Materialien zum Neobuddhismus

Wilhelm II.: "Völker Europas, wahrt Eure heiligsten Güter!"

5. Buddhismus in Großbritannien

2. Ab 1960

von Alois Payer

mailto: payer@payer.de

Zitierweise / cite as:

Payer, Alois <1944 - >: Materialien zum Neobuddhismus.  --   5. Buddhismus in Großbritannien. -- 2. Ab 1960. -- Fassung vom 2005-07-14. -- URL: http://www.payer.de/neobuddhismus/neobud05012.htm . -- [Stichwort].

Erstmals publiziert: 1996-06-05

Überarbeitungen: 2005-07-14 [Ergänzungen]; 2005-07-05 [Ergänzungen]; 2005-06-24 [Ergänzungen]; 2005-06-13 [Ergänzungen]; 2005-06-10 [Ergänzungen]; 2005-06-07 [Ergänzungen]; 2005-05-13 [Ergänzungen]; 2005-05-09 [überarbeitet]; 2005-05-05 [überarbeitet]; 2005-04-26 [überarbeitet]; 2003-07-11 [stark überarbeitet und erweitert]

Anlass: Lehrveranstaltung Neobuddhismus, Univ. Tübingen, SS 1987, SS 2003, SS 2005

Copyright: Dieser Text steht der Allgemeinheit zur Verfügung. Eine Verwertung in Publikationen, die über übliche Zitate hinausgeht, bedarf der ausdrücklichen Genehmigung des Verfassers.

Diese Inhalt ist unter einer Creative Commons-Lizenz lizenziert.

Dieser Text ist Teil der Abteilung Buddhismus von Tüpfli's Global Village Library

0. Übersicht

Chronik

1960

Abb.: Arthur Koestler [Bildquelle: http://www.kuenstlerkolonie-berlin.de/bewohner/koestler.htm. -- Zugriff am 2003-06-30]

Koestler, Arthur <1905 - 1983>: The lotus and the robot. -- London : Hutchinson, [1960]. -- 296 S.

Deutsche Übersetzung:

Koestler, Arthur <1905 - 1983>:  Von Heiligen und Automaten / Arthur Koestler. Mit e. Nachw. von C. G. Jung.  -- [Einzig berecht. Übertr. aus d. Engl. von Hans Flesch-Brunningen] -- Bern [u.a.] : Scherz, ©1961. -- 384 S.  -- Originaltitel: The Lotus and the robot (1960)

Alle folgenden Zitate aus dieser deutschen Übersetzung.

Koestler kritisiert in diesem Buch u. a. den japanischen Zen und seine Propagandisten im Westen:

"Mr. Christmas Humphreys, einer der führenden Anwälte Englands und außerdem Präsident der Buddhistischen Gesellschaft in London, der wie die meisten zeitgenössischen Zen-Apostel ein Schüler Dr. Suzukis ist, teilt uns in einem seiner Bücher mit, er habe sein erstes Satori während einer Judo-Lektion erlebt: «... an dem Abend, als ich, ohne zu denken und zu fühlen, die Gelegenheit ergriff und in jenem Bruchteil einer Sekunde, da mein Gegner aus dem Gleichgewicht kam, ihn auf saubere, direkte und eindeutige Art zu Boden warf.» Doch sein größtes Satori erlebte er in einem Dampfbad — wobei man unwillkürlich an Archimedes erinnert wird, der «eureka»-schreiend aus der Badewanne sprang. Nach modernen Zen-Maßstäben könnte ich mit Recht behaupten, dass ich bei jeder der seltenen Gelegenheiten ein Satori erlebe, wenn es mir gelingt, einen Satz niederzuschreiben, der genau das ausdrückt, was ich im Sinn hatte. Der Ausdruck «Satori» wird sonach wahllos auf eine ganze Reihe von geistigen Erlebnissen angewandt. Er kann bedeuten, dass in einer alltäglichen Situation «der Groschen gefallen ist»; er kann sich auf eine momentane Inspiration künstlerischer oder mystischer Natur beziehen; er kann schließlich auf jene seelische Läuterung und Charakterwandlung hindeuten, aus der, im Sprachgebrauch des Zen, ein «lebender Buddha» hervorgeht. Bei all dem liegt der Nachdruck immer auf der intuitiven Einsicht, im Gegensatz zum logischen Folgern, und auf der Erschließung unbewusster Erkenntnisquellen. Man könnte in der Tat das Wort «Satori» einfach mit «Intuition» übersetzen — ein Begriff, der ebenso elastisch und auf das gleiche Spektrum von Erlebnissen anwendbar ist. Satori bedeutet nicht mehr, aber auch nicht weniger. Der Rest ist ein pseudomystisches Jonglieren mit Worten." [S. 310f.]

"In einem von Minderwertigkeitskomplexen geplagten Volk war es psychologisch durchaus angebracht, dem Athleten den Glauben zu suggerieren, dass ihm das Resultat völlig gleichgültig sei — dass es sich nicht um einen Wettbewerb, sondern um ein mystisches Ritual handle. Daher der zeremonielle Rahmen und der mystische Hokuspokus bei dergleichen Veranstaltungen — ob es sich nun um Bogenschießen, Fechten oder Blumenwettbewerbe handelt — auf die ein westlicher Japanliebhaber, der die psychologischen Hintergründe nicht kennt, so willig hereinfällt. Mr. Christmas Humphreys, der sein Satori erlebte, als er den Gegner auf die Jiu-Jitsu-Matte warf, ist ein rührendes Beispiel dafür. Viel weniger angenehm mutet es an, wenn ein Buch wie Dr. Eugen Herrigels «Zen in der Kunst des Bogenschießens» von Intellektuellen des Westens ernstgenommen wird. Da das Buch die einzige im Westen zugängliche Beschreibung eines sportlichen Trainings nach Zen-Prinzipien ist, will ich es ausführlich zitieren. "  [S. 313f.] "Die Quintessenz der Lehre des Meisters, die er in endlosen Parabeln und Variationen wiederholt, könnte man in einem einfachen Satz zusammenfassen: «Nicht nervös sein — immer mit der Ruhe.» In die Zen-Tenninologie übersetzt klingt das aber wie folgt: «... nur durch ein Sich-Zurücknehmen aus allen wie auch immer gearteten Bindungen, durch ein Ichlos-Werden von Grund aus: so dass die Seele, in sich selbst versunken, in der Vollmacht ihres namenlosen Ursprungs steht.»" [S. 316] "War dieser Umweg von sechs Jahren durch die metaphysische Nebellandschaft wirklich notwendig, bevor das Abschießen eines Pfeils sich als der «lächerlich einfache» Akt herausstellte, der es immer gewesen war? Die Antwort ist natürlich, dass eine jede Fertigkeit schwierig und kompliziert erscheint, bis sie durch Übung automatisch und damit «einfach» wird. Nun hat die japanische Methode des Trainings eine technische und eine psychologische Seite. Was die technische betrifft, so erfuhren wir weiter oben, dass sie aus «Einüben, Wiederholen und Wiederholung des Wiederholten» besteht. An dieser Methode ist nichts Neues; sie bezweckt, den Schüler so weit zu bringen, bis er die betreffende Fertigkeit automatisch, «wie im Schlaf» ausübt. Die psychologische Seite des ganzen Trainings zielt, wie wir sahen, darauf ab, den nervösen Krampf zu lösen; die mystische Ausdrucksweise und das esoterische Zeremoniell sollen dabei helfen, indem sie an die irrationalen Schichten des Unbewussten appellieren. Die Wirkung auf Japaner, die auf traditionelle Weise erzogen wurden, mag durchaus zweckdienlich sein. Dem Europäer verdreht sie lediglich den Kopf. Trotz all dem rituellen Getue scheinen die sportlichen Leistungen der japanischen Bogenschützen nicht sehr eindrucksvoll zu sein. Dr. Herrigel lässt sich nur selten zu technischen Details herab; bei einer der wenigen Gelegenheiten erfahren wir, dass die Zielscheibe jener «unvergesslichen Meisterschüsse» bei der Schlussprüfung zirka 20 m entfernt war. Bei den amerikanischen Meisterschaftswettbewerben, die gewöhnlich aus drei Runden bestehen, wird die Zielscheibe nacheinander in 60, 80 und 100 m Entfernung aufgestellt. Aber dieser Vergleich mag irreführend sein, da uns nicht gesagt wurde, welche Art von Bogen der Meister benützte; auch gelang es mir nicht, Berichte über die Leistungen japanischer Schützen bei internationalen Wettbewerben zu finden. Dagegen wissen wir, dass Judo, auch ein vielgepriesener und in Europa beliebter Zen-Sport, ein vorzügliches Mittel der Notwehr gegen einen physisch überlegenen und an Geschicklichkeit unterlegenen Angreifer ist, aber mehr nicht — wie es sich bei den Olympischen Spielen von 1926 und 1932 herausstellte, als die favorisierten japanischen Meister im Freistilringen gegen die Mannschaften anderer Länder unterlagen." [S. 320 - 322]

"Während Herrigels Büchlein über «Zen in der Kunst des Bogenschießens» uns wenig sachliche Information über das Bogenschießen vermittelt, enthält Dr. Suzukis dickes Buch über «Zen und das Säbelfechten» überhaupt keinerlei Informationen über das Säbelfechten. Weder die Art des Säbels noch die Technik seiner Handhabung werden erwähnt — nicht einmal die Tatsache, dass der japanische Säbel mit beiden Händen geführt wird. Das Buch ist eine endlose Wiederholung von Koans, Mondos, Gedichten und Zitaten über Zen im allgemeinen und besonders über das Thema, dass die Samurai edle Ritter ohne Furcht und Tadel waren und eigentlich Heilige wie Gandhi — «denn, um es konkreter auszudrücken: das Böse ist gut, das Hässliche ist schön, das Falsche ist wahr, das Unvollkommene vollkommen und umgekehrt». Ein paar weitere Zitate sind unentbehrlich, um eine klarere Vorstellung von der Philosophie des Zen zu vermitteln, wie sie von der unumstrittenen zeitgenössischen Autorität auf diesem Gebiet dargestellt wird: «Das Schwert wird im allgemeinen mit dem Töten assoziiert, und die meisten von uns fragen sich, wie es sich mit Zen vereinen lässt — einer Schule des Buddhismus, die das Evangelium der Liebe und Barmherzigkeit verkündet. Tatsache ist, dass die Kunst des Säbelfechtens zwischen dem Schwert, das tötet, und dem Schwert, das Leben spendet, unterscheidet. Das Schwert in der Hand eines bloßen Virtuosen kann lediglich töten, denn er ruft sein Schwert nur an, wenn er töten will. Der Fall liegt ganz anders bei demjenigen, der sich gezwungen sieht, zum Schwert zu greifen. Denn in Wirklichkeit tötet nicht er, sondern das Schwert. Es ist nicht sein Wunsch, jemandem einen Schaden zuzufügen, doch der Feind erscheint und macht sich selbst zum Opfer. Es ist, als ob das Schwert ganz von selbst Gerechtigkeit, und das heißt Barmherzigkeit, übe. Das ist die Art von Schwert, von dem es heißt, dass Christus es uns gebracht habe. Es soll nicht nur den Frieden bringen, der von schönen Seelen rührselig geliebt wird. . . . wenn das Schwert diese Rolle im menschlichen Leben spielt, dann ist es nicht mehr eine Waffe der Notwehr oder ein Werkzeug des Mordens, und der Fechter wird zu einem Künstler ersten Ranges, der ein Kunstwerk von echter Originalität schafft. ... Yagyu bedient sich anscheinend der Sprache der Psychologie, wenn er sagt, sein Schwert sehe das Unsichtbare und das Sichtbare — und zwar beides zugleich. Denn das Sichtbare ist das Unsichtbare und umgekehrt. In der Sprache der Logik: <A> ist <Nicht-A> und <Nicht-A> ist <A>. Das Schwert zielt sozusagen auf den Punkt, wo die Gegensätze sich treffen. . .. Die Überzeugung: 'Ich bin der einzige Fechter, der in der Welt nicht seinesgleichen hat.. .' ähnelt der Erklärung, die, nach der Mahayana-Tradition, Buddha bei seiner Geburt abgegeben hat: 'O Himmel in der Höhe und Erde zu meinen Füßen, ich allein bin der von allen Verehrte.' Diese Übereinstimmung zwischen den beiden Aussagen ist in einem doppelten Sinne interessant: Ichiun lobt das 'Kindliche' als die Verkörperung der Prinzipien des Säbelfechtens, während der Buddha selbst in seiner Kindheit jene kühne Aussage machte.» [S. 322f.]

"Nach der Philosophie des Säbelfechtens wollen wir noch einen Blick auf die Philosophie des Teetrinkens werfen. Ein einziges Zitat aus Suzukis berühmtem Buch über «Zen und die Kultur Japans» möge genügen. Um Missverständnissen vorzubeugen, wird der englische Originaltext in der Fußnote zitiert. «Seisetsu, ein Zen-Meister der späten Tokugawa-Periode, äußerte sich über die Teezeremonie wie folgt: 'Mein Tee ist Nicht-Tee,  der nicht Nicht-Tee ist im Gegensatz zu Tee. Was aber ist der Nicht-Tee? Wenn ein Mann das wunderbare Reich des Nicht-Tees betritt, dann erkennt er, dass der Nicht-Tee nichts anderes ist als der 'Große Weg' (ta-tao) selbst.' Seisetsus 'Nicht-Tee' ist eine mysteriöse Variante des Tees. Er nähert sich dem inneren Geiste der Teekunst auf dem Weg der Verneinung. Dies ist die Logik der Prajna-Philosophie, die die Zen-Meister gelegentlich übernehmen; solange ein Erlebnis da ist, das als 'Tee' bezeichnet wird, wird dieses unser Blickfeld verengen und uns daran hindern, bis zum Wesen des Tees an sich vorzudringen.» «My Tea is No-tea, which is not No-tea in Opposition to Tea. What then is this No-tea? When a man enters into the exquisite realm of No-tea he will realize that No-tea is no other than the Great Way (ta-tao) itself.. . Seisetsu's 'No-Tea' is a mysterious Variation of the tea. He wants to reach the spirit of the art by the way of negation. This is the logic of Prajna philosophy, which has sometimes been adopted by the Zen masters. As long as there is an event designated as 'Tea' this will obscure our vision and hinder it from penetrating into 'Tea' as it is in itself.» Es gibt bei all dem eine tröstliche Möglichkeit: dass dieses ganze Geschwätz absichtlich darauf angelegt ist, den Leser zu verwirren, da ja die Zen-Philosophie sich offen zu dem Ziel bekennt, die rationale Vernunft aus den Fugen zu heben. Falls diese Hypothese zutrifft, dann würde Prof. Suzukis umfangreiches Oeuvre, das mindestens eine Million Worte umfasst, einen Eulenspiegelstreich von heroischen Ausmaßen darstellen — und lächerlich gemacht hätten sich nur die westlichen Intellektuellen, die darauf hereinfielen." [S. 323 - 325]

"Zen begann als eine Revolte gegen die soziale Dressur und wurde selbst zu einer neuen Form der Dressur. An Stelle der lähmenden Verkrampftheit trat die selbstsichere, mechanische Fertigkeit. Der gelernte Trick wurde zum bequemen Ersatz für die Inspiration. Die Herbstblätter treiben immer noch durch die Alleen, aber die Originalität ist am Wegrand hängengeblieben. Das Wasser spielt immer noch um des Kranichs Füße, aber die Muse liegt ertränkt auf dem Grunde des Sees." [S. 335]

