Sangharakshita
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In Kalimpong, where Sangharakshita
lived for many years, he met many teachers from the
Tibetan tradition. It was during this time that he had
the opportunity to study under leading teachers from
all the major Buddhist traditions. After twenty years in India, he returned
to England to establish the Friends of the Western Buddhist
Order (FWBO) in 1967, and the Western Buddhist Order
(called Trailokya Bauddha Mahasangha in India) in 1968. A translator between East and West,
between the traditional world and the modern, between
principles and practices, Sangharakshita's depth of
experience and clear thinking have been appreciated
throughout the world. He has always sought to discern
the core teachings that underlie all Buddhist traditions,
and to re-express them in ways that are relevant and
spiritually vital. In particular, he has emphasized
the significance of commitment in the spiritual life,
the paramount value of spiritual friendship and community,
the link between religion and art, and the need for
a "new society" supportive of spiritual ideals. Now that
the FWBO is an international Buddhist movement, Sangharakshita
has handed over most of his responsibilities to his
senior disciples in the Order. From his base in Birmingham,
England, he is now focusing on personal contact with
people and his writing.
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Sangharakshita
was born Dennis Lingwood in South London in 1925.
Largely self-educated, he held a strong interest
in Eastern
cultures and philosophies from a very early age.
At sixteen he realised he was a Buddhist. After serving
in World War II in Sri Lanka, he took the opportunity
to stay on in India. There, he lived as a wandering
mendicant, and later was ordained as the Theravadin
Buddhist monk Sangharakshita ("protected by the spiritual
community").
