In 1976 I met Devamitra who invited me to the Norwich Centre which he had just begun. I dropped out of university and was ordained in less than a year; I was just 22 years old. The ordination by Bhante remains the defining moment of my life, however there was a lot of integration to do and I would always recommend a longer period before ordination! From 1982 I was Director of Karuna which led to my moving to India in 1992 where I was based for seven years. As well as Karuna work I supported the ordination training there. Returning to England at end of the millennium, I lived at Madhyamaloka community where Bhante was based for 13 years during which time I became an International Order Convenor as well as helping Bhante in various ways, and this continued when he moved to Adhisthana. I am president of the Centres in Essen, Germany and Ghent, Belgium, and in particular support the ordination training for men in the Low Countries. These days I live in Malvern close by Adhisthana with Kalyanaprabha. 

I was born in 1964. I was ordained on 19th March 1992 at Bhaja, India. My Private and Public Preceptor is Subhuti. I was living at that time in a community in Pune. After I was ordained I initially worked in publications, printing books, then I moved to work in the main office in Dapodi, Mahavihar as Executive Director. 

I became a Private Preceptor in 2011. I’ve ordained 8 men. I became a Public Preceptor in 2012.

I now live in Nagpur. As a Preceptor I’m part of the Ordination team, which involves leading retreats and getting to know men who’ve asked for ordination. I’m also Chair of the National Area Council of India. I’ve also responsibility as one of the Deputies of the College Public Preceptors.

I have a wife, who has asked for ordination, and one daughter, who is 19 years old and is studying Computer Engineering. 

In 1977, very confused and mixed up I stumbled into the Glasgow Centre of the Triratna Buddhist Community (then known as the FWBO or Friends of the Western Buddhist Order). I was met with welcome and friendliness by an energetic, charismatic group of young men.

I had come across Buddhism before this and had been fascinated by what I had read but it had seemed to me that Buddhism was for those who wanted to navel gaze about life and not for activists. The world needed changing: injustice; poverty; war; racism; sexism; homophobia were the battles I wanted to fight, an end to the world’s suffering.

However, I had seen a poster which captured my attention.  I had already been reflecting that, to change the world, I needed to change my life and the poster said Change your Life!  OK, I thought, I’ll give it a go.

Now, forty two years later, I have absolutely no regret that I found my way to that centre.  Having moved to London in 1978 to live in a community, I was ordained in 1980 and lived and worked around the LBC until moving to Valencia, Spain in 1992.  I was chair of the centre there for 9 years. While living there I became a private preceptor in 2002, ordaining a Spanish  woman and a Mexican woman. Since then I have continued to be involved with the Ordination training in Spain and Latin America.

I became a public preceptor in 2004, moving back to the UK in 2005, living first in Taraloka and then, for a couple of years, in Birmingham while we searched for what has become Adhisthana where I have lived since 2013. In that time I have publicly ordained women from Spain, Mexico, the UK, the USA and New Zealand.

I first came across Triratna (then the FWBO) in Dublin, Ireland, in 1999, at the age of 22. After being convinced by a friend, I learned meditation from Ratnabandhu of the Dublin Meditation Centre and really enjoyed it. A little while later I realised I was a Buddhist, and that without some deeper meaning in my life I would continue to live existentially adrift and feel unfulfilled. I was particularly struck by the clarity of Bhante’s expression of the Dharma. I was finishing my studies in Theoretical Physics in Trinity College Dublin, but decided to leave my Ph.D. unfinished and look for something more meaningful.

In 2002, I had a very significant time participating in a Karuṇā door-knocking appeal in London, and once back in Dublin I became a Mitra and asked for ordination, started working for the Dublin Buddhist Centre as Centre Manager, and moved into a new men’s residential community.

I very much enjoyed the ordination process and was ordained in 2007 in Guhyaloka, my Private Preceptor being Kulananda and my Public Preceptor being Saddhaloka.

In 2009, I became the Men’s Mitra Convenor for Dublin, a role I have loved doing and still do to this day. It’s a very pure experience of being able to help people to connect with and grow in the Dharma, and the friendships that are formed are meaningful indeed. In 2018, I became a Private Preceptor, and I continue to work closely with the ordination team in Padmaloka to help men in Ireland prepare for ordination.

I recently started working for the Sikkha Project on a part-time basis. I still live in a men’s community and enjoy that very much. I am happy to be part of the College so that I can support the continued development and growth of the Triratna Sangha, particularly in Ireland.

I came across Buddhism in 1995 when, through the recommendation of my friend’s mum, I started attending classes with Triratna in South London.  The Buddhist Centre was at the end of my street where I lived with my parents. I remember being introduced to the Metta Bhavana and being overwhelmed by a feeling of relief that I had found what I was searching for: a path of transformation towards a greater love. I listened to, and made notes on, Sangharakshita’s lectures which I borrowed from the tape library as well as reading ‘The Three Jewels’.  It seemed to me that Sangharakshita expressed every profound thought I’d ever had and then took it much further. I remember standing up on the bus on the way to school and saying to my friend, “This is it!”. I haven’t substantially changed my mind since then.

