Sangharakshita is the founder of the Triratna Buddhist Order and community. People in the community will often refer to him as ‘Bhante’, which is an affectionate term for ones’ teacher in many Buddhist schools.
His teachings span the breadth and depth of the Buddhist tradition, while emphasising friendship, the arts, and inspired imagination. He has always particularly emphasised the decisive significance of commitment in the spiritual life, the paramount value of spiritual friendship and community, the link between religion and art and the need for a ‘new society’, supportive of spiritual aspirations and ideals.
Born Dennis Lingwood, Sangharakshita formed an early interest in Buddhism at the age of sixteen. He was conscripted to India in the Second World War, and at the end of the war he deserted and became a homeless ascetic, later ordained as a Theravadin monk.
After twenty years teaching in India, Sangharakshita returned to London where he established the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO) which later became Triratna.
For some, Sangharakshita is a controversial figure and the experimentation involved in creating a radical new Buddhist tradition included aspects that were later abandoned. In particular, there was a period in which he had sexual relationships with a number of his male disciples, something that has been subject of much discussion in recent years and culminated in a thorough investigation and report by senior members of the Order.
He passed away in October 2018, and is buried at Adhisthana, the retreat centre where he had lived for five years.
Links
The Urgyen Sangharakshita Trust