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{{Short description|Founder of the Triratna Buddhist Community}}
{{Short description|British spiritual teacher and writer (1925–2018)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name        = Sangharakshita
| name        = Sangharakshita
| image        = Sangharakshita with Buddha.jpg
| image        = Sangharakshita2002.jpg
| birth_name  = Dennis Philip Edward Lingwood
| birth_name  = Dennis Philip Edward Lingwood
| birth_date  = {{birth date|1925|8|26|df=y}}
| birth_date  = {{birth date|1925|8|26|df=y}}
Line 10: Line 10:
| death_date  = {{death date and age|2018|10|30|1925|8|26|df=y}}
| death_date  = {{death date and age|2018|10|30|1925|8|26|df=y}}
| death_place  = [[Hereford]], Herefordshire, England
| death_place  = [[Hereford]], Herefordshire, England
| nationality  = British
| occupation  = {{hlist|Spiritual teacher|writer}}
| occupation  = {{hlist|Spiritual teacher|writer}}
| organization = [[Friends of the Western Buddhist Order]]
| organization = [[Friends of the Western Buddhist Order]] (now Triratna Buddhist Community)
| website      = {{url|http://www.sangharakshita.org/|sangharakshita.org}}
| website      = {{url|http://www.sangharakshita.org/|sangharakshita.org}}
}}
}}
'''Sangharakshita''' (born '''Dennis Philip Edward Lingwood'''; 26 August 1925{{snd}}30 October 2018) was a British spiritual teacher and writer, and the founder of the [[Friends of the Western Buddhist Order]], which in 2010 was renamed the ''Triratna Buddhist Community''.<ref>{{citation | first = Stephen | last = Batchelor | author-link = Stephen Batchelor (author) | year = 1994 | title = The Awakening of the West: The Encounter of Buddhism and Western Culture | publisher = Parallax Press | isbn = 978-0-938077-69-5 | page = 333 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=George D. Chryssides|author2=Margaret Z. Wilkins|title=A Reader in New Religious Movements: Readings in the Study of New Religious|date=2006|publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group|location=London|isbn=978-0826461674}}</ref>
'''Dennis Philip Edward Lingwood''' (26 August 1925{{snd}}30 October 2018), known more commonly as '''Sangharakshita''', was a British spiritual teacher and writer. In 1967, he founded the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO), which was renamed the [[Triratna Buddhist Community]] in 2010.<ref name="Times">{{cite web|title=Sangharakshita obituary|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/sangharakshita-obituary-r0ghw72tg|website=[[The Times]]|date=9 November 2018|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220626083527/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sangharakshita-obituary-r0ghw72tg|archive-date=26 June 2022|url-status=live}}</ref>


He was one of a handful of westerners to be ordained as [[Theravadin]] [[Bhikkhus]] in the period following World War II,<ref name="Batchelor 1994 326">{{citation | first = Stephen | last = Batchelor | author-link = Stephen Batchelor (author) | year = 1994 | title = The Awakening of the West: The Encounter of Buddhism and Western Culture | publisher = Parallax Press | isbn = 978-0-938077-69-5 | page = 326 }}</ref> and spent over 20 years in Asia,<ref name="Workingin1998">{{Citation | last = Baumann | first = Martin  | title = Working in the Right Spirit: The Application of Buddhist Right Livelihood in the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order | journal = Journal of Buddhist Ethics | volume = 5 | url = http://crossasia-repository.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/124/1/Working_in_the_right_spirit.pdf | date = May 1998 | page = 132 | postscript=. }}</ref> where he had a number of Tibetan Buddhist teachers.<ref name="Batchelor1994a">{{citation | first = Stephen | last = Batchelor | author-link = Stephen Batchelor (author) | year = 1994 | title = The Awakening of the West: The Encounter of Buddhism and Western Culture | publisher = Parallax Press | isbn = 978-0-938077-69-5 | page = 329 }}</ref> In India, he was active in the conversion movement of [[Dalits]]—so-called "Untouchables"—initiated in 1956 by [[B. R. Ambedkar]].<ref name="Workingin1998" /> He wrote more than 60 books, including compilations of his talks, and was described as "one of the most prolific and influential Buddhists of our era,"<ref>{{citation | first1 = Huston | last1 = Smith | first2 = Philip | last2 = Novak | author-link = Huston Smith | author-link2 = Philip Novak | year = 2004 | title = Buddhism: A Concise Introduction | publisher = HarperCollins | isbn = 978-0-06-073067-3 | page = [https://archive.org/details/buddhismconcisei00smit/page/221 221] | url = https://archive.org/details/buddhismconcisei00smit/page/221 }}</ref> "a skilled innovator in his efforts to translate Buddhism to the West,"<ref name="autogenerated105">{{Citation | last = Doyle | first = Anita | title = Women, Men, and Angels (review) | journal = Tricycle: The Buddhist Review | volume = 5 | page = 105 | date = Summer 1996 }}</ref> and as "the founding father of Western Buddhism"<ref name="autogenerated303">{{citation | first = Stephen C | last = Berkwitz | year = 2006 | title = Buddhism in world cultures: comparative perspectives | publisher = ABC-CLIO | isbn = 978-1-85109-782-1 | page = 303 }}</ref> for his role in setting up what is now the Triratna Buddhist Community,<ref>{{citation | first = David N | last = Kay | year = 2004 | title = Tibetan and Zen Buddhism in Britain: transplantation, development and adaptation | publisher = Routledge | isbn = 978-0-415-29765-3 | page = 25 }}</ref> but Sangharakshita was often regarded as a controversial teacher.<ref name="Batchelor 1994 326"/> He was criticised for having had sexual relations with Order members,<ref>{{citation | first = Karma Lekshe | last = Tsomo | year = 2000 | title = Innovative Buddhist women: swimming against the stream | publisher = Routledge | isbn = 978-0-7007-1253-3 | page = 266 }}</ref> which allegedly amounted to abuse and coercion.<ref name="Doward">{{cite news|last=Doward|first=Jamie|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/21/sangharakshita-guru-triratna-buddhist-dark-secrets|title=Buddhist, teacher, predator: dark secrets of the Triratna guru|work=The Observer|date=21 July 2019|access-date=15 February 2020}}</ref>
Sangharakshita was and remains a highly controversial figure. For his supporters, he was a spiritual pioneer who introduced [[Eastern religions|Eastern religious teachings]] to the West. For his detractors, he was a sexual predator who used his position to abuse vulnerable young men.<ref name="Doward2019">{{cite web|last=Doward|first=Jamie|date=21 July 2019|title=Buddhist, teacher, predator: dark secrets of the Triratna guru|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/21/sangharakshita-guru-triratna-buddhist-dark-secrets|website=[[The Observer]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190721100437/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/21/sangharakshita-guru-triratna-buddhist-dark-secrets|archive-date=21 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Doward2017">{{cite web|last=Doward|first=Jamie|date=19 February 2017|title=Fears mount over scale of Buddhist sect sexual abuse|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/19/buddhist-sexual-abuse-triratna-dennis-lingwood|website=[[The Observer]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170219024542/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/19/buddhist-sexual-abuse-triratna-dennis-lingwood|archive-date=19 February 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Taylor2016">{{cite web|last=Taylor|first=Jo|date=26 September 2016|title=Apology sought over 'abuse' at Buddhist retreat|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-37432719|website=[[BBC News]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160929200852/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-37432719|archive-date=29 September 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Bunting1997">{{cite web|last=Bunting|first=Madeleine|author-link=Madeleine Bunting|date=27 October 1997|title=The dark side of enlightenment|url=http://www.ex-cult.org/fwbo/Guardian.htm|website=[[The Guardian]]|via=ex-cult.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050205092815/http://www.ex-cult.org/fwbo/Guardian.htm|archive-date=5 February 2005|url-status=live}}</ref>


Sangharakshita retired formally in 1995 and in 2000 stepped down from the movement's ostensive leadership, but he remained its dominant figure and lived at its headquarters in [[Coddington, Herefordshire]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Adhisthana|url=http://adhisthana.org/|publisher=Triratna Buddhist Order|access-date=19 February 2014}}</ref>
==Life==
===Early life===
Sangharakshita was born Dennis Philip Edward Lingwood on 26 August 1925 in [[Tooting]], London.<ref name="Times"/> After being diagnosed with a heart condition he spent much of his childhood confined to bed, and used the opportunity to read widely.<ref name="Chryssides2006p47">{{citation | first1 = George D. | last1 = Chryssides | first2 = Margaret Z. | last2 = Wilkins | year = 2006 | title = A Reader in New Religious Movements | publisher = Continuum International Publishing Group | isbn = 978-0-8264-6168-1 | page = 47 }}</ref> His first encounter with non-Christian thought was with Madame [[Helena Blavatsky]]'s ''[[Isis Unveiled]]'',<ref name="Lopez2002">{{citation | first = Donald S | last = Lopez Jr | year = 2002 | title = A Modern Buddhist Bible: Essential Readings from East and West | publisher = Beacon Press | isbn = 978-0-8070-1243-7 | page = 186 }}</ref> upon reading which, he later said, he realised that he had never been a Christian.<ref name="Batchelor1994">{{citation | first = Stephen | last = Batchelor | year = 1994 | author-link = Stephen Batchelor (author) | title = The Awakening of the West: The Encounter of Buddhism and Western Culture | publisher = Parallax Press | isbn = 978-0-938077-69-5 | page = 323 }}</ref> The following year he came across two Buddhist texts, the ''[[Diamond Sutra]]'' and the ''[[Platform Sutra]]'', and concluded that he had always been a Buddhist.<ref name="Batchelor1994" />


The Triratna Order Office announced the death of Sangharakshita after a short illness on 30 October 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thebuddhistcentre.com/news/urgyen-sangharakshita-1925-2018|title=Urgyen Sangharakshita 1925-2018|website=thebuddhistcentre.com}}</ref><ref name="death">{{cite web|last=Littlefair|first=Sam|title=Sangharakshita, founder of Triratna Buddhism, dead at 93|url=https://www.lionsroar.com/sangharakshita-founder-of-triratna-buddhism-dead-at-93/|publisher=[[Lion's Roar (magazine)|Lion's Roar]]|date=30 October 2018|access-date=30 October 2018}}</ref>
As Dennis Lingwood, he joined the [[Buddhist Society]] at the age of 18,<ref name="Snelling1999">{{citation | first = John | last = Snelling | year = 1999 | title = The Buddhist Handbook: A Complete Guide to Buddhist Schools, Teaching, Practice, and History | publisher = Inner Traditions | isbn = 978-0-89281-761-0 | page = 230 }}</ref> and formally became a Buddhist in May 1949 by taking the [[Three Refuges]] and [[Five Precepts]] from the Burmese monk, [[Thittila|U Thittila]].<ref name="Chryssides2006p47" />