I studied Philosophy and Religious Studies at Leeds University while running the University Buddhist Society and attending classes. In 2000 I moved to Sheffield to work in the Windhorse:Evolution shop and live in a women’s community. I started working for the Sheffield Buddhist Centre four years later, and was ordained in 2004 at the age of 26. Maitreyi is my Private Preceptor and Ratnadharini my Public. I was Mitra Convenor in Sheffield as well as being part of setting up the young person’s project. I moved to Tiratanaloka Retreat Centre in Wales in 2011 to be a member of the women’s ordination team and I became a Private Preceptor in 2016. 

One of the things that inspired me when I first came to the Buddhist Centre was watching ‘newsreel’ videos about our Movement in India. I was moved by the intensity of feeling amongst the Indian Buddhists towards Buddhism, a feeling which I share. I was also inspired by the teaching and example of Dr Ambedkar, his confidence that Buddhism is a force for good in the world and precipitates positive social change. It has added depth to my practice to be involved with our Movement in India through being Chair of India Dhamma Trust. 

I feel very fortunate to lead a rich and happy life of meaning and purpose, with good friends and conditions in which I can deepen my Dharma practice. It is a privilege to help make that life available to others.

I started visiting the Norwich Buddhist Centre in 1992, having decided to explore Buddhism during an extended cycling tour of Ireland in the summer of the previous year. I became a Mitra and asked for ordination in 1993, the same year in which I participated in a door-knocking appeal for the Karuna Trust. I moved to Padmaloka and joined the Support Team as gardener and second cook, where I remained for six years. In 1997 I was Privately ordained at Guhyaloka by Ashvajit.Following the ordinations my Public Preceptor Sona gave a talk in the course of which he encouraged every new Order Member to leave their native land within two years and start a Buddhist centre overseas. A few days later I awoke with a strong sense of ‘knowing’ I would move to Berlin, despite never having been to Germany before.I moved in 2000. Anomarati and Dayaraja had recently opened the first centre in 1998. I co-founded the Chintamani men’s community, where I still live. Three years later Anomarati moved to Nepal, and I became Chair of FWBO/Triratna Berlin. Helping establish a thriving Triratna presence in Berlin became the main focus of my practice, and I am proud to have overseen the purchase of new premises for a significant new centre. I handed on my responsibilities as Chair when I turned sixty in 2017.Since 2003 I’ve partly supported myself by teaching English. One of the most enjoyable aspects of my life in Berlin has been exploring the arts, especially the world of classical music, and since 2012 I’ve been learning to play the piano. I now have dual English/German citizenship and intend to remain in Germany.

I was born in Mombasa, Kenya in 1965 to Indian parents. I have no real memories of Africa as we moved to London when I was two.  The sudden death of my father when I was eleven accelerated my questioning about the meaning of life, and in my early teens I decided I was a Buddhist. However I had almost no idea of what Buddhism was apart from what I had gleaned from a few popular books on Zen.

I studied physics at University – looking for answers to the big questions. I also tried to practise with a Zen group while I was a student – mostly trying to be mindful and have a routine in my life.  I soon realised that physics wasn’t going to provide me with the answers I was looking for, and my attempts to practice Zen Buddhism left me disheartened and feeling that I lacked the determination and discipline that was needed.  After graduating, I decided that my spiritual questioning was going nowhere and that I should get a ‘real’ job. So I ended up working for Marks and Spencer in their I.T. department. I can remember feeling lost and disillusioned and that I’d betrayed my ideals.

It wasn’t until 1994 when I was 28 that I came across the London Buddhist Centre and it was after my first retreat the Christmas of that year (led by Maitreyabandhu and Ratnadharini) that I realised that the Dharma was something I could really practise. 

Soon after I moved into one of the LBC communities started by Maitreyabandhu and Paramabandhu (where I have lived ever since).  I started working for the LBC in 1998 as a (not very good) fundraiser having finally found the courage to leave my job in the corporate world.  I was ordained in 1999 by Subhuti at the Bordharan retreat centre near Nagpur, India. It felt completely right at a mythic level to be ordained in India and to have my public ordination fall on the anniversary of my father’s death twenty-two years previously.

Back at the LBC I took on being the Treasurer and a few years later, the men’s Mitra Convenor. For nine years from 2009 I was the Chair of the LBC which was both demanding and fulfilling – particularly the phase during the building of the new Vajrasana retreat centre.  I handed on that role to Suryagupta in 2018 and shortly afterwards went on a 6 month solitary retreat – possibly the happiest period of my life. From 2019-2024, I served as a Deputy during Ratnadharini’s term as College Chair. I am still President of the Cambridge Centre and am currently co-writing a book with Maitreyabandhu on ‘Insight in our System of Practice’.