1962

Abb.: Aldous Huxley

Es erscheint:

Huxley, Aldous Leonard <1894 - 1963>: Island : a novel. -- London : Chatto & Windus: London, 1962.  -- 286 S. -- {Wenn Sie HIER klicken, können Sie dieses Buch direkt bei amazon.de bestellen}

"The Influences of Eastern Philosophies in Aldous Huxley's Island by Velma Lush In his last major work, the Island, the evils that Aldous Huxley has been warning us about in his earlier works - over-population, coercive politics, militarism, mechanization, the destruction of the environment and the worship of science will find their opposites in the gentle and doomed Utopia of Pala. (Woodcock,18) Aldous Huxley used his books to explore his struggles against personal tragedy and to search for the meaning of human existence. His interest in eastern philosophies and mysticism began in the early twenties with the study of Blake and Bohme. His fascination with eastern religion was one of the reasons he departed on a world tour in 1925. The island of Pala is probably one of the islands of the Indonesian Archipelago. In Island, Huxley's portrayal of the Palanese beliefs demonstrate principles of Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism and Confucianism. The beliefs, values and struggles of a lifetime are combined to form this culmination of his life's work. The Palanese culture, as described in the book, started with the mingling of western science and oriental philosophy, in the characters of Raja of the Reform and the Scottish physician, Dr. Andrew MacPhail. The Raja had hired Dr. MacPhail to remove a tumour from his face during the early nineteenth century. The Raja and Dr. MacPhail and their descendants worked together "to make the best of all the worlds-the worlds already realized within the various cultures, and beyond them, and the worlds of still unrealized potentialities." (130) Will Farnaby, a journalist whose boss also owns Southeast Asia Petroleum, finds himself shipwrecked on this island. Under two motivations, Farnaby asks and is given permission to stay for a month. Farnaby, or Huxley, is genuinely interested in learning the culture, not only for literary reasons, but to find out more about himself. His second motive is to negotiate a lease between Southeast Asia Petroleum and the Palanese government, for which he will earn a large sum of money. At several points throughout the novel Farnaby feels guilty about betraying his guests. Farnaby comforts himself with the thought that if he didn't do it, somebody else would. The forces of history are working. (84) As in the Hindu philosophy outlined in the Bhagavad Gita when Krishna explains to Arjuna that he is an instrument of the action, it is his fate or destiny to fight; the same holds true for Farnaby, his destiny has brought him to Pala for a reason. Dr. Robert MacPhail, the grandson of the Dr. Andrew, suggests "to have a better understanding of what was actually done to develop the Palanese culture, you start by knowing what had to be done, what always and everywhere has to be done by anyone who has a clear idea of what's what." (34) And so Farnaby begins his learning about Pala by reading the underlying principles of its existence, the Notes on What's What. The Palanese are described as Mahayanists Buddhists "shot through and through with Tantra." (74) The first principle "Nobody needs to go anywhere else. We are all, if we only knew it, already there" (35) shows an element of Taoist philosophy. The fictional version of Tantra can be interpreted as Taoism; since being a Tantrik means you don't denounce the world and try to escape into Nirvana - you accept the world and everything about it. The Mahayanists Buddha philosophy of the Palanese aims at the passage beyond suffering into the Clear Light of the Void of all living beings (Nirvana); while living according to the Tao, appreciating and working with whatever happens during a person's life on earth. Nirvana is a blissful state or freeness of mind. You can see the true essence of things; you can see their Reality. The Palanese are taught to understand and appreciate life by being constantly aware of who you are in relation to all experiences. Over a thousand birds inhabit the island mimicking the word,"Attention", reminding people to pay attention to everything they do. From the beginning, children are taught to do things with "the minimum of strain and maximum of awareness". (145) By the time children are fourteen they've learned to get the best objectively and subjectively out of any activity. (146) The Palanese make use of everything they do, everything that happens to them, all the things they see and hear and taste and touch, as a means of liberation. (74) By being fully aware of what you're doing, work becomes the yoga of work, play becomes the yoga of play, everyday living becomes the yoga of everyday living. (152) One of the means of becoming aware of yourself in relation to the universe (being enlightened) is through "meditation." Meditation is considered "Destiny Control" since it opens your mind to an intuitive level to a greater understanding and awareness. The Palanese believe the Buddhist philosophy that suffering is universal, but one-third of it is sorrow inherent of the human condition and two-thirds is homemade as far as the universe is concerned (85). Life is full of "changes and chances...beauties and horrors and absurdities" (26). Destiny Control cannot take away all the pain of suffering in bereavement, for that would make a person less than human (98). With meditation your mind can be "blue, unpossessed and open", (86) understanding that "man is infinite as the Void." (185) The body is merely a covering, the Hindu and Buddhist) karma, and (Taoist) mind of your loved one lives on. In their initiation into adolescents, Palanese youth climb a dangerous rock precipice to remind them of the presence of death and the essential precariousness of all existence. At the end of the climb, the children are introduced to the moksha medicine or revelation of life. As outlined in the Wisdom of China and India, Enlightenment or Nirvana, is divesting oneself of the illusions of the sensory world and constantly rising to a higher conception of an ideal world. (Yutang 550) The moksha medicine is described as the banquet of enlightenment, while meditation is considered dinner. During the moksha ceremony, the Lord of the Dance, Shiva-Nataraja, dances in all worlds, the world of the senses, the world of matter, the world of endless coming and passing away, and the world of Clear Light. (170) The flame can be considered representative of the "Tao" or thread that holds all the universe together. With the ceremony, the people understand the nature of their existence, the "One in plurality, the Emptiness that is all, the Suchness totally present in every appearance."(170) Nevertheless, the Lord Shiva is described as a man-made image. Everyone is taught that worshipping symbols will not get prayers answered. (183) The Old Raja wanted children to understand that Gods are all homemade, and that it's people who pull their strings and thus give them the power to pull ours. To demonstrate this idea, the scarecrows in the fields are images of Buddha and the Christian God the Father. If prayers are answered, it is because in this "odd and psychological world, ideas have a tendency if you concentrate your mind on them to get realized." (184) The Palanese, like the Confucian, believe the standard of goodness is not to be sought in heaven, but in one's fellowman. Palanese culture is "to be judged by what all the members of the community, the ordinary as well as the extraordinary." (177) Knowledge of the past and what works is incorporated to make a better society. The Confucian ideal based on ethics and man's function in this world to serve society has created Pala, "a federation of self-governing units, geographical units, professional units, economic units" with room for initiative and democracy but no place for a dictatorship." (149) The Palanese believe that balance, (known as the "middle way" in Buddhism) with no excesses is the rule in nature and ought to be rule among people. They only manufacture enough products to maintain their community with just enough exports to get what they need from the outside world. All industries work on a part time system so that people can change jobs. All aspects of the society is based on human satisfactions first. As in Hinduism and Buddhism, people on Pala have no right to destroy or hurt any other living being. Babies are stroked while they are being fed and while being stroked, they are introduced to animals they want the child to love. As the King of Snakes wrapped himself around the Buddha to protect him from the wind and the rain, so babies are nursed by their mothers wrapped in the coils of a cobra snake. "Good Being" results in "Good Doing", the right thoughts and actions towards all is part of the Buddhist philosophy in the Palanese culture. The Palanese believe by acting in a compassionate manner to other living beings will result in them acting compassionately towards you. Dr. Andrew MacPhail admits there has never been such an ideal society, but it also does not mean that the people of Pala are fools for trying. (35) As with the Tathagatas in the Buddhist philosophy, the older people can provide the children with the techniques and opportunities of this life on Pala, it remains with them to decide whether they will co-operate. (173) The last Raja had married a princess of Rendang. Rani detests the life on Pala and influences her son, Murugan, so that when he comes of age he takes on the militaristic philosophy of the neighbouring Rendang. By making every man, woman and child as perfectly free and happy is a false happiness, an indulgence of the Lower Self, the Rani, told Farnaby.(55) In the Hindu and Buddhist philosophy, once a person realizes he is a part of the omnipresent Self, he takes an humble view of his individual or "lower self" and ceases to quest for things in this world. Desires, such as sexual lust, is considered immoral in the Buddhist and Hindu philosophy. In the Palanese culture, the interpretation of love and compassion for all is achieved through "maithuana", the art of love making. Adolescents are taught the yoga of love as an attempt to regain paradise by awareness of your self and not-self. According to the Palanese culture, there is no such thing as sacred love or profane love, Buddaness or enlightment is in "love." (74) This may be combination of the Taoist philosophy that we learn to appreciate life on earth and the modern day influences of having sex. The Palanese believe in making the best of all worlds.As well as understanding that people are a part of the universe, they are also taught to understand themselves individually. As in the Hindu Panchantra, children explore themselves through animal fables. Taoists believe that in every man, there is a clever person, a know-it-all, but each person must reach beyond these parts of his personality to the basically good "inner nature". In the Palanese society, science and religion are combined to reach this inner self. For example, the Palanese found there were two types of children who would become dominant adults. Pills are used to control the personality of one type and the other is taught to engage in tasks that enable him to work off his aggressions. The Taoist appreciates the value of scientific knowledge about the universe and believes it increases his understanding of the "Tao." However, the "Taoist" would not use science to change a person, nor as a means to change the intelligence of society, as the Palanese did - that would be interfering with the laws of nature. In the end, the Taoist "non-interference" philosophy is one of the reasons for the doom of their society. The Palanese are pacifists with no army and so give up their island to the neighbouring Rendang without a struggle. Will Farnaby betrays the Palanese by arranging a oil deal, thus prompting the young Raja Murugan to arrange the coup with Colonel Dippa of Rendang. Ironically, this happens at the same time that Will, through his experiences with these beautiful people, has become convinced that Pala is the ideal society. Island is a book filled with reflections and thoughts of Huxley's lifetime. Huxley's experimenting with drugs, especially mescalin, had convinced him of the transcendent meaning of the universe. Death and suffering, he had seen during his lifetime, loses their sting in Island "by believing that life is to be lived out in awareness of itself and of the light beyond it." (Woodcock 282) The Palanese had built a society on humanism and rationality. Population is under control, overconsumption and mass production is not the key of industry; science is used to better mankind rather than destroy it. Nobody is richer than anyone else. The people are compassionate concerned for the betterment of mankind; however it is the evilness of militarism and capitalism that wins out. The young Raja has been tempted by the world of technology and progress. "The serpent tempted me and I did eat" (134) is just one of the cynical analogies, Huxley has made to Christianity. The portrayal of Huxley's character, developed throughout the book to appreciate the society, comes too late; greed had prompted him to betray the Palanese. Huxley's pessimism and cynical attitude towards mankind wins out. "The work of a hundred years are destroyed in one single night." (294)" [Quelle: Velma Lush. -- http://www.huxley.net/island/. -- Zugriff am 2005-06-24]

"Huxley, Aldous (Leonard), engl. Romanschriftsteller, Essayist und Kulturkritiker, 26. 7. 1894 Godalming Surrey - 29. 11. 1963 Hollywood. Entstammt bedeutender Gelehrtenfamilie, Enkel von Thomas Henry Huxley, dem Vorkämpfer der Evolutionslehre, Großneffe von Matthew Arnold. In Eton erzogen. Schweres Augenleiden, das vorübergehend zu Erblindung führte. Später Student in Oxford, Dozent für englische Literatur ebda. Heiratet 1919 Maria Nys, einen belgischen Flüchtling. Nach Kriegsende bis 1921 Journalist und Kunstkritiker, Mitarbeiter am 'Athenäum', verschiedene eigene literarische Arbeiten. 1923-30 Italienaufenthalt, schloss dort Freundschaft mit D. H. Lawrence, dessen Bild er später in der Gestalt von Mark Rampion in 'Point Counter Point' zeichnete. 1934 Reise nach Zentralamerika, ließ sich ab 1938 in Kalifornien nieder. Stark beeinflusst von indischen Lehren, gehörte mit Isherwood, G. Heard u. a. einer religiös-mystischen Gemeinschaft 'Vedanta' an.  In seinen Essays wie in den Romanen in erster Linie geistreicher Kulturkritiker, doch glänzender Stilist. Sein frühes literarisches Schaffen beeinflusst durch Baudelaire und A. France, seine späteren Arbeiten durch den Buddhismus. Die frühen Schriften zeigen ihn als amüsierten Beobachter einer dekadenten Gesellschaft, die er satirisch, oft auch zynisch schildert. In 'Grey Eminence' gibt er eine Studie des Mystikers Pater Joseph, des Ratgebers Richelieus, und vertritt die Lehre des non-attachment. In allen späteren Werken sieht Huxley die Lösung des Lebensproblems in mystischer Kontemplation. Er will wegführen von sinnlich-materieller Haltung, hin zu einem allseitigen Lebensbewusstsein. Neuformulierung des Zeitbegriffes mit religiös-moralischem Akzent. Handlung tritt mehr und mehr zurück, sie ist ihm nur noch Mittel um philosophische Gespräche u. Gedanken auszudrücken. Verfasser von 2 politisch-wissenschaftlichen Utopien von der Herrschaft der Naturwissenschaft und der Welt nach einem Atomkrieg." [Quelle: Lexikon der Weltliteratur : Autoren und Werke / Gero von Wilpert. -- Berlin : Directmedia Publ., 2000. -- 1 CD-ROM. -- (Digitale Bibliothek ; 13). -- ISBN 3-89853-113-9. -- s.v.]

