Dharmachari Subhuti, originally Alex Kennedy, is a senior associate of Sangharakshita, founder of the Triratna Buddhist Community (formerly the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO)), and President of the London Buddhist Centre. He has held various positions of leadership and has 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 The London Buddhist Centre (LBC) is a temple in Bethnal Green in East London, is the main base for the London Triratna Buddhist Community, formerly known as the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order. It opened in 1978, and is located in an ornat ...

, which opened in 1978, and he helped to 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 Padmaloka retreat centre, near Norwich in England. He also helped to 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 (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...

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 Dalits, or so-called 'untouchables'. The late Dalit leader, Dr.

Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly of India, Constit ...

, converted to Buddhism, saying it was necessary to escape the caste oppression and discrimination which this group experienced. Hundreds of thousands of Dr 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 recent years Subhuti and Sangharakshita have been collaborating 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 on Sangharakshita), "''Buddhism for Today''", "''Women, men, and angels''", and "''Buddhism and Friendship''". Alex Kennedy (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)." Kennedy 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 to be 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

Subhuti's own website

"The awakening of the west" – Google Books

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

"Revival of Buddhism is not hostile to Hinduism: Kalon Tripa" – Phayul

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

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

adhisthana-kula/women-men-and- angels-personal-statement- subhuti

adhisthana-kula/maitreyi- interviews-subhuti-women-men- and-angels
{{DEFAULTSORT:Subhuti, Dharmachari English Buddhists Buddhist writers 1947 births Living people Friends of the Western Buddhist Order