I was born in Henley-in-Arden, a small town in Warwickshire, UK. My parents ran a small transport business: taxis, coaches, and a lorry. I have three older brothers and a younger sister. The family was quite poor. For me, it was a largely unhappy childhood. I did badly at school and at one point I was thought to be ‘educationally sub-normal’ (as they called it in those days). I later trained as a nurse in Coventry. I left nursing shortly after becoming an SRN (State registered Nurse) to go to art school. I attended Goldsmiths College of Fine Art (London) where I had a studio just down the corridor from Damien Hirst. I first went to the London Buddhist Centre (LBC) during the second year of my art degree. I was 25. It changed my life. On that first visit I knew I was a Buddhist, had always been a Buddhist, and always would be a Buddhist. 

I was ordained in 1990. Suvajra was my Private Preceptor, Subhuti was my Public Preceptor. I have lived and worked in the LBC for over thirty years, in one of the men’s communities. In that time, I have been the men’s mitra convenor, helped to open a Right Livelihood café, painted a mural outside the LBC, and produced and directed an opera, The Triumph of Life, about the last days of the Buddha.  I founded PoetryEast and was a co-founder (along with Paramabandhu) of Breathing Space – the LBC’s health and wellbeing project. I have written three books on Buddhism (with Windhorse Publications) and published two books of poetry (Bloodaxe Books).

I’m based at the London Buddhist Centre, where I’ve been living in communities for over 30 years. Between 2003 and 2009 I was Chair of the London Buddhist Centre where I helped to establish Breathing Space, the health and well-being wing of the Centre that teaches mindfulness-based approaches to help with depression, addiction, stress and carers. Until 2017 I worked for the National Health Service as a psychiatrist specialising in addiction. Currently I’m President to the Norwich and Brixton centres. I’m also author of Practical Buddhism: Mindfulness and Skilful Living in the Modern Era; with Valerie Mason-John (Vimalasara) Eight Step Recovery: Using the Buddha’s Teachings to Overcome Addiction; and with Jed Shamel Mindful Emotion: A Short Course in Kindness.

I came across Buddhism in India in 1977 while travelling, aged 22. I moved into the Aryatara community in Purley, South London in 1980 and started working for Rainbow Builders, a Team Based Right Livelihood business. I trained as a carpenter. I was Ordained by Bhante in Tuscany in 1984. On returning I helped renovate and then run the Rivendell Retreat Centre and taught at the Croydon Buddhist Centre. In 1990 I moved to Vajraloka. I also began teaching meditation in India and this continued when I moved to Stockholm, Sweden in 1996 where I helped establish the movement there. In 2002 I moved to Padmaloka and joined the Ordination Team. I find my work here, my friendships and the regular semi-monastic lifestyle, deeply satisfying. It is how I want to practice and I feel very fortunate. I have continued to deepen meditation practice and teaching and in the last few years have done several long solitary retreats. I became a Public Preceptor in 2008.

When I first came across Triratna in 1998, aged 26, I was working for MTV/VH1 in Camden Town, London, doing graphic design and shooting title sequences. I had already been travelling in Asia and had come across Buddhism, and had wanted to follow it up. Having recently moved to East London I went to the London Buddhist Centre and was taught meditation by Maitreyabandhu and Sraddhagita. I immediately knew that I had found what I didn’t know I had been looking for. Since my early teens I had known that there was more to life and was on a vaguely conscious search for something. Meditating on my breath I experienced familiar experiences to those I’d had in my early teens growing up in the countryside of South Wales. I was deeply affected by the meditation and the Dharma that was taught, and especially starting to read Bhante.

I soon moved into Sukhavati Community and began working at the Centre, and there I stayed (apart from a few years) until 2020. For much of my time I was the Centre Manager so I lived and worked with many of the same people. I also started teaching the Dharma at evening classes and retreats. In 2007 at Guhyaloka I was Ordained by Maitreyabandhu, with Saddhaloka as my Public Preceptor and in 2018 I became a Private Preceptor. In 2020, in search of a ‘next step’ I left the LBC. I was invited to join the Ordination team so moved to Padmaloka in between lockdowns and am now helping men prepare for Ordination. I feel very fortunate to be able to do this work, live in such positive conditions and be part of such an energised and inspired community and team. I was invited to be a Public Preceptor in 2024.

I was born in 1951 in Wigan, England, into a Catholic family.  My father was a chemist, my mother a teacher.  I have three brothers. 

I went to La Sainte Union College of Education in Southampton to do a B Ed with Music and German as subjects.  I had a ‘gap year’ to study in Berlin, a year as Sabbatical President of the Students’ Union and another year in Berlin teaching English.   