==Early life==
He was conscripted into the army in 1943, and served in [[India]], Ceylon, now known as [[Sri Lanka]], and [[Singapore]] as a radio engineer<ref name="Chryssides1999p225">{{citation | first = George D. | last = Chryssides | year = 1999 | title = Exploring New Religions | publisher = Continuum International Publishing Group | isbn = 978-0-8264-5959-6 | page = 225 }}</ref> in the [[Royal Corps of Signals]].<ref name="Prebish1999">{{citation | first = Charles S. | last = Prebish | year = 1999 | title = Luminous passage: the practice and study of Buddhism in America | publisher = University of California Press | isbn = 978-0-520-21697-6 | page = [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780520216976/page/47 47] | url = https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780520216976/page/47 }}</ref>
Sangharakshita was born Dennis Philip Edward Lingwood in [[Tooting]], [[London]], in 1925.<ref name="Chryssides2006p46">{{citation | first1 = George D. | last1 = Chryssides | first2 = Margaret Z. | last2 = Wilkins | year = 2006 | title = A Reader in New Religious Movements | publisher = Continuum International Publishing Group | isbn = 978-0-8264-6168-1 | page = 46 }}</ref> After being diagnosed with a heart condition he spent much of his childhood confined to bed, and used the opportunity to read widely.<ref name="Chryssides2006p47">{{citation | first1 = George D. | last1 = Chryssides | first2 = Margaret Z. | last2 = Wilkins | year = 2006 | title = A Reader in New Religious Movements | publisher = Continuum International Publishing Group | isbn = 978-0-8264-6168-1 | page = 47 }}</ref> His first encounter with non-Christian thought was with Madame [[Helena Blavatsky]]'s ''[[Isis Unveiled]]'',<ref name="Lopez2002">{{citation | first = Donald S | last = Lopez Jr | year = 2002 | title = A Modern Buddhist Bible: Essential Readings from East and West | publisher = Beacon Press | isbn = 978-0-8070-1243-7 | page = 186 }}</ref> upon reading which, he later said, he realised that he had never been a Christian.<ref name="Batchelor1994">{{citation | first = Stephen | last = Batchelor | year = 1994 | author-link = Stephen Batchelor (author) | title = The Awakening of the West: The Encounter of Buddhism and Western Culture | publisher = Parallax Press | isbn = 978-0-938077-69-5 | page = 323 }}</ref> The following year he came across two Buddhist texts—the ''[[Diamond Sutra]]'' and the ''[[Platform Sutra]]''—and concluded that he had always been a Buddhist.<ref name="Batchelor1994" />
It was in Ceylon, while in contact with the [[Swami | swamis]] in the (Hindu) [[Ramakrishna Mission]], that he developed the desire to become a monk.<ref>{{citation | first1 = George D. | last1 = Chryssides | first2 = Margaret Z. | last2 = Wilkins | year = 2006 | title = A Reader in New Religious Movements |publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group | isbn = 978-0-8264-6168-1 | pages = 47–48 }}</ref> In 1946, after the cessation of hostilities, he was transferred to Singapore, where he made contact with Buddhists and learned to meditate.<ref name="Chryssides2006p48" />


As Dennis Lingwood, he joined the [[Buddhist Society]] at the age of 18,<ref name="Snelling1999">{{citation | first = John | last = Snelling | year = 1999 | title = The Buddhist Handbook: A Complete Guide to Buddhist Schools, Teaching, Practice, and History | publisher = Inner Traditions | isbn = 978-0-89281-761-0 | page = 230 }}</ref> and formally became a Buddhist in May 1944 by taking the [[Three Refuges]] and [[Five Precepts]] from the Burmese monk, [[Thittila|U Thittila]].<ref name="Chryssides2006p47" />
===India===
Having been conscripted into the [[British Army]] and posted to India, at the end of the war Sangharakshita handed in his rifle, left the camp where he was stationed and deserted.<ref name="Chryssides2006p48">{{citation | first1 = George D. | last1 = Chryssides | first2 = Margaret Z. | last2 = Wilkins | year = 2006 | title = A Reader in New Religious Movements | publisher = Continuum International Publishing Group | isbn = 978-0-8264-6168-1 | page = 48 }}</ref> He moved about in India for a few years, with a Bengali novice Buddhist, the future Buddharakshita, as his companion, meditating and experiencing for himself the company of eminent spiritual personalities of the times, like [[Mata Anandamayi]], [[Ramana Maharishi]] and Swamis of [[Ramakrishna Mission]]. They spent fifteen months in 1947–48, in the [[Ramakrishna Mission]] centre at [[Muvattupuzha]] with the consent of [[Swami Tapasyananda]] and [[Swami Agamananda]].  In May 1949 he became a novice monk, or [[sramanera]], in a ceremony conducted by the Burmese monk, [[U Chandramani]], who was then the most senior monk in India. It was then that he was given the name Sangharakshita ([[Pali]]: Sangharakkhita), which means "protected by the spiritual community."<ref name="Chryssides2006p48" /> Sangharakshita took full [[bhikkhu]] ordination the following year,<ref name="Prebish1999" /> with another Burmese bhikkhu, U Kawinda, as his preceptor (''upādhyāya''), and with the Ven. [[Jagdish Kashyap]] as his teacher (''ācārya'').<ref name="Chryssides2006p48" /> He studied Pali, Abhidhamma, and Logic with Jagdish Kashyap at Benares (Varanasi) University.<ref name="Snelling1999" /> In 1950, at Kashyap's suggestion, Sangharakshita moved to the hill town of [[Kalimpong]]<ref name="Lopez2002" /> close to the borders of [[India]], [[Bhutan]], [[Nepal]]. and [[Sikkim]], and only a few miles from [[Tibet]]. Kalimpong was his base for 14 years until his return to England in 1966.<ref name="Chryssides1999p225" />


He was conscripted into the army in 1943, and served in [[India]], [[Sri Lanka]] (then known as Ceylon) and [[Singapore]] as a radio engineer<ref name="Chryssides1999p225">{{citation | first = George D. | last = Chryssides | year = 1999 | title = Exploring New Religions | publisher = Continuum International Publishing Group | isbn = 978-0-8264-5959-6 | page = 225 }}</ref> in the [[Royal Corps of Signals]].<ref name="Prebish1999">{{citation | first = Charles S. | last = Prebish | year = 1999 | title = Luminous passage: the practice and study of Buddhism in America | publisher = University of California Press | isbn = 978-0-520-21697-6 | page = [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780520216976/page/47 47] | url = https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780520216976/page/47 }}</ref>
During his time in Kalimpong, Sangharakshita formed a young men's Buddhist association and established an ecumenical centre for the practice of Buddhism (the ''Triyana Vardhana Vihara'').<ref name="Chryssides1999p225" /> He also edited the ''[[Maha Bodhi Society|Maha Bodhi Journal]]'' and established a magazine, ''Stepping Stones''.<ref>{{citation | first = Harry | last = Oldmeadow | year = 1999 | title = Journeys East: 20th century Western encounters with Eastern religious traditions | publisher = Continuum International Publishing Group | isbn = 978-0-8264-5959-6 | page = 280 }}</ref> In 1951, Sangharakshita met the German-born [[Lama Govinda]], who was the first Buddhist Sangharakshita had known "to declare openly the compatibility of art with the spiritual life", and who gave Sangharakshita a greater appreciation for Tibetan Buddhism.<ref>{{citation | first = Stephen | last = Batchelor | author-link = Stephen Batchelor (author) | year = 1994 | title = The Awakening of the West: The Encounter of Buddhism and Western Culture | publisher = Parallax Press | isbn = 978-0-938077-69-5 | pages = 328–329 }}</ref> Govinda had begun his explorations of Buddhism in the Theravada tradition, studying briefly under the German-born bhikkhu, [[Nyanatiloka|Nyanatiloka Mahathera]] (who gave him the name Govinda), but after meeting the [[Gelug]] Lama, Tomo [[Geshe]] Rinpoche, in 1931, he turned towards Tibetan Buddhism.<ref>{{citation | first = Donald | last = Lopez |year=2002 | title = A Modern Buddhist Bible: Essential Readings from East and West | publisher = Beacon Press | isbn = 978-0-8070-1243-7 | page = 98 }}</ref> Sangharakshita's spiritual explorations were to follow a similar trajectory.
It was in Sri Lanka, while in contact with the swamis in the (Hindu) [[Ramakrishna Mission]], that he developed the desire to become a monk.<ref>{{citation | first1 = George D. | last1 = Chryssides | first2 = Margaret Z. | last2 = Wilkins | year = 2006 | title = A Reader in New Religious Movements |publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group | isbn = 978-0-8264-6168-1 | pages = 47–48 }}</ref> In 1946, after the cessation of hostilities, he was transferred to Singapore, where he made contact with Buddhists and learned to meditate.<ref name="Chryssides2006p48" />


==India==
Sangharakshita was ordained in the [[Theravada]] school, but said he became disillusioned by what he felt was the dogmatism, formalism, and nationalism of many of the Theravadin bhikkhus he met<ref name="Batchelor1994a">{{citation | first = Stephen | last = Batchelor | author-link = Stephen Batchelor (author) | year = 1994 | title = The Awakening of the West: The Encounter of Buddhism and Western Culture | publisher = Parallax Press | isbn = 978-0-938077-69-5 | page = 329 }}</ref> and became increasingly influenced by [[Tibetan Buddhism|Tibetan Buddhist]] teachers who had fled [[Tibet]] after the [[Battle of Chamdo|Chinese invasion in the 1950s]]. Two years after his meeting with Lama Govinda he began studying with the Gelug Lama, [[Dhardo Rinpoche]].<ref name="Batchelor1994a" /> Sangharakshita also received initiations and teachings from teachers who included [[Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö|Jamyang Khyentse]], [[Dudjom Rinpoche]], as well as [[Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche]].<ref name="Batchelor1994a" /> It was Dhardo Rinpoche who was to give Sangharakshita Mayahana ordination.<ref name="Snelling1999" /> Later, Sangharakshita also studied with a [[Ch'an]] teacher, [[Yogi Chen]] (Chen Chien-Ming), along with another English monk, Bhikkhu Khantipalo.<ref>{{citation | first = Laurence | last = Khantipalo | year = 2002 | title = Noble Friendship: Travels of a Buddhist Monk | publisher = Windhorse Publications | isbn = 978-1-899579-46-4 | pages = 140–142 }}</ref> Together, the three men turned their ongoing seminar on Buddhist theory and practice into a book, ''Buddhist Meditation, Systematic and Practical''.<ref>{{citation | first = C.M. | last = Chen | year = 1983 | title = Buddhist Meditation, Systematic and Practical (Volume 42 of Hsientai fohsüeh tahsi) | publisher = Mile ch'upanshe | isbn = <!--unknown -->| page = xiii }}</ref>
Having been conscripted into the British Army and posted to India, at the end of the war Sangharakshita handed in his rifle, left the camp where he was stationed and deserted.<ref name="Chryssides2006p48">{{citation | first1 = George D. | last1 = Chryssides | first2 = Margaret Z. | last2 = Wilkins | year = 2006 | title = A Reader in New Religious Movements | publisher = Continuum International Publishing Group | isbn = 978-0-8264-6168-1 | page = 48 }}</ref> He moved about in India for a few years, with a Bengali novice Buddhist, the future Buddharakshita, as his companion, meditating and experiencing for himself the company of eminent spiritual personalities of the times, like [[Mata Anandamayi]], [[Ramana Maharishi]] and Swamis of [[Ramakrishna Mission]]. They spent fifteen months in 1947–48, in the [[Ramakrishna Mission]] centre at [[Muvattupuzha]] with the consent of [[Swami Tapasyananda]] and [[Swami Agamananda]].  In May 1949 he became a novice monk, or [[sramanera]], in a ceremony conducted by the Burmese monk, [[U Chandramani]], who was then the most senior monk in India. It was then that he was given the name Sangharakshita ([[Pali]]: Sangharakkhita), which means "protected by the spiritual community."<ref name="Chryssides2006p48" /> Sangharakshita took full [[bhikkhu]] ordination the following year,<ref name="Prebish1999" /> with another Burmese bhikkhu, U Kawinda, as his preceptor (''upādhyāya''), and with the Ven. [[Jagdish Kashyap]] as his teacher (''ācārya'').<ref name="Chryssides2006p48" /> He studied Pali, Abhidhamma, and Logic with Jagdish Kashyap at Benares (Varanasi) University.<ref name="Snelling1999" /> In 1950, at Kashyap's suggestion, Sangharakshita moved to the hill town of [[Kalimpong]]<ref name="Lopez2002" /> close to the borders of [[India]], [[Bhutan]], [[Nepal]]. and [[Sikkim]], and only a few miles from [[Tibet]]. Kalimpong was his base for 14 years until his return to England in 1966.<ref name="Chryssides1999p225" />


