personified by Jack Kornfield, Gil Fronsdal and the Insight Meditation Society, which insist that mindfulness is essential to Buddhism, but that Buddhism is not essential to mindfulness.

The founder, Sangharakshita, described meditation as having four phases. The first two, he felt, are "calming" or "samatha" practices, and the last two are "insight" or "vipassana" practices. For those not ordained into the Triratna Buddhist Order, the first two are given almost exclusive emphasis.[14]

These phases are:

  1. Integration. The main practice at this stage is the mindfulness of breathing, which is intended to have the effect of "integrating the psyche" - improving mindfulness and concentration, and reducing psychological conflict.
  2. Positive emotion. The second aspect of samatha is developing positivity - an other-regarding, life-affirming attitude. The Brahmavihara meditations, especially the 'metta bhavana' or cultivation of loving kindness meditations, are the key practices intended to foster the development of positive emotion.
  3. Spiritual death. The next stage is to develop insight into what is seen to be the emptiness of the self and reality. Meditations at this stage include considering the elements of which self and world are thought to be composed; contemplating impermance (particularly of the body); contemplating suffering; and contemplating sunyata.
  4. Spiritual rebirth. The WBO teaches that, with the development of insight and the death of the limited ego-self, a person is spiritually reborn. Practices which involve the visualization of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are among the main practices in this phase. At ordination, each dharmachari(ni) is given an advanced visualisation meditation on a particular Buddhist figure.

Triratna Buddhist Community centres also teach Buddhist scripture, yoga and other methods of self-improvement, some of which are felt by some commentators to come from outside the Buddhist tradition.[15] Recently Triratna Buddhist 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. For many years, the Triratna Buddhist Community charity Karuna Trust has raised money for aid projects in India.[16]

As among Buddhists generally, Puja is a ritual practice at some Triratna Buddhist Community events, intended to awaken the desire to liberate all beings from suffering. The most common ritual practiced in the Triratna Buddhist Community consists of a puja, derived and adapted from the Bodhicaryavatara of Shantideva.

Retreats provide a chance to focus on meditational practice more intensely, in a residential context outside of a retreatant's everyday life.[17] Triratna Buddhist Community retreats can be broadly categorized into meditation retreats, study retreats, and solitary retreats. Retreat lengths vary from short weekends to one or two weeks.

Businesses, said to operate to the Buddhist principle of "right livelihood", generate funds for the movement, as well seeking to provide environments for spiritual growth through employment.[18] 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. The largest FWBO business is the Evolution chain of gift shops.[16]

Many cities with an Triratna Buddhist Community centre also have a residential community of Buddhists. The first of these was formed after a retreat where some participants wanted to continue retreat-style living. Since it was felt that the most stable communities tended to be single sex, this has become the paradigm for Triratna Buddhist Community communities.[19] Support from fellow practitioners in a community is seen to be effective in helping members make spiritual progress.[20]

For some, the jewel in the Triratna Buddhist Community's crown in the UK is the London Buddhist Centre in Bethnal Green, East London, which offers drop-in lunchtime meditation sessions each weekday, open to beginners. The centre's courses for depression, based on the mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapy methodology of Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts, featured in the Financial Times in 2008.[21] This initiative is supported by the local authority, the London borough of Tower Hamlets. The Times has also reported on the centre's work with those affected by alcohol dependency [22]

Defining the movement

According to the Triratna Buddhist Community, six characteristics define it:

