Arya Maitreya Mandala

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Arya Maitreya Mandala ( Sanskrit Arya Maitreya Mandala आर्य मैत्रेय मण्डल "Circle of noble Maitreya") is one of Lama Anagarika Govinda Called (1898-1985) in India in life Tantra - Buddhist Order of global distribution. After a novitiate of at least three years, the relatives take a Bodhisattva vow when they join the order and freely determine their way of life. Released today by Govinda students Volker Zotz led the Order represents an integrative view of Buddhist philosophy and maintains Tantric Sadhana Exercises that as a secret doctrine by initiation are transmitted from teacher to student.

history

King Tashi Namgyal (1938), the Order's Patron

The founder

The German-Bolivian writer, painter and mystic Ernst Lothar Hoffmann, who became known under the name Lama Anagarika Govinda, has been concerned with Buddhism since his early youth. In 1928 he moved to Ceylon and took the vows of Brahmacari . There he studied the Theravāda tradition extensively . In 1931 Govinda met the Tibetan Lama Ngawang Kalsang , known as Tomo Geshe Rinpoche , who convinced him of Tantric Buddhism and got him enthusiastic about Tibet . In 1947 Govinda married the Indian artist Li Gotami, with whom he has worked closely ever since. Govinda's books, including The Path of White Clouds and Fundamentals of Tibetan Mysticism , contributed greatly to the interest in Tibetan Buddhism in America and Europe from the 1950s onwards. Govinda's teacher Ngawang Kalsang had the "vision of a future-oriented Buddhism" and made the coming Buddha Maitreya the "central model of a spiritual renewal movement." This inspired Govinda to found the Arya Maitreya Mandala.

India

The order was founded by Govinda on October 14, 1933 in Darjeeling . "Members of all local Buddhist groups", ie Tibetans, Nepalese, Sikkimese and Indians, participated in its formation. In its country of origin, India , the core of the order existed in its initial phase "as an association of around 30 intellectuals and professors." Among these early members of the order, which was under the patronage of Tashi Namgyal, King of Sikkim (1914–1963), there are the Indologists Benimadhab Barua (1888–1948) and Benoytosh Bhattacharyya (1897–1964) as well as the poet Rabindranath Tagore . In the early stages of the order, "the establishment of an international Buddhist university in North India was a particular priority." The founder's wife, the artist Li Gotami Govinda , also belonged to the Indian branch of the order.

Spread

From 1952 the order spread internationally. First it came to Vietnam and Europe. The European branch of the order was brought into being by Hans-Ulrich Rieker , who founded branches of the order in Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland with the leading members Lionel Stützer and Harry Pieper in Europe . The Swiss branch was established and directed by Henry Noel Marryat Hardy . In England, Jack Austin had headed the order since 1953 . In 1970 there were centers of the Arya Maitreya Mandala in ten German cities. A Hungarian branch of the order was also founded by Ernö Hetényi in the 1950s . Stephan Pálos also belonged to this group. The Czech religious scholar and Indologist Karel Werner also became a member of the order. In the USA, the Kailas Shugendo branch of the order was founded and directed by Neville G. Pemchekov Warwick . In the Netherlands, the psychotherapist and Indologist Robert Janssen was involved in building the order.

The order, which requires a novitiate of at least three years to study Buddhist philosophy and meditative training, appealed to intellectuals especially in Europe. Arya Maitreya Mandala does not prescribe a mandatory way of life such as celibacy for its members. “Whoever wants to join the order does not usually give up their traditional profession.” Prominent German order members included Ernst Pagenstecher , Rudolf Petri , Karl Schmied and Max Glashoff . Social impulses came from the order member Wilhelm Müller , who developed social programs for drug addicts and mentally handicapped young people in the Rhineland in the sixties and seventies. For the German-speaking area, the order publishes the magazine Der Kreis .