1962/63

Ein Thai-Mönch führt in GB Samatha-Meditation (Ruhigwerde-Meditation) ein. Daraus entsteht The Samatha Trust

Webpräsenz: http://www.samatha.org/. -- Zugriff am 2005-05-13

1965

Abb.: Wat Buddhapadipa (วัดพุทธปทีป)
[Bildquelle: http://www.stets.ac.uk/gallery.htm. -- Zugriff am 2005-07-14]

Gründung von Wat Buddhapadipa (วัดพุทธปทีป) in London

Webpräsenz: http://www.buddhapadipa.org ; http://www.bpp.iirt.net/. -- Zugriff am 2005-07-14

"Wat Buddhapadipa in London was the first Buddhist temple in the United Kingdom, established by the London Buddhist Temple Foundation with the objective of creating a centre for the dissemination of theoretical and practical Buddhist teachings in Europe. This temple has been under the Royal Patronage since 1965 when it was originally located on Christ Church Road, Richmond. It was moved to its present site in Calonne Road, Wimbledon Parkside in 1976. With the support of the Royal Thai Government and the Thai people, the Foundation erected an "Ubosot", a Thai style building for monastic ceremonies. The celebration of monastic boundary, held on October 30, 1982, enabled Wat Buddhapadipa to become a formal temple according to Thai tradition: in fact, the only Thai temple ever built in Europe. From the start,Wat Buddhapadipa has actively promoted theoretical and practical Buddhism in London as well as in other cities of the United Kingdom and in countries such as the Federal Republic of Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. It has thus become one of Europe's most important Buddhist training centres. In 1986, when the British Museum organized an exhibition "Buddhism : Art and Faith", a London newspaper even commented that there was no need to go far in order to understand Buddhism, since visits to the British Museum and Wat Buddhapadipa should suffice. The grounds of the Temple cover a monastic area of approximately four acres in which the Uposatha Hall is situated on an ornamental lake, a small grove, flower garden and an orchard. The Temple consists of the House where the monks live and a cottage. On the ground floor of the House there is a Shrine room, a Dining room, A study, a Library, a Cloak room, an Office, a Kitchen and Telephone room. The rest of the House is the place for the monks. The Uposatha Hall or the Temple is constructed place for the traditional Thai style on the monastic area" [Quelle: http://www.buddhapadipa.org/temple.html. -- Zugriff am 2005-07-14]

 

1966

Abb.: E. F. Schumacher

Es erscheint:

Schumacher, Ernst Friedrich <1911 - 1977>: Buddhist Economics. -- In: Asia: A Handbook / edited by Guy Wint. -- London : Blond, 1966. -- Online: http://www.schumachersociety.org/buddhist_economics/english.html. -- Zugriff am 2005-06-24 

"“Buddhist Economics” was first published in  Asia: A Handbook, edited by Guy Wint, published by Anthony Blond Ltd., London, 1966. John Papworth reprinted it in the January-February, 1968 (Vol. I, No 11) issue of  Resurgence magazine published in England. On August 13, 1969, Henry Geiger gave the essay its first North American printing in his now classic newsletter MANAS (Vol. XXII, No. 33). In 1973 it was collected with other essays by Ernest Friedrich Schumacher in  Small Is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered, published by Blond and Briggs, Ltd. In 1974 Harper and Row printed a North American edition of the book, which has been in print ever since. The book went on to be translated into 27 different languages and in 1995 was named by the Times Literary Supplement (London) as one of the hundred most influential books written after World War II. " [Quelle: http://www.schumachersociety.org/buddhist_economics/buddhist_history.html. -- Zugriff am 2005-06-24]

"BUDDHIST ECONOMICS by E. F. Schumacher "Right Livelihood" is one of the requirements of the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path. It is clear, therefore, that there must be such a thing as Buddhist economics. Buddhist countries have often stated that they wish to remain faithful to their heritage. So Burma: “The New Burma sees no conflict between religious values and economic progress. Spiritual health and material well-being are not enemies: they are natural allies.”  1 Or: “We can blend successfully the religious and spiritual values of our heritage with the benefits of modern technology.”  2 Or: “We Burmans have a sacred duty to conform both our dreams and our acts to our faith. This we shall ever do.”  3 All the same, such countries invariably assume that they can model their economic development plans in accordance with modern economics, and they call upon modern economists from so-called advanced countries to advise them, to formulate the policies to be pursued, and to construct the grand design for development, the Five-Year Plan or whatever it may be called. No one seems to think that a Buddhist way of life would call for Buddhist economics, just as the modern materialist way of life has brought forth modern economics. Economists themselves, like most specialists, normally suffer from a kind of metaphysical blindness, assuming that theirs is a science of absolute and invariable truths, without any presuppositions. Some go as far as to claim that economic laws are as free from "metaphysics" or "values" as the law of gravitation. We need not, however, get involved in arguments of methodology. Instead, let us take some fundamentals and see what they look like when viewed by a modern economist and a Buddhist economist. There is universal agreement that a fundamental source of wealth is human labour. Now, the modern economist has been brought up to consider "labour" or work as little more than a necessary evil. From the point of view of the employer, it is in any case simply an item of cost, to be reduced to a minimum if it can not be eliminated altogether, say, by automation. From the point of view of the workman, it is a "disutility"; to work is to make a sacrifice of one’s leisure and comfort, and wages are a kind of compensation for the sacrifice. Hence the ideal from the point of view of the employer is to have output without employees, and the ideal from the point of view of the employee is to have income without employment. The consequences of these attitudes both in theory and in practice are, of course, extremely far-reaching. If the ideal with regard to work is to get rid of it, every method that "reduces the work load" is a good thing. The most potent method, short of automation, is the so-called "division of labour" and the classical example is the pin factory eulogised in Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations. 4 Here it is not a matter of ordinary specialisation, which mankind has practiced from time immemorial, but of dividing up every complete process of production into minute parts, so that the final product can be produced at great speed without anyone having had to contribute more than a totally insignificant and, in most cases, unskilled movement of his limbs. The Buddhist point of view takes the function of work to be at least threefold: to give man a chance to utilise and develop his faculties; to enable him to overcome his ego-centredness by joining with other people in a common task; and to bring forth the goods and services needed for a becoming existence. Again, the consequences that flow from this view are endless. To organise work in such a manner that it becomes meaningless, boring, stultifying, or nerve-racking for the worker would be little short of criminal; it would indicate a greater concern with goods than with people, an evil lack of compassion and a soul-destroying degree of attachment to the most primitive side of this worldly existence. Equally, to strive for leisure as an alternative to work would be considered a complete misunderstanding of one of the basic truths of human existence, namely that work and leisure are complementary parts of the same living process and cannot be separated without destroying the joy of work and the bliss of leisure. From the Buddhist point of view, there are therefore two types of mechanisation which must be clearly distinguished: one that enhances a man’s skill and power and one that turns the work of man over to a mechanical slave, leaving man in a position of having to serve the slave. How to tell the one from the other? “The craftsman himself,” says Ananda Coomaraswamy, a man equally competent to talk about the modern West as the ancient East, “can always, if allowed to, draw the delicate distinction between the machine and the tool. The carpet loom is a tool, a contrivance for holding warp threads at a stretch for the pile to be woven round them by the craftsmen’s fingers; but the power loom is a machine, and its significance as a destroyer of culture lies in the fact that it does the essentially human part of the work.”  5 It is clear, therefore, that Buddhist economics must be very different from the economics of modern materialism, since the Buddhist sees the essence of civilisation not in a multiplication of wants but in the purification of human character. Character, at the same time, is formed primarily by a man’s work. And work, properly conducted in conditions of human dignity and freedom, blesses those who do it and equally their products. The Indian philosopher and economist J. C. Kumarappa sums the matter up as follows: If the nature of the work is properly appreciated and applied, it will stand in the same relation to the higher faculties as food is to the physical body. It nourishes and enlivens the higher man and urges him to produce the best he is capable of. It directs his free will along the proper course and disciplines the animal in him into progressive channels. It furnishes an excellent background for man to display his scale of values and develop his personality.  6 If a man has no chance of obtaining work he is in a desperate position, not simply because he lacks an income but because he lacks this nourishing and enlivening factor of disciplined work which nothing can replace. A modern economist may engage in highly sophisticated calculations on whether full employment "pays" or whether it might be more "economic" to run an economy at less than full employment so as to insure a greater mobility of labour, a better stability of wages, and so forth. His fundamental criterion of success is simply the total quantity of goods produced during a given period of time. “If the marginal urgency of goods is low,” says Professor Galbraith in The Affluent Society, “then so is the urgency of employing the last man or the last million men in the labour force.” 7And again: “If . . . we can afford some unemployment in the interest of stability—a proposition, incidentally, of impeccably conservative antecedents—then we can afford to give those who are unemployed the goods that enable them to sustain their accustomed standard of living.” From a Buddhist point of view, this is standing the truth on its head by considering goods as more important than people and consumption as more important than creative activity. It means shifting the emphasis from the worker to the product of work, that is, from the human to the subhuman, a surrender to the forces of evil. The very start of Buddhist economic planning would be a planning for full employment, and the primary purpose of this would in fact be employment for everyone who needs an "outside" job: it would not be the maximisation of employment nor the maximisation of production. Women, on the whole, do not need an "outside" job, and the large-scale employment of women in offices or factories would be considered a sign of serious economic failure. In particular, to let mothers of young children work in factories while the children run wild would be as uneconomic in the eyes of a Buddhist economist as the employment of a skilled worker as a soldier in the eyes of a modern economist. While the materialist is mainly interested in goods, the Buddhist is mainly interested in liberation. But Buddhism is "The Middle Way" and therefore in no way antagonistic to physical well-being. It is not wealth that stands in the way of liberation but the attachment to wealth; not the enjoyment of pleasurable things but the craving for them. The keynote of Buddhist economics, therefore, is simplicity and non-violence. From an economist’s point of view, the marvel of the Buddhist way of life is the utter rationality of its pattern—amazingly small means leading to extraordinarily satisfactory results. For the modern economist this is very difficult to understand. He is used to measuring the "standard of living" by the amount of annual consumption, assuming all the time that a man who consumes more is "better off" than a man who consumes less. A Buddhist economist would consider this approach excessively irrational: since consumption is merely a means to human well-being, the aim should be to obtain the maximum of well-being with the minimum of consumption. Thus, if the purpose of clothing is a certain amount of temperature comfort and an attractive appearance, the task is to attain this purpose with the smallest possible effort, that is, with the smallest annual destruction of cloth and with the help of designs that involve the smallest possible input of toil. The less toil there is, the more time and strength is left for artistic creativity. It would be highly uneconomic, for instance, to go in for complicated tailoring, like the modern West, when a much more beautiful effect can be achieved by the skillful draping of uncut material. It would be the height of folly to make material so that it should wear out quickly and the height of barbarity to make anything ugly, shabby, or mean. What has just been said about clothing applies equally to all other human requirements. The ownership and the consumption of goods is a means to an end, and Buddhist economics is the systematic study of how to attain given ends with the minimum means. Modern economics, on the other hand, considers consumption to be the sole end and purpose of all economic activity, taking the factors of production—and, labour, and capital—as the means. The former, in short, tries to maximise human satisfactions by the optimal pattern of consumption, while the latter tries to maximise consumption by the optimal pattern of productive effort. It is easy to see that the effort needed to sustain a way of life which seeks to attain the optimal pattern of consumption is likely to be much smaller than the effort needed to sustain a drive for maximum consumption. We need not be surprised, therefore, that the pressure and strain of living is very much less in say, Burma, than it is in the United States, in spite of the fact that the amount of labour-saving machinery used in the former country is only a minute fraction of the amount used in the latter. Simplicity and non-violence are obviously closely related. The optimal pattern of consumption, producing a high degree of human satisfaction by means of a relatively low rate of consumption, allows people to live without great pressure and strain and to fulfill the primary injunction of Buddhist teaching: “Cease to do evil; try to do good.” As physical resources are everywhere limited, people satisfying their needs by means of a modest use of resources are obviously less likely to be at each other’s throats than people depending upon a high rate of use. Equally, people who live in highly self-sufficient local communities are less likely to get involved in large-scale violence than people whose existence depends on world-wide systems of trade. From the point of view of Buddhist economics, therefore, production from local resources for local needs is the most rational way of economic life, while dependence on imports from afar and the consequent need to produce for export to unknown and distant peoples is highly uneconomic and justifiable only in exceptional cases and on a small scale. Just as the modern economist would admit that a high rate of consumption of transport services between a man’s home and his place of work signifies a misfortune and not a high standard of life, so the Buddhist would hold that to satisfy human wants from faraway sources rather than from sources nearby signifies failure rather than success. The former tends to take statistics showing an increase in the number of ton/miles per head of the population carried by a country’s transport system as proof of economic progress, while to the latter—the Buddhist economist—the same statistics would indicate a highly undesirable deterioration in the pattern of consumption. Another striking difference between modern economics and Buddhist economics arises over the use of natural resources. Bertrand de Jouvenel, the eminent French political philosopher, has characterised "Western man" in words which may be taken as a fair description of the modern economist: He tends to count nothing as an expenditure, other than human effort; he does not seem to mind how much mineral matter he wastes and, far worse, how much living matter he destroys. He does not seem to realize at all that human life is a dependent part of an ecosystem of many different forms of life. As the world is ruled from towns where men are cut off from any form of life other than human, the feeling of belonging to an ecosystem is not revived. This results in a harsh and improvident treatment of things upon which we ultimately depend, such as water and trees.  8 The teaching of the Buddha, on the other hand, enjoins a reverent and non-violent attitude not only to all sentient beings but also, with great emphasis, to trees. Every follower of the Buddha ought to plant a tree every few years and look after it until it is safely established, and the Buddhist economist can demonstrate without difficulty that the universal observation of this rule would result in a high rate of genuine economic development independent of any foreign aid. Much of the economic decay of southeast Asia (as of many other parts of the world) is undoubtedly due to a heedless and shameful neglect of trees. Modern economics does not distinguish between renewable and non-renewable materials, as its very method is to equalise and quantify everything by means of a money price. Thus, taking various alternative fuels, like coal, oil, wood, or water-power: the only difference between them recognised by modern economics is relative cost per equivalent unit. The cheapest is automatically the one to be preferred, as to do otherwise would be irrational and "uneconomic." From a Buddhist point of view, of course, this will not do; the essential difference between non-renewable fuels like coal and oil on the one hand and renewable fuels like wood and water-power on the other cannot be simply overlooked. Non-renewable goods must be used only if they are indispensable, and then only with the greatest care and the most meticulous concern for conservation. To use them heedlessly or extravagantly is an act of violence, and while complete non-violence may not be attainable on this earth, there is nonetheless an ineluctable duty on man to aim at the ideal of non-violence in all he does. Just as a modern European economist would not consider it a great achievement if all European art treasures were sold to America at attractive prices, so the Buddhist economist would insist that a population basing its economic life on non-renewable fuels is living parasitically, on capital instead of income. Such a way of life could have no permanence and could therefore be justified only as a purely temporary expedient. As the world’s resources of non-renewable fuels—coal, oil, and natural gas—are exceedingly unevenly distributed over the globe and undoubtedly limited in quantity, it is clear that their exploitation at an ever-increasing rate is an act of violence against nature which must almost inevitably lead to violence between men. This fact alone might give food for thought even to those people in Buddhist countries who care nothing for the religious and spiritual values of their heritage and ardently desire to embrace the materialism of modern economics at the fastest possible speed. Before they dismiss Buddhist economics as nothing better than a nostalgic dream, they might wish to consider whether the path of economic development outlined by modern economics is likely to lead them to places where they really want to be. Towards the end of his courageous book The Challenge of Man’s Future, Professor Harrison Brown of the California Institute of Technology gives the following appraisal: Thus we see that, just as industrial society is fundamentally unstable and subject to reversion to agrarian existence, so within it the conditions which offer individual freedom are unstable in their ability to avoid the conditions which impose rigid organisation and totalitarian control. Indeed, when we examine all the foreseeable difficulties which threaten the survival of industrial civilisation, it is difficult to see how the achievement of stability and the maintenance of individual liberty can be made compatible. 9 Even if this were dismissed as a long-term view there is the immediate question of whether "modernisation," as currently practised without regard to religious and spiritual values, is actually producing agreeable results. As far as the masses are concerned, the results appear to be disastrous—a collapse of the rural economy, a rising tide of unemployment in town and country, and the growth of a city proletariat without nourishment for either body or soul. It is in the light of both immediate experience and long term prospects that the study of Buddhist economics could be recommended even to those who believe that economic growth is more important than any spiritual or religious values. For it is not a question of choosing between "modern growth" and "traditional stagnation." It is a question of finding the right path of development, the Middle Way between materialist heedlessness and traditionalist immobility, in short, of finding "Right Livelihood."" [Quelle: http://www.schumachersociety.org/buddhist_economics/english.html. -- Zugriff am 2005-06-24]