  1. An ecumenical movement. The Triratna Buddhist Community is not identified with any particular strand of Buddhism or Buddhist school, but draws inspiration from the full array of schools. It calls itself "ecumenical" rather than "eclectic" because it is founded on the premise that there is an underlying unity to all Buddhist schools.[17]
  2. "Going for refuge" is central. "Going for Refuge to the Three Jewels" - meaning the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha - is considered to be what makes someone a Buddhist[14]
  3. A unified structure. Unlike some Buddhist sangha, the Triratna Buddhist Community does not propagate a monastic lineage. Sangharakshita devised a non-monastic ordination system, whilst also allowing the undertaking of the "anagarika" precept which enjoins celibacy. Identical ordination is open to both sexes. While the movement regards single-sex activities as important to spiritual growth, men and women are recognised as being equally able to practice and develop spiritually.[23]
  4. An emphasis on spiritual friendship. In the Triratna Buddhist Community there is a strong emphasis on the sangha, and spiritual friendship based on shared values. The Triratna Buddhist Community teaches that spending time with friends who share ideals, and engaging in ritual practice with them, supports ethical living and the arising of the bodhicitta.[20]
  5. Teamwork. Working together in teams, in the spirit of generosity and with a focus on ethics, is considered a transformative spiritual practice.[16]
  6. Importance of art. Engagement in, and an appreciation of, the arts are considered to be a valuable aspect of spiritual practice. The Triratna Buddhist Community teaches that a refinement of one's artistic tastes can help refine emotional sensitivity and provide a channel for the expression of right living, and spiritual growth.[24]

"The (Triratna Buddhist Community)'s attitude to spreading the Dharma is one of heartfelt urgency," wrote Stephen Batchelor, a prominent British Buddhist author, in a book published in 1994.[25] "For the (Triratna Buddhist Community), Western Society as such needs to be subject to the unflinching scrutiny of Buddhist values."

The Triratna Buddhist Order

The Triratna Buddhist Order is the focal-point of the Triratna Buddhist Community.[26] The Triratna Buddhist Order is a network of friendships between individuals who have made personal commitments to the Buddha, the dharma and the sangha, in communion with others.[14] Order members are known as Dharmacharis (masculine) or Dharmacharinis (feminine), and they are ordained in accord with a ceremony formulated by the founder. At ordination they are given a religious name in Pali or Sanskrit.[27] While there is an informal hierarchy within the Triratna Buddhist Order, there are no higher ordinations. A small number of order members, however, take vows of celibacy and adopt a simpler lifestyle. Contrary to the traditional Buddhist structure of separating lay and monastic members, the Triratna Buddhist Order combines monastic and lay lifestyles under one ordination,[14] a practice not dissimilar to that which evolved down the centuries in various Japanese schools of Buddhism.[28]

Like followers of the Shingon school of Buddhism, order members observe ten precepts (ethical training rules).[20] These precepts are different from monastic vows and do not appear in the Vinaya Pitaka, but were formulated on the basis of the "dasa-kusala-dhammas" (ten wholesome actions). These are found in several places in the Pāli Canon, as well as in several Sanskrit sources. The karma sections of the fundamental meditation texts of all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism also list these acts as basic guidelines for any lay or ordained practitioner intent on observing the law of cause and effect.[29]

Beyond this, a commitment to personal dharma practice and to remain in communication with other members are the only requirements.[20] Ordination confers no special status, nor any specific responsibilities, although many order members choose to take on responsibilities for such things as teaching meditation and dharma. In mid-2008, there were around 1,500 members of the order, in more than 20 countries.[5]

The wider Triratna Buddhist Community

In the Triratna Buddhist Community, as in the Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, sangha is interpreted as the Buddhist community as a whole. In this instance, this includes friends (all those who attend meetings at centres are thus regarded), mitras, and order members. [citation needed]

Someone who regularly attends Triratna Buddhist Community activities is considered to be a "friend." Friends do not have to consider themselves Buddhists, and can be of any faith, or none. Some people choose, after some time, to participate in a formal ceremony of affiliation, and thus become a "mitra." "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 the FWBO is the appropriate spiritual community for them.

