From: jrk@information-systems.east-anglia.ac.uk (Richard Kennaway)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.eastern
Subject: BBC programme about WBO
Date: 16 Dec 92 09:43:38 GMT
Article-I.D.: ogicse.47422
Distribution: world
Organization: ----

Some weeks ago I mentioned a programme on BBC2 about the Friends of the
Western Buddhist Order, that I had missed.  I've now seen a video of it, so
here are some comments about it.

Firstly, I'll just state my own relation with the FWBO.  I'm not an Order
member, and do not aspire to become one; indeed, I would not even describe
myself as a Buddhist.  On the other hand, I have attended their meditation
classes for about three years (with gaps), have attended some of their
courses on Buddhism, and have read several books by their founder,
Sangharakshita.

The programme was rather strange.  It was broadcast in the series "Matter
of Fact", which is a series of half-hour documentaries on controversial
subjects.  The impression I got was that the programme makers had first
decided to make a controversial documentary, and then chosen the FWBO as
the victim.  The result was that apart from the subject of sex, which I'll
come to in a moment, one was treated to a rather superficial and mundane
description of how the FWBO came to be created, how it is organised, and so
on, in tones suggestive of dark secrets.  For example, they actually own a
wholesale business and a gift shop which make money for them!  More
sinister still, they teach meditation!  Ho hum.  A psychologist was trotted
out to say that meditation can be bad for you.

The criticism was mainly concerned with sex, and in particular
homosexuality.  The programme opened with a silhouetted ex-member speaking
of his bad experiences of (he said) being pressured into exploring
homosexual feelings, trying unsuccessfully to do so, and eventually leaving
the Order for that reason.  Quotations from Sangharakshita and Subhuti (a
senior order member) on the subject of same-sex friendship and
homosexuality were juxtaposed with descriptions of the FWBO's single-sex
communities so as to give the impression, without actually saying so, that
the latter are little more than licentious gay communes, devoted to the
undermining of the nuclear family and the transformation of society into
their own image.  Not that, IMHO, there is anything wrong with licentious
gay communes, although licentious bisexual communes would be more to my
taste :-), but from my knowledge of the FWBO I find it difficult to believe
that this description bears any resemblance to actuality.  Sangharakshita
is certainly highly critical of the nuclear family, and would prefer
society to be organised on Buddhist principles of right livelihood; this
hardly makes him a dangerous cult figure.

I understand from speaking to one of the Order Members who appeared in the
programme (and who I borrowed the tape from) that the programme makers led
them to believe that this was to be a straightforward documentary about the
FWBO.  As a result, they were given no opportunity to respond to the
criticisms made by others, and only became aware of them when the programme
was broadcast.

A most unsatisfactory programme.

--                                ____
Richard Kennaway                  \ _/__    School of Information Systems
Internet:  jrk@sys.uea.ac.uk       \X  /    University of East Anglia
uucp:  ...mcsun!ukc!uea-sys!jrk      \/     Norwich NR4 7TJ, U.K.