"Ernst Friedrich "Fritz" Schumacher (16 August 1911 – 4 September 1977) was an internationally influential economic thinker with a professional background as a statistician and economist in Britain. He served as Chief Economic Advisor to the UK National Coal Board for two decades. His ideas became well-known in much of the English-speaking world during the 1970s. According to London's Times Literary Supplement, his book Small Is Beautiful is among the 100 most influential books published since World War II. Schumacher's basic development theories have been summed up in the catch-phrases Intermediate Size and Intermediate Technology. Schumacher's other notable work is A Guide For The Perplexed, which is a critique of materialist scientism and an exploration of the nature and organisation of knowledge. Early life Schumacher was born in Bonn, Germany in 1911. His father was a professor of political economy. The younger Schumacher studied in Bonn and Berlin, then afterwards in England as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford in the 1930s, and later at Columbia University in New York City. He became a professional economist, but his wide-ranging mind never confined itself to a single discipline. Economist Protégé of Keynes Schumacher moved back to England before World War II, as he had no intention of living under Nazism. For a period during the War, he was interned on an isolated English farm as an "enemy alien." In these years, Schumacher captured the attention of John Maynard Keynes with a paper entitled "Multilateral Clearing" that he had written between sessions working in the fields of the internment camp. Keynes recognised the young German's understanding and abilities, and was able to have Schumacher released from internment. Schumacher helped the British government mobilise economically and financially during World War II, and Keynes found a position for him at Oxford University. When Schumacher's paper was published in the spring of 1943 in Economica, it caused some embarrassment to Keynes who, instead of arranging for its separate publication, had incorporated the text almost verbatim in his famous "Plan for an International Clearing Union," which the British Government issued as a White Paper a few weeks later. Adviser to the Coal Board After the War, Schumacher worked as an economic advisor to the British Control Commission charged with rebuilding the German economy. From 1950 to 1970 he was Chief Economic Adviser to the National Coal Board, one of the world's largest organisations, with 800,000 employees. In this position, he argued that coal, not petroleum, should be used to supply the energy needs of the world's population. He viewed oil as a finite resource, fearing its depletion and eventually prohibitive price, and viewing with alarm the fact that, as Schumacher put it, "the richest and cheapest reserves are located in some of the world's most unstable countries" (Daniel Yergin, The Prize [1991], p. 559). His position on the Coal Board was often mentioned later by those introducing Schumacher or his ideas. It is generally thought that his farsighted planning contributed to Britain's post-war economic recovery. Schumacher predicted the rise of OPEC and many of the problems of nuclear power. Thinking outside the box In 1955 Schumacher travelled to Burma as an economic consultant. While there, he developed the set of principles he called "Buddhist economics," based on the belief that individuals needed good work for proper human development. He also proclaimed that "production from local resources for local needs is the most rational way of economic life." Schumacher's experience led him to become a pioneer of what is now called appropriate technology: user-friendly and ecologically suitable technology applicable to the scale of the community. He founded the Intermediate Technology Development Group in 1966. His theories of development have been summed up for many in catch phrases like "intermediate size," and "intermediate technology." By the end of his life, it can be said that Schumacher's personal development had led him very far afield from the ideas of John Maynard Keynes. Keynes, second only to Adam Smith, is widely regarded as the most influential modern orthodox economist. In contrast, Schumacher is one of the most widely recognised heterodox economists. Schumacher as writer Schumacher wrote on economics for London's The Times and became one of the paper's chief editorial writers ; he also wrote for The Economist. He served as adviser to the India Planning Commission, as well as to the governments of Zambia and Burma — an experience that led to his much-read essay on "Buddhist Economics." The 1973 publication of Small is Beautiful, a collection of essays, brought his ideas to a wider audience. Schumacher's work coincided with the growth of ecological concerns and with the birth of environmentalism and he became a hero to many in the environmental movement and community movement. Schumacher's other notable book, A Guide For The Perplexed, is both a critique of materialistic scientism and an exploration of the nature and organisation of knowledge. Later life and posthumous recognition Schumacher gave interviews and published articles for a wide readership in his later years. He also pursued one of the loves of his life: gardening. He died of a heart attack on 4 September 1977, in Switzerland. The Schumacher College in Totnes, Devon was named after him, and an E. F. Schumacher Society was founded in New England." [Quelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._F._Schumacher. -- Zugriff am 2005-06-23]

1967

Abb.: Sangharakshita [Bildquelle: http://www.rmbuddhistcenter.org/sangharakshita.html. -- Zugriff am 2003-07-11]

Sangharakshita (Dennis Lingwood) (geb. 1925) gründet die Friends of the Western Buddhist Order.

Siehe:

Payer, Alois <1944 - >: Materialien zum Neobuddhismus.  --   5. Buddhismus in Großbritannien. -- 3. Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO). -- URL: http://www.payer.de/neobuddhismus/neobud05013.htm

Webpräsenz Sangharakshitas: http://www.sangharakshita.org/. -- Zugriff am 2005-04-26

Webpräsenz der FWBO: http://www.fwbo.org/index.html. -- Zugriff am 2005-04-26

1967

Abb.: Samye Ling
[Bildquelle: http://www.nic.fi/~laan/photo.htm. -- Zugriff am 2005-07-05]

Dr Akong Tulku Rinpoche gründet das Kagyu Samye Ling Monastery and Tibetan Centre in Schottland

Webpräsenz: http://www.samyeling.org/. -- Zugriff am 2005-07-05

"Kagyu Samye Ling Monastery and Tibetan Centre was established in 1967 and is the first and largest of its kind in the West. It is located in a peaceful valley on the banks of the river Esk among the scenic rolling hills of the Scottish borders. As well as a centre of Buddhist wisdom and learning, and offering the highest standards of Buddhist teachings, it is also a centre for the preservation of Tibetan Buddhism, arts, medicine and culture. Founded by Dr Akong Tulku Rinpoche and under the guidance of Abbot and Retreat Master Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche, Kagyu Samye Ling's activity extends around the world through an international network of Dharma centres. Samye Ling represents one branch of Rokpa Trust, a non-profit umbrella organisation with branches in humanitarian, healing and spiritual areas of activity. These include a broad range of charitable and humanitarian aid projects both in the UK and around the world; the Holy Island Project, a small island off the west coast of Scotland dedicated to world peace, interfaith spirituality and ecological sustainability, that is open for the benefit of all; and Tara Rokpa, an organisation committed to the preservation and growth of traditional Tibetan medicine, as well as the development and promotion of Tara Rokpa Therapy. Kagyu Samye Ling is open to people of all faiths and religions, and welcomes you for short visits or to come and participate in any of the diverse courses available throughout the year. From weekend Dharma courses of all levels, to all-inclusive retreats at our Purelands Retreat Centre, to drawing, painting or Tai Chi - or if you would simply like to just come and have a look around, Kagyu Samye Ling has something to offer everyone. " [Quelle: http://www.samyeling.org/About/about.htm. -- Zugriff am 2005-07-05]

1972

Abb.: Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey
[Bildquelle: http://www.throssel.org.uk/. -- Zugriff am 2005-05-13]

Jiyu-Kennett (1924 - 1996)  (Shasta Abbey) gründet Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey (in Soto-Zen-Tradition).

Webpräsenz: http://www.throssel.org.uk/. -- Zugriff am 2005-05-13

1972

Dr. Irmgard Schloegl kehrt aus Japan zurück.

"Schloegl is interesting because she is one of only a handful of Western women who can be said to represent the Rinzai tradition. She was born in Austria but came to London in 1950 as a lecturer in Geology at the University of London. (She has a Ph.D., which is why she is Dr. Irmgard Schloegl). To all intents and purposes, she has adopted Britain as her country; she speaks English fluently and has taught there for over 20 years. When she first arrived, she joined the Buddhist Society and attended Christmas Humphreys's Zen class. In 1962, she went to Japan and spent ten years at Daitokuji [大徳寺] with Oda Sesso Roshi and Soko Morinaga Roshi [盛永宗興, 1925 - ], both of them senior students of Goto Zuigan Roshi. When she returned in 1972, she began teaching in a quiet way—as a lay-woman. She became vice-president of the Buddhist Society, founded the Zen Centre (its first meeting place was Humphreys's house), and produced a number of books, all of them short and to the point. They are essentially traditional, describing the Japanese way rather in the manner of a trained mechanic explaining how a tractor works. There is no attempt to translate' Zen terms into modern Western parlance or to place it in a different context so that it is easier to swallow. The training is tough but it is not arbitrary; those who want to 'adapt' it are simply missing the point. Her chapter on 'Training in a Japanese Zen Monastery', although it refers to several incidents that occurred during her time at Daitokuji, does not mention a single one that involved her. It is straight clarificatory exposition—the exact opposite, one might say, of Rev. Master Kennett's account, which is heavily autobiographical. (And I am not saying that one is better than the other.) In 1984, she was ordained as a Rinzai priest (though the term is inaccurate—see the Glossary) by Soko Morinaga Roshi [盛永宗興, 1925 - ] and took the name, 'Myoko-ni'. The ceremony took place at Chithurst: an Austrian taking Zen ordination from a Japanese at a Theravada monastery in England (whose senior monk is American). Surely a first. This is ecumenicism at its best and nicely reflects Dr. Schloegl's own words: Truly, the Zen Way is as old as [the] Heart itself, and so is always discoverable however overgrown or forgotten it may have become. This Heart is not the possession of the Zen School. And though the Zen School has kept alive one specific Way to it, to be trodden by the indomitable, a Way which is perhaps straighter than most, it is certainly not the only Way. The Zen School is well aware of this and holds that there is the Zen of the ordinary man, the 'peasant who uses it every day but does not know it'; there is the Zen of other ways', of other religious traditions; there is the Zen of the various Buddhist Schools, and there is the Zen of the Zen Way. It could not be said fairer. (The Zen Way, 116)" [Quelle: Rawlinson, Andrew <1943 - >: The book of enlightened masters : western teachers in eastern traditions. -- Chicago : Open Court, ©1997.  -- xix, 650 S. : Ill. ; 25 cm..  -- ISBN: 0812693108. -- S. 515f.]

1977

Abb.: Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
[Bildquelle: http://www.kadampa.org/english/tradition/geshe_kelsang_gyatso.php#. -- Zugriff am 2005-06-16]

Geshe Kelsang Gyatso (1931 -) kommt nach Großbritannien und wirkt am Manjushri Kadampa Meditation Centre in Ulverston, Cumbria. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso gründete die New Kadampa Tradition, the International Kadampa Buddhist Union.

Webpräsenz: http://www.kadampa.org/. -- Zugriff am 2005-06-16.

"Geshe Kelsang Gyatso was born in Tibet in 1931 and ordained as a Buddhist monk at the age of eight. He studied under many respected teachers, especially Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche. After leaving Tibet in 1959, he spent the next eighteen years mainly emphasizing retreat in various locations in the Himalayan region of northern India. In 1976 he accepted an invitation by the Christian monk, philosopher and writer Thomas Merton, to live and teach in a center being planned in Canada. These plans were cut short due to Merton’s sudden death and so the center did not evolve. In 1977 Geshe Kelsang accepted a teaching position at Manjushri Institute (now Manjushri Buddhist Center) at the request of his teacher Kyabje Trijang, where he has continued to teach and write extensively on a wide variety of Buddhist practices." [Quelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelsang_Gyatso. -- Zugriff am 2005-06-16]

"Kadampa Buddhism Kadampa Buddhism is a Mahayana Buddhist school founded by the great Indian Buddhist Master Atisha (AD 982-1054). His followers are known as 'Kadampas'. 'Ka' refers to Buddha's teachings, and 'dam' to Atisha's special Lamrim instructions known as 'the stages of the path to enlightenment'. Kadampas, then, are practitioners who regard Buddha's teachings as personal instructions and put them into practice by following the instructions of Lamrim. The Kadampa tradition was later promoted widely in Tibet by Je Tsongkhapa and his followers, who were known as the 'New Kadampas'. Transforming daily activities into the path By integrating their knowledge of all Buddha's teachings into their practice of Lamrim, and by integrating this into their everyday lives, Kadampa Buddhists are encouraged to use Buddha's teachings as practical methods for transforming daily activities into the path to enlightenment. The great Kadampa Teachers are famous not only for being great scholars but also for being spiritual practitioners of immense purity and sincerity. Lineage The lineage of these teachings, both their oral transmission and blessings, was then passed from Teacher to disciple, spreading throughout much of Asia, and now to many countries throughout the western world. Buddha's teachings, which are known as 'Dharma', are likened to a wheel that moves from country to country in accordance with changing conditions and people's karmic inclinations. The external forms of presenting Buddhism may change as it meets with different cultures and societies, but its essential authenticity is ensured through the continuation of an unbroken lineage of realized practitioners. Modern Kadampa Buddhism Through the activities and dedication of the renowned Buddhist Master, Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Kadampa Buddhism has spread to many countries in recent years. Geshe Kelsang has worked tirelessly to spread Kadampa Buddhism throughout the world by giving extensive teachings, writing many profound texts on Kadampa Buddhism, and founding the New Kadampa Tradition, the International Kadampa Buddhist Union." [Quelle: http://www.kadampa.org/english/tradition/kadampa_buddhism.php. -- Zugriff am 2005-06-16]

 Wichtig für den Kadampa-Buddhismus ist Dorje Shugden. Deshalb ist Geshe Kelsang Gyatso (1931 -) der Gegenspieler des Dalai Lama im Shugden-Streit (siehe unten!)