I returned to Wigan to teach Music in a Comprehensive whilst studying for a qualification as a Teacher of English as a Foreign Language.  I then returned to Germany to teach Music and English.  Encouraged by an English colleague in Minden, Annette (Prasadavati) I attended my first FWBO open Winter retreat in Seaford in 1980/81.  

Whilst at Lancaster, I visited Manchester Buddhist Centre regularly.  On hearing a request for women fundraisers for ‘Aid for India’, I moved to London to do an Appeal.  I then moved to Vajracchedika women’s community as part of the fundraising team for what became Taraloka, becoming a Mitra at the LBC in 1984.

In 1985 Sanghadevi, Ratnasuri, Tessa (Karunasri) and myself founded Taraloka and in 1988 I was ordained there by Bhante.  

In 1990 I returned to Germany with Jayacitta and Jayaprabha to start women’s activities in the Essen Buddhist Centre, eventually becoming women’s Mitra Convenor for Germany and Sweden.  I became an Anagarika in 1994.  My Kalyanamitras are Anjali and Jayaprabha.  

In 2004 I became a Private Preceptor.   

From 2004–2018 I spent almost 6 months of each year working in India; initially doing Dharma work and then as Project Manager and Consultant for Karuna Trust.   In Essen, I continue to live in women’s communities and engage in the women’s ordination process in Germany and Sweden.

In 2018 I became a Public Preceptor.

I was born in 1952 into a Christian, English, middle class family and I am the eldest of 5 children. During my teenage years I lost my faith in Christianity and then felt something was missing. After university, I trained as a clinical psychologist. I first encountered Buddhism through my boyfriend who subsequently became Advayacitta and my husband. We both attended the Norwich Centre in the 1980s.  My first encounter with Bhante was hearing him give the talk entitled ‘The Taste of Freedom’. This had a profound effect on me but being naturally cautious, it took me some time to commit myself to the FWBO (as it was then). The highlights of my years in Norwich were being part of a strong women’s situation and in particular the Lion’s Roar project which produced Mitrata.  I was ordained in 1987 by Urgyen Sangharakshita when my eldest son was 2 years old.

The context for my Dharma life has been the family and I have worked part-time in the NHS as a Clinical psychologist until I was able to retire in 2015. In 1989, I moved from Norwich to Sheffield and I was one of the founder members of the Sheffield Buddhist Centre. I have remained closely involved with the development of the Centre ever since. I have also served as a trustee of several Triratna charities and for many years I was a Chapter convenor working both locally and nationally. I also lead Mitra study which I find fulfilling.

I became a Private Preceptor in 2005 and in 2015 I was appointed a Public Preceptor. From 2019-2024, I served as a Deputy during Ratnadharini’s term as College Chair. I am closely involved with the ordination of women particularly on the 3 month ordination course. I have a deep love of sadhana, ritual and puja.

I was born in County Durham in the North-East of England in 1962, the only child of two teachers.  My childhood was happy and secure, whereas my teenage years were more mixed: I did well at school, had many friends and some enjoyable times, but struggled with my parents at not being allowed the degree of freedom and independence I longed for.

I went to university in Bradford to study Modern Languages, and spent a year in Paris and East Germany. These experiences changed me – I saw that it was possible to have a very different outlook on life than the one I’d grown up with. 

At 22 I went to Nepal with Voluntary Service Overseas, living in a remote, conservative Hindu area. The experience was rich and fascinating, as well as shocking and challenging, especially witnessing the commonplace discriminatory practices towards women and girls and the so-called “Untouchables”.

By the late 1980s I was living in London. I had all I wanted: a good teaching job, a flat, friends, and regular holidays abroad. But something was missing. I went to the London Buddhist Centre in 1990 for an introductory evening, and cried my eyes out at the bus stop on the way home. Something had opened up, and the following years saw me moving away from “worldly” contexts, to live more of my life within the Triratna Sangha.

I was ordained in Tuscany in 1999 by Karunamaya. I have since spent time working with her and Vajrasuri in the Indian women’s ordination process, have fundraised and/or led 17 Karuna appeals, worked in Lama’s Pyjamas, and lived in six different communities. I joined the team at Tiratnaloka in 2012, and have privately ordained two fine women. I became an Anagarika in 2015, and a member of the College of Public Preceptors in March 2018.

I came along to the London Buddhist Centre in 1987, aged 23. Dhammarati taught me to meditate and, although I thought I’d left everything to do with religion behind for good, I was immediately intrigued by Buddhism and wanted to learn more. I soon moved into my first community and gave up my job (as a science editor) and worked in The Cherry Orchard – a Buddhist cafe – for the next ten years. I was ordained during that time and on our ordination retreat Sanghadevi showed us a map of the world. On this map were highlighted centres where there were no dharmacharinis – that convinced me to move to Dublin and work for the Dharma there. I arrived on New Years Day 1999 and stayed for seven years.