During his time in Kalimpong, Sangharakshita formed a young men's Buddhist association and established an ecumenical centre for the practice of Buddhism (the ''Triyana Vardhana Vihara'').<ref name="Chryssides1999p225" /> He also edited the ''[[Maha Bodhi Society|Maha Bodhi Journal]]'' and established a magazine, ''Stepping Stones''.<ref>{{citation | first = Harry | last = Oldmeadow | year = 1999 | title = Journeys East: 20th century Western encounters with Eastern religious traditions | publisher = Continuum International Publishing Group | isbn = 978-0-8264-5959-6 | page = 280 }}</ref> In 1951, Sangharakshita met the German-born [[Lama Govinda]], who was the first Buddhist Sangharakshita had known "to declare openly the compatibility of art with the spiritual life", and who gave Sangharakshita a greater appreciation for Tibetan Buddhism.<ref>{{citation | first = Stephen | last = Batchelor | author-link = Stephen Batchelor (author) | year = 1994 | title = The Awakening of the West: The Encounter of Buddhism and Western Culture | publisher = Parallax Press | isbn = 978-0-938077-69-5 | pages = 328–329 }}</ref> Govinda had begun his explorations of Buddhism in the Theravada tradition, studying briefly under the German-born bhikkhu, [[Nyanatiloka|Nyanatiloka Mahathera]] (who gave him the name Govinda), but after meeting the Gelug Lama, Tomo Geshe Rinpoche, in 1931, he turned towards Tibetan Buddhism.<ref>{{citation | first = Donald | last = Lopez |year=2002 | title = A Modern Buddhist Bible: Essential Readings from East and West | publisher = Beacon Press | isbn = 978-0-8070-1243-7 | page = 98 }}</ref> Sangharakshita's spiritual explorations were to follow a similar trajectory.
Sangharakshita was an associate of [[B. R. Ambedkar]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lionsroar.com/sangharakshita-founder-of-triratna-buddhism-dead-at-93/|title=Sangharakshita, founder of Triratna Buddhism, dead at 93 - Lion's Roar|first=Sam|last=Littlefair|access-date=30 October 2018|archive-date=22 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222151534/https://www.lionsroar.com/sangharakshita-founder-of-triratna-buddhism-dead-at-93/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://medium.com/@eiselmazard/a-fragment-of-the-sangharakshita-scandal-from-india-65ed24df006d|title=A Fragment of the Sangharakshita Scandal from India|first=Eisel|last=Mazard|date=25 February 2014|website=Medium.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.buddhistdoor.net/features/an-ambedkarite-buddhist-today/|title=An Ambedkarite Buddhist Today|website=Buddhistdoor.net|access-date=7 November 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.adlibris.com/no/bok/dr-ambedkar-and-the-revival-of-buddhism-9781909314788|title=Dr Ambedkar and the Revival of Buddhism - Sangharakshita - heftet(9781909314788) &#124; Adlibris Bokhandel|website=www.adlibris.com}}</ref> In 1952, Sangharakshita met [[Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar]]<ref name="Batchelor1994b">{{citation | first = Stephen | last = Batchelor | author-link = Stephen Batchelor (author) | year = 1994 | title = The Awakening of the West: The Encounter of Buddhism and Western Culture | publisher = Parallax Press | isbn = 978-0-938077-69-5 | page = 331 }}</ref> (1891–1956), the chief architect of the Indian constitution and India's first law minister. Ambedkar, who had been a so-called [[Untouchable caste|Untouchable]], converted to Buddhism, along with 380,000 other Untouchables (now known as "[[dalits]]") on 14 October 1956.<ref name="Chryssides1999p226">{{citation | first = George D. | last = Chryssides | year = 1999 | title = Exploring New Religions | publisher = Continuum International Publishing Group | isbn = 978-0-8264-5959-6 | page = 226 }}</ref> Ambedkar and Sangharakshita had been in correspondence since 1950, and the Indian politician had encouraged the young monk to expand his Buddhist activities.<ref>{{citation | first = debjani | last = Ganguly | year = 2005 | title = Caste, Colonialism, and Counter-Modernity: Notes on a Postcolonial Hermeneutics of Caste | publisher = Routledge | isbn = 978-0-415-34294-0 | pages = 167–168 }}</ref> Ambedkar appreciated Sangharakshita's "commitment to a more critically [[engaged Buddhism]] that did not at the same time dilute the cardinal precepts of Buddhist thought".<ref name="Ganguly2005">{{citation | first = debjani | last = Ganguly | year = 2005 | title = Caste, Colonialism, and Counter-Modernity: Notes on a Postcolonial Hermeneutics of Caste | publisher = Routledge | isbn = 978-0-415-34294-0 | page = 168 }}</ref> Ambedkar initially invited Sangharakshita to perform his conversion ceremony, but the latter refused, arguing that U Chandramani should preside.<ref name="Ganguly2005" /> Ambedkar died six weeks later, leaving his conversion movement leaderless, and Sangharakshita, who had just arrived in Nagpur to visit dalit Buddhists,<ref name="Ganguly2005" /> continued what he felt was Ambedkar's work by lecturing to former Untouchables,<ref name="Batchelor1994b" /> and presiding over a ceremony in which a further 200,000 Untouchables converted.<ref name="Chryssides1999p226" /> For the next decade, Sangharakshita spent much of his time visiting dalit Buddhist communities in western India.<ref>{{citation | first = debjani | last = Ganguly | year = 2005 | title = Caste, Colonialism, and Counter-Modernity: Notes on a Postcolonial Hermeneutics of Caste | publisher = Routledge | isbn = 978-0-415-34294-0 | page = 169 }}</ref>


Sangharakshita was ordained in the [[Theravada]] school, but said he became disillusioned by what he felt was the dogmatism, formalism, and nationalism of many of the Theravadin bhikkhus he met<ref name="Batchelor1994a" /> and became increasingly influenced by [[Tibetan Buddhism|Tibetan Buddhist]] teachers who had fled [[Tibet]] after the [[Battle of Chamdo|Chinese invasion in the 1950s]]. Two years after his meeting with Lama Govinda he began studying with the Gelug Lama, [[Dhardo Rinpoche]].<ref name="Batchelor1994a" /> Sangharakshita also received initiations and teachings from teachers who included [[Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö|Jamyang Khyentse]], [[Dudjom Rinpoche]], as well as [[Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche]].<ref name="Batchelor1994a" /> It was Dhardo Rinpoche who was to give Sangharakshita Mayahana ordination.<ref name="Snelling1999" /> Later, Sangharakshita also studied with a [[Ch'an]] teacher, [[Yogi Chen]] (Chen Chien-Ming), along with another English monk, Bhikkhu Khantipalo.<ref>{{citation | first = Laurence | last = Khantipalo | year = 2002 | title = Noble Friendship: Travels of a Buddhist Monk | publisher = Windhorse Publications | isbn = 978-1-899579-46-4 | pages = 140–142 }}</ref> Together, the three men turned their ongoing seminar on Buddhist theory and practice into a book, ''Buddhist Meditation, Systematic and Practical''.<ref>{{citation | first = C.M. | last = Chen | year = 1983 | title = Buddhist Meditation, Systematic and Practical (Volume 42 of Hsientai fohsüeh tahsi) | publisher = Mile ch'upanshe | isbn = <!--unknown -->| page = xiii }}</ref>
===Return to the West===
 
In 1964, Sangharakshita was invited to help with a dispute at the [[Hampstead Buddhist Vihara]] in north London,<ref name="Chryssides2006p49" /> where he proved to be a popular teacher.<ref name="Chryssides2006p46">{{citation | first1 = George D. | last1 = Chryssides | first2 = Margaret Z. | last2 = Wilkins | year = 2006 | title = A Reader in New Religious Movements | publisher = Continuum International Publishing Group | isbn = 978-0-8264-6168-1 | page = 46 }}</ref> His ecumenical approach and failure to conform to some of the trustees' expectations was said to contrast with the strict Theravadin-style Buddhism at the vihara.<ref name="Chryssides2006p46" /> Although originally planning to stay only six months, he decided to settle in England, but after he returned to India for a farewell tour, the Vihara's trustees voted to expel him.<ref name="Chryssides2006p46" />
Sangharakshita was an associate of [[B. R. Ambedkar]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lionsroar.com/sangharakshita-founder-of-triratna-buddhism-dead-at-93/|title=Sangharakshita, founder of Triratna Buddhism, dead at 93 - Lion's Roar|first=Sam|last=Littlefair}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://medium.com/@eiselmazard/a-fragment-of-the-sangharakshita-scandal-from-india-65ed24df006d|title=A Fragment of the Sangharakshita Scandal from India|first=Eisel|last=Mazard|date=25 February 2014|website=Medium.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.buddhistdoor.net/features/an-ambedkarite-buddhist-today/|title=An Ambedkarite Buddhist Today|website=Buddhistdoor.net|access-date=7 November 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.adlibris.com/no/bok/dr-ambedkar-and-the-revival-of-buddhism-9781909314788|title=Dr Ambedkar and the Revival of Buddhism - Sangharakshita - heftet(9781909314788) &#124; Adlibris Bokhandel|website=www.adlibris.com}}</ref> In 1952, Sangharakshita met [[Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar]]<ref name="Batchelor1994b">{{citation | first = Stephen | last = Batchelor | author-link = Stephen Batchelor (author) | year = 1994 | title = The Awakening of the West: The Encounter of Buddhism and Western Culture | publisher = Parallax Press | isbn = 978-0-938077-69-5 | page = 331 }}</ref> (1891–1956), the chief architect of the Indian constitution and India's first law minister. Ambedkar, who had been a so-called [[Untouchable caste|Untouchable]], converted to Buddhism, along with 380,000 other Untouchables (now known as "[[dalits]]") on 14 October 1956.<ref name="Chryssides1999p226">{{citation | first = George D. | last = Chryssides | year = 1999 | title = Exploring New Religions | publisher = Continuum International Publishing Group | isbn = 978-0-8264-5959-6 | page = 226 }}</ref> Ambedkar and Sangharakshita had been in correspondence since 1950, and the Indian politician had encouraged the young monk to expand his Buddhist activities.<ref>{{citation | first = debjani | last = Ganguly | year = 2005 | title = Caste, Colonialism, and Counter-Modernity: Notes on a Postcolonial Hermeneutics of Caste | publisher = Routledge | isbn = 978-0-415-34294-0 | pages = 167–168 }}</ref> Ambedkar appreciated Sangharakshita's "commitment to a more critically engaged Buddhism that did not at the same time dilute the cardinal precepts of Buddhist thought".<ref name="Ganguly2005">{{citation | first = debjani | last = Ganguly | year = 2005 | title = Caste, Colonialism, and Counter-Modernity: Notes on a Postcolonial Hermeneutics of Caste | publisher = Routledge | isbn = 978-0-415-34294-0 | page = 168 }}</ref> Ambedkar initially invited Sangharakshita to perform his conversion ceremony, but the latter refused, arguing that U Chandramani should preside.<ref name="Ganguly2005" /> Ambedkar died six weeks later, leaving his conversion movement leaderless, and Sangharakshita, who had just arrived in Nagpur to visit dalit Buddhists,<ref name="Ganguly2005" /> continued what he felt was Ambedkar's work by lecturing to former Untouchables,<ref name="Batchelor1994b" /> and presiding over a ceremony in which a further 200,000 Untouchables converted.<ref name="Chryssides1999p226" /> For the next decade, Sangharakshita spent much of his time visiting dalit Buddhist communities in western India.<ref>{{citation | first = debjani | last = Ganguly | year = 2005 | title = Caste, Colonialism, and Counter-Modernity: Notes on a Postcolonial Hermeneutics of Caste | publisher = Routledge | isbn = 978-0-415-34294-0 | page = 169 }}</ref>
 