"Kadampa Buddhists worldwide rely upon Dorje Shugden as their Dharma Protector. A Dharma Protector is an emanation of a Buddha or a Bodhisattva whose main functions are to avert the inner and outer obstacles that prevent practitioners from gaining spiritual realizations, and to arrange all the necessary conditions for their practice. In Tibet, every monastery had its own Dharma Protector, but the tradition did not begin in Tibet; the Mahayanists of ancient India also relied upon Dharma Protectors to eliminate hindrances and to fulfil their spiritual wishes. Though there are some worldly deities who are friendly towards Buddhism and who try to help practitioners, they are not real Dharma Protectors. Such worldly deities are able to increase the external wealth of practitioners and help them to succeed in their worldly activities, but they do not have the wisdom or the power to protect the development of Dharma within a practitioner's mind. It is this inner Dharma - the experiences of great compassion, bodhichitta, the wisdom realizing emptiness, and so forth - that is most important and that needs to be protected; outer conditions are of secondary importance. Although their motivation is good, worldly deities lack wisdom and so sometimes the external help that they give actually interferes with the attainment of authentic Dharma realizations. If they have no Dharma realizations themselves, how can they be Dharma Protectors? It is clear therefore that all actual Dharma Protectors must be emanations of Buddhas or Bodhisattvas. These Protectors have great power to protect Buddhadharma and its practitioners, but the extent to which we receive help from them depends upon our faith and conviction in them. To receive their full protection, we must rely upon them with continuous, unwavering devotion. Buddhas have manifested in the form of various Dharma Protectors, such as Mahakala, Kalarupa, Kalindewi, and Dorje Shugden. From the time of Je Tsongkhapa until the first Panchen Lama, Losang Chökyi Gyaltsän, the principal Dharma Protector of Je Tsongkhapa's lineage was Kalarupa. Later, however, it was felt by many high Lamas that Dorje Shugden had become the principal Dharma Protector of this tradition. There is no difference in the compassion, wisdom, or power of the various Dharma Protectors, but because of the karma of sentient beings, one particular Dharma Protector will have a greater opportunity to help Dharma practitioners at any one particular time. We can understand how this is so by considering the example of Buddha Shakyamuni. Previously the beings of this world had the karma to see Buddha Shakyamuni's Supreme Emanation Body and to receive teachings directly from him. These days, however, we do not have such karma, and so Buddha appears to us in the form of our Spiritual Guide and helps us by giving teachings and leading us on spiritual paths. Thus, the form that Buddha's help takes varies according to our changing karma, but its essential nature remains the same. Among all the Dharma Protectors, four-faced Mahakala, Kalarupa, and Dorje Shugden in particular have the same nature because they are all emanations of Manjushri. However, the beings of this present time have a stronger karmic link with Dorje Shugden than with the other Dharma Protectors. It was for this reason that Morchen Dorjechang Kunga Lhundrup, a very highly realized Master of the Sakya tradition, told his disciples, "Now is the time to rely upon Dorje Shugden." He said this on many occasions to encourage his disciples to develop faith in the practice of Dorje Shugden. We too should heed his advice and take it to heart. He did not say that this is the time to rely upon other Dharma Protectors, but clearly stated that now is the time to rely upon Dorje Shugden. Many high Lamas of the Sakya tradition and many Sakya monasteries have relied sincerely upon Dorje Shugden. In recent years the person most responsible for propagating the practice of Dorje Shugden was the late Trijang Dorjechang, the root Guru of many Gelugpa practitioners from humble novices to the highest Lamas. He encouraged all his disciples to rely upon Dorje Shugden and gave Dorje Shugdän empowerments many times. Even in his old age, so as to prevent the practice of Dorje Shugdän from degenerating he wrote an extensive text entitled Symphony Delighting an Ocean of Conquerors, which is a commentary to Tagpo Kelsang Khädrub Rinpoche's praise of Dorje Shugden called Infinite Aeons. The Nature and Function of the Dharma Protector Some people believe that Dorje Shugden is an emanation of Manjushri who shows the aspect of a worldly being, but this is incorrect. Even Dorje Shugden's form reveals the complete stages of the path of Sutra and Tantra, and such qualities are not possessed by the forms of worldly beings. Dorje Shugden appears as a fully ordained monk to show that the practice of pure moral discipline is essential for those who wish to attain enlightenment. In his left hand he holds a heart, which symbolizes great compassion and spontaneous great bliss - the essence of all the stages of the vast path of Sutra and Tantra. His round yellow hat represents the view of Nagarjuna, and the wisdom sword in his right hand teaches us to sever ignorance, the root of samsara, with the sharp blade of Nagarjuna's view. This is the essence of all the stages of the profound path of Sutra and Tantra. Dorje Shugden rides a snow lion, the symbol of the four fearlessnesses of a Buddha, and has a jewel-spitting mongoose perched on his left arm, symbolizing his power to bestow wealth on those who put their trust in him. The single eye in the center of his forehead symbolizes his omniscient wisdom, which perceives directly and simultaneously all past, present, and future phenomena. His wrathful expression indicates that he destroys ignorance, the real enemy of all living beings, by blessing them with great wisdom; and also that he destroys the obstacles of pure Dharma practitioners. The Benefits of Relying Upon Dorje Shugden If we can understand well the nature and functions of Dorje Shugden, we can understand the benefits of relying upon him. Dorje Shugden always helps, guides, and protects pure and faithful practitioners by granting blessings, increasing their wisdom, fulfilling their wishes, and bestowing success on all their virtuous activities. Dorje Shugden does not help only Kadampas; because he is a Buddha he helps all living beings, including non-Buddhists. The sun benefits even those born blind, giving them warmth and ripening the crops that become their food; but should they gain their sight, how much more obvious its benefit would be! In a similar way, although Dorje Shugden protects even those who do not make an effort to rely upon him, when our eyes of faith in him open and we rely upon him sincerely we will gradually become more aware of the help we receive from him. If we sincerely wish to experience the benefits of relying upon Dorje Shugden, we must rely upon him constantly over a long period of time, steadily improving our connection with him. In this way, we will begin to notice his beneficial influence in our lives. We should understand that the principal function of a Dharma Protector is to protect our Dharma practice, not to help our mundane affairs. Bearing this in mind we should not become discouraged if we do not suddenly become very wealthy, for wealth does not necessarily help spiritual practice and can be a great distraction. If we rely sincerely upon Dorje Shugden, he will arrange the conditions that are most conducive for our Dharma practice but these will not necessarily be the ones that we ourself would have chosen! Dorje Shugden will bless our minds to help us transform difficult situations into the spiritual path, and he will open the wisdom eyes of his faithful followers, enabling them always to make the right decisions. To learn more about Dorje Shugden see Heart Jewel by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso." [Quelle: http://www.kadampa.org/english/tradition/dorje_shugden.php. -- Zugriff am 2005-06-16]

1977

Abb.: Jampa Thaye
[Bildquelle: http://www.dechen.org/ljt.htm. -- Zugriff am 2005-07-09]

Thinley Rinpoche (1931 - ) ernennt David Stott alias Ngakpa Jampa Thaye (1952 - ) zu seinem Dharma regent (sku-tsah)

"Lama Jampa Thaye (b. 1952) met Karma Thinley Rinpoche in 1973. Over the past three decades he has inherited from Rinpoche and other masters such as His Holiness Sakya Trizin a vast range of teachings of the Sakya, Kagyu and Nyingma traditions of Buddhism. The principal cycles of teachings that he has received from Rinpoche include mahamudra and Zhentong Madhyamaka, the works of Sakya Pandita, the collected spiritual instructions of the Kadam tradition, the Konchog Chindu treasure cycle and the One Hundred Initiations of Bari Lotsava. From His Holiness Sakya Trizin he obtained numerous initiations and transmissions, most importantly the esoteric teachings known as The Thirteen Golden Dharmas. In addition, from Karma Thinley Rinpoche, His Holiness Sakya Trizin and Ngor Phende Rinpoche he received the various parts of the Tsog Shey transmission of the Lam-Dré. During this period, Lama Jampa Thaye completed various meditation retreats, most importantly major retreats on Naro Khachoma and Konchog Chindu. As a result of his studies and practices, he was appointed Rinpoche's dharma-regent and subsequently given the authority to bestow vajrayana initiations by Rinpoche. He is the author of various works such as Diamond Sky (1989), Garland of Gold (1990) and the recently published Way of Tibetan Buddhism (Thorson's, 2001). His books and essays have been translated into German, Polish and Bulgarian. He holds a doctorate from the University of Manchester for his work on Tibetan religious history. " [Quelle: http://www.dechen.org/ljt.htm. -- Zugriff am 2005-07-09]

1978

Abb.: Ajahn Sumedho
[Bildquelle: http://www.peacemala.org.uk/endorse/ajahn.html. -- Zugriff am 2005-05-13]

Ajahn Sumedho, ein Schüler des thailändischen Ajahn Chah gründet Cittaviveka, Chithurst Buddhist Monastery, das erste Waldkloster Großbritanniens.

Webpräsenz aller Klöster in Nachfolge von Ajahn Chah: http://www.forestsangha.org/. -- Zugriff am 2005-05-13

"Born Robert Jackman, Seattle, Washington 1934. Studied Chinese and history at university. Spent 4 years as a navy medic during the Korean war. During this time contacted the Buddhist Society of Japan. After the war completed a BA in Far Eastern studies. Worked for a year as a red cross social worker. In 1963 completed a masters degree in South Asian studies. From 1964 to 1966 taught English in Sabali, Borneo for the Peace Corps. In June 1966 ordained as a samanera at Wat Sri Saket, Nong Khai province. Fully ordained May 1967. 1967-77 sought out and meditated under Ajahn Chah, the famous Thai meditation master at Wat Pa Pong. 1973 undertook a tudong pilgrimage to India. 1975 established the forest monastery Wat Pah Nanachat, the international forest monastery, in Ubon province, Thailand. 1977 visited England with Ajahn Chah. Seeing an interest in Buddhism there, Chah decided Sumedho should stay in England to set up an English order. The English Sangha Trust invited Ajahn Sumedho to run their Hampstead vihara. In 1979 the Trust sold the vihara and bought Chithurst House [now Wat Pa Cittaviveka] in West Sussex. Cittaviveka grew, especially after a sima [boundary] was established in 1981 and Ajahn Sumedho was given ordination authority. It now includes a nuns' vihara. Since then, monasteries have opened in Northumberland, Devon, California, New Zealand, Switzerland and Italy. In August 1984 Amaravati Buddhist centre opened in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. Ajahn Sumedho now resides there as abbot." [Quelle: http://www.buddhanet.net/masters/sumedho.htm. -- Zugriff am 2005-05-13]

"Luang Por Sumedho Luang Por Sumedho was born in Seattle, Washington in 1934. After serving four years in the US Navy as a medic, he completed a BA in Far Eastern Studies and a MA in South Asian Studies. In 1966, he went to Thailand to practice meditation at Wat Mahathat in Bangkok. Not long afterwards, he went forth as a novice monk in a remote part of the country, Nong Khai, before receiving full ordination in 1967. A year of solitary practice followed. Although fruitful, it showed him the need for a teacher who could more actively guide him. A fortuitous encounter with a visiting monk led him to Ubon province to practice with Luang Por Chah. He took dependence from Luang Por Chah and remained under his close guidance for ten years. In 1975, Luang Por Sumedho, established Wat Pah Nanachat, International Forest Monastery where Westerners could be trained in English. In 1977, he accompanied Luang Por Chah to England and took up residence at the Hampstead Vihara, with three other monks. Luang Por Sumedho was made an Upajjhaya, in 1981. Since then he has ordained more than a hundred aspirants of many nationalities. In 1992, Luang Por Sumedho was given an ecclesiastical title of Phra Sumedhachariya. This is the first time such an honour has been received by a Western monk." [Quelle: http://www.amaravati.org/abm/english/lp.html. -- Zugriff am 2005-05-13]

1980

Abb.: Don Cupitt
[Bildquelle: http://www.doncupitt.com/. -- Zugriff am 2005-06-16]

Es erscheint:

Cupitt, Don <1933 - >: Taking leave of God. --  New York : Crossroad, ©1980.  -- xiii, 174 S. ; 22 cm.  -- ISBN 0824500458

Darin schreibt der Autor, ein anglikanischer Geistlicher:

"of the great world faiths, Buddhism comes closest to what I have in mind." (S. XII)

"Don Cupitt was born in 1934 in Lancashire, England, and educated at Charterhouse, Trinity Hall Cambridge and Westcott House Cambridge. He studied, successively, Natural Sciences, Theology and the Philosophy of Religion. In 1959 he was ordained deacon in the Church of England, becoming a priest in 1960. In the early 1990s he stopped officiating at public worship, but he remains technically a priest in good standing. He writes mainly for ‘liberals’ in the churches, saying to them: ‘Other writers try to formulate a position that you might be able to get away with: I show you what you really think.’ After short periods as a curate in the North of England, and as Vice-Principal of Westcott House, Cupitt was elected to a fellowship and appointed Dean at Emmanuel College late in 1965. Since then he has remained at the College. In 1968 he was appointed to a University teaching post in the Philosophy of Religion, a job in which he continued until his retirement for health reasons in 1996. At that time he proceeded to a Life Fellowship at Emmanuel College, which remains his base today. He is married, with three children who all now live and work in London. Don Cupitt’s books began to appear in the 1970s, without attracting much public attention. He first provoked hostile notice by his participation in the symposium The Myth of God Incarnate (1977), and then became nationally known for his media work — especially the three BBC Television projects Open to Question (1973), Who was Jesus? (1977), and The Sea of Faith (1984). Cupitt’s notoriety peaked in the these years of the early 1980s, his most important book of that period being Taking Leave of God (1980), which shut down his career and made him in the eyes of the Press perhaps ‘the most radical theologian in the world’. He survived, partly because the then Archbishop of Canterbury and the then Master of Emmanuel defended his right to put forward his ideas. Since that time he has devoted all his energies to developing his ideas in a long line of books. He travels regularly, lecturing for the Sea of Faith Networks in Britain, Australia and New Zealand, for the Westar Institute of Santa Rosa, CA in the USA, and for the Snowstar Institute of southern Ontario, Canada. He is invited to visit universities in many countries, including most recently those of Aarhus, Leuven, Beijing, Oxford and Yale. In his writing, and in the various societies he has tried to foster, Don Cupitt attempts to develop new thinking for a new epoch: a new philosophy, a new ethics, and a new religious consciousness. His thinking develops continuously and is not easy to summarize, but the best introduction to it has been given by the Australian Nigel Leaves in his two-volume study. The Sea of Faith TV series can sometimes be borrowed on DVD, and the book is still in print. It is reasonably accessible to beginners in philosophy and theology. Readers with more time and energy should simply read Cupitt’s books in the order in which they were written — perhaps beginning with After All (1994). ... Much of Cupitt’s thinking clearly belongs to the philosophical tradition rather than to theology, and the best clues to his ideas can often be given by quoting the philosophers who have been important to him at different times. In his youth, he was most impressed by Hume and Kant. Then he became absorbed in Kierkegaard, in the movement from ‘organized religion’ to ‘spirituality’, and in the classics of Christian mysticism. This early period culminated in Taking Leave of God (1980), Cupitt’s last book in his Kant and Kierkegaard manner. In 1981 he became immersed in Nietzsche, and then in Richard Rorty and Mark C. Taylor. By the late Eighties he had assimilated the early Derrida and French postmodernism. During the Nineties the most obvious new development was a turn, around 1996/98 to Heidegger. At the same time Cupitt turned to ordinary language, and to this life. He rejects all ideas of gaining salvation by escaping from this world of ours. "All this is all there is", he says. Outside the Western tradition, Cupitt has looked mainly to Buddhism. Of his recent books, Emptiness and Brightness (2001) is the most Buddhist. He is a friend of Stephen Batchelor, who is sometimes referred to as his counterpart within Buddhism." [Quelle: http://www.doncupitt.com/. -- Zugriff am 2005-06-16]

1981

Abb.: Dhamma Talaka Pagoda
[Bildquelle: http://web.ukonline.co.uk/buddhism/vihara.htm. -- Zugriff am 2005-05-13]

Der birmanische Mönch Dr. Rewata Dhamma (1929 - 2004), der 1975 ins United Kingdom gekommen ist, gründet Birmingham Buddhist Vihara

Webpräsenz: http://www.birminghambuddhistvihara.org/. -- Zugriff am 2005-05-13

"Sayadaw Dr.Rewata Dhamma was Founder and Spiritual Director of Birmingham Buddhist Vihara and Dhammatalaka Peace Pagoda. He passed away peacefully in the early morning of Wednesday, on 26th, May 2004. Without him, Birmingham Buddhist Vihara and Dhammatalaka Peace Pagoda could not have been established. Though he is not with us physically, the principle, guidance and institute that he has originated for the propagation of Dhamma will never disappear. He is always spiritually and mentally represented us. Here some of his biography. Sayadaw Dr.Rewata Dhamma was born in Myanmar in December 1929 and was brought up in the rural village of Thamangol in the Hanthada District on the banks of the Irrawaddy. Entering the monastery as a young novice, he took full monastic ordination at the age of 20. After studying Theravada Buddhism under several eminent scholar monks, he passed the highest examination in scriptural studies at the age of 23 and was awarded the prestigious title of Sasanadhaja-siripavara dhammacariya in 1953. The following year he was among those helping during the Sixth General Sangha Council held in Yangon to establish the scriptures. In 1956, he went to India to study Hindi and Sanskrit as a state scholar, and then continued to study Indian philosophy and Mahayana Buddhism in Varanasi University. He obtained an MA in Sanskrit in 1964 and a PH.D in 1967. During his stay in India, he wrote, translated and edited several books in Pali and Hindi, most published by the Varanasi Sanskrit University. One of these, Ahidhammatha Sangaha with Hindi translation and his own commentary written in Hindi, was awarded the Kalidasa prize from the Hindi Academy as one of the outstanding books of the year in 1967. Subsequently he joined the university's academic staff and acted as general editor of a Buddhist encyclopaedia. While in India he was in contact with all sorts of people. He was on the committee that welcomed the Dalai Lama after his flight to India and has had many personal audiences with him since. More curiously, he was invited to Peking at the very height of the Cultural Revolution to attend the death-bed of Prince Sihanouk's mother. Importantly for his future plans, during this period he also became custodian of the Buddha relics once belonging to the Burmese royal family. In 1975 Dr Rewata Dhamma was invited to England where he established a Buddhist monastery in Birmingham as his base. From there he journeyed to lead retreats and teach Buddhism at various centres in Europe, North, Central and South America. In 1998 he accomplished the building of Dhamma Talaka Peace Pagoda, after years of planning, as a suitable resting place for the royal relics. During this time also, Dr Rewata Dhamma's non-political stance and dedication to the cause of reconciliation gained the confidence not simply of bodies like Amnesty and the UN but ultimately of the present Myanmar government. His high reputation in Asia made him much in demand at international and governmental conferences and his gentle, humorous and compassionate demeanour won him friends and admirers all over the world. In 2002 the Myanmar Government granted him the high title of Aggamahapandita. For many years, he has been a Vice President of the World Buddhist Sangha Council, as well as founder member of International Engaged Buddhists. Sayadaw has also written in English numerous articles and several highly esteemed books on Buddhism" [Quelle: http://www.birminghambuddhistvihara.org/Resident_Monks.html. -- Zugriff am 2005-05-13]