Now I’m back at the LBC, living in Samayakula community with eleven other women and working as one of the Mitra Convenors. I teach at our public classes two or three evenings a week and co-lead plenty of retreats, working with a team that I love. Living and working at an urban Buddhist centre means I get to see people right from the beginning of their involvement. In fact the first person I was Public Preceptor to – Danayutta – was someone who I’d met on her very first retreat.

I had two younger brothers.

I came along to the Croydon Buddhist Centre after a passionate love affair ended. I was looking for something to give meaning to my life as I’d not found it in a relationship nor in studying history and sociology for my degree. I immediately felt at home at the centre and continue to be part of the Croydon sangha.

I married my dear husband – Douglas – around the same time that I found Buddhism and we live happily together.

I was ordained both publicly and privately by Dhammadinna in 1999 at Il Convento and have completely loved being in the order.

After ordination I worked in team based right livelihood – we had a wholefood shop in Croydon – with some great women for about 8 years. I had no plans to leave when my dad and my youngest brother died within 3 years of each other. Both were unexpected deaths. My dad was 64 and died of an undiagnosed heart condition and my brother committed suicide. I needed lots of space and time to be with and face into what had happened. I spent time gazing at the sky.

I then spent a very happy decade holding various order responsibilities. I was a regional order, part of the area and international councils, part of the buddhist centre online editorial board, a trustee and later chair of the Triratna trust. I loved having the opportunity to express my love for being part of the order in this way.

I had stepped out of these responsibilities and created a space for something else to arise when I was asked to become a public preceptor. I was appointed a private preceptor in 2015 and have very much enjoyed the privilege of ordaining other women.

I am a devoted Green Tara practitioner.

Abhayadana worked for 20 years as project leader for an Ashavaghosha project, spreading the teaching of the Buddha, Dr Ambedkar, and Bhante, as well as awareness of social issues, through drama, storytelling and songs. She also brought the Dharma to children through art and games, and helped empower other women with skills based training and self defence. Abhayadana was ordained in 1998, began working with the women’s ordination team in 2016, and became a private preceptor in 2019.

Abhayavati was ordained in 1994. She worked in a Bahujan Hitay girls hostel, as a managing trustee, for six years, and has been very involved in studying and teaching Dhamma to mitras. She helped Srimala with an ordination retreat, and then joined the ordination team in 2015. Also in 2015 Abhayavati’s husband passed away, and her sangha friends were a great support to her at this time. She has been a private preceptor since 2017.

Shubhajaya started working in a Bahujan Hitay kindergarten soon after coming in contact with Triratna in 1991. She was ordained in 2004, and as well as leading Mitra classes and being a kalyanamitra to many women, she worked as a Chapter Convenor for several years. She joined the women’s ordination team in 2011, became a private preceptor in 2014, and has ordained five women.

I was born in 1956. I was ordained in 1985 in Bhaja. My Private Preceptor is Suvajra and Kamalashila is my Public Preceptor. I live in Pune.

Since my ordination I have taken on a lot of responsibilities: first, I became Chair of the Pimpri Centre, then I worked with Lokamitra in his office doing administrative work, then in 1994 until 2008 I was the overall Mitra Convenor for India, at the same time I was started working on the Ordination Team. I became a Private Preceptor in 2003, and since then I have ordained 50 men privately. In 2015, I became a Public Preceptor and I’ve ordained 70 men publicly.

I have a family – a wife and three grown up children; my wife and middle son are also Order members!

I was born in 1962. I was ordained in 1991. My Private and Public Preceptor is Subhuti. I live in Nagpur.

After I was ordained I became Chapter Convenor for some time, Mitra Convenor for some time, and then Chairman, all in Nagpur. Since 1997, I’ve been working with the Ordination Team, and have privately ordained more than 50 men.

I’m married to Vijaya, who works full-time on the women’s Ordination Team. I have one grown up son.

I came in contact with the Sangha in 1988 in Nagpur, and was ordained by Subhuti in 1992. After ordination I established Right Livelihood projects, including a publishing house and bookshop. I became a mitra convenor, and the main coordinator of Mitra convening in India in 2010; in which role I participated in the International Council from it’s conception.

I am currently working for the Ordination team, which I joined in 2011; becoming a private preceptor in 2014. For the last two years I have worked in establishing online activities in India for the movement in general and for the ordination teams in particular. 

I was ordained on 19th march 1992, Suvajra being my Private Preceptor and Subhuti being Public Preceptor. I was one of the community members from Mahavihara Training Community in early 90’s.  Soon after my ordination I went to Aurangabad to work as a hostel warden to look after the twenty four boys and later sixty boys in the hostel with my friend Yashoratna and later joined by Yashobhadra. We were working very closely with Jutindhar and Manjuveer for the local Aurangabad Triratna centre. I contributed there as Mitra Convener for three years and was involved in leading Mitra classes and classes for beginners. We were able to form a very good community and brought lots of young men into the community, some of them eventually becoming Order members.

