Vidyaruchi, Sangharakshita’s secretary, writes with his usual update on some of Sangharakshita’s activities over the past month, saying - “As befits the time of the year it has been a quiet month for Bhante, with what may be the last Christmas he spends at Madhyamaloka marked, as usual, only by a meal with the community and a few guests followed by a chat round the log fire. This year there has been no snowy weather to preclude his walks in the garden, nor to check the flow of guests from here and there, which has included a group of women from Paris, on their way back from a retreat at Taraloka.

Bhante is in the thick of the seventh instalment of his ‘Reveries and Reminiscences’, which is turning into the longest of the series so far, and which should be ready for publication in next month’s Shabda (the Triratna Buddhist Order’s monthly newsletter). It is on the subject of his five literary heroes. The identities of the…

Amogharatna, chairman of Triratna’s Berlin Buddhist Centre (known as the Buddhistisches Tor Berlin, the Berlin Buddhist Gate) writes with news of the ‘topping-out’ ceremony for their new Centre - scheduled to open on September 1st this year.  He says -

“On Tuesday 17th January, along with other parties from the building in which our new premises are situated, we celebrated the topping out. The topping out ceremony marks the completion of the roof structure when a building is built or, as in our case, renovated. It is an occasion in which all parties involved in the construction work, the property owners, the craftsmen and the architects, express their thanks to each other.

About 50 people attended the celebrations which began with a speech and a toast from the head carpenter who concluded in the traditional manner by throwing his champagne glass to the ground from high up on the scaffolding…

Andrea writes from Triratna’s Karuna Trust with news of a ground-breaking legal victory won by one of Karuna’s Indian project partners, the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN).  The case was the first time perpetrators of a caste atrocity - still common in India - have been brought to justice by receiving life imprisonment under the Prevention of Atrocities Act (1989).  She says -

“The Mirchpur Dalit atrocity case concerns  a Dalit father and daughter, 70…

Samuel Rawlings, Subhuti’s secretary,  writes from India with news of an exciting new Triratna venture: the first-ever Indian Buddhist Artists’ Retreat.  He says -

“The event was the first of its kind to take place in India, with artists coming from all corners of the sub-continent to explore the relationship between Art and the Buddha-Dhamma. Most of the participants were from a Dalit background, and it was very moving to hear how deeply they had all struggled to produce their work - largely due to the crippling economic conditions and ideological abuse…

Sona writes from Australia with news of the first ordinations of 2012, saying -

“On Saturday 21 Jan 2012 at Triratna’s Vijayaloka Retreat Centre, Sydney, Australia, David Spotswood and Guy Holden had their public ordinations attended by about 120 family, friends and sangha. This was the last day of a 2 week men’s ‘Going For Refuge’ retreat and the beginning of the 4-day Australasian Triratna Buddhist Order Convention.

The ceremony was conducted outdoors and the auspicious event was especially memorable as there was a torrential downpour just after the chanting of the refuges and precepts. When it became apparent that the rain was going to continue and all of us - preceptor, ordinands and public - all started to get very wet, I made the decision to re-locate the gathering to the indoor shrine room to conclude the ceremony!

Guy Holden, from Sydney, has become …

Dayamudra, an American Order Member with strong links to India, writes from Kerala, where she’s recently completed her third tour and retreat in south India with the growing Triratna team there, where they are known as ‘Jai Bhim Kerala’.  She says -

“Dear Friends- Our team has just concluded our 6-day Communicative English and Basic Buddhism Retreat in Kollam, Kerala, in southwest India. It was our 3rd annual collaboration with the Jai Bhim Kerala team and we all felt it was our best effort yet. We left feeling inspired, energized and satisfied.

Our core team consisted of Dhammamitras Rejimon, Arun and myself.  We offered a training based in the Dhamma, with meditation and puja at the beginning and end of each day, skillfully led by Rejimon. In the morning sessions there were ‘Communicative English’ sessions, drawing on interactive student-centered activities which developed…

Vessantara, ordained in 1974 and recently returned from a three-year retreat, writes with news of his return, a brief glimpse of what it was like to be on retreat for three years - and what he plans to do next…  He says -“In the summer of 2008 FWBO News (as it was then) reported that Vijayamala and I were going to France to do a 3-year retreat in a couple of old wooden circus wagons in the Auvergne. I’m happy to say that we managed to complete it successfully. It was a very valuable time, and we both felt extremely fortunate to be able to focus so intensively on meditation, and to deepen our practice with very few external distractions.

The conditions were very supportive. Our shopping was all done for us, so we didn’t have to concern ourselves with that level of things, and there were very long stretches of time during which we only saw people supporting our retreat, or the occasional farmer when…

Back in 2010 Triratna’s  European Chairs Assembly set a series of priorities for their work over the next period of years.  Joint top of their list was the wish to “Re-emphasise the Power of Dharma to Transform Society” - their intention being to bring back into focus part of Triratna’s founding vision, namely “the inseparability of transforming self and world”.  Amidst growing awareness of ecological fragility and economic instability, never before has this emphasis been so needed.

As part of this, and to help explore the contribution Dharma practice and values can make to positive social change, a team from Triratna’s EcoDharma  Centre set out from their base high in the mountains of the Spanish Pyrenees on a tour of UK Buddhist Centres during November and December 2011, running, in…

Akasamati writes from Triratna’s Naganaga Vihara, a women’s’ retreat centre in New South Wales, Australia, with news of the celebrations of their tenth anniversary - and a little history!  She says -

“It’s been an unusually wet start to the summer here in the Macleay Valley, in the north-east of Australia’s New South Wales, but that didn’t dampen the spirit of celebration as community members and supporters gathered on the weekend of 11/12 December, to mark 10 years since the founding of Naganaga Vihara.

Naganaga was established in 2001 by Satyagandhi and Megha as a place where a commitment to environmentally sustainable living and care for the land and its inhabitants would provide the context for a community of women Order Members to live and work together, offering small group retreats and solitary retreat facilities.

Soon after the 150 acre property was purchased, a devastating fire swept through and all but…

Kamalamani, from Triratna’s UK Bristol Buddhist Centre, writes with news of her just-published book, ‘Meditating with Character’, a new and unusual approach to personal meditation practice.  She says - “This book breaks new ground in weaving together important threads from meditation, body psychotherapy, and Buddhism, encouraging the reader to be more present with their experience of being an integrated body-mind. The book invites the reader to get really curious about what goes on in their meditation practice, through understanding their embodying and disembodying habits. These habits and patterns are explored through the lens of character positions, a body of knowledge taken from post-Reichian psychotherapy.

“The tone is warm, immediate and accessible, reflecting my enthusiasm for meditation and…