Dharmachari Subhuti, born Alex Kennedy, is a senior associate at the

Triratna Buddhist Community The Triratna Buddhist Community, formerly the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO), is an international fellowship of Buddhists. It was founded in the UK in 1967 by Sangharakshita (born Dennis Philip Edward Lingwood) and describes itse ...

(formerly the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order), founded by

Sangharakshita Dennis Philip Edward Lingwood (26 August 192530 October 2018), known more commonly as Sangharakshita, was a British spiritual teacher and writer. In 1967, he founded the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO), which was renamed the Trirat ...

, and president of the

London Buddhist Centre The London Buddhist Centre (LBC) is a temple located on Roman Road, Bethnal Green, London, that serves as the main base for the London Triratna Buddhist Community. It opened in 1978 in an ornate, vernacular redbrick former Victorian fire station ...

. He has held various positions of leadership and been instrumental in many developments in the community."The Buddhist vision: a path to fulfilment" – Google Books
/ref> Subhuti was influential in the building of the London Buddhist Centre, which opened in 1978, and he helped raise funds from the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

for its completion. He developed training for men preparing to be ordained into the Triratna Buddhist Order at the Padmaloka retreat centre, near Norwich, in England. He also helped found Guhyaloka, a retreat centre in Spain, where men make final preparations to become members of the order. As well as being involved in the spread of the

Dharma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...

in the West, particularly in Britain, Subhuti spends six months each year working with the community's Indian wing, the Triratna Bauddha Mahāsaṅgha (TBM). Most of TBM's members are drawn from the poorest people in India, sometimes referred to as

Dalit Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold var ...

s, or so-called "untouchables". The late Dalit leader

B. R. Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (Bhīmrāo Rāmjī Āmbēḍkar; 14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who chaired the committee that drafted the Constitution of India based on t ...

converted to Buddhism, saying it was necessary to escape the caste oppression and discrimination that this group experienced. Hundreds of thousands of Ambedkar's followers subsequently converted to Buddhism. Following the turn of the millennium, Subhuti raised concerns over the circumstances of some of Sangharakshita's past sexual relationships, and around the same time, his chairmanship of Triratna's Preceptors College was handed on to Dharmachari Dhammarati. In the years leading up to Sangarakshita's death in 2018, Subhuti and Sangharakshita collaborated closely to produce a series of new articles clarifying and reemphasizing Triratna's core approach and principles.

Published works

Subhuti's books include ''Sangharakshita: A New Voice in the Buddhist Tradition'',"A reader in new religious movements" – Google Books
/ref> which explores what Sangharakshita has contributed to the practice of Buddhism and the spread of Buddhism in the West. He has also published ''The Buddhist Vision'' (an introductory book on Buddhism), ''Bringing Buddhism to the West'' (a short biography of Sangharakshita), ''Buddhism for Today'', ''Women, men, and angels'', and ''Buddhism and Friendship''. Subhuti argues that "sexual interest on the part of a male order member for a male mitra (younger, inexperienced student of Buddhism) can create a connection which may allow kalyana mitrata (spiritual friendship) to develop". He goes on to claim that while "some, of course, are predisposed to this attraction, others have deliberately chosen to change their sexual preferences in order to use sex as a medium of kalyana mitrata" (spiritual friendship). He also suggests that "male-female relationships … are probably not particularly spiritually productive", and he speaks "of the dangers of male-female relationships". Those who cannot follow such ideas, he suggests, are blocked by "taboo" or a "reluctance to give up a conditioned predisposition",Alex Kennedy, Shabda Sept. 1986, p. 129, http://www.ex-cult.org/fwbo/SubQuote.htm

References

External links

*
"The awakening of the west" – Google Books

"The Middle way, Volumes 61–62" – Google Books

"Buddhism for today : a portrait of a new Buddhist movement" – National Library of Australia

"An old net for new monsters" – National Library of Australia

The Buddhist Centre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Subhuti, Dharmachari English Buddhists Buddhist writers 1947 births Living people Friends of the Western Buddhist Order