I received an invitation to work on the newly formed full-time Men’s Ordination Team, led by Suvajra, and I joined it in May 1996; I’m still working on the Team to this day. In the first few years, working with ordination team and particularly working closely with Suvajra and Subhuti and other senior Members, I got lots of experience, which has helped enormously in my involvement with leading GFR retreats, workshops, visiting centres, Kalyan Mitrata and helping Order members to understand the ordination process. I’ve also been able to help some of the centres in times of crises. I was involved in creating Golden Net Youth Foundation to attract young people to the movement. I was secretary to the team and become Chair for the institution that runs the Ordination team.

I become a Private Preceptor in 2012 and then a Public Preceptor. I was a representative for International Council meeting, and now I’m involved as a mentor for Triratna youth. I am trying to give my contribution as much as I can.

I came across the Dharma in 1991 when I attended a weekend course led by Buddhadasa and Guhyavajra in Melbourne. Both Buddhadasa and Dayamegha were my first main dharma teachers. I was bringing up my three daughters in the lovely forest town of Emerald about an hour and half from Melbourne. I taught for many years at the local Primary School and was passionate about facilitating learning environments for children in which they could move towards their own vast potential. Due to initial help from Order Members from Melbourne, the Dandenong Ranges Buddhist Centre came to life and I delighted in experiencing sangha on my doorstep.

I benefited greatly from my KM relationships with Malini in NZ and Ratnadharini in the UK, as well as many local Order Members and visitors to our region who reflected my own potential for growth and transformation back to me. When I was ordained in 1999 at Il Convento Tuscany, Sanghadevi was my Preceptor, giving me the name Maitripala  ‘Guardian of loving kindness’

With my family now grown I was able to finally visit the UK for the first time (15 years after being Ordained ) and had the great pleasure of being on the team for a year at Tiratanaloka 2014/15. In 2016/17 I completed a 14 month ‘Buddhas in my Pocket’ pilgrimage to the main Triratna Centres and groups throughout Australia. I have always been deeply grateful to the pioneers who arrived from the UK.
Along with others who were inspired by this sharing of the Dharma we saw the first Australian Triratna centres and groups emerge. Those Order Members tirelessly provided study, retreats and friendship so we could benefit from Sangharakshita ‘s presentation of the Dharma.
It is largely this gratitude that now fuels the courage needed to step up to the responsibilities that are involved in becoming a Public Preceptor.

I love preserving traditions when they are worthy, whilst also delighting in change and innovation when it’s useful. I feel the best way to look after something one might value highly is to step right into the middle of it and be fully engaged in its ‘life’.

I got involved in the Movement in 1967.  I was extremely shy and emotionally and mentally shut down. Meeting Bhante opened a door for me, his very presence showed me there was meaning to life. I learnt to meditate which was painful, and I listened to talks and was able to absorb a little, I was delighted in meeting people who also had meaning to their lives.  I got ordained in 1969 not really knowing what it was about but I knew I wanted to lead a Buddhist life and mostly that I wanted to be around Sangharakshita.

In 1971 I moved to Cornwall to find out who I was by living alone. I returned to London when Bhante took his sabbatical in Cornwall and realised it was now a different movement and Bhante of course was not around. I moved to Glasgow 1974 and ended up chairing the Centre.  I felt totally inadequate but that is how things were.  Two years later I moved to Norfolk to help set up the first women’s retreat Centre feeling this situation was more suited to my personality than a City Centre.  This was a very difficult period with the single sex situation being very polarised and very few ordained women, and no role models.  After 2 years again I moved to London where I set up a soup kitchen with Jayaprabha that later became the Cherry Orchard.  However, I decided to train as an acupuncturist.  I met Vajrasuri in 1980 and later tried unsuccessfully to get residency in Australia. In 1987 I married Purna and moved to New Zealand in 1989.  For about 25 years I have been involved in the women’s GFR process in NZ, the Australasian retreats, and the one-month Ordination retreats here that started in 2007.  I did my first Private Ordination in 2014.

I was born in Wellington New Zealand and am now 66 years old. I met the movement via an Order member called Gotami who visited New Zealand in 1973. Urgyen Sangharakshita then visited in 1974/5. In my  21^st year I was ordained on the first ordination retreat that Bhante conducted in New Zealand. I have  lived in communities for most of my Order life except for one year when I was on a 12 month solitary. 

Early 1982 l left NZ for London to experience team based livelihood, as  I was disappointed in how teams worked in the hospital system. Eight months stretched to 9 years. Most of that time I worked in the Cherry Orchard cafe associated with the LBC and lived with 6 others in one of the community houses in Approach road that was dedicated to those working in the restaurant.  Though hard work the livelihood was very important for those outside the UK to have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the FWBO and strong bonds where created during that time. Definitely I find one of the pathways into the unknown has been in communication with others.