development

The lecture tours that Anagarika Govinda undertook in the 1960s and 1970s to Europe, America and East Asia resulted in the establishment of further branches of the order, for example in the USA and Singapore . In 1982 Lama Anagarika Govinda passed on the leadership of the order, the office of Maṇḍalācārya , to the doctor Karl-Heinz Gottmann (1919–2007), who held it until 1999. Thereafter, the doctor and psychotherapist Armin Gottmann headed the Arya Maitreya Mandala worldwide as Maṇḍalācārya. On March 20, 2015, the office of Maṇḍalācārya was transferred to the German-Austrian-Luxembourg philosopher Volker Zotz .

orientation

Statue of Maitreya in the City Temple of Lhasa (1939)

The order emphasizes the creative handling of the spiritual heritage of humanity. “Even his leading figure, Lama Anagarika Govinda, had combined impulses from different traditions in his spirituality; In its spirit, the order consciously strives for a Buddhism that adapts to the space and time in which it spreads. "

The name of the order expresses that its model is Maitreya , the Buddha of the future. As Anagarika Govinda taught, this coming Buddha "replaces the age of intellectual achievements with an expanded, intensive intuitive consciousness in which the feeling of the essential unity of all life will help an active neighbor to achieve a new breakthrough." According to Anagarika Govinda at the actively contribute to the future harmony of mankind by concentrating in all areas on shaping the future. Accordingly, Govinda taught: “We have to build on the foundations of the past without exhausting ourselves in constant repetition!” In the Arya Maitreya Mandala this also applies to the relationship to Buddhism, which is valued in its various schools, but according to Govinda with regard to the future must be released from solidifications and redesigned:

"So we profess to the discipline of early Buddhism, to the world-openness and social affection of the Mahāyāna , the great discoveries of Nāgārjuna , Asaṅgas and Vasubandhus , the psychology of Vajrayāna , the mysticism of the Nyingmapas , the historical awareness of the Sakyapas , to the meditation experiences of the early Kagyāna , the systematics of the Gelugpas , the breaking through of the intellectuality of Ch'an and Zen as well as the deep piety of the Amitābha worshipers . ”In all this, the Arya Maitreya Mandala sees the basis and the building blocks“ for a further development of Buddhism in our time. "

According to Anagarika Govinda, this spirit of Maitreya, which encourages the further development of the values ​​of the past, also breaks the boundaries of the individual religions and thus goes beyond Buddhism. The order is supposed to “look for new values ​​closer to reality in the awakening of old beliefs and traditions; because today for the first time the consciousness of a planetary unity is awakening in mankind, which embraces us all by fate and brings the individual into a deeper relationship to the whole.

meaning

The German order member Karl Schmied (1933-2006) at a rite in the liturgical robe of the Arya Maitreya Mandala

Arya Maitreya Mandala, which as an order does not prescribe any requirements for the personal life of its members such as celibacy or lack of property and represents an integrative view of Buddhist philosophy and practice, is often treated in the religious studies literature as an outstanding example of modern adaptations of Buddhism. According to the opinion of the religious scholar Martin Baumann , who dealt with the history and essence of the Arya Maitreya Mandala in several research papers, independent interpretations were developed in this order that, based on a determination of the essence of Buddhism, combined elements of different traditions with the help of a development model integrated. "

literature

  • Martin Baumann: The Buddhist order Arya Maitreya Mandala. Religious studies representation of a western Buddhist community. Religions vor Ort, Vol. 3. Marburg 1994, ISBN 3-9802994-4-9 .
  • Hellmuth Hecker : Buddhism in Germany: a chronicle. Munich 1978.
  • Klaus-Josef Notz: Buddhism in Germany in its self-portrayals. A religious studies study on the problem of religious acculturation. Frankfurt am Main 1984, ISBN 978-3-8204-7948-5 .
  • Birgit Zotz : "Eighty years of Ārya Maitreya Maṇḍala - a chronology." In: Der Kreis No. 270, October 2013 ( ISSN  2197-6007 ), pp. 6–21.

