Buddhist films, series one

Four films on the unfolding saga of the conception and early growth of the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order during the 60s and 70s as told by the history makers themselves. With many stories of the challenges a Buddhist can expect in the world today. Radical and entertaining.

About the FWBO                    What’s been said about series one

Part One 1964-71  An Opening of the Heart (50 mins.)

Online version can be viewed here

A tender, funny and vivid portrait of a time when the ‘doors of perception’ were opening for many people. Over two and a half millennia ago the Buddha founded the first Buddhist order in India. In 1967 an Englishman was aware and determined enough to create a Buddhist Order for today’s conditions.

[Subtitles in English, Hindi, Spanish, German, Finnish]

Why had Sangharakshita, a senior monk living in India, returned to his native London? In what state did he find ‘western’ Buddhism in 1964? Why not remain with the Buddhist traditions to be found in India?

Men and women involved in those years of struggle and joy talk about the birth of an enduring worldwide movement. They and their heirs had the good fortune to find a spiritual friend and teacher who could depend on the depth of his own practice and not the vagaries of his effect on others.

Part Two 1971-74  Kindling the Flame (40 mins.)

By 1971 there was a steady stream of people interested in the radical but classical Buddhism taught by Sangharakshita.

Many were young people fascinated by the psychological and psychedelic experimentation that marked the time.

However, the movement itself was facing an early demise. After a year of homelessness, a derelict piano factory was eventually found and converted into Pundarika. The surrounding area became a visionary world of squats, communities and hippy businesses.

But was this really a sustainable blueprint for Buddhism in the west?

[Subtitles in English, Hindi, German]

Released with Transforming Work Windhorse:Evolution’s right-livelihood business principles in action

Part Three 1975-77  Time of Fire (53 mins.)

Sangharakshita could say, for the first time, he felt part of a committed spiritual community. The radical ‘new society’ that was emerging spread to projects as far away as New Zealand.

Friendships flourished when people worked and lived together. Given the lack of financial resources the projects were hugely ambitious. For three years a team struggled to turn a burnt out fire station into the iconic London Buddhist Centre. Elsewhere a derelict farm became a pioneering retreat centre for women.

These were testing times. In the interests of deeper friendships men and women had to find new ways to relate, especially towards the other sex. There was the pain of separation but also some gains in independence. [Subtitles in English, Hindi, Spanish, German]

Part Four 1977-79  A Circle of Friends (65 mins.)  Trailer

After 10 years, Sangharakshita declared the FWBO was: ‘The nucleus of a new society’. And: ‘We have made a good beginning but it’s only a beginning.’

When it finally opened, the London Buddhist Centre in the UK was the largest Buddhist centre in Europe. However, the number of centres, communities and businesses around the world was growing and the movement was gradually losing any ‘Englishness’.

Fifteen years after leaving India, Sangharakshita returned to personally conduct the first of many Indian ordinations and so complete a cycle. The event was, very significantly, the re-creation of an Order no longer defined by the terms ‘east’ or ‘west’. Just a ‘universal’ circle of Buddhists.

[Subtitles in English, Hindi]

Ordinary Magic (72 mins.)

Why magic? Friendship can certainly be mysterious but it is not too big a claim to say it is necessary for survival and essential for spiritual transformation. So, the wonder is that it never gets the attention and discussion it deserves.

The film concentrates on in-depth stories of some men’s friendships and explores in depth some ‘consciousness-raising’ principles such as: The need for constant working at it whilst never loosing the sense of delight. However, friendship is natural and so ‘ordinary’.

Famous quotes

The Buddha: 'friendship with the beautiful and good is the whole not the half of the holy life'

Dr Samuel Johnson: 'a man, sir, should keep his friendship in constant repair'

Comments about Ordinary Magic

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