Since mid 1991 I have been living in Australia. I lived at Naganaga Vihara with a number of friends for 15 years, which were very fulfilling. Providing solitary venues, running small retreats for the local people, the Order and those training to be ordained. This happened within the context of a wild life sanctuary, an eco-permaculture approach to the land and having willing workers, usually travellers, helping us on the land. 

From late in the 1990’s Sanghadevi very generously came out to Australia and New Zealand for a number of years to help women prepare for ordination and Varadevi, Dharmanandi and myself worked with her in this. Within this context the three of us became private preceptors in 2003 and then Public Preceptors in late 2005. Since 2007 we have been running month long Ordination retreats in NZ for women in New Zealand and Australia.

It’s November 2018 and I’ve just attended my first College meeting. I’ve also just attended Urgyen Sangharakshita’s funeral so it’s been a very rich and moving few weeks. I live in Auckland, New Zealand so feel fortunate that I happened to be in the UK when Bhante’s funeral was held although I was sorry not to be with my sangha friends in Auckland during the weeks when they marked his death.

The network of events that led me to the College meeting and Bhante’s funeral is impossible to trace but showing up at the Wellington Buddhist Centre to learn meditation in about 1994 was certainly a key moment. I had just been diagnosed with Hepatitis C and due to uncertainty about the virus’s prognosis was forced into facing my mortality for the first time. This was extremely uncomfortable and led me to realise that the life I was leading was terrifyingly empty of purpose or meaning. I became a mitra after a couple of years of deepening practice and asked for ordination soon after, realising that the dharma as taught by Bhante and the sangha that he had created was worth dedicating my life to.

I work as a psychotherapist, mainly in the areas of addictions and trauma work. This is both satisfying and gruelling. I live with my partner Vikasini and our cat Bindi. We’re very fortunate to have our own house and garden to play in.

In terms of Triratna responsibilities, I’ve mainly been involved with the Auckland Buddhist Centre and Sudarshanaloka Trust Board. I’ve also been fortunate to spend time at various Triratna events around the world: working at Taraloka for a year, attending International Council meetings, and joining the team on the three-month ordination course at Akashavana in 2017. Becoming a Public Preceptor seems like a natural, if large, step to take. I hope I can contribute to our thriving and inspiring Triratna Buddhist Order.

I first met Triratna in Leeds, England in 1988.  I was studying for a degree in philosophy and was, so it seems now, searching for the meaning of life. I quickly realized that I had found my spiritual home and, after moving to Manchester, I was ordained in 1992. I worked for some years at the Manchester Buddhist Centre and then at Dharmavastu Study Centre.

After a period of academic study and work, I moved to Mexico in 2013 and, somewhat inadvertently, co-founded Centro Budista de Cuernavaca of which I am current and founding Chair. I also ended up as the director of Editorial Dharmamegha, a project dedicated to publishing Sangharakshita´s and other Triratna works in Spanish. I got involved in the men´s ordination process in Latin America shortly after arriving in Mexico and form part of the ordination team.

There is huge potential for Triratna in Latin America and I feel privileged to be able to contribute to this process in some small way. Mexico particularly seems a receptive field for the Dharma and our sangha here is growing rapidly.

My published works include: Exploring Karma and Rebirth (Windhorse, 2003), Visions of Mahayana Buddhism (Windhorse, 2009), and The Buddhist Way (New Holland, 2018).

I was attracted to Buddhism as a teenager and travelled to India in my early twenties to find a Buddhist meditation teacher.  Returning to New Zealand I connected with Sangharakshita through reading ‘A Survey of Buddhism’ and listening to as many lecture recordings as I was able to get hold of.  The series ‘Parables, Myths, and Symbols of the White Lotus Sutra’ was particularly transformative in terms of my appreciation of Sangharakshita, his depth of insight and his unique approach to the Dharma.

I was ordained into the Triratna Order in 1975 during the course of Sangharakshita’s first visit to New Zealand.  My varied Order life has seen me living for periods in the UK, India and New Zealand.  In Bethnal Green in London in the late 1970’s I lived and worked in the burnt out shell of the old fire station that was subsequently opened as the LBC. In India, in the early 1980’s, I lived as an anagarika for three years and worked closely with Lokamitra with the early setup of the Movement there. I now live in Auckland, New Zealand, on an offshore island called Waiheke, along with my partner Malini.

I have been a Private Preceptor since 2005 and joined the Public Preceptors’ College in 2015. Retired from paid employment, I am currently part of the team responsible for the men’s ordination training process in New Zealand and Australia, am active in the Preceptors’ College and men’s Order Convening in New Zealand, lead Dharma study, and give talks.

