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Lotus in the City

GETTING MORE INVOLVED IN THE LBC

This page tells you more about volunteering, becoming a Mitra, becoming a member of the Triratna Buddhist Order.

You can read about the vision of the LBC, how the LBC is run, your relationship with the LBC, and the current members of the LBC Council.

You can also find further information about the Triratna Buddhist Community and Sangharakshita.

Volunteering

Volunteering is a simple way of getting more involved with the LBC. Many people volunteer to support one of the evening class teams. You can volunteer to help in the office or work on reception and we always need people to help with housekeeping at the LBC. To find out more about volunteering contact us on 0208 981 1225 or at info@lbc.org.uk

Becoming a Mitra

If you feel you are a Buddhist and want to practice Buddhism in the context of the Triratna Buddhist Community, you may decide to become a Mitra or ‘friend’. A ‘mitra’ is someone who:

Feels themselves to be a Buddhist
Is trying to practice the 5 ethical precepts of Buddhism
Wants to deepen their exploration of Buddhism within the context of the Triratna Buddhist Community

Contact: Jayaka, Men’s Mitra Convenor (Tel) 0208 709 9982 (e) jayaka@lbc.org.uk or Subhadramati, Women’s Mitra Convenor (Tel) 0208 709 9975 (e) subhadramati@lbc.org.uk

What is a mitra?

Listen to two short talks by mitras on "Being a Buddhist" 1 2

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Becoming a member of the Triratna Buddhist Order

Some people go further still and ask to be ordained into the Triratna Buddhist Order. Ordination means deciding to dedicate your life to the practice of Buddhism.

What is an Order Member?

Listen to two short talks by Order Members on "Being a Buddhist" 1 2

The Vision of the LBC

The vision of the LBC is to gather together a community of Buddhist spiritual practitioners, who communicate and exemplify Sangharakshita's distinctive vision of the Dharma. We want to help create and make as widely available as possible good conditions for men and women to deepen their Going for Refuge to the Buddha – the ideal of Enlightenment, the Dharma – all those attitudes and teaching that lead to Enlightenment, and the Sangha – those men and women who have made decisive progress on the path to Enlightenment. And we want to make those conditions as widely available as possible.

Arising out of this vision we have, broadly speaking, ten ‘fields of work’ – areas particular concern, focus and emphasis.

Arena	Description	Focused by
Teaching the Dharma	Communicating Sangharakshita’s distinctive vision of the Buddhadharma in a coherent, progressive and comprehensive way to all.	Dharma Co-ordinator
Spiritual Friendship (Kalyanamitrata)	Creating Sangha among men and women who attend the LBC, as a path and a fruit, a practice and an experienced benefit	Mitra Convenors and Chair
Communities	To encourage vibrant, financially sustainable Triratna Buddhist Community residential spiritual communities	Communities sub-group
Right Livelihood	To encourage work as a spiritual and ethical practice – especially the creation and support of Team-Based Right Livelihood Businesses that are spiritually vital and financially sustainable	Friends Foods Board, Sudana Management Committee, Windhorse Trading, Bodywise Trustees
LBC administration	Running the LBC administration, reception & systems that support the Centre to carry out its work in a harmonious and efficient way.	Centre Coordinator
Holding regular LBC retreats at all levels of involvement	To provide a quiet and well run retreat centre (Vajrasana) and to make effective, sustainable use of it	Vajrasana Caretaker And Centre Coordinator
Breathing Space	To apply the Buddhadharma using secular terms to meet specific needs	Breathing Space management group
Communications	Within the LBC Mandala : To communicate and be in dialogue with those who attend the LBC Beyond the Mandala : Dharma Outreach: To advertise widely so the LBC and its activities are known; To make the Buddhadharma known in a range of venues to as many people as possible. Involvement with the wider community: To have a beneficial relationship with the wider community as neighbours and as citizens	Centre Co-ordinator, Web group Dharma Coordinator
Financial & Legal Responsibilities	To help maintain the long-term financial viability of the institutions of the Mandala; to work within the legal framework in all our areas of involvement	Treasurer, Friends' Foods financial manager, LBC Council, Bodywise Trustees
Property management & maintenance	To responsibly manage the physical assets of the charity	Property manager

How the LBC is run

The LBC is a registered charity run by a council of trustees. The Trustees of the LBC are members of the Triratna Buddhist Order with a long-standing connection with the centre and its work. The Chairman of the Council is Jnanavaca. As chairman, Jnanavaca is particularly responsible for the spiritual integrity and direction of the Centre; he also chairs the Council of Trustees. The LBC also has a president, Subhuti. Subhuti is a senior and respected Order Member who is not based at the LBC and can give both an outside perspective and the benefit of his many years of spiritual training and experience.

Your relationship to the LBC

Questions and discussion . If you have questions or things you would like to discuss, we recommend, in the first place, that you talk to one of the Order Members running the class or retreat you are involved with. Most classes have tea breaks in which you can talk to one of the teachers, and retreats include plenty of free time in which to seek out Order Members. Our mitra study training, is an especially good smaller forum for discussion of the Dharma and the Triratna Buddhist Community ’s approach to it.

Keeping you informed about the LBC . We publish a programme of all our classes, courses and retreats three times a year. We send out regular email bulletins. We host regular ‘Mandala Community Evenings’ in which we seek feedback and suggestions. We also publish an annual review of our work each year that outlines our principle areas of work.

Concerns and complaints. If you have a concern or a complaint about something that has happened at the LBC you can contact one of the members of the LBC Council and to talk to them informally to express your concern and perceptions. The individual Council Member will then take appropriate action. If you would like to make a more formal complaint you will need to put it in writing and send it for the attention of the LBC Council.

Our annual review

More about the LBC

Abhayavajra : 01359 259 344
abhayavajra@hotmail.co.uk

Dhammadassin : 020 8981 1225
dhammadassin@lbc.org.uk

Jayaka : 020 8981 1225
jayaka@lbc.org.uk

Jnanavaca : 020 8981 1225
jnanavaca@yahoo.co.uk

Maitreyabandhu : 020 8981 1225
maitreyabandhu@lbc.org.uk

Maitreyaraja : 020 8981 1225
maitreyaraja@lbc.org.uk

Maitripushpa :
maitripushpa@yahoo.co.uk

Maitrivajri : 0208 981 1225
maitrivajri@lbc.org.uk

Paramabandhu : 020 8981 1225
paramabandhu@lbc.org.uk

Prasannavira : 0208 981 6938
prasannavira@bodywisehealth.org

Subhadramati : 020 8981 1225
subhadramati@lbc.org.uk

The London Buddhist Centre is part of a worldwide network of centres run by the Triratna Buddhist Community, an international movement dedicated to the application of Buddhist principles in contemporary society.

More about the Triratna Buddhist Community

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Our Teacher, the Venerable Sangharakshita

The Triratna Buddhist Community was founded in 1967 by Sangharakshita, an English Buddhist monk who had returned from 20 years of Buddhist practice and study in India.

More about Sangharakshita