1983

Ngakpa Chögyam (Ngak'chang Rinpoche) (1952 - ) und seine Frau Khandro Dechen gründen Sang-ngak-cho-dzong in Cardiff, Wales

"Ngakpa Chogyam (who does not want his original name to be known) was born in Hanover, Germany in 1952. His mother was German and a direct descendant of Schubert, the composer. When he was a boy, he became interested in Tibetan Buddhism and more particularly in Padmasambhava, the founder of the Nyingma school, though he had no specific connection with the tradition. Then, when he was fifteen, he saw some Tibetan paintings or tankas and felt attracted to them. After training as an illustrator, he went to India in the early 1970s and made contact with Nyingma teachers, and in particular with his guru, Kyabje Khordong Terchen Tulku Chhimed Rigdzin Rinpoche (who is regarded as the incarnation of Kyechung Lotsa, one of the 25 principal disciples of Padmasambhava). In 1978, when he was only 26, he was accepted by Kyabje Rinpoche as a personal disciple and was initiated as a ngakpa—one who practices inner tantra' as a householder rather than as a monk. I shall therefore refer to him as Ngakpa Chogyam from now on. But more significantly, Kyabje Rinpoche also recognized him as the incarnation—that is, a tulku—of a Tibetan monk and visionary artist, 'a-Shul Pema Lengden, who had been a disciple of Kyabje Rinpoche in a previous life (when Kyabje Rinpoche also had a different name: Khalding Lingpa). Ngakpa Chogyam returned to Britain in 1983 and within a year he and his wife, Khandro Dechen (who is also Western and a lineage holder) had founded a centre: Sang-ngak-cho-dzong, which means The Fortress (cho-dzong) of the Secret (sang) Mantra/Word (ngak). His aim is to establish the lay ngakpa tradition, based on 'inner tantra', in the West. However, this can only be accomplished if there is a true lineage, an unbroken succession passed from lama to disciple: "it must be passed on by someone who has gained realization from the practices contained within the lineage" (Hidden Word, no. 1, n.d., 5). And because realization in Tibetan Buddhism is unthinkable without the reincarnation of tulkus, 'an unbroken lineage means that it has been passed on to disciples who then become the teachers of the main lineage holder" (ibid.). My main consideration always revolves around preserving the essential teachings for the benefit of future generations; enabling this Heart of the Tradition to have a health pulse for the life-blood of ordinary Western people. Without this, these unique teachings will never be established on Western soil (Interview in Lotus Light [the magazine of Pema Osel Ling, Santa Cruz, California, run by Ngakpa Chogyam's 'vajra brother', Lama Tharchin Rinpoche, who is Tibetan]; I have no further details.) To this end, he has introduced an Apprentice programme, which is intended to produce Western lamas—that is, realized teachers who will be able to carry on the lineage that Ngakpa Chogyam himself has brought to the West. So far, he has appointed about half a dozen as ngakpas (or ngakchungs or nalchungs, which are fairly similar). Although the programme is at present completely dependent on him, he would like to see it evolve in a non-hierarchic way. That is, his own disciples would eventually become sufficiently advanced to have students of their own. At this point, I would cease to be the prime mover within Sang-ngak-cho-dzong. I would become one of a number of lamas . . . My system of operating the Apprenticeship Programme would simply be there as a working model. It would be something for them to use if they choose. It is the essence that must survive, not necessarily the form. The form should be open to change . . . Everyone who comes to teach through working with me as their Teacher will be responsible for the nature of their own Teachings. When I consider that someone has sufficient realisation to teach, then they will teach from their own experience and in their own way. (Hidden Word, no. 1, n.d., 22) What this comes down to is that a Western tulku is attempting, by the use of appropriate forms (which he himself has to devise, there being no precedent to follow), to introduce inner tantra to Western householders in a lineage that goes back to Padmasambhava. And the final pay-off is the appearance of Western lamas, all of whom have at least the potential of keeping this lineage going. Moreover, Ngakpa Chogyam is very keen that as many of these lamas as possible be women. In a householder lineage, there is no reason at all why lamas should not also be mothers (slightly adapted from Hidden Word, no. 1, n.d., 11, 26). He also emphasizes that Western culture has its own 'forms' that can be used to make Tibetan teachings more accessible—in particular, art and psychology. As 'a-Shul Pema, he was himself a visionary artist (which we could define in this context as one who presents the teaching or Dharma in visual form) and in his present life he has trained as an illustrator and studied Tibetan painting and calligraphy. As for psychology, in 1989 he was awarded a doctorate in Tantric Psychology by the Indo-Tibetan Cultural Preservation Society. This was partly in recognition of his books, Rainbow of Liberated Energy and Journey Into Vastness, but also involved an intensive oral examination. He has also addressed professional conferences in the West: the British Psychological Society in 1986 and the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in 1989. Ngakpa Chogyam once said to me in a letter that all he claims is that "I try to be kind." But there is more to it than that. His position in an altogether extra-ordinary lineage—from Padmasambhava in eighth-century Tibet to himself in present-day Cardiff—is proof enough of that. But in addition, there is a whole teaching of ambivalence. There is always emptiness and form. Only when you enter into non-duality does the ambivalence subside. So ambivalence in the Lama-disciple relationship has to manifest through symbols of emptiness and form . . . : Mother Theresa/Charles Manson, Dalai Lama/Hitler, Gandhi/Stalin . . . There is always ambivalence within the Tantric relationship and hence discomfort. The nature of that discomfort, however, is communicative. It's the living blood of the practice and of the Lama-disciple relationship. (Hidden Word, no. 1, n.d., 21) Tantra presents the spiritual life is a roller-coaster ride: both exciting and dangerous. And it is practically inevitable that you will be thrown off unless you are making the ride with someone who knows how to stay on. But you have to do what he or she says. When the instructions come, shouted urgently in the wind ('Hold on!', 'Move!', Jump!'), there just isn't time to discuss the pros and cons. This explains why tantra is based on the guru-disciple relationship—and why it has to be demanding. It also explains why the essence of tantra is both direct and ambivalent at the same time. This is the teaching behind a relatively small group of Western householders who are following the path of inner tantra under the guidance of a half-British, half-German Nyingma tulku and ngakpa." "Ngakpa Chogyam can remember' his life as a-Shul Pema Lengden. At the end of it, he renounced his monastic vows and took up with a young wandering yogini. This was Jetsunma Khandro Yeshe Rema, a Dzogchen master who was herself a tulku of Yeshe Tsogyel, Padmasambhava's principal consort. She became "a-Shul Pema Lengdens principal teacher. In Ngakpa Chogyams words, I think she was rather beautiful from the very first dream I ever had concerning these events. Kyabje Chhimed Rigdzin Rinpoche tells me that I went a little bit crazy but it all appeared to be part of Rinpoche's teaching. I had to learn some important lessons, gain some insight and experience, that were not possible in the monastic setting . . . But I didn't live too long after I left Khordong . . . Not to put too fine a point on it—I was quite old and [the yogini] was rather young ... It really had a very powerful effect on me to be with this Yogini, as my teacher obviously knew. I changed quite a lot and then I died . . . (Lotus Light interview) This—I mean a-Shul Pema Lengden's death—occurred around 1920. But he incarnated again almost immediately. (He says that "I left some work undone which I must finish in this or subsequent lives; certain cycles of wrathful-ritual painting connected with the practices of Dorje Trollo" [Hidden Word, no. 1, n.d., 12]). The circumstances of his reappearance were certainly unusual (though Ngakpa Chogyam says that they were not "too unusual"): he was reborn as his own son—that is, as the son of 'a-Shul Pema Lengden and Jetsunma Khandro Yeshe Rema. His name was Aro Yeshe and he became a togden, one who has matted hair, on the border of Tibet and Nepal, with a number of yogis and yoginis as his disciples. Ngakpa Chogyam also 'remembers' this life. There was one nice old nun I remember . . . She gave me a marmot that I had as a pet after my mother died. It used to bite people who had attitudes'. (Hidden Word, no. 1, n.d., 12) I am not aware of any other Western tulku who has memories anything like this." [Quelle. Rawlinson, Andrew <1943 - >: The book of enlightened masters : western teachers in eastern traditions. -- Chicago : Open Court, ©1997.  -- xix, 650 S. : Ill. ; 25 cm..  -- ISBN: 0812693108. -- S. 204 - 207.]

1985

Abb.: Martine und Stephen Batchelor
[Bildquelle: http://www.vipassana.fr/Liens/diagramme1.htm. -- Zugriff am 2005-06-13]

Stephen Batchelor (1953) tritt aus dem Mönchsorden aus, heiratet Martine Fages (1953 - ) und kehrt nach Großbritannien zurück.

Webpräsenz: http://www.stephenbatchelor.org/. -- Zugriff am 2005-06-13

"MARTINE BATCHELOR was born in France in 1953. She was ordained as a Buddhist nun in Korea in 1975. She studied Zen Buddhism under the guidance of the late Master Kusan at Songgwang Sa monastery until 1985. Her Zen training also took her to nunneries in Taiwan and Japan. From 1981 she served as Kusan Sunim's interpreter and accompanied him on lecture tours throughout the United States and Europe. She translated his book 'The Way of Korean Zen' and has written an unpublished manuscript about the life of Korean Zen nuns.    She returned to Europe with her husband, Stephen, in 1985. She was a member of the Sharpham North Community in Devon, England for six years. She worked as a lecturer and spiritual counsellor both at Gaia House and elsewhere in Britain. She has also been involved in interfaith dialogue. Until recently she was a Trustee of the International Sacred Literature Trust.   In 1992 she published, as co-editor, 'Buddhism and Ecology'. In 1996 she published, as editor, 'Walking on Lotus Flowers' which in 2001 will be reissued under the title 'A Women's Guide to Buddhism'. She is the author of 'Principles of Zen' and her most recent publication is 'Meditation for Life', an illustrated book on meditation. With her husband she co-leads meditation retreats worldwide. They now live in France. She speaks French, English and Korean and can read Chinese characters. She has translated from the Korean, with reference to the original Chinese, the Brahmajala Sutra (The Bodhisattva Precepts). She has written various articles for magazines on the Korean way of tea, Buddhism and women, Buddhism and ecology, and Zen cooking. Articles. She is interested in meditation in daily life, Buddhism and social action, religion and women's issues, Zen and its history, factual and legendary." [Quelle: http://www.stephenbatchelor.org/martinebio.html. -- Zugriff am 2005-06-13]

"Stephen Batchelor was born in Dundee, Scotland, on April 7, 1953 and grew up in Hertfordshire, north west of London. After completing his schooling at Watford Boys Grammar School, he travelled overland to India in February, 1972, at the age of eighteen. He settled in Dharamsala, the capital in exile of the Dalai Lama, and studied at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives with Ven. Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey. He was ordained as a novice Buddhist monk in 1974. He left India in 1975 in order to pursue his Tibetan Buddhist studies under the guidance of Ven. Geshe Rabten, who had been appointed abbot of the Tibetan Monastic Institute in Rikon, Switzerland. In 1977 he moved to Le Mont Pelerin, Switzerland, where Geshe Rabten founded Tharpa Choeling (now Rabten Choeling). The following year he received full ordination as a Buddhist monk. In 1979 he moved to Germany as a translator for Ven. Geshe Thubten Ngawang at the Tibetisches Institut, Hamburg. In April 1981 he travelled to Songgwangsa Monastery in South Korea to train in Zen Buddhism under the guidance of Ven. Kusan Sunim. He remained in Korea until the autumn of 1984, when he left for a pilgrimage in Japan, China and Tibet. He disrobed in February 1985 and married Martine Fages in Hong Kong before returning to England and joining the Sharpham North Community in Totnes, Devon. During the fifteen years he lived at Sharpham, he became co-ordinator of the Sharpham Trust (1992) and co-founder of the Sharpham College for Buddhist Studies and Contemporary Enquiry (1996). Throughout this period he worked as a the Buddhist Chaplain of HMP Channings Wood. From 1990 he has been a Guiding Teacher at Gaia House meditation centre in Devon and since 1992 a contributing editor of Tricycle: The Buddhist Review . In August 2000, he and his wife moved to Aquitaine, South-West France. He works as a writer and photographer and travels worldwide to lead meditation retreats and teach Buddhism. He is the translator and author of numerous books and articles on Buddhism including the bestselling Buddhism Without Beliefs. He has recently published sixty colour and black and white photographs in Martine Batchelor’s Meditation for Life (Frances Lincoln/Wisdom, 2001) and is currently writing a book that will develop the concept of an agnostic Buddhism as introduced in Buddhism Without Beliefs." [Quelle: http://www.stephenbatchelor.org/stephenbio.html. -- Zugriff am 2005-06-13]

1985-02

Abb.: Phra Khemadhammo
[Bildquelle: http://www.foresthermitage.org.uk/. -- Zugriff am 2005-05-13]

Phra Khemadhammo von der Forest hermitage (Webpräsenz: http://www.foresthermitage.org.uk/. -- Zugriff am 2005-05-13) gründet ANGULIMALA, the Buddhist Prison Chaplaincy Organisation.

