Triratna Buddhist Community

Rivendell is one of a number of urban and retreat centres run by members of the Triratna Buddhist Order, which was founded by Sangharakshita.

Sangharakshita is an Englishman born in London in 1925, and who lived as a Buddhist monk in India for some twenty years, before returning to London in the mid 1960s. Here, seeing the need for Buddhist values and practices to be made more readily accessible to modern westerners, he founded the Western Buddhist Order in 1968.

There are now Triratna Buddhist Community centres and groups in many parts of the world all dedicated to bringing to life Sangharakshita’s vision of a Buddhism applicable to the modern world.

The Triratna Buddhist Community draws on the whole of the Buddhist tradition and does not identify itself with any one school. Central to it’s approach is making the Buddha’s teachings (Dharma) available to everyone regardless of age, sex, race, cultural background or sexual orientation. All people are seen as being able to gain benefit from the Dharma and to live happier, more meaningful lives, through living ethically, meditation and the development of understanding and wisdom.

"The Friends of the Western Buddhist Order" becomes the "Triratna Buddhist Community"

The Friends of the Western Buddhist Order, the Buddhist movement that Rivendell Buddhist Retreat Centre is part of has undergone a name change. Our new name is "Triratna Buddhist Community". The Order itself will become "The Tiratna Buddhist Order". The name "Rivendell Buddhist Retreat Centre" will not change.

This change was instigated by a request from Order Members in India who are known there as the "Trailokya Bauddha Mahasangha Sahayaka Gana" or "TBMSG". (It always would have been a little odd having a "Western" Buddhist Order in the East!). As the movement in India expands it has become apparent that even that name is no longer suitable because of difficulties created by the variety of languages spoken by all its members throughout India. The opportunity has therefore been taken to come up with a new name that can be applied to all our communities world-wide. This also includes places like China and Russia that could also not be described as "Western".

The term "Triratna" is Sanskrit for "Three Jewels". The Three Jewels is a central symbol of our movement and is recognisable throughout the Buddhist world. The Three Jewels symbolizes The Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.

The Buddha being the "shower of the way", The Dharma being his teachings or more universally "The Truth" and The Sangha being the community of all those who attempt to tread that path and live by those teachings. Alternatively, the Three Jewels could also be spoken of as being our own highest potential, the way to live out that potential and all those who support and encourage us to do so.

Although the word "Western" has been dropped from our name we remain committed to making accessible the Buddha's Wisdom and Compassion to everyone in the modern world regardless of nation, creed or social class, whether in the "West", "East", "North" or "South"!