I first encountered Triratna in 1980 at one of the first centers in America in Boston but I only became seriously involved in 1989 in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Along with Karunadevi and Viveka and other friends I helped start activities and worked to purchase the current San Francisco center where I was a Council member for 25 years.  During that period seventeen people have joined the Order and the Center has been a vibrant hub for classes and retreats. 

I was ordained in 1994 on the first international ordination retreat in India along with eleven Indian men and three other Westerners.  My connection with the Order in India has been very strong and since 2005 I have made yearly trips to volunteer at Nagaloka.  I believe that the international and multi-cultural aspect of Triratna is one of the most important things we have to offer, and since 2012 I have arranged for delegations of Buddhists from Europe, the US, Canada and Japan to visit India and meet the people who are participating in the Buddhist Revival.

For the past twenty years I have been Chair of the Men’s Ordination Team in North America and I became a Private Preceptor in 2011.  I was appointed to the College in 2019 and recently led my first Public Ordination at Dharmadhara, our new retreat center in northern California.

Throughout my life I have been very engaged in social justice, environmental and international development movements.

I have been married since 1982 to Mary Jean Moore and we have one son (Robert) who currently lives in Vietnam.  In my spare time I am an amateur cellist and play in local orchestras and chamber ensembles. My personal practice is focused on the Avatamsaka Sutra and my sadhana is Samantabhadra. 

Amala was ordained by Sanghadevi in 2000 and became a private preceptor in 2015.

She has been involved with the Aryaloka Retreat Center since the early 90’s, where she has been chair of the Spiritual Vitality council for the last 7 years and has been on the council since 2010. Currently she is handing on some of her responsibilities as chair. 

From 2012-2020 she was one of the regional Order Convenors in North America, with Shantinayaka and then Sravaniya.

Amala has been involved in Ordination Training Retreats since her ordination; and she regularly visited and taught at EcoDharma in Spain for many years. 

I discovered the movement in 1977, having discovered I was a Buddhist several months before. I was ordained by Bhante Urgyen Sangharakshita at Padmaloka in 1980. For the next 7 years, I lived in a women’s community, working in the team-based livelihood (a café and shop), was mitra convenor and taught at the Croydon Buddhist Centre. During those years, I was also involved in leading activities for women throughout the UK. In 1985, Sanghadevi, Vidyasri and I set up the first women’s preparation for ordination (POP) series of retreats.

I moved to Norwich in 1987, continuing with the POP retreats for a few more years and taught at the Norwich Buddhist Centre. I helped form a new community and began working in Windhorse:Evolution: working with others to set  up shops in Norwich and Great Yarmouth and later visiting other shops around the country. After moving back to London in 1997 to take a sabbatical and care for my ageing mother, I went to university to study English Literature and History of Art. 

For the last 18 years, I’ve been visiting the USA to help women there deepen their practice and understanding of the TBO. I’m part of the Ordination Team responsible for GFR retreats and women entering the Order. I was also one of the North American Order Convenors for a couple of years.  When not doing that, I work for a local authority in London in Adult Community Learning. And with whatever spare time I have, I like making stitched and printed textile art.

I was born in a small village near Peterborough, England in March 1954, one of a pair of identical twin girls.  Having wanted to be an artist most of my childhood, practicality prevailed and I studied Architecture at London University.  It was 1973, an era of positive optimism that we could change the world.  Going along with friends, I discovered meditation and then Buddhism at the newly founded London Buddhist Centre aged 25.  I fell deeply in love with the Dharma, left my job to work in right livelihood and after ordination at 32 moved to Taraloka where I lived for 16 years.  At first I was in charge of (and did) a lot of building work, never having done any before(!) later developing the retreats and programme and was Chair for 9 years. 

Then it felt time to go back into the wider community.  I enjoyed a sabbatical year of travelling around Triratna centres in Australasia and the USA, then accepted an invitation to become Order Convenor for Women (in the West) and a Private Preceptor, based at Madhyamaloka.  In 2004 I became a Public Preceptor.   At that time I co-founded the Abhayaratna Trust, a Charity supporting Order Members in need and was involved in supporting the women’s Ordination process in the USA & Canada for 9 years, work which felt extremely worthwhile.  Unexpected change came when my twin sister became ill with cancer then sadly died after a 3 year illness.  I moved to live with friends in Manchester at that time and had a break, going on some long retreats after which I worked as Mitra Convenor at the Manchester Buddhist Centre for 5 years.  At present I give my time partly to my work as Preceptor and KM and partly to art and ceramics.  It feels great to be giving time to that more artistically creative side of myself after so many years! 

Jnanadakini is from Mexico and lives in Mexico City. She got ordained in 2002, by Parami as her Private Preceptor. She was the first dharmacharini in Latin America.

Along these 20 years she has been a very active Order member in helping out Triratna Mexico both in the movement and Order strand. She has taking part in the International Council, and has played an important role in supporting GFR mitra women in Venezuela. She has been part of the Ordination Team for Latin America for the last 9 years and and is also private preceptor.