==Return to the West==
In 1964, Sangharakshita was invited to help with a dispute at the [[Hampstead Buddhist Vihara]] in north London,<ref name="Chryssides2006p49" /> where he proved to be a popular teacher.<ref name="Chryssides2006p46" /> His ecumenical approach and failure to conform to some of the trustees' expectations was said to contrast with the strict Theravadin-style Buddhism at the vihara.<ref name="Chryssides2006p46" /> Although originally planning to stay only six months, he decided to settle in England, but after he returned to India for a farewell tour, the Vihara's trustees voted to expel him.<ref name="Chryssides2006p46" />


Sangharakshita returned to England and in April 1967 founded the [[Friends of the Western Buddhist Order]].<ref name="Chryssides2006p46" /> The Western Buddhist Order was founded a year later, when he ordained the first dozen men and women. The first ordinations were attended by a Zen monk, a Shin priest and two Theravadin monks.<ref name="Rawlinson1997">{{citation | first = Andrew | last = Rawlinson | year = 1997 | title = The Book of Enlightened Masters | publisher = Open Court | isbn = 978-0-8126-9310-2 | page = [https://archive.org/details/bookofenlightene00rawl/page/503 503] | url = https://archive.org/details/bookofenlightene00rawl/page/503 }}</ref>
Sangharakshita returned to England and in April 1967 founded the [[Friends of the Western Buddhist Order]].<ref name="Chryssides2006p46" /> The Western Buddhist Order was founded a year later, when he ordained the first dozen men and women. The first ordinations were attended by a Zen monk, a Shin priest and two Theravadin monks.<ref name="Rawlinson1997">{{citation | first = Andrew | last = Rawlinson | year = 1997 | title = The Book of Enlightened Masters | publisher = Open Court | isbn = 978-0-8126-9310-2 | page = [https://archive.org/details/bookofenlightene00rawl/page/503 503] | url = https://archive.org/details/bookofenlightene00rawl/page/503 }}</ref>


Satisfied neither with the lay-Buddhist approach of the [[Buddhist Society]], nor the monastic approach of the Hampstead vihara—the two dominant Buddhist organisations in Britain at that time—he created what he said was a new form of Buddhism. The order would be neither lay nor monastic,<ref>{{citation | first1 = Christopher S. | last1 = Queen | first2 = Sallie B. | last2 = King | year = 1996 | title = Engaged Buddhism | publisher = SUNY Press | isbn = 978-0-7914-2844-3 | page = 86 }}</ref> and members take a set of ten precepts<ref name="Rawlinson1997" /> that are a traditional part of Mahayana Buddhism.<ref>{{citation | first = Damien | last = Keown | year = 2003 | title = A Dictionary of Buddhism | publisher = Oxford University Press US | isbn = 978-0-8126-9310-2 | page = [https://archive.org/details/bookofenlightene00rawl/page/70 70] | url = https://archive.org/details/bookofenlightene00rawl/page/70 }}</ref>
Satisfied neither with the lay-Buddhist approach of the [[Buddhist Society]], nor the monastic approach of the Hampstead vihara—the two dominant Buddhist organisations in Britain at that time—he created what he said was a new form of Buddhism. The order would be neither lay nor monastic,<ref>{{citation | first1 = Christopher S. | last1 = Queen | first2 = Sallie B. | last2 = King | year = 1996 | title = Engaged Buddhism | publisher = SUNY Press | isbn = 978-0-7914-2844-3 | page = 86 }}</ref> and members take a set of ten precepts<ref name="Rawlinson1997" /> that are a traditional part of [[Mahayana]] Buddhism.<ref>{{citation | first = Damien | last = Keown | year = 2003 | title = A Dictionary of Buddhism | publisher = Oxford University Press US | isbn = 978-0-8126-9310-2 | page = [https://archive.org/details/bookofenlightene00rawl/page/70 70] | url = https://archive.org/details/bookofenlightene00rawl/page/70 }}</ref>


Initially, Sangharakshita led all classes and conducted all ordinations.<ref name="Rawlinson1997" /> He gave lectures drawing on what he felt were the essential teachings of all the major Buddhist schools.<ref name="Chryssides2006p49">{{citation | first1 = George D. | last1 = Chryssides | first2 = Margaret Z. | last2 = Wilkins | year = 2006 | title = A Reader in New Religious Movements | publisher = Continuum International Publishing Group | isbn = 978-0-8264-6168-1 | page = 49 }}</ref> He led major retreats twice a year and frequent day and weekend events.<ref name="Chryssides2006p49" /> As the order grew, and centres became established across Britain and in other countries, order members took more responsibility until, in August 2000, he devolved his responsibilities as the head of the Western Buddhist Order to eight men and women who formed what was called the "College of Public Preceptors."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dharmalife.com/issue19/unravelmap.html |title=Have Map, Can Unravel |publisher=Dharmalife.com |access-date=2011-06-23 }}</ref> In 2005 Sangharakshita donated all of his books and artefacts, with an insurance value of £314,400, to the charitable trust dedicated to his 'support and assistance' as well as enabling his office to 'maintain contact with his disciples and friends worldwide' and to 'support them in activities'.<ref>[http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends98/0001046398_AC_20151231_E_C.PDF ADM of Triratna Buddhist Community (Uddiyana), 2015], Charity Commission for England and Wales. Retrieved 14 April 2017.</ref> In 2015 this trust had an income of £140K, and for 2016 it was £73K.<ref>{{cite web|title=Triratna Buddhist Community (Uddiyana)|url=http://beta.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regid=1046398&subid=0|publisher=Charity Commission for England and Wales|access-date=14 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Triratna Buddhist Community (Uddiyana)|url=http://beta.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regid=1046398&subid=0|publisher=Charity Commission for England and Wales|access-date=15 August 2018}}</ref>
Initially, Sangharakshita led all classes and conducted all ordinations.<ref name="Rawlinson1997" /> He gave lectures drawing on what he felt were the essential teachings of all the major Buddhist schools.<ref name="Chryssides2006p49">{{citation | first1 = George D. | last1 = Chryssides | first2 = Margaret Z. | last2 = Wilkins | year = 2006 | title = A Reader in New Religious Movements | publisher = Continuum International Publishing Group | isbn = 978-0-8264-6168-1 | page = 49 }}</ref> He led major retreats twice a year and frequent day and weekend events.<ref name="Chryssides2006p49" /> As the order grew, and centres became established across Britain and in other countries, order members took more responsibility until, in August 2000, he devolved his responsibilities as the head of the Western Buddhist Order to eight men and women who formed what was called the "College of Public Preceptors."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dharmalife.com/issue19/unravelmap.html |title=Have Map, Can Unravel |publisher=Dharmalife.com |access-date=2011-06-23 |archive-date=23 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923214210/http://www.dharmalife.com/issue19/unravelmap.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2005 Sangharakshita donated all of his books and artefacts, with an insurance value of £314,400, to the charitable trust dedicated to his 'support and assistance' as well as enabling his office to 'maintain contact with his disciples and friends worldwide' and to 'support them in activities'.<ref>[http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends98/0001046398_AC_20151231_E_C.PDF ADM of Triratna Buddhist Community (Uddiyana), 2015], Charity Commission for England and Wales. Retrieved 14 April 2017.</ref> In 2015 this trust had an income of £140K, and for 2016 it was £73K.<ref>{{cite web|title=Triratna Buddhist Community (Uddiyana)|url=http://beta.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regid=1046398&subid=0|publisher=Charity Commission for England and Wales|access-date=14 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Triratna Buddhist Community (Uddiyana)|url=http://beta.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regid=1046398&subid=0|publisher=Charity Commission for England and Wales|access-date=15 August 2018}}</ref>


Sangharakshita died, aged 93, on 30 October 2018 after a short illness.<ref>Triratna Buddhist Order Website. Sangharakshita Memorial Space. https://thebuddhistcentre.com/sangharakshita?display=team</ref>
Sangharakshita died of pneumonia and sepsis on 30 October 2018, at the age of 93.<ref name="Times"/>


==Allegations of sexual coercion and abuse==
==Allegations of sexual coercion and abuse==
{{Main|Triratna Buddhist Community}}
{{Main|Triratna Buddhist Community}}
In 1997, Sangharakshita became the focus of controversy when ''[[The Guardian]]'' newspaper published complaints concerning some of his sexual relationships with FWBO members during the 1970s and 1980s.<ref name="Doward"/><ref>{{citation | first = Karma Lekshe | last = Tsomo | year = 2000 | title = Innovative Buddhist Women: Swimming Against the Stream | publisher = Routledge | isbn = 978-0-7007-1219-9 | pages = 266–267 }}</ref> For a decade following these public revelations, he declined to give any response to concerns from within the movement that he had misused his position as a Buddhist teacher to sexually exploit young men. In 2010 it was reported that he had addressed the controversy, stressing that his sexual partners were, or appeared to be, willing, and he expressed regret for any mistakes.<ref>{{citation | last = Vajragupta | year = 2010 | title = The Triratna Story: Behind the Scenes of a New Buddhist Movement | publisher = Windhorse | isbn = 978-1-899579-92-1 }}</ref> In 2016 a local BBC channel showed a report based on interviews with three men, one under the age of homosexual consent at the time, who claimed they had been pressured into having sex with Sangharakshita, being told it would help them “make spiritual progress” to have homosexual sex despite being heterosexual.<ref name="Taylor 2016">{{cite web | last=Taylor | first=Jo | title=Apology sought over 'abuse' at Buddhist retreat | website=BBC News | date=25 September 2016 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-37432719 | access-date=26 March 2021}}</ref> In 2017 the Triratna Buddhist Order hired an accredited facilitator to work directly with any individuals feeling harmed as a result of past sexual involvement with Sangharakshita.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.interkula.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Interkula-survey-report-final.pdf|format=PDF|title=Triratna: How are We Doing Now? A Triratna Interkula survey to assess how the Triratna Community feels now about allegations of past misconduct. Survey results and report|website=Interkula.net|access-date=7 November 2021}}</ref> In 2020, a group within the Order published a report resulting from investigations into these allegations aiming to "establish the facts related to Sangharakshita's sexual behaviour". The report included acknowledgements that Sangharakshita did "not always recognise the power imbalance between student and teacher", and that he "was not always willing or able to have meaningful dialogue after the sexual involvement had ended".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thebuddhistcentre.com/triratna-safeguarding/adhisthana-kula-report-addressing-ethical-issues-triratna|title = The Adhisthana Kula Report: Addressing Ethical Issues in Triratna}}</ref>
In 1997, Sangharakshita became the focus of controversy when ''[[The Guardian]]'' newspaper published complaints concerning some of his sexual relationships with FWBO members during the 1970s and 1980s.<ref name="Bunting1997"/><ref name="Doward2019"/><ref name="Doward2017"/><ref>{{citation | first = Karma Lekshe | last = Tsomo | year = 2000 | title = Innovative Buddhist Women: Swimming Against the Stream | publisher = Routledge | isbn = 978-0-7007-1219-9 | pages = 266–267 }}</ref> For a decade following these public revelations, he declined to give any response to concerns from within the movement that he had misused his position as a Buddhist teacher to exploit young men sexually. In 2010, it was reported that he had addressed the controversy, stressing that his sexual partners were, or appeared to be, willing, and he expressed regret for any mistakes.<ref>{{citation | last = Vajragupta | year = 2010 | title = The Triratna Story: Behind the Scenes of a New Buddhist Movement | publisher = Windhorse | isbn = 978-1-899579-92-1 }}</ref>
 