Those who wish to join the Triratna Buddhist Orde must request ordination in writing. Following this, it can sometimes take several years to prepare for ordination. Preparation is an informal process, the focus of which is to deepen one's going for refuge.[30]

Some friends, mitras and order members decide, at least for a while, to study teachings from outside the Triratna Buddhist Community, including non-Buddhist traditions such as Sufism.[31]

The Triratna Buddhist Community's history

The Triratna Buddhist Community was founded in London in April 1967 by Sangharakshita, who had recently returned to England after spending two decades as a Buddhist and monk in India, following demobilisation from the British army.[32] He had been born in south London as Dennis Lingwood, in August 1925. He would lead the organisation until his formal retirement in 1995, and would continue to exert a decisive influence on its thinking and practices thereafter.[33]

In the 1990s, the order spread throughout India, and, according to the Encyclopedia of Buddhism,[34] Indian members now make up about half the movement's formal membership. In a book published in 2005, the FWBO's members and supporters were estimated to number 100,000, the majority of whom were in India.[4]

In 1997, the responsibility for ordination and spiritual leadership passed to a "preceptor's college", based in Birmingham.[27] In 2000, the first chair of a preceptor's council was chosen by Sangharakshita. In future, this position will be elected by the WBO to five-year terms.[27]

In 2003, the public preceptors, responding to feedback, decided to move away from a formal relationship to the order and movement, and to concentrate on the ordination of new order members, teaching and dharma practice. At the same time, to increase flexibility, the number of preceptors was expanded.

Controversies and criticism

Triratna Buddhist Community doctrine and practices

Some commentators refer to the Triratna Buddhist Community to be a Buddhist movement,[35] others suggest it may only be "pseudo-Buddhist".[citation needed]

Although Sangharakshita studied under, and in some cases received initiations from, eminent Buddhist teachers during his two decades in India,[36] including Jagdish Kashyap, Dhardo Rimpoche, Dudjom Rinpoche, Dilgo Khyentse, and Jamyang Khyentse Rimpoche, some critics argue that he never worked closely enough with any of them to be considered their "dharma-heir".[31] According to these critics, the FWBO thus lacks spiritual lineage, which some Buddhists believe to be important.[37] Sangharakshita has written of his 'conviction that the less the Triratna Buddhist Community is involved with 'Buddhist groups' and with individuals affiliated to existing Buddhist traditions, the better.' [38]

The Triratna Buddhist Community operates under a "friendly hierarchy,"[39] which some critics have said can be dangerous.[23] In 1997, Stephen Batchelor, a prominent Buddhist commentator, was quoted as saying that the Triratna Buddhist Community operated as "a self-enclosed system" and that their writings "have the predictability of those who believe they have all the answers".

The Guardian report

In October 1997, the Triratna Buddhist Community and Triratna Buddhist Order were rocked[40] by a report by the religious affairs correspondent of the UK newspaper The Guardian, which made wide-ranging allegations of sexual misconduct, dogmatism and misogyny within the movement during the 1970s and 1980s.[23]

The most detailed complaints reported were claims by Mark Dunlop, a former lover of Sangharakshita, who had lived with the movement’s founder for a number of years in the early 1970s, and left the order in 1985. The report described intimate details of what Dunlop characterised as their relationship, and claimed that Sangharakshita, who declined to comment, had told him “that to develop spiritually he had to get over his anti-homosexual conditioning.”

The report contained further allegations from an anonymous source, who said that he had been persuaded into a sexual relationship with the leader of Triratna Buddhist Community’s centre in Croydon, south of London. “The head of the community was a very powerful, intrusive personality and incredibly manipulative. He would intuitively become aware of people's vulnerabilities,” the source was reported to have said.

A third concern drew on complaints by the mother of a former Triratna Buddhist Community member who had committed suicide in 1990, following a history of depression. A report by a clinical psychologist said, among other things: “He feels the community attempted to alienate him from his family and from women, and that direct attempts were made to encourage him to practise homosexuality. He stated that he did not indulge in homosexual practices, although attempts were made for him to do so both by using inducements and by using threats.”

