About the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order

Aryaloka is affiliated with the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order, an international network of public centers, communities, and projects committed to ethical and spiritual practice according to the Buddha's teachings. The FWBO approach to Buddhist practice is characterized by:

• an emphasis on Going for Refuge to the Three Jewels as the essential act of Buddhist spiritual life
• a balanced approach to practice, including rigorous study and meditation, ethical practice, compassionate action, and devotion
• study and practice emerging from the unity of the Buddhist tradition, including teachings from all three major schools of Buddhism: the Theravada, the Mahayana, and the Vajrayana
• a strong sense of sangha or community
• emphasis on spiritual friendship or 'kalyana mitrata'

We are linked to the Buddhist tradition through the FWBO's founder, Urgyen Sangharakshita. He lived, studied and practiced in India for more than 20 years under the guidance of several prominent Burmese, Chinese, and Tibetan teachers. Sangharakshita, a prolific writer and teacher, founded the Western Buddhist Order and the 'Friends' in 1967 after he returned from India to his native England and saw the need for Dharma practice among westerners.

Today there are over 1300 members of the Western Buddhist Order and its counterpart in India, the Trailokya Bauddha Mahasangha. Thousands of 'friends' and mitras practice with the FWBO and TBMSG worldwide.

Learn more about the FWBO

To learn more about the FWBO as a worldwide movement, please visit the main FWBO web site at www.fwbo.org. Here are some sample links focusing on the FWBO's particular approach to practice:

• Friendship
• Social action
• The Western Buddhist Order

Other topics you may want to explore:

• What is Buddhism?
• What is meditation?