Webpräsenz: http://www.angulimala.org.uk/. -- Zugriff am 2005-05-13

Phra Khemadhammo schreibt darüber:

AN INTRODUCTION TO ANGULIMALA by  Venerable Khemadhammo Mahathera  OBE Abb.: The Buddha Grove Peace Garden at Grendon Prison (photo by Tim Page) The Buddhist scriptures relate that one day, after his meal, the Buddha went out from the monastery where he was staying and walked towards a great forest, seeing him going in that direction various people working in their fields called out to warn him that in that forest dwelt the dreaded Angulimala.  Little is known for certain about Angulimala but the usual account of his life has him the son of a well-to-do family and at one time a brilliant student at the university of Taxila, then the Oxbridge of India.  At Taxila, other students were jealous of him and succeeded in poisoning their teacher’s mind against him with the result that the teacher asked of him what he must have believed would be an impossible honorarium, a thousand, right hand, human, little fingers.  Unbelievably, instead of giving up and slinking off home without graduating, this young man set out to collect those fingers and pay the fee.  Presumably, he quickly discovered that people were reluctant to willingly give up their little fingers and so he was forced to resort to violence and killing in order to obtain them.  Then he found he had nowhere to store these fingers.  He tried hanging them on a tree but the birds stole them so his solution was to string them about his neck.  For this gruesome and growing garland of bloody fingers he was nicknamed Angulimala, meaning ‘finger garland’.  This was the man then who peering out from his lair spotted the Buddha coming towards him and who that day had about his neck nine hundred and ninety-nine human, right hand, little fingers.  This powerful and athletic serial killer who had already successfully resisted several attempts to apprehend him grabbed his weapons and dashed out to murder the Buddha and complete his score.  He expected quickly to overtake his prey and finish the job but a very strange thing happened for even though the Buddha was only walking, serene and unhurried, Angulimala, despite his formidable strength and speed found he couldn’t catch up with him.  Eventually, exhausted, angry, frustrated and dripping with sweat, Angulimala screamed at the Buddha to stop.  Then the Buddha turned and speaking quietly and directly told Angulimala that he, the Buddha, had already stopped.  He had stopped killing and harming and now it was time for him, Angulimala, to do likewise.  Angulimala was so struck by these words that there and then he stopped, he threw away his weapons and followed the Buddha back to the monastery where he became a monk.  Later, the King, ignorant of what had happened, came by leading his troops out to arrest Angulimala.  Being a very pious monarch, he called in to pay his respects to the Buddha and to inform him of what he was up to.  The Buddha asked the King what his reaction would be were he to discover that amongst this assembly of monks sat Angulimala.  To the King it was utterly unbelievable that such a foul and evil person could now be a Buddhist monk and seated amongst such exalted company but were it the case, he answered, he would certainly pay his respects and make offerings.  Then the Buddha stretched forth his right hand and pointing announced that there sat Angulimala.  When he’d  mastered his fear and recovered from the shock, the King having paid his respects said to the Buddha how incredible it was that, “What we have tried to do by force and with weapons you have done with neither force nor weapons!”  In the course of time, after a period of some trial to himself, Angulimala did eventually succeed in purging his mind of all greed, hatred and delusion and realised the Buddhist goal of Enlightenment.  In pursuit of that same ideal, in 1971 I abandoned my promising career as an actor and went out to Thailand to further a consuming interest in Buddhism and deepen my practice of meditation.  I was then twenty-seven years old.  I had the good fortune to be accepted by the Venerable Ajahn Chah, one of the greatest of the Thai Buddhist masters and I spent my years in Thailand in the northeast, close to the Lao and Cambodian borders, at forest hermitages and monasteries under Ajahn Chah’s guidance.  In 1977, Ajahn Chah was invited to London and being English it was natural that I should accompany him.  It was supposed to be a stay of just two months to explore possibilities but within a week or two Ajahn Chah had decided that while he would have to return to Thailand as planned, I would be staying on.  This was at the old Hampstead Buddhist Vihara on Haverstock Hill and this was the address that the Prison Service then had as its Buddhist contact.  It wasn’t long before letters came from Pentonville and Parkhurst prisons asking for someone to go to those prisons as the Buddhist ‘Visiting Minister’ and coincidentally the chaplain at Holloway women’s prison also rang up for someone to visit a newly arrived Buddhist prisoner there.  Later, on the weekend when the Queen was celebrating her Silver Jubilee, Ajahn Chah and I were seated together on a train and I asked him what he thought about my responding to those requests.  He answered with one word, “Go!”  And I’ve been going to prisons ever since.   Inevitably, the people I began to see at the first prisons I visited were moved on to other establishments and I dutifully followed.  Rapidly I began to collect appointments as the Visiting Buddhist Minister to an increasing number of gaols and more and more of my time came to be spent sitting or standing on trains and walking and hitching from prison to prison.  From 1979, I was based on the Isle of Wight but in 1984, I accepted an invitation to move up to Warwickshire.  That move enabled me to team up with Yann Lovelock living in Birmingham who by this time I had drawn into the prison work and we were able to push forward the idea of providing a properly organised Buddhist prison chaplaincy with the aim of making Buddhism available in the prisons.    The story of Angulimala teaches us that the possibility of Enlightenment may be awakened in the most extreme of circumstances, that people can and do change and that people are best influenced by persuasion and above all, example.  ANGULIMALA, the Buddhist Prison Chaplaincy Organisation was founded on Magha Puja Day in February l985.  The festival of Magha Puja celebrates an occasion when the Buddha explained his teaching in its simplest and most universal form as, “Give up what is unwholesome and wrong, cultivate what is skilful and good and purify your mind - this is the Teaching of all the Buddhas.”  It reminds us that behind the exoticism and intellectualisation, the need for practical application lies at the core of everything the Buddha said.   Following consultation with the Prison Service Chaplaincy, ANGULIMALA was recognised in March l985 as the official representative of Buddhism in all matters concerning the Prison Service in England and Wales.  ANGULIMALA has since been referred to as the Buddhist Nominating Authority and is now officially the Religious Consultative Service to the Prison Service for Buddhist matters and the Prison Service contributes to its costs.  I am a member of the Prison Service’s newly formed Multifaith Chaplaincy Council and referred to as the Buddhist Adviser and in the Queen’s Birthday Honours this year I was appointed an OBE for services to prisoners.  Since June of 1999, when I led a workshop in Edinburgh we have been active in Scotland.  There are also thoughts of a branch in the West Indies, we have contacts in America, Russia and Nepal and I have visited prisons in Thailand.   ANGULIMALA does not favour any form or school of Buddhism over another and has the backing of most major Buddhist organisations in the UK.  Membership is open to anyone in sympathy with its aims, whether they wish to play an active part or not.  By early 2003, we had forty-seven chaplains working in about a hundred and twenty of the penal establishments in England and Wales.  A committee that meets quarterly and which helps with the wider organisation oversees our several activities.  Currently Lord Avebury is the Patron, Rev. Saido Kennaway of Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey co-ordinates the appointment of Buddhist Visiting Ministers, Sue Wood is the Secretary, Rob Yellowhammer is the Treasurer, Charlotte Proctor co-ordinates ANGULIMALA SCOTLAND and I am the Spiritual Director.   We organise quarterly workshops and all appointed Buddhist chaplains – the pejorative ‘visiting ministers’ has been abandoned - are expected to attend at least one workshop a year.  At these, following devotions and meditation at 10 a.m., the day is broken up into three sections that follow in whatever order is convenient.  The Buddhist section focuses on some aspect of the Buddha’s Teaching and Practice with a particular regard to how it might be applied or taught in a gaol.  In the specifically prison section, with the aid of a guest speaker, someone working in the Prison Service or in some way connected with it, the aim is to broaden our team’s knowledge of how the prisons are run.  Guest speakers have included a prison officer, a member of a Board of Visitors, a trainer from the Prison Service College, the Governor of Whitemoor Prison, the Head of Prisoner Administration Group at Prison Service Headquarters, Graham Clark who was formerly Governor of Wandsworth Prison, the Prisons Ombudsman, Sir Richard Tilt who was at one time Director General of the Prison Service and Sir Stephen Tumim and Sir David Ramsbotham who were both formerly Chief Inspectors of Prisons.  During the Report-In section, all the chaplains present have a chance to summarise their recent prison activities and of course, this is also an opportunity to ask questions or discuss anything arising from these reports.   In Britain there is currently a wide diversity of Buddhist schools and practices, and were it necessary to provide chaplains representing all of these it would be a nightmare for us and for the Prison Service.  Fortunately, this diversity is represented within ANGULIMALA’S membership and amongst its chaplains and there is broad agreement that what should be offered is a basic Buddhism with provision when necessary for whatever school or form of practice that might be required.   When I decided to respond to those original requests back in 1977, I had to consider what I had to offer people locked up in prison.  I, after all, had never been incarcerated, I had never been in a prison, I didn’t know where the prisons were and I wasn’t even sure I had ever seen one.  But when I sat down to think about it I realised that like prisoners I as a monk had spent quite a lot of my time shut away in small spaces and I too had had to face myself in that solitude.  There were differences of course.  I had made forest monastic seclusion my choice and when I sat and faced myself I had had at my disposal an armoury of meditation techniques as well as the guidance, the example, the wisdom and the support of those who taught me.  I had also been purposefully seeking to understand my life.  There were differences but there were similarities.  I too had been uncomfortable and it was my sense of unease that had led me to look beyond the then narrow confines that restricted me for answers.  Yes, I realised, I did understand something about imprisonment.  And after all, quite apart from any comparisons between monastic and prison life, aren’t we all imprisoned by our greed and aversion, by our ignorance, and our prejudices and attachments.  It was my belief then, as it is now, that Buddhist techniques enable us to escape such imprisonment and being free to enjoy a secure peace.  Thinking along these lines, I decided that I did have something to offer those in prison.   I have always disliked the way that some individuals try to thrust their ideas and beliefs on other people and I only like speaking about Buddhism and what I do when I’m asked.  This I believe is the right attitude.  We have a responsibility to make Buddhist Teachings and Practice available and to respond when required but beyond that, it’s up to the individual concerned.  And to those who accuse me of embracing what some people like to call Buddhist social action, I explain that what I do in the prisons is more or less what I do in the monastery.  The difference is that while usually people can come to the temple, for prisoners we have to take the temple to them.    I really wish there weren’t prisons.  Buddhism teaches that none of us is perfect and that all determined actions have their results so we might question whether it is right for anyone to sit in judgement on another and impose penalties and whether indeed it’s necessary.  But the reality is that prisons do exist, society does demand something from those who offend against its interests and many thousands of human beings now and in the future will spend portions of their lives in prison.  To me it is shameful that that time should be wasted.  So, as anywhere else, in order to alleviate suffering and offer people the hope of a better and happier future, but especially for prisoners to salvage something positive from their predicament, we try to make the Teachings and Practice of Buddhism available in the prisons." [Quelle: http://www.angulimala.org.uk/angintr.htm. -- Zugriff am 2005-05-13]

1994

Die Dr. Ambedkar Buddhist Soviety gründet in Birmingham den Buddhavihara Temple

Webpräsenz: http://www.watthaiuk.com/. -- Zugriff am 2005-05-13

"Buddhavihara Temple The Temple was established in 1994 by the Dr Ambedkar Buddhist Society and was supported by Indian Buddhists in Birmingham. In 1995 the Temple was unoccupied on a permanent basis for some time after it was opened. Then the members of the Society invited Phramaha Laow Panyasiri to run the temple. At the time Phramaha Laow was reading for his Masters Degree at SOAS London, but he was very pleased to take up the invitation as he wanted to run the temple as an ideal of the Theravada branch of Buddhism. The senior monk at the Buddhapadipa Temple in London (where Phramaha Laow served) kindly gave his permission for him to come to Birmingham to serve Buddhists in the Birmingham area.   For the first three months part of his time was taken up with completing his M.A. degree, but when this was finished towards the end of 1995 he expanded his activities here to include tuition in Buddhism, Meditation and the Thai language for any interested parties.   The facilities offered for Buddhists who wish to study this religion include lectures offered by monks, opportunities for young people to learn about Buddhism and the chance for sincere students to stay at the Temple to assist their learning. This year (2001) the Temple will provide classes for any interested parties who wish to reside here for short periods as novice monks. Early in 2000 the Dr. Ambedekar Society offered to sell the Hampton Road premises to the Buddhavihara Temple. As a result of this offer it was decided to start a fund raising campaign to buy the building, and to make a application for the Temple to become a charitable trust, known as the Thai -British Buddhist (Buddhavihara Temple) Trust Trust status was granted by the Charity Commission in August of 2000, and the Hampton Road Temple was declared a Centre for the exchange of Thai and British cultures. Thanks to the generosity of Buddhavihara supporters worldwide, the purchase target figure was reached in January 2001, and the purchase of the premises from the Dr. Ambedekar Society was completed in March 2001. With funds raised additionally, the two storey outbuildings to the rear of the main premises have been renovated, and now contain a classroom and a study/bedroom for guests. The annexe to the side has also been renovated to create valuable additional space, giving covered access to the outbuildings In October & November 2001 the old coach house was converted into a classroom, additional bedroom & storage space was created in the basement and garage and the kitchen was refitted." [Quelle: http://www.watthaiuk.com/Eng/index.htm. -- Zugriff am 2005-05-13]

1995-03-24

Trevor Ling (1920 - 1995) stirbt.

"In Memoriam: Trevor Oswald Ling (1920 - 1995) Trevor Ling, outstanding scholar of Buddhism and pioneer in the development of religious studies in British universities from the 1960s, passed away peacefully aged 75 after a courageous battle against Alzheimer's disease. By Cynthia Chou He was raised in West Ham, London under the profound religious influence of his Baptist mother. During the 1940s, he was already preparing for the Baptist ministry when he assumed war service in India. In Calcutta, he came under the tutelage of the Baptist clergyman, Horace Collins who inspired him towards a Hindu-sensitive approach to religion. This led him to realise the need for scholars to be able to read the Vendata and translate and interpret the Sanskrit text. Subsequently, he learnt the Sanskrit and Pali languages, and made progress in his spiritual development by reading the Vedas, the Upanishad, the Gita and the Vedanta. On his return to England in 1946, he went up to St. Catherine's, Oxford to read Theology and Modern History. Following this, in the initial years of the 1950s, he taught theology at Nottingham University. Later, he moved to the Field Lane Mission in North London and then to Earlsfield Baptist Church in South London. In 1960, he was awarded his doctorate from the School of Oriental and African Studies on the concept of evil in Buddhism and the New Testament. This work resulted in his first major book titled, Buddhism and the Mythology of Evil (1968). Subsequently, he took up a post as Pastor at Judson Church, University of Rangoon with the American Baptist Missionary Society. Whilst there, he met the Bishop of Rangoon, the Rt. Revd Victor Shearburn whose influence led him to decide to become an Anglican. In Rangoon he also developed a deep personal interest in Buddhism, taking his children on Sundays to lay offerings before the Buddha image in the Shwedagon Pagoda. In 1962, he returned to England to the Community of the Resurrection at Mirfield, Yorkshire. He spent the following year as curate at St. Stephen's Church, Thornton Heath, Surrey. On 9th June, 1963, he was ordained as an Anglican priest in Canterbury Cathedral by Michael Ramsey. The years 1963 to 1972 saw his appointment in the Department of Theology at the University of Leeds. He was later awarded a Personal Chair in Comparative Religion. By the early 1970s, his growing interest in Chinese influences on the historical tradition of Buddhism was enhanced by the appointment of Owen Lattimore to the Centre of Chinese Studies in that University. This consolidated his work on South-east Asia, and his main research continued in Theravade Buddhism (of Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos). He also became increasingly interested in the sociology of religion, and published a volume called Buddha, Marx and God (1966). In 1972, he was persuaded to assume responsibility as the Chair of Comparative Religion at Manchester University by his former Phd supervisors, H.D. Lewis and Geoffrey Parrinder. In the same year, he published A Dictionary of Buddhism and thereafter a number of works on South-East Asia. His well-known text, A History of Religion East and West (1968), brought him wide recognition. This book adopted the unique approach of following each religion through similar eras, rather than examining different religions in separate chapters. His historical and sociological work flourished during his Manchester period. Among his works were Religious Change in the Secular State (1978), Karl Marx and Religion (1980), Buddhist Revival in India (1980), Buddhism, Imperialism and War (1979) and a translation The Buddhist Philosophy of Man (1981). Thereafter, he was a Visiting Professor at the University of Santiniketan, West Bengal. In 1984, he was invited to the National University of Singapore. In 1987, he became Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of East Asian Philosophies, Singapore where he continued working on Buddhism, Confucianism and the Secular State in Singapore. It was also during his spell in Singapore that he embarked on learning the Mandarin language. From 1988 to 1992, he was a Fellow at the Institute of South East Asian Studies, Singapore. His years in Singapore once again resulted in numerous publications. In the latter years of his life, his quest for the spiritual side of religion continued in his personal life. In Singapore, his search led him first to attend the Anglican Cathedral, then the Methodist Church and finally the Orchard Road Presbyterian Church. He found much happiness in the Presbyterian Church and was soon involved as Chairman of the Church Choir. Thereafter, he returned to his home in Brighton where he often mentioned that he would look over the sea and think of Singapore. His last days were spent in Long Eaton, Derbyshire. He was a highly disciplined and professional scholar who devoted his life to the pursuit of religious studies. He was also an extremely kind gentleman with a sense of humour that endeared him to his colleagues, students and to all those who cared for him and about him. We remember him most by his advice, "You should always leave the world a better place than you found it." His first wife, Mary Evelyn Inkster, died in 1973. He is survived by his three daughters, Elspeth (Ellie), Ruth and Catherine (Kate) of that marriage, and by his second wife, Jeanne Openshaw. With the kindness and help of Ellie Hedges, Daughter of the late Prof. Trevor Oswald Ling. " [Quelle: http://iias.leidenuniv.nl/iiasn/iiasn5/ling.html. -- Zugriff am 2005-06-16]

1996-06-06

Abb.: Duldzin Dorje Shugden, an emanation of the wisdom Buddha Manjushri in the aspect of a dharma protector.
[Bildquelle: http://www.meditationinliverpool.org.uk/HTML-Pages/Gallery/Dorje-Shugden.html. -- Zugriff am 2005-06-07]

In London demonstrieren 200 britische Mitglieder der Shugden Supporters Community (SSC) vor dem Office of Tibet gegen den Dalai Lama, der die gewaltsame Entfernung von Bildern von Dorje Shugden aus den Häusern tibetischer Flüchtlinge in Südindien angeordnet bzw. authorisiert hatte.

