FWBO

The Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO) was founded in 1967, and is one of the principal Buddhist movements in the UK, India, and Australasia as well as being increasingly well-established in Western Europe and the USA. There are around eighty FWBO urban centres and retreat centres, and activities in over twenty countries. In India the FWBO is known as Trailokya Bauddha Mahasangha Sahayaka Gana (TBMSG), in Spanish speaking countries as Los Amigos del Orden Buddhista de Occidente (AOBO), and in France as Les Amis de l'Ordre Bouddhiste Occidental (AOBO).

One of Buddhism's strengths is its ability to adapt to each new culture it encounters. Throughout its history, it has evolved and taken on many new forms, while at the same time retaining its essential truths. The FWBO bases its approach on the perception that the varied and divided Buddhist tradition has an underlying unity. It seeks to return to these underlying principles and to find ways of living them out in the context of the modern world.

The FWBO began in London in 1967 and its founder was Ven Sangharakshita. He is an Englishman who spent twenty years in India living as a Buddhist. There he studied and practised with teachers from all the main schools of Buddhism. Through this he developed a broad and deep perspective of Buddhism as a whole. When he returned to the UK in 1966 this perspective enabled him to develop a new approach to Buddhism drawing on both the diversity and the unity of the different schools and teachings.

The FWBO has shares allot of common ground with the rest of the Buddhist world - both past and present. It shares the basic teachings like the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, Conditioned co-production, the Six Paramitas. The FWBO like the other main schools of Buddhism teaches the Threefold Path of Ethics, Meditation and Wisdom. Each Buddhist organisation hast has its own distinctive features that makes them unique. And the FWBO has several features which it emphasises that make it special as a modern Buddhist tradition.

1. The FWBO is Ecumenical. It does not identify itself exclusively with any single Eastern Buddhist Tradition. The FWBO is not Theravada, Mahayana, Tibetan, or Zen. Instead it describes its self simply as 'Buddhist'. The FWBO draws upon the vast wealth of the entire Buddhist tradition. It uses from ideas, principles and practices from the tradition that will help people to develop - in a way that is relevant in the context of Western cultural and social life.

2. The FWBO places great importance on'Going for Refuge to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha'and sees these as being the central values for Buddhists. This is what all Buddhists have in common - that they all recognise the Buddha as an Enlightened man, and that it's possible for anyone to achieve what he attained. That the teachings of the Buddha - the Dharma, can lead one to Enlightenment or Buddhahood. And lastly, that there are others have achieved this complete illumination and release from suffering. The FWBO teaches that 'Going for Refuge is primary/central. And lifestyle is secondary.'This has led to a great profusions of lifestyle within the FWBO from its members being married, through to those who life a life of celibacy and renunciation.

3. The FWBO is a Unified Buddhist organisation. This means that the FWBO is open on completely equal terms to both men and women. There are some Buddhist Orders which are not open to men and women in this way. The FWBO is also unified in that it is made up of people from all walks of life regardless of background, race or sexual orientation.

4. The FWBO emphasises Right-Livelihood. This is the Buddhist principle whereby one should earn a living in a way that is in keeping with the basic precepts of Buddhism. The FWBO also emphasises 'Team-Based Right Livelihood'. This is where a group of Buddhists come together to form a business or organisation. 'TBRL's' provide financial support for individual Buddhists in an ethical way. They also provide a context where people in the FWBO can engage in work as spiritual practice. Any profit made goes back into the organisation for the purpose of sharing the teachings of Buddhism.

5. The FWBO promotes the spiritual value of the Arts. It see's that approached in a creative way, the Arts can lead to an expansion of consciousness, to heightened awareness. Many FWBO centre's and retreat centre's offer workshops and retreats that explore the 'spiritual'in the Arts. In the FWBO there are many, artists, writers, musicians, actors and performers.

6. The FWBO emphasises Spiritual Friendship. The Buddha himself tells us that Spiritual Friendship 'is the entire spiritual life'. The FWBO teaches that developing our friendships us to cultivate an altruistic outlook that takes us beyond ourselves. This altruistic perspective is the basis for empathy and compassion which all Buddhists strive for.

FWBO Centres teach meditation and Buddhism through classes and courses. Teaching in the FWBO is done by members of the Western Buddhist Order who are themselves experienced in the practice and study of meditation and Buddhism.

There is no expectation that people attending the centre will be Buddhists, nor that they will agree with Buddhist teachings. Classes are an opportunity to learn and test out Buddhist practices in the light of one's own experience, and in an atmosphere of friendly, encouraging, open communication.

Links to further information about the FWBO

Visit the main FWBO Web Site
Visit the TBMSG for info about the Indian equivalent of the FWBO
Visit the FWBO entry in the Wikipedia - a free online encyclopedia
See also our page of FWBO links for access to all the various FWBO websites.