Buddhist Society
The Buddhist Society is a Buddhist organization based in London . It was founded in 1924 by Christmas Humphreys as a lodge of the Theosophical Society Adyar (Adyar-TG) and became independent in 1926.
history
Foundation and theosophical stamping
Around 1920 attended Christmas Humphreys , the College Trinity Hall in Cambridge . Because of his interest in theosophy and Buddhism , he joined the Cambridge Lodge of the Theosophical Society Adyar (Adyar-TG) at this time , where he rose to the position of President of the Lodge. In 1922 he met his future wife Aileen Faulkner , who shared with him the inclination towards theosophy and Buddhism. Together with some like-minded people, Humphreys and Faulkner set up a study group within the Cambridge Lodge in April 1923 - to deepen this topic together. On November 19, 1924, it became its own theosophical lodge, the official Buddhist Lodge of the Theosophical Society, based in London .
This Buddhist Lodge under the umbrella of the Adyar-TG was run by Humphreys as President. The goal was:
- To study, disseminate and strive to live the fundamental principles of Buddhism in the light of theosophy.
In addition to Buddhist ideas, the theosophical teaching structure also contained extracts from a number of other Eastern religions and philosophies, as well as parts of the Western mystery tradition. Humphrey's Lodge dealt exclusively with the Buddhist part of theosophy as well as Buddhism as a whole and soon came into conflict with theosophists who had other preferences. In 1926 there was a row, the lodge separated from the Adyar-TG and became independent. The now independent organization called Buddhist Lodge continued under Humphrey's presidency , so the addition "of the Theosophical Society" was simply left out.
Buddhist Society
The name Buddhist Lodge existed from 1926 to 1943 , then the name was changed to Buddhist Society , this name still exists today. Today's goal is:
- To publicize and publish the principles of the major Buddhist schools and traditions and to encourage study and application of these principles.
The activities include the three main directions Theravada , Mahayana and Vajrayana as well as Zen .
A bulletin was published from autumn 1925 , from spring 1926 a magazine entitled Buddhism in England and from 1943 The Middle Way . Alan Watts, among others, worked as editor for a while .
The Dalai Lama Tendzin Gyatsho has been the patron of the Buddhist Society since 1961.
It is noteworthy that the theosophical character of the founder and president Christmas Humphreys, as well as the origins of the organization there, are not mentioned in the Buddhist Society's website.
swell
- ^ A b Karl Bernhard Seidenstücker - On the situation of Buddhism in Germany around 1905
- ↑ a b Christmas Humphreys (1901-1983)
- ^ A b Profiles of Theravada Buddhists
- ^ A b c Western Esotericism, Eastern Spirituality, and the Global Future
- ↑ a b c Origins of Western Buddhism ( Memento of the original from November 18, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Web links
- The Buddhist Society website (English)