In 2016 a local BBC channel showed a report based on interviews with three men, one under the [[age of consent]] for sex between men at the time (21), who claimed they had been pressured into having sex with Sangharakshita. They were reportedly told it would help them "make spiritual progress" to have same-sex relations despite being heterosexual.<ref name="Taylor2016"/> In 2017 the Triratna Buddhist Order hired an accredited facilitator to work directly with any individuals feeling harmed as a result of past sexual involvement with Sangharakshita.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.interkula.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Interkula-survey-report-final.pdf|format=PDF|title=Triratna: How are We Doing Now? A Triratna Interkula survey to assess how the Triratna Community feels now about allegations of past misconduct. Survey results and report|website=Interkula.net|access-date=7 November 2021}}</ref>
 
In 2020, a group within the Order published a report resulting from investigations into these allegations aiming to "establish the facts related to Sangharakshita's sexual behaviour". The report included acknowledgements that Sangharakshita did "not always recognise the power imbalance between student and teacher" and that he "was not always willing or able to have meaningful dialogue after the sexual involvement had ended".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thebuddhistcentre.com/triratna-safeguarding/adhisthana-kula-report-addressing-ethical-issues-triratna|title = The Adhisthana Kula Report: Addressing Ethical Issues in Triratna}}</ref>


==Contributions and legacy==
==Contributions and legacy==
[[File:Rewata Dhamma, Sangharakshita, Thich Nhat Hanh.jpg|350px|thumb|right|Ven. [[Rewata Dhamma]], Sangharakshita and [[Thich Nhat Hanh]] at the [[European Buddhist Union]] Congress, Berlin, 1992]]
Sangharakshita has been described as "among the first Westerners who devoted their life to the practice as well as the spreading of Buddhism" and also as a "prolific writer, translator, and practitioner of Buddhism".<ref>{{citation | first = Francis | last = Brassard | year = 2000 | title = The Concept of Bodhicitta in Santideva's Bodhicaryavatara | publisher = SUNY Press | isbn = 978-0-7914-4575-4 | pages = 22–23 }}</ref> As a Westerner seeking to use Western concepts to communicate Buddhism, he has been compared to [[Teilhard de Chardin]],<ref>{{citation | first = Francis | last = Brassard | year = 2000 | title = The Concept of Bodhicitta in Santideva's Bodhicaryavatara | publisher = SUNY Press | isbn = 978-0-7914-4575-4 | page = 23 }}</ref> termed "the founding father of Western Buddhism,"<ref name="autogenerated303">{{citation | first = Stephen C | last = Berkwitz | year = 2006 | title = Buddhism in world cultures: comparative perspectives | publisher = ABC-CLIO | isbn = 978-1-85109-782-1 | page = 303 }}</ref> and noted as "a skilled innovator in his efforts to translate Buddhism to the West."<ref name="autogenerated105">{{Citation | last = Doyle | first = Anita | title = Women, Men, and Angels (review) | journal = Tricycle: The Buddhist Review | volume = 5 | page = 105 | date = Summer 1996 }}</ref>
Sangharakshita has been described as "among the first Westerners who devoted their life to the practice as well as the spreading of Buddhism" and also as a "prolific writer, translator, and practitioner of Buddhism".<ref>{{citation | first = Francis | last = Brassard | year = 2000 | title = The Concept of Bodhicitta in Santideva's Bodhicaryavatara | publisher = SUNY Press | isbn = 978-0-7914-4575-4 | pages = 22–23 }}</ref> As a Westerner seeking to use Western concepts to communicate Buddhism, he has been compared to Teilhard de Chardin,<ref>{{citation | first = Francis | last = Brassard | year = 2000 | title = The Concept of Bodhicitta in Santideva's Bodhicaryavatara | publisher = SUNY Press | isbn = 978-0-7914-4575-4 | page = 23 }}</ref> termed "the founding father of Western Buddhism,"<ref name="autogenerated303"/> and noted as "a skilled innovator in his efforts to translate Buddhism to the West."<ref name="autogenerated105"/>
 
For Sangharakshita, as with other Buddhists, the factor that unites all Buddhist schools is not any particular teaching but the act of "going for refuge" (''sarana-gamana''), which he regards "not simply as a formula but as a life-changing event"<ref name="Lopez2002" /> and as an ongoing "reorientation of one's life away from mundane concerns to the values embodied in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha."<ref>{{citation | first = Stephen | last = Batchelor | author-link = Stephen Batchelor (author) | year = 1994 | title = The Awakening of the West: The Encounter of Buddhism and Western Culture | publisher = Parallax Press | isbn = 978-0-938077-69-5 | page = 334 }}</ref> Any decisive act upon the spiritual path—renunciation, ordination, initiation, the attainment of Stream Entry, and the arising of the bodhicitta—are manifestations or examples of Going for Refuge.<ref name="Batchelor1994c">{{citation | first = Stephen | last = Batchelor | author-link = Stephen Batchelor (author) | year = 1994 | title = The Awakening of the West: The Encounter of Buddhism and Western Culture | publisher = Parallax Press | isbn = 978-0-938077-69-5 | page = 335 }}</ref>
 
Buddhist teachers are traditionally authorised through a lineage traced back to [[the Buddha]]. Although Sangharakshita studied under various eminent Buddhist teachers during his two decades in [[India]],<ref>{{citation | first=Stephen | last=Batchelor | year=1994 | title=The Awakening of the West | publisher=Aquarian | isbn=978-0-938077-69-5 | pages=323–332}}</ref> author James William Coleman has said that "he never worked closely enough with any teacher to be recognized as a dharma-heir".<ref name="Coleman 2001 81">{{citation | first=James William | last=Coleman | year=2001 | title=The New Buddhism: The Western Transformation of an Ancient Tradition | publisher=Oxford University Press | isbn=978-0-19-515241-8 | page=81}}</ref>


For Sangharakshita, as with other Buddhists, the factor that unites all Buddhist schools is not any particular teaching, but the act of "going for refuge" (''sarana-gamana''), which he regards "not simply as a formula but as a life-changing event"<ref name="Lopez2002" /> and as an ongoing "reorientation of one's life away from mundane concerns to the values embodied in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha."<ref>{{citation | first = Stephen | last = Batchelor | author-link = Stephen Batchelor (author) | year = 1994 | title = The Awakening of the West: The Encounter of Buddhism and Western Culture | publisher = Parallax Press | isbn = 978-0-938077-69-5 | page = 334 }}</ref> Any decisive act upon the spiritual path—renunciation, ordination, initiation, the attainment of Stream Entry, and the arising of the bodhicitta—are manifestations or examples of Going for Refuge.<ref name="Batchelor1994c">{{citation | first = Stephen | last = Batchelor | author-link = Stephen Batchelor (author) | year = 1994 | title = The Awakening of the West: The Encounter of Buddhism and Western Culture | publisher = Parallax Press | isbn = 978-0-938077-69-5 | page = 335 }}</ref>
Sangharakshita has acknowledged that “Triratna sometimes bears the mark not of the dharma but of my own particular personality”.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.interkula.net/about/|title=About|website=interkula.net|access-date=7 November 2021}}</ref> Among his distinctive views is his use of the scientific theory of evolution as a metaphor for spiritual development, referring to biological evolution as the "lower evolution" and spiritual growth as being a form of self-directed "higher evolution".{{cn|date=March 2021}}  Sangharakshita has also drawn parallels between Buddhism and the spirit of the [[Romanticism|Romantics]], who believed that what art reveals has great moral and spiritual significance, and has written of "the religion of art."<ref>{{citation |last=McMahan |first=David L. |title=The Making of Buddhist Modernism |page=334 |year=2008 |publisher=Oxford University Press US |isbn=978-0-19-518327-6}}</ref>


Sangharakshita has acknowledged that “Triratna sometimes bears the mark not of the dharma but of my own particular personality”.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.interkula.net/about/|title=About|website=interkula.net|access-date=7 November 2021}}</ref> Among his distinctive views is his use of the scientific theory of evolution as a metaphor for spiritual development, referring to biological evolution as the "lower evolution" and spiritual development as being a form of self-directed "higher evolution".{{cn|date=March 2021}}  Though he considers women and men equally capable of Enlightenment and ordained them equally right from the start, he has also said he had "tentatively reached the conclusion that the spiritual life is more difficult for women because they are less able than men to envisage...something purely transcendental..."<ref>Transforming Self and World, 1995, p117</ref> He also criticised heterosexual nuclear relationships as tending to neuroticism. The FWBO has been accused of cult-like behaviour in the 1970s and 80s for encouraging heterosexual men to engage in sexual relationships with men in order to get over their fear of intimacy with men and obtain spiritual growth.<ref name="Batchelor1994c" /> He has drawn parallels between Buddhism and the spirit of the [[Romanticism|Romantics]], who believed that what art reveals has great moral and spiritual significance, and has written of "the religion of art."<ref>{{citation | first = David L. | last = McMahan | year = 2008 | title = The Making of Buddhist Modernism | publisher = Oxford University Press US | isbn = 978-0-19-518327-6 | page = 334 }}</ref>
Sangharakshita has sometimes been criticised for his views on sex and gender. Though he considers women and men equally capable of Enlightenment and ordained them equally right from the start, he has also said he had "tentatively reached the conclusion that the spiritual life is more difficult for women because they are less able than men to envisage...something purely transcendental..."<ref>Transforming Self and World, 1995, p117</ref>


Including compilations of his talks, Sangharakshita has authored more than 60 books. Meanwhile, the [[Triratna Buddhist Community]], which he founded as the FWBO, has been described as "perhaps the most successful attempt to create an ecumenical international Buddhist organization".<ref>{{citation | first = Harry L. | last = Oldmeadow | year = 2004 | title = Journeys East: 20th century Western encounters with Eastern religious traditions | publisher = World Wisdom, Inc | isbn = 978-0-941532-57-0 | page = 280 }}</ref> The community is one of the three largest Buddhist movements in Britain,<ref>{{citation | first = Gwilym | last = Beckerlegge | year = 2001 | title = From Sacred Text to Internet | publisher = Ashgate | isbn = 978-0-7546-0748-9 | page = 147 }}</ref> and has a presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa. More than a fifth of all Order members, as of 2006, were in India,<ref>{{citation | first = Sally | last = McAra | year = 2007 | title = Land of Beautiful Vision: Making a Buddhist Sacred Place in New Zealand | publisher = University of Hawaii Press | isbn = 978-0-8248-2996-4 | page = 18 }}</ref> where Dr. Ambedkar's mission to convert dalits to Buddhism continues.<ref name="King2005">{{citation | first = Sally B. | last = King | year = 2005 | title = Being Benevolence: The Social Ethics of Engaged Buddhism | publisher = University of Hawaii Press | isbn = 978-0-8248-2935-3 | page = 79 }}</ref> Martin Baumann, a scholar of Buddhism, has estimated that there are 100,000 people worldwide who are affiliated with the Triratna Buddhist Community.<ref name="King2005" />
Sangharakshita and the FWBO were known for questioning traditional family structures, including encouraging members to join same-sex communities.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Batchelor |first=Stephen |title=The awakening of the west: the encounter of Buddhism and Western culture |date=1994 |publisher=Parallax Press |isbn=978-0-938077-69-5 |location=Berkeley, Calif |pages=339}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Munt |first=Sally |last2=Smith |first2=Sharon |date=2010-02-20 |title=Angels and the Dragon King's Daughter: Gender, Sexuality in Western Buddhist New Religious Movements |url=https://doi.org/10.1558/tse.v16i3.229 |journal=Theology & Sexuality |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=229–258 |doi=10.1558/tse.v16i3.229 |issn=1355-8358|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Irons |first=Edward A. |title=Encyclopedia of Buddhism |last2=Melton |first2=J. Gordon |date=2008 |publisher=Facts On File |isbn=978-0-8160-5459-6 |series=Encyclopedia of world religions |location=New York |pages=206}}</ref> Sangharakshita also criticised heterosexual nuclear relationships for causing neuroticism and being overly restrictive.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Batchelor1994c" /> The FWBO has been accused of encouraging heterosexual men to engage in sexual relationships with other men in the 1970s and 1980s, in order to get over their fear of intimacy with their male peers and obtain spiritual growth.<ref name="Batchelor1994c" /><ref name=":0" /> The organisation has sometimes been described as a cult.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Testing Articles of Faith |url=http://dharmalife.com/issue17/testingfaith.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170102210855/http://dharmalife.com/issue17/testingfaith.html |archive-date=2017-01-02 |access-date=2025-09-04 |website=dharmalife.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Crook |first=John |date=1998-01-10 |title=Dangers in Devotion: Buddhist Cults and the Tasks of a Guru |url=https://westernchanfellowship.org/dharma/library/article/dangers-in-devotion-buddhist-cults-and-the-tasks-of-a-guru/ |access-date=2025-09-04 |website=Western Chan Fellowship |language=en-GB}}</ref>