Zum Hintergrund:

"Götter und Dämonen vom Dach der Welt Ein Geist geht um unter den Tibetern. Er verursacht einen bitteren Konflikt. Die einen halten ihn für sehr schädlich, allen voran der Dalai Lama, während die andern ihn verehren wie einen Buddha. Dorje Shugden heisst die Erscheinung aus der unbewältigten Vergangenheit Tibets. Im tibetischen Buddhismus tummeln sich seit alters zwischen den Buddhas, den Bodhisattvas und anderen Heiligen Scharen von Geistern, Dämonen und Orakeln, die mit ihnen kommunizieren. Viele haben ihren Ursprung in lokalen Gottheiten aus der vorbuddhistischen Zeit Tibets. Der indische Tantriker Padmasambhava soll im 8. Jahrhundert einen grossen Teil dieser Lokalgottheiten zum Buddhismus bekehrt haben, wodurch sie Aufnahme ins tibetisch-buddhistische Pantheon fanden. Diese Praktik führte ausserdem dazu, dass die Zahl der Gottheiten über die Jahrhunderte immer weiter wuchs. Im 17. Jahrhundert schliesslich stösst die Gottheit Dorje Shugden, die heute so grosse Probleme verursacht, neu zur bunten Schar. Über seine Herkunft ist man sich so uneinig wie über seinen wahren Charakter. Die einen sagen, dass es sich um den Geist eines Rivalen des 5. Dalai Lama handle, der eines gewaltsamen Todes gestorben sei. Andere behaupten, es handle sich im Gegenteil um den Geist eines Unterstützers des 5. Dalai Lama. Selbst die befragten Tibetologinnen und Tibetologen, von denen man sich eine Klärung ausserhalb der Geisterbahn erhofft, üben Zurückhaltung. Nicht zuletzt weil sie Angst haben vor Journalisten und ihren Geschichten, die der Komplexität solcher Konflikte nie gerecht werden. Eines ist klar: Dorje Shugden taucht zur Zeit des 5. Dalai Lama, der mit Hilfe der Mongolen die Macht über ganz Tibet übernahm, auf, also zur Zeit der Machtübernahme der Gelugpas. Die offenen Kämpfe unter den verschiedenen buddhistischen Schulen kamen damit mehr oder weniger zu einem Ende, und die Gelugpas blieben bis zum Einmarsch der Chinesen an der Macht. Fest steht ausserdem, dass der umstrittene Schutzgeist fast ausschliesslich von den Gelugpas verehrt wurde. Bis in die 70er Jahre unseres Jahrhunderts fristete diese Gottheit eine unauffällige Existenz. Ins tibetische Rampenlicht trat sie erst, als sich der Dalai Lama persönlich von dieser Praxis abwandte, da er begann, sie aus verschiedenen Gründen für schädlich zu halten (siehe Interview). Die Situation ist besonders brisant, weil einer der zwei Hauptlehrer des Dalai Lama einer der wichtigsten Exponenten dieses Shugden-Kults war. Wie viele Tibeter diese Gottheit verehrten und durch die Weisungen des Dalai Lama betroffen sind, ist schwer zu sagen, denn auch unter den Gelugpas war nur eine kleine Minderheit in diese Praxis eingeweiht. Anfang der 90er Jahre verschärfte sich der Konflikt. Nicht zuletzt durch die Aktivitäten tibetischer Lamas im Westen. Die Hauptrolle spielte dabei der tibetische Lehrer Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, der seit 1977 in England unterrichtet und dessen Sekte zu den am schnellsten wachsenden buddhistischen Gruppen Englands gehört. In engster Verbindung mit dieser Gruppe steht die Shugden Supporters Community, die auch dafür sorgte, dass der alte Geist plötzlich zum grossen Medienauftritt kam. Sie startete eine massive Kampagne gegen den Dalai Lama, indem sie die Medien mit Material über angebliche Menschenrechtsverletzungen durch den Dalai Lama versorgte und unzählige Internet-Seiten mit Anschuldigungen gegen den Dalai Lama füllte. Da die Zentren der westlichen Shugden-Anhänger nicht der tibetischen Exilregierung unterstehen und somit auch nicht an die Weisungen des Dalai Lama gebunden sind, fragen sich viele, was sie mit ihrer Kampagne wirklich bezwecken.   Geshe Kelsang, der Führer der Bewegung, war für den TA nicht zu sprechen. Er habe sich aus der Öffentlichkeit zurückgezogen, weil es so viele Probleme gegeben habe, hiess es. Als Kelsang Gyatso noch mit der Presse sprach, hat er der Zeitung "Independent" zum Beispiel erklärt: "Wenn der Dalai Lama recht hätte, würde das bedeuten, dass die Praxis der vergangenen 20 Jahre totale Verschwendung war: verlorene Zeit, verlorenes Geld, alles verloren. Das ist das grosse Problem." Viele jüngere Exiltibeter sind der Ansicht, dass die ganze Affäre wenig mit Religion und viel mit Macht zu tun hat. Denn so richtig brisant wurde die Sache erst im Exil, seit der Dalai Lama sich bemüht, die exiltibetische Gesellschaft zu modernisieren und auf eine demokratische Basis zu stellen. Die Öffnung gegenüber den verschiedenen buddhistischen Schulen und allen Regionen führte automatisch zu Machteinbussen auf seiten der Gelugpas. "Unter den Anhängern des Shugden-Kults gab es überproportional grosse Vertretungen von ehemaligen Aristokraten und Mönchsbeamten, die nicht bereit waren, ihre traditionelle Vorrangstellung, herstammend aus der alten feudalen Ordnung Tibets, aufzugeben", schreibt der Historiker und Tibet-Schweizer Wangpo Thetong. Der Dalai Lama ist wohl auch mit einer Grundfrage demokratischer Politik konfrontiert: Wieviel Toleranz darf oder soll man gegenüber den Intoleranten walten lassen? Schutz vor der Schutzgottheit  Mit Machtkämpfen lässt sich der Konflikt aber nur zum Teil erklären, denn unter den gläubigen Tibetern sind andere Kräfte am Werk. Die unsichtbare Gottheit Dorje Shugden, die tibetischen Lamas in Träumen erscheint und sich durch Orakel äussert, gehört zur Gattung "Feind-Besieger", von denen man erwartet, dass sie ihre Anhänger nicht nur gründlich beschützen, sondern auch grosszügig mit Reichtümern ausstatten.  Aber Belohnung und Bestrafung liegen bei solchen Göttern nahe beieinander, und sie erwarten, dass man sie täglich und lebenslänglich verehrt. Das ist auch einer der Gründe, warum die Situation unter den Tibetern gespannt ist. Denn wer schützt einen vor der entlassenen Schutzgottheit? Der Dalai Lama versichert, niemand müsse sich vor der Rache dieser Gottheit fürchten, er werde sich persönlich darum kümmern. Und er empfiehlt, bestimmte Gebete zu rezitieren. Auffällig ist, dass der Dalai Lama in dieser Sache leicht entnervt wirkt. Zwar bezieht er sich in seiner Grundhaltung auf den grossen Reformer und Begründer der Gelug-Schule, Tsongkhapa, der sich im 14. Jahrhundert gegen viele schamanistische Praktiken und gegen Sektierertum wandte. Doch lassen sich alte Traditionen nicht so leicht ausrotten, und Sektierertum noch weniger, vor allem wenn es politisch motiviert ist. Der Dalai Lama ist mit all diesen Gottheiten und ihren religiösen und politischen Verbindungen aufgewachsen, und es scheint ihm entsprechend schwerzufallen, diese Angelegenheit mit der gleichen Gelassenheit zu behandeln, die er in anderen Dingen an den Tag legt. Tages-Anzeiger, Ursula K. Rathgeb 23.03.1998" [Quelle: http://www.tibetfocus.com/shugden/shugden_artikel.html. -- Zugriff am 2005-06-07]

2000-08-01

Abb.: Trevor Legget

Trevor Legget (1914 - 2000] stirbt in London

"Trevor Legget (1914-2000), the prolific Zen author, died on August 1 in London. Leggett was, by all accounts, a man of considerable talents and extensive interests. He was a law graduate, an accom plished pianist, a fluent Japanese speaker, a  Sanskrit scholar, and the author more than thirty books including many widely acclaimed books on Zen Buddhism, such as A First Zen Reader (Turtle) and Zen and the Ways (Tuttle). Leggett dedicated much of his life to furthering the teachings of Adhyatma Yoga, which he studied for almost twenty years, and to Buddhism, particularly the Zen tradition. Leggett's interest in Zen developed during several visits to Japan in the 1930s and while interned in a Japanese prison camp during World War II. In 1964, he underwent six months of training at Eihei-ji and Daitoku-ji, the main temples of the Soto and Rinzai sects of Japanese Zen. Leggett worked as the head of the Japanese service of the BBC from 1946-1970. Thereafter he continued to give voice to his spiritual interests through books, essays, lectures, and, in later years, his own website. He remained a student of Japanese and Sanskrit until his eyesight failed him, and he spoke to Buddhist groups until this year. His last lecture was at the Buddhist Society in London in June. Leggett died a month shy of his eighty-sixth birthday." [Quelle: Tricycle : the Buddhist review. -- ISSN 1055-484X. -- Vol. X, No. 2 (Winter 2000). -- S. 15.]

2003-07-14

Die britische Königin verleiht dem britischen buddhistischen Mönch Phra Khemadhammo,von Wat Pa Santitham in England den Order of the British Empire für seine Arbeit unter englishcen und walisischen Gefangenen während der letzten 26 Jahre. Khemathammo ist der erste buddhistische Mönch, der einen königlichen Orden erhält. Phra Khmethammo ist 58 Jahre alt und trat 1971 in Thailand in den buddhistischen Orden ein. 1977 kehrte er nach England zurück und gründete das Kloster Wat Pa Santitham sowie die Angulimala Organization, die Gefangene in englischen und walisischen Gefängnissen betreut.

2004

Abb.: Susan Blackmore
[Bildquelle: http://www.susanblackmore.co.uk/Photos%20of%20Sue/index.htm. -- Zugriff am 2005-06-10]

Es erscheint:

Blackmore, Susan J. <1951 - >: Consciousness : an introduction. -- Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2004.  -- xi, 460 S. : Ill. ; 25 cm. -- ISBN
019515343X. -- {Wenn Sie HIER klicken, können Sie dieses Buch direkt bei amazon.de bestellen}

Darin finden sich viele Anregungen zu einem buddhistischen Persönlichkeitsmodell. Die Autorin praktiziert Zen, bezeichnet sich aber als Nichtbuddhistin.

"Dr. Susan Jane Blackmore (born 1951) is a British freelance writer, lecturer, and broadcaster, perhaps best known for her book The Meme Machine. Career In 1973, Susan Blackmore graduated from St. Hilda's College, University of Oxford, with a BA (Hons) in psychology and physiology. She went on to do a postgraduate degree in environmental psychology at the University of Surrey, achieving an MSc in 1974. In 1980, she got her Ph.D. in parapsychology from the same university, her thesis being entitled "Extrasensory Perception as a Cognitive Process". She has done research on memes (which she wrote about in her popular book The Meme Machine), evolutionary theory, consciousness, and the paranormal. She has also appeared on television a number of times, discussing such paranormal phenomena as ghosts, ESP, and out-of-body experiences, in what she describes as the "unenviable role of Rentaskeptic", and she has also presented a show on alien abductions. Another programme which she has presented discusses the intelligence of apes. She also acted as one of the psychologists who featured on the British version of the television show "Big Brother", speaking about the psychological state of the contestants. She has been on the editorial board for the Journal of Memetics (an electronic journal) since 1997, and has been a consulting editor of the Skeptical Inquirer since 1998. Her latest book, Consciousness: An Introduction (2004), is the first book that could be described as an introductory textbook to the entire field of consciousness studies. In it she covers a wide variety of topics such as the mind-body problem, the hard problem of consciousness, philosophy of mind, Cognitive neuropsychology, cognitive science, artificial intelligence, evolution, parapsychology, altered states of consciousness, phenomenology, Buddhism, and meditation. In sidebars of her book she has written brief profiles about various notable contributors to the field such as Daniel Dennett, John Searle, David Chalmers, Patricia Churchland, Francis Crick, Antonio Damasio, V.S. Ramachandran, John Carew Eccles, Rodney Brooks, Alan Turing, Francisco Varela, Rene Descartes, David Hume, William James, and the Buddha. Personal life In 1977, she married fellow academic Prof. Tom Troscianko, and they had two children: Emily Tamarisk Troscianko (born February 20, 1982), and Jolyon Tomasz Troscianko (born May 17, 1984). She is now the partner of Dr. Adam Hart-Davis. Blackmore is an active practitioner of Zen, although she identifies herself as "not a Buddhist".[1] (http://www.susanblackmore.co.uk/Zen/intro.htm) Blackmore is an atheist who has written against religion: I want to tell that these religious memes not survived for hundreds of years because they are true, or because they are useful for genes, or because they make us happy. I believe that they are false in fact, and they are causes of the most terrible distresses of the human history. Not - they survived because they are selfish memes (Awakening from the meme dream)." [Quelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Blackmore. -- Zugriff am 2005-06-10]

Zu 5.3.: Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO)