The Triratna Story by Vajragupta

The Triratna Story to a new situation has, by necessity, to experiment and innovate – and to be especially willing to learn and adapt too.

The 1960s and early 1970s were revolutionary times and it was easy to get intoxicated, to think that we were the ones who were going to put the world to rights, and show the old guard how it should be done. But, sooner or later, the world teaches us humility.

In its early days, the FWBO’s discourse could be rather harsh and ringing, and relations with other Buddhist groups were sometimes tense and distrustful. The situation is much better these days. The FWBO is an active and valued participant in interBuddhist bodies such as the UK Network of Buddhist Organisations, or the European Buddhist Union. Many other Western sanghas are curious about the FWBO and admiring of its success.

The FWBO has learned to be confident and proud of the distinctive contribution it makes, but also increasingly modest, unpretentious, and willing to learn from others.

3) Remember the spirit behind the practice Sometimes we don’t like this apparent ambiguity; we prefer to have clear-cut, certain answers. Literalism is the tendency to grasp tightly the words with which a truth or teaching is expressed, so that the underlying meaning is squeezed out. We grab hold of the letter of the law, and miss the spirit in which the teaching was given. We can do this with any teaching or practice.

Perhaps this is particularly a danger when we lack experience.

Not having a deep and sustained personal experience of the practice, we rely on the ‘theory’ – on the letter of the law. In the early days of the FWBO it was, perhaps, not surprising that practices such as single-sex could become rigid and dogmatic. These days, more people have had the theory and tried the practice. Their approach is more human and more kind.

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