For Buddhologist Francis Brassard, Sangharakshita's major contribution is "without doubt his attempt to translate the ideas and practices of [Buddhism] into Western languages."<ref>{{citation | first = Francis | last = Brassard | year = 2000 | title = The Concept of Bodhicitta in Śāntideva's Bodhícaryāvatāra | publisher = SUNY Press | isbn = 978-0-7914-4575-4 | pages = 22–23 }}</ref> The non-denominational nature of the Triratna Buddhist Community,<ref name="Rawlinson1997" /> its equal ordination for both men and women,<ref>{{citation | first = Sally | last = McAra | year = 2007 | title = Land of Beautiful Vision: Making a Buddhist Sacred Place in New Zealand | publisher = University of Hawaii Press | isbn = 978-0-8248-2996-4 | page = 60 }}</ref> and its evolution of new forms of shared practice, such as what it calls team-based right livelihood projects, have been cited as examples of such "translation", and also as the creation of a "Buddhist society in miniature within the Western, industrialized world".<ref name="Workingin1998" /> For Martin Baumann, the Triratna Buddhist Community serves as proof that "Western concepts, such as a capitalistic work ethos, ecological considerations, and a social-reformist perspective, can be integrated into the Buddhist tradition".<ref>{{Citation | last = Baumann | first = Martin | title = Working in the Right Spirit:The Application of Buddhist Right Livelihood in the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order | journal = Journal of Buddhist Ethics | volume = 5 | page = 135 | date = May 1998 | postscript = . }}</ref>
Including compilations of his talks, Sangharakshita has authored more than 60 books. Meanwhile, the [[Triratna Buddhist Community]], which he founded as the FWBO, has been described as "perhaps the most successful attempt to create an ecumenical international Buddhist organization".<ref>{{citation | first = Harry L. | last = Oldmeadow | year = 2004 | title = Journeys East: 20th century Western encounters with Eastern religious traditions | publisher = World Wisdom, Inc | isbn = 978-0-941532-57-0 | page = 280 }}</ref> The community is one of the three largest Buddhist movements in Britain,<ref>{{citation | first = Gwilym | last = Beckerlegge | year = 2001 | title = From Sacred Text to Internet | publisher = Ashgate | isbn = 978-0-7546-0748-9 | page = 147 }}</ref> and has a presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa. More than a fifth of all Order members, as of 2006, were in India,<ref>{{citation | first = Sally | last = McAra | year = 2007 | title = Land of Beautiful Vision: Making a Buddhist Sacred Place in New Zealand | publisher = University of Hawaii Press | isbn = 978-0-8248-2996-4 | page = 18 }}</ref> where Dr. Ambedkar's mission to convert Dalits to Buddhism continues.<ref name="King2005">{{citation | first = Sally B. | last = King | year = 2005 | title = Being Benevolence: The Social Ethics of Engaged Buddhism | publisher = University of Hawaii Press | isbn = 978-0-8248-2935-3 | page = 79 }}</ref> Martin Baumann, a scholar of Buddhism, has estimated that there are 100,000 people worldwide who are affiliated with the Triratna Buddhist Community.<ref name="King2005" />


== Bibliography ==
For [[Buddhologist]] Francis Brassard, Sangharakshita's major contribution is "without doubt his attempt to translate the ideas and practices of [Buddhism] into Western languages."<ref>{{citation | first = Francis | last = Brassard | year = 2000 | title = The Concept of Bodhicitta in Śāntideva's Bodhícaryāvatāra | publisher = SUNY Press | isbn = 978-0-7914-4575-4 | pages = 22–23 }}</ref> The non-denominational nature of the Triratna Buddhist Community,<ref name="Rawlinson1997" /> its equal ordination for both men and women,<ref>{{citation | first = Sally | last = McAra | year = 2007 | title = Land of Beautiful Vision: Making a Buddhist Sacred Place in New Zealand | publisher = University of Hawaii Press | isbn = 978-0-8248-2996-4 | page = 60 }}</ref> and its evolution of new forms of shared practice, such as what it calls "team-based right livelihood projects", have been cited as examples of such translation, and also as the creation of a "Buddhist society in miniature within the Western, industrialized world".<ref name="Workingin1998">{{Citation | last = Baumann | first = Martin | title = Working in the Right Spirit: The Application of Buddhist Right Livelihood in the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order | journal = Journal of Buddhist Ethics | volume = 5 | url = http://crossasia-repository.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/124/1/Working_in_the_right_spirit.pdf | date = May 1998 | page = 132 | postscript = . | access-date = 3 September 2016 | archive-date = 19 August 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190819124753/http://crossasia-repository.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/124/1/Working_in_the_right_spirit.pdf | url-status = dead }}</ref> For Martin Baumann, the Triratna Buddhist Community serves as proof that "Western concepts, such as a capitalistic work ethos, ecological considerations, and a social-reformist perspective, can be integrated into the Buddhist tradition".<ref>{{Citation | last = Baumann | first = Martin | title = Working in the Right Spirit: The Application of Buddhist Right Livelihood in the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order | journal = Journal of Buddhist Ethics | volume = 5 | page = 135 | date = May 1998 | postscript = . }}</ref>
 
==Bibliography==
===Biography===
===Biography===
* ''Anagarika Dharmapala: A Biographical Sketch''
* ''Anagarika Dharmapala: A Biographical Sketch''
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* ''The [[Dhammapada]]''
* ''The [[Dhammapada]]''


== See also ==
==See also==
* [[Dharmachari Subhuti]] – Senior associate of Sangharakshita
* [[Dharmachari Subhuti]] – Senior associate of Sangharakshita


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{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


== External links ==
==External links==
{{commons category|Sangharakshita}}
{{commons category|Sangharakshita}}
* {{Official website|http://www.sangharakshita.org/}}
* {{Official website|http://www.sangharakshita.org/}}
* [http://www.ex-cult.org/fwbo/fwbofiles.htm FWBO files] Criticism of Sangharakshita
* [http://www.ex-cult.org/fwbo/fwbofiles.htm The FWBO Files]{{snd}}criticism of Sangharakshita
* {{gutenberg author| id=Sangharakshita+Bikshu | name=Sangharakshita}}
* {{gutenberg author| id=1390| name=Sangharakshita}}
 
* {{Internet Archive author}}
{{Modern Buddhist writers}}


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:1925 births]]
[[Category:1925 births]]
[[Category:2018 deaths]]
[[Category:2018 deaths]]
[[Category:English Buddhists]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:British scholars of Buddhism]]
[[Category:British male writers]]
[[Category:English Buddhist spiritual teachers]]
[[Category:British spiritual teachers]]
[[Category:English philosophers]]
[[Category:Friends of the Western Buddhist Order]]
[[Category:Friends of the Western Buddhist Order]]
[[Category:Ambedkarites]]
[[Category:Writers from London]]
[[Category:Buddhist writers]]
[[Category:Educators from London]]
[[Category:English male poets]]
[[Category:Royal Corps of Signals soldiers]]
[[Category:Royal Corps of Signals soldiers]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Buddhists involved in controversies]]
[[Category:Clergy from London]]
[[Category:People from London]]
[[Category:People from Herefordshire]]

Latest revision as of 16:44, 25 March 2026


Sangharakshita
Born
Dennis Philip Edward Lingwood

(1925-08-26)26 August 1925
Tooting, London, England
Died30 October 2018(2018-10-30) (aged 93)
Hereford, Herefordshire, England
Occupation
  • Spiritual teacher
  • writer
OrganizationFriends of the Western Buddhist Order (now Triratna Buddhist Community)
Websitesangharakshita.org

Dennis Philip Edward Lingwood (26 August 1925 – 30 October 2018), known more commonly as Sangharakshita, was a British spiritual teacher and writer. In 1967, he founded the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO), which was renamed the Triratna Buddhist Community in 2010.[1]

Sangharakshita was and remains a highly controversial figure. For his supporters, he was a spiritual pioneer who introduced Eastern religious teachings to the West. For his detractors, he was a sexual predator who used his position to abuse vulnerable young men.[2][3][4][5]

Life[edit | edit source]

Early life[edit | edit source]

Sangharakshita was born Dennis Philip Edward Lingwood on 26 August 1925 in Tooting, London.[1] After being diagnosed with a heart condition he spent much of his childhood confined to bed, and used the opportunity to read widely.[6] His first encounter with non-Christian thought was with Madame Helena Blavatsky's Isis Unveiled,[7] upon reading which, he later said, he realised that he had never been a Christian.[8] The following year he came across two Buddhist texts, the Diamond Sutra and the Platform Sutra, and concluded that he had always been a Buddhist.[8]

As Dennis Lingwood, he joined the Buddhist Society at the age of 18,[9] and formally became a Buddhist in May 1949 by taking the Three Refuges and Five Precepts from the Burmese monk, U Thittila.[6]

He was conscripted into the army in 1943, and served in India, Ceylon, now known as Sri Lanka, and Singapore as a radio engineer[10] in the Royal Corps of Signals.[11] It was in Ceylon, while in contact with the swamis in the (Hindu) Ramakrishna Mission, that he developed the desire to become a monk.[12] In 1946, after the cessation of hostilities, he was transferred to Singapore, where he made contact with Buddhists and learned to meditate.[13]

India[edit | edit source]

Having been conscripted into the British Army and posted to India, at the end of the war Sangharakshita handed in his rifle, left the camp where he was stationed and deserted.[13] He moved about in India for a few years, with a Bengali novice Buddhist, the future Buddharakshita, as his companion, meditating and experiencing for himself the company of eminent spiritual personalities of the times, like Mata Anandamayi, Ramana Maharishi and Swamis of Ramakrishna Mission. They spent fifteen months in 1947–48, in the Ramakrishna Mission centre at Muvattupuzha with the consent of Swami Tapasyananda and Swami Agamananda. In May 1949 he became a novice monk, or sramanera, in a ceremony conducted by the Burmese monk, U Chandramani, who was then the most senior monk in India. It was then that he was given the name Sangharakshita (Pali: Sangharakkhita), which means "protected by the spiritual community."[13] Sangharakshita took full bhikkhu ordination the following year,[11] with another Burmese bhikkhu, U Kawinda, as his preceptor (upādhyāya), and with the Ven. Jagdish Kashyap as his teacher (ācārya).[13] He studied Pali, Abhidhamma, and Logic with Jagdish Kashyap at Benares (Varanasi) University.[9] In 1950, at Kashyap's suggestion, Sangharakshita moved to the hill town of Kalimpong[7] close to the borders of India, Bhutan, Nepal. and Sikkim, and only a few miles from Tibet. Kalimpong was his base for 14 years until his return to England in 1966.[10]

During his time in Kalimpong, Sangharakshita formed a young men's Buddhist association and established an ecumenical centre for the practice of Buddhism (the Triyana Vardhana Vihara).[10] He also edited the Maha Bodhi Journal and established a magazine, Stepping Stones.[14] In 1951, Sangharakshita met the German-born Lama Govinda, who was the first Buddhist Sangharakshita had known "to declare openly the compatibility of art with the spiritual life", and who gave Sangharakshita a greater appreciation for Tibetan Buddhism.[15] Govinda had begun his explorations of Buddhism in the Theravada tradition, studying briefly under the German-born bhikkhu, Nyanatiloka Mahathera (who gave him the name Govinda), but after meeting the Gelug Lama, Tomo Geshe Rinpoche, in 1931, he turned towards Tibetan Buddhism.[16] Sangharakshita's spiritual explorations were to follow a similar trajectory.