Sexuality, women and the family

Following The Guardian report, a widespread debate ensued.[41][42] Critics pointed to writings by Sangarakshita, and his senior advisor Dharmachari Subhuti, which placed such emphasis on single-sex activities, and what the Triratna Buddhist Community calls “spiritual friendship”[3], that the potential for misunderstandings or inappropriate behaviour appeared to some to be inevitable.[43][44]

The Triratna Buddhist Community had long been known for questioning assumptions about family life,[25] and, according to the Encyclopedia of Buddhism[1]:

"Among the unique characteristics of the (Triratna Buddhist Community) has been the open acceptance of homosexuality among the members. Order members have concluded that precept rules against abusing sexuality do not relate to the formal structure of sexual relations so much as to the nature of the relationship itself."

In an official biography of Sangharakshita, published in 1994, and reissued in 2009, Subhuti says: “Sangharakshita believes that men must break down their fear of homosexuality by facing the fact that there may be some element of sexual attraction towards their friends.” [45] Subhuti quotes a publication by the founder called ‘Buddhism, Sex and Spiritual Life’, (Golden Drum no 6, page 12):

“This is not necessarily to say that they should have sexual contact with men, but at least they should not be afraid of the idea. They have to realize that physical, even sexual, contact between men is just physical or sexual contact between men. It is a quite ordinary thing, and one’s fear of that should not be allowed to get in the way of one’s friendships.” [45]

The Guardian report also raised controversy over statements by Sangharakshita which it interpreted as adverse to women and the family. Expressing views found in Buddhist texts from their earliest times,[46][47][48] he has argued, for example, that, at least in the early stages of their spiritual careers, men are more apt to commit themselves to the spiritual life than women.[49] In 1986, he wrote that the couple and nuclear family can be sources of neurosis.

"A couple consists, in fact, of two half-people, each of whom unconsciously invests part of his or her total being in the other: each is dependent on the other for the kind of psychological security that can be found, ultimately, only within oneself."(Sangharakshita, 1986, Alternative Traditions).

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",[50] critics cite Sangharakshita's conservative views as evidence that misogynystic attitudes persisted in the Triratna Buddhist Community during the 1980s.[23] Evidence that those ideas may have been more widely held is also found in the writings of Subhuti, who echoes the sutras when he says in his book, 'Women, men and angels,' that to be reborn as a woman is to be less spiritually able than to be reborn as a man.[49]

As a movement, the Triratna Buddhist Community has given detailed responses, and staunchly supported its founder.[51][52]

In the aftermath of the controversies, the movement has continued to grow, in what is said to be a more relaxed and flexible atmosphere, in which friends and order members feel free to question and update the way things have been done, and to question Sangharakshita's teachings. To that extent, the debates around these issues are apparently seen by the Triratna Buddhist Community as having had beneficial effects.[citation needed]

In recent years, The Guardian, and its sister Sunday newspaper, The Observer, have since run many supportive items, recommending Triratna Buddhist Community activities to their readers.[53][54][55] A Guardian Web directory lists the FWBO website as "a good starting point for children."[56]

Name change

In 2010, FWBO changed its name to "Triratna Buddhist Community."

