The Triratna Buddhist Community (Triratna meaning “three jewels,” referring to the Buddha, the Sangha, and the Dharma) was originally known as the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order, and was founded by Dennis Lingwood, who came to be known as Sangharakshita. We are committed to facing anything problematic in our past with humility; to learning lessons and carrying those with us as we continue to grow and develop as a community; and to responding well to people who still experience pain in relation to their involvement with our community. The main intention is to provide, in good faith, information we believe to be accurate. Considering Triratna responses and other online writing about us, 14-16. Sangharakshita saw himself as a translator between East and West, between the traditional world and the modern, between timeless principles and relevant practices. Questions around specific online rumours about Triratna, 13. In any case I do not see the Teachers of the Present as being objects of Refuge… I think I have explained all this in some detail in ‘What is the Western Buddhist Order’. You should be under no doubt that Bhante is definitely not going to say any more about his sexual history, and there’s no reason why he should. Very many people practising within our community are in committed relationships (with Buddhists or non-Buddhists) and these may well provide supportive conditions for Buddhist practice. >In some cases these involve details that are largely agreed upon, yet in others they involve details that are contested, sometimes strongly, by one or more of the people involved. Britain’s Independent Safeguarding Authority (now the Disclosure and Barring Service) came into existence in 2004. In a court of law, the fact that one has mostly paid for one’s groceries does not diminish one’s culpability for those times when one stole them. And, most importantly, bring meaningful resolution to anyone still suffering on account of their past in relation to Triratna. These days people practising in Triratna contexts of many sorts still talk about the relationship between the decisions they make in life and what it means to be a practising Buddhist, including deciding whether or not to practice as part of a new or established family. At the time, a number of Order members and other friends took turns caring for him, and in that context the man involved in this matter (who was 27/28 years old) sometimes spent time with Sangharakshita as a companion, occasionally sleeping over at his flat in Birmingham, in separate beds. We view sex with minors as a very serious breach of this precept and the law. This will form part of the work around Restorative Process in Triratna, which is ongoing. The Observer Buddhism. The lack of control by the Church is also explained … So in this document we’ve focused primarily on providing what we believe to be accurate information, which we’ve clarified (to the extent we can) over many years in the course of our own work. I have discussed the implications of the Buddha’s words for individuals who are responding to criticism and praise, but in the discourse Suppiya is criticizing the group to which the monks belong, and is even easier to rationalize our defensiveness when our group rather than ourselves, is under attack. In another FAQ, the Adhisthana Kula also gave a non-answer to the question of why the organisation itself didn’t do anything over the years about the harm until Sangharakshita said something. support our work: donate (GBP) donate (GBP + gift aid) Gift Aid: I am a UK taxpayer and understand that if I pay less Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax than the amount of Gift Aid claimed on all my donations in that tax year it is my responsibility to pay any difference. He further wishes to make it clear that his statement was a confession. They all knew each other and were mostly 16-30 years old. He did not allege that Sangharakshita had done anything illegal. As with some other ideas explored in the early days of the community this notion was sometimes misapplied and misused by individuals, and sometimes within groups of people in the FWBO – with serious repercussions. The fact that Sangharakshita was sexually involved with some of his male disciples has been common knowledge in the Order he founded since at least 1987 when Mark Dunlop (the then-Vajrakumara) had written a long letter to the order gazette, complaining about his treatment and warning about Sangharakshita’s shadow side. One thing we might all learn is that it is hard to make generalised statements about areas like lifestyle, career, family, and relationships without careful qualification, and that any qualifications may simply not be heard. Sangharakshita (who has always openly acknowledged that he was sexually involved with some of his adult male disciples thirty years ago or more) wrote a statement where he expressed deep regret for all the occasions on which he had caused ‘hurt, harm or upset’. Please take a look at our Sangha Night, Retreats and Special Events listings. Read more from the authors about our approach and context, View the public archive of historical documents looking at these issues (1987-2018), See here for more, regularly updated, sources of information, View the details of changes made in different versions of this document, Download as PDF | Download as ePub | Download as mobi (Kindle reader) | Download as azw3 (Kindle app), Lesen Sie auf Deutsch - Version 2.0 (PDF), 1-2. Some will undoubtedly be scandalised by his [Sangharakshita’s] behaviour. Sangharakshita has always openly acknowledged his sexual activity and relationships. You can read a new update on the Restorative process on the Adhisthana Kula blog. Read the Letter from Triratna’s College of Public Preceptors laying out ways forward in the wake of the recent renewal of interest in these issues. This is because resolving the underlying issues would require an honest and open criticism of Sangharakshita’s personality, actions and teaching, an investigation which those in charge simply cannot allow. We would encourage anyone with information to email us at safeguarding [at] triratna.community. The Buddhist Centre Online launched in 2013, and is the home of the Triratna Buddhist Community online, and Dharmachakra is the team behind this project. However, mistakes were made, especially in the early days. Ananta has taught Buddhism and meditation courses in Europe and the US, and is a qualified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction teacher with Brown University Mindfulness Center, and a trained yoga instructor. Did Buddha teach to change masks or to drop them? Sangharakshita indicated for the first time here that some of his sexual activity was unskillful, though he undercuts the seriousness of this recognition by mentioning it in the same sentence as being disrespectful to his father as a teenager. They also valued the many opportunities FWBO life offered for developing lifelong and deep friendships with other Buddhists, often through working and living together. This presents challenges to having a centralised approach to anything: a lot of co-operation is required to create and maintain a shared culture and shared structures that support an adequate overview of our community worldwide. (From the Metta Sutta) The metta bhavana, or cultivation of loving kindness, is a powerful meditation practice that teaches us how to bring a friendly, kind, curious attention to We hope we have honoured them too in our responses. Considering Triratna responses and other online writing about us, 14-16. We address these concerns in the Unhelpful Attitudes and Ideas section. Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically. Though it is difficult to establish facts after more than 35 years, Triratna’s Safeguarding Team and Ethics Kula have been looking into this matter during 2018 and are continuing to do so, including consulting with the man himself as to his wishes. As a result, by doing only as little as the members of the central core of Triratna believe is called for or necessary, and in effect 'preaching to the choir', the organisation merely sets itself up in a holding pattern awaiting the next leak of news and the ensuing public embarrassment. The fact that we have created these models for all Centres to use shows how serious we are about Safeguarding. The event met with severe criticism and opposition from Vishva Hindu Parishad and was banned. Questions arising from recent media coverage10-12. Ananta has taught Buddhism and meditation courses in Europe and the US, and is a qualified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction teacher with Brown University Mindfulness Center, and a trained yoga instructor. Triratna/FWBO has never condoned or encouraged or attempted to normalize the acceptability of sexual relations with minors, regardless of gender. (From the Metta Sutta) The metta bhavana, or cultivation of loving kindness, is a powerful meditation practice that teaches us how to bring a friendly, kind, curious attention to You can read many hours’ worth of material from the public archive of responses past and present here: Public archive of historical resources around controversy. Now I realise the site as stated is an exploration of the shadow - which as Jung assures us sooner or later must be undertaken for psychic wholeness - so I'm not expecting there to be a plethora of eulogies here. They can also be translated into other languages. None of Sangharakshita’s partners is known to have died by suicide. This has meant anyone coming into relationship with what seem to be complex and very painful matters (whether for the first time or not) often has to hold in awareness seemingly opposed views of them. This class is not full. It’s often been a hard set of considerations to hold all at once. The public Letter from the Chair of the College to the Order in April 2017 was the first major exception to that pattern in that it was not occasioned by one specific situation but rather the whole area of controversy around Triratna’s past. The defence counsel said it was a mystery as to why he had named him. Nowadays, meeting those challenges in ever more effective ways is one of the ongoing projects widely recognised throughout Triratna, with the Triratna International Council taking a lead and, in doing so, standing very clearly behind all our Safeguarding initiatives. He’s quite clearly confessed any harm he may have done and given an apology but he cannot go into details; that would be completely inappropriate, as it would involve discussion of personal relations with other people that cannot take place in public and anyway will almost inevitably lead to further misinterpretation, upset and disturbance. Whilst ill in hospital it became clear to him exactly what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it. They broadcast an extract of it, asking whether Triratna had learned from past controversy. We welcome any genuine input to ongoing discussions about our community from anyone who shares our wish to see the Dharma flourish in the modern world. It’s also significant that there were as yet very few people in the very informal Western Buddhist Order: in 1970 there were just 20 men in the Order in Britain. According to the 2001 census, almost 70% of the Buddhist population in Uttar Pradesh is from the scheduled castes background. Ultimately the law was changed because the European Commission of Human Rights found it a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights. However, it was cast in the form of a 'meanwhile…' aside in the final sentence, therefore it is still not clear at this point that he believed there was harm caused in those relations, or that his spiritual 'intuition' was ever off the mark. Read writing from The Buddhist Centre on Medium. People from other Buddhist organisations were never invited to give talks. This is not to imply, of course, that there is no spiritual friendship possible within sexual relationships. Our centre is the hub of a thriving, friendly community of practising Buddhists.Our aim is to help the people of Wellington lead happier, more fulfilled lives by introducing them to the teachings and practices of Buddhism in a way relevant to the modern world.We are part of the Triratna Buddhist Community, a worldwide Buddhist movement with centres in over 20 countries. However the video did not mention anything at all about sex between teachers and students. (It was common for all members of the community to share their rooms with visitors on large events, due to lack of space.). Tiratanaloka Retreat Centre trains women for ordination and has made the following statement regarding their attitudes today (statement from late 2017): “At Tiratanaloka we help women train for ordination. It should also be noted that in response to waves of criticism surrounding the actions of Sangharakshita, the Triratna Buddhist Community has worked extensively to salvage its reputation and make amends, actively acknowledging the misconduct of Sangharakshita and others in the earlier decades of the movement. Buddhism, as the root word budh (to awaken) in Sanskrit makes clear, is about 'awakening', namely to the causes and conditions whereby suffering is created and can cease. Further general questions, 1-4. One well-documented example of the painful behaviours which some people encountered involved problems that developed at the Croydon Buddhist Centre in the UK. However, as far as we know, nobody in Triratna was ever approached by the police and there was no obstruction or collusion of any kind. This said, we can also see that where trust has broken down, the use of the word “allegation” can tend to inflame feelings. Gift Aid: Giving extra via Gift Aid is for residents of the UK only or those who pay tax in the UK. It may be that this happened to others but that they have not come forward. Questions on Triratna after this controversy, 11-13. However, there developed an FWBO culture and norms in which there was often an explicit link made between the degree of one’s commitment to spiritual life and questions about lifestyle, relationships and children. Sangharakshita and celibacy, Appendix: a note from the authors of this document. 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