Sangharakshita was ordained in the Theravada school, but said he became disillusioned by what he felt was the dogmatism, formalism, and nationalism of many of the Theravadin bhikkhus he met[17] and became increasingly influenced by Tibetan Buddhist teachers who had fled Tibet after the Chinese invasion in the 1950s. Two years after his meeting with Lama Govinda he began studying with the Gelug Lama, Dhardo Rinpoche.[17] Sangharakshita also received initiations and teachings from teachers who included Jamyang Khyentse, Dudjom Rinpoche, as well as Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.[17] It was Dhardo Rinpoche who was to give Sangharakshita Mayahana ordination.[9] Later, Sangharakshita also studied with a Ch'an teacher, Yogi Chen (Chen Chien-Ming), along with another English monk, Bhikkhu Khantipalo.[18] Together, the three men turned their ongoing seminar on Buddhist theory and practice into a book, Buddhist Meditation, Systematic and Practical.[19]

Sangharakshita was an associate of B. R. Ambedkar.[20][21][22][23] In 1952, Sangharakshita met Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar[24] (1891–1956), the chief architect of the Indian constitution and India's first law minister. Ambedkar, who had been a so-called Untouchable, converted to Buddhism, along with 380,000 other Untouchables (now known as "dalits") on 14 October 1956.[25] Ambedkar and Sangharakshita had been in correspondence since 1950, and the Indian politician had encouraged the young monk to expand his Buddhist activities.[26] Ambedkar appreciated Sangharakshita's "commitment to a more critically engaged Buddhism that did not at the same time dilute the cardinal precepts of Buddhist thought".[27] Ambedkar initially invited Sangharakshita to perform his conversion ceremony, but the latter refused, arguing that U Chandramani should preside.[27] Ambedkar died six weeks later, leaving his conversion movement leaderless, and Sangharakshita, who had just arrived in Nagpur to visit dalit Buddhists,[27] continued what he felt was Ambedkar's work by lecturing to former Untouchables,[24] and presiding over a ceremony in which a further 200,000 Untouchables converted.[25] For the next decade, Sangharakshita spent much of his time visiting dalit Buddhist communities in western India.[28]

Return to the West[edit | edit source]

In 1964, Sangharakshita was invited to help with a dispute at the Hampstead Buddhist Vihara in north London,[29] where he proved to be a popular teacher.[30] His ecumenical approach and failure to conform to some of the trustees' expectations was said to contrast with the strict Theravadin-style Buddhism at the vihara.[30] Although originally planning to stay only six months, he decided to settle in England, but after he returned to India for a farewell tour, the Vihara's trustees voted to expel him.[30]

Sangharakshita returned to England and in April 1967 founded the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order.[30] The Western Buddhist Order was founded a year later, when he ordained the first dozen men and women. The first ordinations were attended by a Zen monk, a Shin priest and two Theravadin monks.[31]

Satisfied neither with the lay-Buddhist approach of the Buddhist Society, nor the monastic approach of the Hampstead vihara—the two dominant Buddhist organisations in Britain at that time—he created what he said was a new form of Buddhism. The order would be neither lay nor monastic,[32] and members take a set of ten precepts[31] that are a traditional part of Mahayana Buddhism.[33]

Initially, Sangharakshita led all classes and conducted all ordinations.[31] He gave lectures drawing on what he felt were the essential teachings of all the major Buddhist schools.[29] He led major retreats twice a year and frequent day and weekend events.[29] As the order grew, and centres became established across Britain and in other countries, order members took more responsibility until, in August 2000, he devolved his responsibilities as the head of the Western Buddhist Order to eight men and women who formed what was called the "College of Public Preceptors."[34] In 2005 Sangharakshita donated all of his books and artefacts, with an insurance value of £314,400, to the charitable trust dedicated to his 'support and assistance' as well as enabling his office to 'maintain contact with his disciples and friends worldwide' and to 'support them in activities'.[35] In 2015 this trust had an income of £140K, and for 2016 it was £73K.[36][37]

Sangharakshita died of pneumonia and sepsis on 30 October 2018, at the age of 93.[1]

Allegations of sexual coercion and abuse[edit | edit source]

Main article: Triratna Buddhist Community

In 1997, Sangharakshita became the focus of controversy when The Guardian newspaper published complaints concerning some of his sexual relationships with FWBO members during the 1970s and 1980s.[5][2][3][38] For a decade following these public revelations, he declined to give any response to concerns from within the movement that he had misused his position as a Buddhist teacher to exploit young men sexually. In 2010, it was reported that he had addressed the controversy, stressing that his sexual partners were, or appeared to be, willing, and he expressed regret for any mistakes.[39]

In 2016 a local BBC channel showed a report based on interviews with three men, one under the age of consent for sex between men at the time (21), who claimed they had been pressured into having sex with Sangharakshita. They were reportedly told it would help them "make spiritual progress" to have same-sex relations despite being heterosexual.[4] In 2017 the Triratna Buddhist Order hired an accredited facilitator to work directly with any individuals feeling harmed as a result of past sexual involvement with Sangharakshita.[40]

In 2020, a group within the Order published a report resulting from investigations into these allegations aiming to "establish the facts related to Sangharakshita's sexual behaviour". The report included acknowledgements that Sangharakshita did "not always recognise the power imbalance between student and teacher" and that he "was not always willing or able to have meaningful dialogue after the sexual involvement had ended".[41]

Contributions and legacy[edit | edit source]

Sangharakshita has been described as "among the first Westerners who devoted their life to the practice as well as the spreading of Buddhism" and also as a "prolific writer, translator, and practitioner of Buddhism".[42] As a Westerner seeking to use Western concepts to communicate Buddhism, he has been compared to Teilhard de Chardin,[43] termed "the founding father of Western Buddhism,"[44] and noted as "a skilled innovator in his efforts to translate Buddhism to the West."[45]

For Sangharakshita, as with other Buddhists, the factor that unites all Buddhist schools is not any particular teaching but the act of "going for refuge" (sarana-gamana), which he regards "not simply as a formula but as a life-changing event"[7] and as an ongoing "reorientation of one's life away from mundane concerns to the values embodied in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha."[46] Any decisive act upon the spiritual path—renunciation, ordination, initiation, the attainment of Stream Entry, and the arising of the bodhicitta—are manifestations or examples of Going for Refuge.[47]

Buddhist teachers are traditionally authorised through a lineage traced back to the Buddha. Although Sangharakshita studied under various eminent Buddhist teachers during his two decades in India,[48] author James William Coleman has said that "he never worked closely enough with any teacher to be recognized as a dharma-heir".[49]

Sangharakshita has acknowledged that “Triratna sometimes bears the mark not of the dharma but of my own particular personality”.[50] Among his distinctive views is his use of the scientific theory of evolution as a metaphor for spiritual development, referring to biological evolution as the "lower evolution" and spiritual growth as being a form of self-directed "higher evolution".[citation needed] Sangharakshita has also drawn parallels between Buddhism and the spirit of the Romantics, who believed that what art reveals has great moral and spiritual significance, and has written of "the religion of art."[51]

Sangharakshita has sometimes been criticised for his views on sex and gender. Though he considers women and men equally capable of Enlightenment and ordained them equally right from the start, he has also said he had "tentatively reached the conclusion that the spiritual life is more difficult for women because they are less able than men to envisage...something purely transcendental..."[52]

Sangharakshita and the FWBO were known for questioning traditional family structures, including encouraging members to join same-sex communities.[53][54][55] Sangharakshita also criticised heterosexual nuclear relationships for causing neuroticism and being overly restrictive.[54][47] The FWBO has been accused of encouraging heterosexual men to engage in sexual relationships with other men in the 1970s and 1980s, in order to get over their fear of intimacy with their male peers and obtain spiritual growth.[47][54] The organisation has sometimes been described as a cult.[56][57]

Including compilations of his talks, Sangharakshita has authored more than 60 books. Meanwhile, the Triratna Buddhist Community, which he founded as the FWBO, has been described as "perhaps the most successful attempt to create an ecumenical international Buddhist organization".[58] The community is one of the three largest Buddhist movements in Britain,[59] and has a presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa. More than a fifth of all Order members, as of 2006, were in India,[60] where Dr. Ambedkar's mission to convert Dalits to Buddhism continues.[61] Martin Baumann, a scholar of Buddhism, has estimated that there are 100,000 people worldwide who are affiliated with the Triratna Buddhist Community.[61]

For Buddhologist Francis Brassard, Sangharakshita's major contribution is "without doubt his attempt to translate the ideas and practices of [Buddhism] into Western languages."[62] The non-denominational nature of the Triratna Buddhist Community,[31] its equal ordination for both men and women,[63] and its evolution of new forms of shared practice, such as what it calls "team-based right livelihood projects", have been cited as examples of such translation, and also as the creation of a "Buddhist society in miniature within the Western, industrialized world".[64] For Martin Baumann, the Triratna Buddhist Community serves as proof that "Western concepts, such as a capitalistic work ethos, ecological considerations, and a social-reformist perspective, can be integrated into the Buddhist tradition".[65]

Bibliography[edit | edit source]

Biography[edit | edit source]

  • Anagarika Dharmapala: A Biographical Sketch
  • Great Buddhists of the Twentieth Century

Books on Buddhism[edit | edit source]

  • The Eternal Legacy: An Introduction to the Canonical Literature of Buddhism
  • A Survey of Buddhism: Its Doctrines and Methods Through the Ages
  • The Ten Pillars of Buddhism
  • The Three Jewels: The Central Ideals of Buddhism

Edited seminars and lectures on Buddhism[edit | edit source]

  • The Bodhisattva Ideal
  • Buddha Mind
  • The Buddha's Victory
  • Buddhism for Today – and Tomorrow
  • Creative Symbols of Tantric Buddhism
  • The Drama of Cosmic Enlightenment
  • The Essence of Zen
  • A Guide to the Buddhist Path
  • Human Enlightenment
  • The Inconceivable Emancipation
  • Know Your Mind
  • Living with Awareness
  • Living with Kindness
  • The Meaning of Conversion in Buddhism
  • New Currents in Western Buddhism
  • Ritual and Devotion in Buddhism
  • The Taste of Freedom
  • The Yogi's Joy: Songs of Milarepa
  • Tibetan Buddhism: An Introduction
  • Transforming Self and World
  • Vision and Transformation (also known as The Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path)
  • Who Is the Buddha?
  • What Is the Dharma?
  • What Is the Sangha?
  • Wisdom Beyond Words

Essays and papers[edit | edit source]

  • Alternative Traditions
  • Crossing the Stream
  • Going For Refuge
  • The Priceless Jewel
  • Aspects of Buddhist Morality
  • Dialogue between Buddhism and Christianity
  • The Journey to Il Covento
  • St Jerome Revisited
  • Buddhism and Blasphemy
  • Buddhism, World Peace, and Nuclear War
  • The Bodhisattva Principle
  • The Glory of the Literary World
  • A Note on The Burial of Count Orgaz
  • Criticism East and West
  • Dharmapala: The Spiritual Dimension
  • With Allen Ginsburg in Kalimpong (1962)
  • Indian Buddhists
  • Ambedkar and Buddhism

Memoirs, autobiography and letters[edit | edit source]

  • Facing Mount Kanchenjunga: An English Buddhist in the Eastern Himalayas
  • From Genesis to the Diamond Sutra: A Western Buddhist's Encounters with Christianity
  • In the Sign of the Golden Wheel: Indian Memoirs of an English Buddhist
  • Moving Against the Stream: The Birth of a New Buddhist Movement
  • The Rainbow Road: From Tooting Broadway to Kalimpong
  • The History of My Going for Refuge
  • Precious Teachers
  • Travel Letters
  • Through Buddhist Eyes

Poetry and art[edit | edit source]

  • The Call of the Forest and Other Poems
  • Complete Poems 1941–1994
  • Conquering New Worlds: Selected Poems
  • Hercules and the Birds
  • In the Realm of the Lotus
  • The Religion of Art

Polemic[edit | edit source]

  • Forty Three Years Ago: Reflections on My Bhikkhu Ordination
  • The FWBO and 'Protestant Buddhism': An Affirmation and a Protest
  • The Meaning of Orthodoxy in Buddhism
  • Was the Buddha a Bhikkhu? A Rejoinder to a Reply to 'Forty Three Years Ago'.