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Irons, Edward A (2008), Encyclopedia of Buddhism, Checkmark Books, p. 206, ISBN 0816054592
  2. ^ "The Friends of the Western Buddhist Order", official site
  3. ^ a b Queen, Christopher S (2005), Engaged Buddhism in the West, Wisdom Publications, p. 377, ISBN 9780861711598
  4. ^ a b Queen, Christopher S (2005), Engaged Buddhism in the West, Wisdom Publications, p. 378, ISBN 9780861711598
  5. ^ a b Partridge, Christopher (2004), Encyclopedia of New Religions, Lion, p. 193, ISBN 0-7459-5073-6
  6. ^ Coleman, James William (2001), The New Buddhism: The Western Transformation of an Ancient Tradition, Oxford University Press, p. 115, ISBN 0-19-515241-7
  7. ^ Rawlinson, A (1997), The Book of Enlightened Masters, Chicago: Open Court, p. 501, ISBN 0-8126-9310-8
  8. ^ a b Crook, John, "Dangers in Devotion: Buddhist Cults and the Tasks of a Guru - '...It is this that leads many of us to see the FWBO more as a cult than as a Buddhist institution or school in accordance with tradition.'", Western Chan Fellowship, Paper presented at the conference 'The Psychology of Awakening' at Dartington Hall, UK, October 1998
  9. ^ Sangharakshita's home page
  10. ^ Coleman, James William (2001), The New Buddhism: The Western Transformation of an Ancient Tradition, Oxford University Press ISBN=0-19-515241-7, p. 163, 171 and 144 {{citation}}: Missing pipe in: |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ FWBO: Meditation
  12. ^ FWBO: The mindfulness of breathing
  13. ^ FWBO: The metta bhavana
  14. ^ a b c d Partridge, Christopher (2004), Encyclopedia of New Religions, Lion, p. 194, ISBN 0-7459-5073-6
  15. ^ Clarke, Peter (2005), Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements, London: Routledge, p. 197, ISBN 0-415-26707-2
  16. ^ a b c Baumann, Martin (1998), "Working in the Right Spirit: The Application of Buddhist Right Livelihood in the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order", Journal of Buddhist Ethics, 5, ISSN 1076-9005
  17. ^ a b Barrett, D V (2001), The New Believers: Sects, 'Cults' and Alternative Religions, Cassell, p. 308, ISBN 0-304-355925
  18. ^ Queen, Christopher S (2005), Engaged Buddhism in the West, Wisdom Publications, p. 373, ISBN 9780861711598
  19. ^ Rawlinson, A (1997), The Book of Enlightened Masters, Chicago: Open Court, p. 506, ISBN 0-8126-9310-8
  20. ^ a b c d Coleman, James William (2001), The New Buddhism: The Western Transformation of an Ancient Tradition, Oxford University Press, p. 117, ISBN 0-19-515241-7
  21. ^ Emma Jacobs (6 April 2008), "Meditation or medication?", Financial Times
  22. ^ Buddha and the bottle, London: The Times, 11 August 2007
  23. ^ a b c d Barrett, D V (2001), The New Believers: Sects, 'Cults' and Alternative Religions, Cassell, p. 309, ISBN 0-304-355925
  24. ^ Clarke, Peter (2005), Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements, London: Routledge, p. 197, ISBN 0-415-26707-2
  25. ^ a b Batchelor, Stephen (1994), The Awakening of the West, Aquarian, p. 339, ISBN 0-938077-69-4
  26. ^ Clarke, Peter (2005), Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements, London: Routledge, p. 197, ISBN 0-415-26707-2
  27. ^ a b c Clarke, Peter (2005), Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements, London: Routledge, p. 198, ISBN 0-415-26707-2
  28. ^ Neither Monk nor Layman: Clerical Marriage in Modern Japanese Buddhism Richard Jaffe. Published by Princeton University Press and copyrighted, © 2002, by Princeton University Press ISBN 069107495X
  29. ^ Pali sources: the Majjhima Nikāya, (MN 41:8-14). (See also: DN 114, MN.114,AN vol. V inter alia).Sanskrit sources:the Mahāvastu, the Vimalakīrti Nideśa, and the Suvarnaprabhāṣa SūtraTibetan sources (for example): Tzong Kha Pa's 'Great Exposition of the Stages of the Path; Gampopa's 'Jewel Ornament of Liberation; Ngorchen Konchog Lhundrub's 'The Beautiful Ornament of the Triple Vision'; Paltrul Rinpoche's 'The Words of my Perfect Teacher'.