Web links

swell

  1. ↑ Lama Anagarika Govinda: Living Buddhism in the West. Bern: Scherz Verlag 1986 ( ISBN 3-502-61233-1 ), p. 51
  2. ↑ Origin and aims of the Arya Maitreya Mandala. Published by the Supreme Order Council. Dinapani, Distr. Almora, Kumaon-Himalaya, India 2 ,. 1975 edition, p. 2
  3. ↑ Martin Baumann: German Buddhists. History and communities. Marburg: Diagonal Verlag 1995 ( ISBN 3-927165-32-8 ), p. 159
  4. ↑ Annette Belke: Lama Anagarika Govinda. Pioneer of a "creative Buddhism in the West" and founder of the Arya Maitreya Mandala . Dissertation. Catholic Theological Faculty of the University of Vienna 1995, p. 255
  5. ↑ Martin Baumann: German Buddhists. History and communities. Marburg: Diagonal Verlag 1995 ( ISBN 3-927165-32-8 ), pp. 159-160
  6. ↑ Klaus-Josef Notz: Buddhism in Germany in its self-portrayals. A religious studies study on the problem of religious acculturation . Frankfurt am Main 1984, ISBN 978-3-8204-7948-5 , pp. 87 ff
  7. ^ Brian Peter Hervey: An introduction to Buddhism: teachings, history, and practices . Cambridge University Press 1990, ISBN 978-0-521-31333-9 , p. 319
  8. ↑ Manfred Hutter: The Eternal Wheel: Religion and Culture of Buddhism . Styria 2001, ISBN 978-3-222-12862-2 , p. 275
  9. ↑ The circle. Information sheet of the Arya Maitreya Mandala . No. 268 Autumn / Winter 2011/2012, p. 24
  10. ↑ Georg Schmid, Georg Otto Schmid (ed.): Churches, sects, religions. Religious communities, ideological groups and psycho-organizations in the German-speaking area . Zurich: Theological Verlag 2003 ( ISBN 9783290172152 ), p. 404
  11. ↑ Christopher S. Queen: Engaged Buddhism in the west . Wisdom Publications 2000, ISBN 978-0-86171-159-8 , p. 429
  12. ^ The History of the Arya Maitreya Mandala
  13. ↑ See the author's biography in Armin Gottmann: Journey to the inner light . Berlin: Theseus 2009, ISBN 978-3-7831-9560-6
  14. ↑ See “Change in the Office of Maṇḍalācārya.” In: Der Kreis 173 (May 2015), pp. 46–47
  15. ↑ Georg Schmid, Georg Otto Schmid (ed.): Churches, sects, religions. Religious communities, ideological groups and psycho-organizations in the German-speaking area . Zurich: Theological Verlag 2003 ( ISBN 9783290172152 ), p. 404
  16. ↑ Lama Anagarika Govinda: Living Buddhism in the West . Bern: Scherz Verlag 1986 ( ISBN 3-502-61233-1 ), p. 49
  17. ↑ Lama Anagarika Govinda: Living Buddhism in the West. Bern: Scherz Verlag 1986 ( ISBN 3-502-61233-1 ), pp. 44-45
  18. ↑ Lama Anagarika Govinda: "For guidance." In: Volker Zotz: Maitreya. Contemplations on the Buddha of the future . Hannoversch Münden 1984 ( ISBN 3-87998-054-3 ), p. 7
  19. ↑ Martin Baumann: The Buddhist order Arya Maitreya Mandala. Religious studies representation of a western Buddhist community. Religions vor Ort, Vol. 3. Marburg 1994. ISBN 3-9802994-4-9 ; David L. McMahan: The Making of Buddhist Modernism. Oxford University Press 2008, ISBN 978-0-19-988478-0
  20. ↑ Martin Baumann: German Buddhists. History and communities. Marburg: Diagonal Verlag 1995 ( ISBN 3-927165-32-8 ), p. 309