The Founder and main inspiration of Triratna Buddhist Community (formerly the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order, FWBO), is Urgyen Sangharakshita. He was born in 1925 as Dennis Lingwood in south London and has lived an extraordinarily rich life. At an early age he realised he was a Buddhist and 'always had been'.

From early on he had the view that Buddhism was one and theat we, as inheritors of the whole Buddhist tradition, can draw inspiration and teachings from all its schools and developments. Sangharakshita was ordained as a theravada bhikkhu in 1950 in India and spent altogether 20 years there.

He received teachings from mainly the theravada and Tibetan traditions, meeting many of the great Tibetan teachers as they fled from the chinese invadors. Among them Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Dudjom Rinpoche and Dhardo Rinpoche. You can read about some of them in The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, by Sogyal Rinpoche.

During a longer visit to England he realised the need for a new Western Buddhist tradition and therefore founded Triratna, with the Triratna Buddhist Order at its heart. He has written a number of biographical works, starting with The Rainbow Road. Several of. Sangharakshita's writings can also be found online, as pdf. files.

Look at Sangharakshita and his Teaching to find more about his life and work.