  30. ^ Coleman, James William (2001), The New Buddhism: The Western Transformation of an Ancient Tradition, Oxford University Press, p. 116, ISBN 0-19-515241-7
  31. ^ a b Coleman, James William (2001), The New Buddhism: The Western Transformation of an Ancient Tradition, Oxford University Press, p. 81, ISBN 0-19-515241-7
  32. ^ Subhuti (1994, 2009), Sangharakshita: A New Voice in the Buddhist Tradition, Windhorse, pp. 16–26, ISBN 9780 904766 68 4 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  33. ^ Barrett, D V (2001), The New Believers: Sects, 'Cults' and Alternative Religions, Cassell, p. 307, ISBN 0-304-355925
  34. ^ Irons, Edward A (2008), Encyclopedia of Buddhism, Checkmark Books, p. 207, ISBN 0816054592
  35. ^ For example, James William Coleman and D V Barrett write about the Triratna Buddhist Community as a Buddhist movement
  36. ^ Batchelor, Stephen (1994), The Awakening of the West, Aquarian, pp. 323–332, ISBN 0-938077-69-4
  37. ^ Wright, Nagapriya (2009), Visions of Mahayana Buddhism, Windhorse Publications ISBN=978-1899579-97-6, p. 137 {{citation}}: Missing pipe in: |publisher= (help)
  38. ^ Sangharakshita (1985), Travel Letters, Windhorse Publications, p. 173, ISBN 0 904766 17 9 {{citation}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  39. ^ Rawlinson, A (1997), The Book of Enlightened Masters, Chicago: Open Court, p. 503, ISBN 0-8126-9310-8
  40. ^ Vishvapani, Dharmachari, Perceptions of the FWBO in British Buddhism, vol. 13, Western Buddhist Review
  41. ^ Crook, John, Dangers in Devotion: Buddhist Cults and the Task of a Guru
  42. ^ Vishvapani, Dharmachari, Testing Articles of Faith, DharmaLife
  43. ^ Coleman, James William (2001), The New Buddhism: The Western Transformation of an Ancient Tradition, Oxford University Press, p. 163, ISBN 0-19-515241-7
  44. ^ McLeod, Stuart (2001), The Benefits and Pitfalls of the Teacher-Meditator Relationship (PDF), thezensite.com
  45. ^ a b Subhuti (1994, 2009), Sangharakshita: A New Voice in the Buddhist Tradition, Windhorse, p. 166, ISBN 9780 904766 68 4 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  46. ^ Kato (ed), Tamura Yoshiro (1971), The Threefold Lotus Sutra, Kosei Publishing, p. 207 (notes), ISBN 978-4-333-00208-5 {{citation}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  47. ^ Natier, Jan (2003), A Few Good Men: the Boddhisattva Path According to the Inquiry of Ugra (Ugrapariprccha), University of Hawaii, pp. 96–100
  48. ^ Wright, Nagapriya (2009), Visions of Mahayana Buddhism, Windhorse Publications, p. 36, ISBN 978-1899579-97-6
  49. ^ a b Coleman, James William (2001), The New Buddhism: The Western Transformation of an Ancient Tradition, Oxford University Press, p. 144, ISBN 0-19-515241-7
  50. ^ Armstrong, Karen (2000), Buddha, (UK) Orion, p. 2, ISBN 978-0-7538-1340 {{citation}}: Check |isbn= value: length (help)
  51. ^ Sangharakshita’s Teachings in Theory and Practice, fwbo
  52. ^ Barrett, D V (2001), The New Believers: Sects, 'Cults' and Alternative Religions, Cassell, p. 310, ISBN 0-304-355925
  53. ^ Sandra Deeble (8 May 2004), "Mind Over Other Matters", The Guardian, Guardian Unlimited
  54. ^ Karen Hainsworth (22 January 2005), "Right Frame of Mind on Run In", The Guardian, Guardian Unlimited
  55. ^ "Meditation directory", The Observer, Guardian Unlimited, 6 July 2008
  56. ^ "Buddhism", The Guardian

Further reading

  • Mellor P. ‘Protestant Buddhism? The Cultural Translation of Buddhism in England,’ Religion, 21(1): 73–93.

External links

FWBO sites

Outside views of the Triratna Buddhist Community

Critical views of the Triratna Buddhist Community

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Triratna_Buddhist_Community&oldid=372364608"