Translation[edit | edit source]

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Sangharakshita obituary". The Times. 9 November 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Doward, Jamie (21 July 2019). "Buddhist, teacher, predator: dark secrets of the Triratna guru". The Observer. Archived from the original on 21 July 2019.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Doward, Jamie (19 February 2017). "Fears mount over scale of Buddhist sect sexual abuse". The Observer. Archived from the original on 19 February 2017.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Taylor, Jo (26 September 2016). "Apology sought over 'abuse' at Buddhist retreat". BBC News. Archived from the original on 29 September 2016.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Bunting, Madeleine (27 October 1997). "The dark side of enlightenment". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 5 February 2005 – via ex-cult.org.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Chryssides, George D.; Wilkins, Margaret Z. (2006), A Reader in New Religious Movements, Continuum International Publishing Group, p. 47, ISBN 978-0-8264-6168-1
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Lopez Jr, Donald S (2002), A Modern Buddhist Bible: Essential Readings from East and West, Beacon Press, p. 186, ISBN 978-0-8070-1243-7
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Batchelor, Stephen (1994), The Awakening of the West: The Encounter of Buddhism and Western Culture, Parallax Press, p. 323, ISBN 978-0-938077-69-5
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Snelling, John (1999), The Buddhist Handbook: A Complete Guide to Buddhist Schools, Teaching, Practice, and History, Inner Traditions, p. 230, ISBN 978-0-89281-761-0
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Chryssides, George D. (1999), Exploring New Religions, Continuum International Publishing Group, p. 225, ISBN 978-0-8264-5959-6
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Prebish, Charles S. (1999), Luminous passage: the practice and study of Buddhism in America, University of California Press, p. 47, ISBN 978-0-520-21697-6
  12. ↑ Chryssides, George D.; Wilkins, Margaret Z. (2006), A Reader in New Religious Movements, Continuum International Publishing Group, pp. 47–48, ISBN 978-0-8264-6168-1
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Chryssides, George D.; Wilkins, Margaret Z. (2006), A Reader in New Religious Movements, Continuum International Publishing Group, p. 48, ISBN 978-0-8264-6168-1
  14. ↑ Oldmeadow, Harry (1999), Journeys East: 20th century Western encounters with Eastern religious traditions, Continuum International Publishing Group, p. 280, ISBN 978-0-8264-5959-6
  15. ↑ Batchelor, Stephen (1994), The Awakening of the West: The Encounter of Buddhism and Western Culture, Parallax Press, pp. 328–329, ISBN 978-0-938077-69-5
  16. ↑ Lopez, Donald (2002), A Modern Buddhist Bible: Essential Readings from East and West, Beacon Press, p. 98, ISBN 978-0-8070-1243-7
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Batchelor, Stephen (1994), The Awakening of the West: The Encounter of Buddhism and Western Culture, Parallax Press, p. 329, ISBN 978-0-938077-69-5
  18. ↑ Khantipalo, Laurence (2002), Noble Friendship: Travels of a Buddhist Monk, Windhorse Publications, pp. 140–142, ISBN 978-1-899579-46-4
  19. ↑ Chen, C.M. (1983), Buddhist Meditation, Systematic and Practical (Volume 42 of Hsientai fohsüeh tahsi), Mile ch'upanshe, p. xiii
  20. ↑ Littlefair, Sam. "Sangharakshita, founder of Triratna Buddhism, dead at 93 - Lion's Roar". Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  21. ↑ Mazard, Eisel (25 February 2014). "A Fragment of the Sangharakshita Scandal from India". Medium.com.
  22. ↑ "An Ambedkarite Buddhist Today". Buddhistdoor.net. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  23. ↑ "Dr Ambedkar and the Revival of Buddhism - Sangharakshita - heftet(9781909314788) | Adlibris Bokhandel". www.adlibris.com.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Batchelor, Stephen (1994), The Awakening of the West: The Encounter of Buddhism and Western Culture, Parallax Press, p. 331, ISBN 978-0-938077-69-5
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Chryssides, George D. (1999), Exploring New Religions, Continuum International Publishing Group, p. 226, ISBN 978-0-8264-5959-6
  26. ↑ Ganguly, debjani (2005), Caste, Colonialism, and Counter-Modernity: Notes on a Postcolonial Hermeneutics of Caste, Routledge, pp. 167–168, ISBN 978-0-415-34294-0
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 Ganguly, debjani (2005), Caste, Colonialism, and Counter-Modernity: Notes on a Postcolonial Hermeneutics of Caste, Routledge, p. 168, ISBN 978-0-415-34294-0
  28. ↑ Ganguly, debjani (2005), Caste, Colonialism, and Counter-Modernity: Notes on a Postcolonial Hermeneutics of Caste, Routledge, p. 169, ISBN 978-0-415-34294-0
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 Chryssides, George D.; Wilkins, Margaret Z. (2006), A Reader in New Religious Movements, Continuum International Publishing Group, p. 49, ISBN 978-0-8264-6168-1
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 Chryssides, George D.; Wilkins, Margaret Z. (2006), A Reader in New Religious Movements, Continuum International Publishing Group, p. 46, ISBN 978-0-8264-6168-1
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 31.3 Rawlinson, Andrew (1997), The Book of Enlightened Masters, Open Court, p. 503, ISBN 978-0-8126-9310-2
  32. ↑ Queen, Christopher S.; King, Sallie B. (1996), Engaged Buddhism, SUNY Press, p. 86, ISBN 978-0-7914-2844-3
  33. ↑ Keown, Damien (2003), A Dictionary of Buddhism, Oxford University Press US, p. 70, ISBN 978-0-8126-9310-2
  34. ↑ "Have Map, Can Unravel". Dharmalife.com. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
  35. ↑ ADM of Triratna Buddhist Community (Uddiyana), 2015, Charity Commission for England and Wales. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  36. ↑ "Triratna Buddhist Community (Uddiyana)". Charity Commission for England and Wales. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  37. ↑ "Triratna Buddhist Community (Uddiyana)". Charity Commission for England and Wales. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  38. ↑ Tsomo, Karma Lekshe (2000), Innovative Buddhist Women: Swimming Against the Stream, Routledge, pp. 266–267, ISBN 978-0-7007-1219-9
  39. ↑ Vajragupta (2010), The Triratna Story: Behind the Scenes of a New Buddhist Movement, Windhorse, ISBN 978-1-899579-92-1
  40. ↑ "Triratna: How are We Doing Now? A Triratna Interkula survey to assess how the Triratna Community feels now about allegations of past misconduct. Survey results and report" (PDF). Interkula.net. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  41. ↑ "The Adhisthana Kula Report: Addressing Ethical Issues in Triratna".
  42. ↑ Brassard, Francis (2000), The Concept of Bodhicitta in Santideva's Bodhicaryavatara, SUNY Press, pp. 22–23, ISBN 978-0-7914-4575-4
  43. ↑ Brassard, Francis (2000), The Concept of Bodhicitta in Santideva's Bodhicaryavatara, SUNY Press, p. 23, ISBN 978-0-7914-4575-4
  44. ↑ Berkwitz, Stephen C (2006), Buddhism in world cultures: comparative perspectives, ABC-CLIO, p. 303, ISBN 978-1-85109-782-1
  45. ↑ Doyle, Anita (Summer 1996), "Women, Men, and Angels (review)", Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, 5: 105
  46. ↑ Batchelor, Stephen (1994), The Awakening of the West: The Encounter of Buddhism and Western Culture, Parallax Press, p. 334, ISBN 978-0-938077-69-5
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 47.2 Batchelor, Stephen (1994), The Awakening of the West: The Encounter of Buddhism and Western Culture, Parallax Press, p. 335, ISBN 978-0-938077-69-5
  48. ↑ Batchelor, Stephen (1994), The Awakening of the West, Aquarian, pp. 323–332, ISBN 978-0-938077-69-5
  49. ↑ Coleman, James William (2001), The New Buddhism: The Western Transformation of an Ancient Tradition, Oxford University Press, p. 81, ISBN 978-0-19-515241-8
  50. ↑ "About". interkula.net. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  51. ↑ McMahan, David L. (2008), The Making of Buddhist Modernism, Oxford University Press US, p. 334, ISBN 978-0-19-518327-6
  52. ↑ Transforming Self and World, 1995, p117
  53. ↑ Batchelor, Stephen (1994). The awakening of the west: the encounter of Buddhism and Western culture. Berkeley, Calif: Parallax Press. p. 339. ISBN 978-0-938077-69-5.
  54. ↑ 54.0 54.1 54.2 Munt, Sally; Smith, Sharon (20 February 2010). "Angels and the Dragon King's Daughter: Gender, Sexuality in Western Buddhist New Religious Movements". Theology & Sexuality. 16 (3): 229–258. doi:10.1558/tse.v16i3.229. ISSN 1355-8358.
  55. ↑ Irons, Edward A.; Melton, J. Gordon (2008). Encyclopedia of Buddhism. Encyclopedia of world religions. New York: Facts On File. p. 206. ISBN 978-0-8160-5459-6.
  56. ↑ "Testing Articles of Faith". dharmalife.com. Archived from the original on 2 January 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2025.
  57. ↑ Crook, John (10 January 1998). "Dangers in Devotion: Buddhist Cults and the Tasks of a Guru". Western Chan Fellowship. Retrieved 4 September 2025.
  58. ↑ Oldmeadow, Harry L. (2004), Journeys East: 20th century Western encounters with Eastern religious traditions, World Wisdom, Inc, p. 280, ISBN 978-0-941532-57-0
  59. ↑ Beckerlegge, Gwilym (2001), From Sacred Text to Internet, Ashgate, p. 147, ISBN 978-0-7546-0748-9
  60. ↑ McAra, Sally (2007), Land of Beautiful Vision: Making a Buddhist Sacred Place in New Zealand, University of Hawaii Press, p. 18, ISBN 978-0-8248-2996-4
  61. ↑ 61.0 61.1 King, Sally B. (2005), Being Benevolence: The Social Ethics of Engaged Buddhism, University of Hawaii Press, p. 79, ISBN 978-0-8248-2935-3
  62. ↑ Brassard, Francis (2000), The Concept of Bodhicitta in Śāntideva's Bodhícaryāvatāra, SUNY Press, pp. 22–23, ISBN 978-0-7914-4575-4
  63. ↑ McAra, Sally (2007), Land of Beautiful Vision: Making a Buddhist Sacred Place in New Zealand, University of Hawaii Press, p. 60, ISBN 978-0-8248-2996-4
  64. ↑ Baumann, Martin (May 1998), "Working in the Right Spirit: The Application of Buddhist Right Livelihood in the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order" (PDF), Journal of Buddhist Ethics, 5: 132, archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2019, retrieved 3 September 2016.
  65. ↑ Baumann, Martin (May 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: 135.

External links[edit | edit source]

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