Sangharakshita
Sangharakshita (born Dennis Philip Edward Lingwood, 26 August 1925 – 30 October 2018) was a British Buddhist teacher and writer. He was born in Tooting, London. He was the founder of the 10 precept Triratna Buddhist Community, which was known until 2010 as the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order, or FWBO.[1][2]
Biography
He was one of the few Westerners to be ordained as a Theravadin Bhikkhu in the period following World War II though he later left that tradition to study with other Buddhist teachers, including some from the Tibetan and Chan schools.[3] He spent over 20 years in Asia,[4] where he had a number of Tibetan Buddhist teachers.[5]
He was known as "the founding father of Western Buddhism" due to his many publications, leadership of retreats, and contributions to awareness of Buddhism in the United Kingdom.[6] He retired in 1995.[7]
In 1997, The Guardian reported that Sangharakshita had made unwanted sexual advances to FWBO members in the 1970s and 1980s.[8] Later, he publicly apologized and said any sexual relations he was involved in with his students had consent.[9]
Sangharakshita died on October 30, 2018 from pneumonia caused by sepsis in Hereford, Herefordshire at the age of 93.[10]
References
- ↑ Batchelor, Stephen (1994), The Awakening of the West: The Encounter of Buddhism and Western Culture, Parallax Press, p. 333, ISBN 0-938077-69-4
- ↑ George D. Chryssides; Margaret Z. Wilkins (2006). A Reader in New Religious Movements: Readings in the Study of New Religious. London: Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 0826461670.
- ↑ Batchelor, Stephen (1994), The Awakening of the West: The Encounter of Buddhism and Western Culture, Parallax Press, p. 326, ISBN 0-938077-69-4
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Batchelor, Stephen (1994), The Awakening of the West: The Encounter of Buddhism and Western Culture, Parallax Press, p. 329, ISBN 0-938077-69-4
- ↑ Berkwitz, Stephen C (2006), Buddhism in world cultures: comparative perspectives, ABC-CLIO, p. 303, ISBN 1-85109-782-1
- ↑ "Adhisthana". Triratna Buddhist Order. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
- ↑ Tsomo, Karma Lekshe (2000), Innovative Buddhist Women: Swimming Against the Stream, Routledge, pp. 266–267, ISBN 978-0-7007-1219-9
- ↑ Vajragupta (2010), The Triratna Story: Behind the Scenes of a New Buddhist Movement, Windhorse, ISBN 978-1-899579-92-1
- ↑ Urgyen Sangharakshita 1925-2018