Sangharakshita obituary Controversial Buddhist convert who deserted the army and was plagued by sex allegations after founding an influential order in Britain

Sangharakshita obituary

Controversial Buddhist convert who deserted the army and was plagued by sex allegations after founding an influential order in Britain

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sangharakshita-obituary-r0ghw72tg?fbclid=IwAR0hQViOFm1Fy9wEqMbEVD-qCJlztH8OniacdyCchmR3Oi_13rcJGhgUrlE

“However, he returned to England in 1964, having been, reportedly, expelled by the Indian authorities. According to this report, considerable concern had built up over rumours about Sangharakshita's sexual behavior with young male students of Buddhism. In particular, there was an Indian family that wished to prosecute Sangharakshita for having seduced their son. A very senior Indian politician, who was sympathetic to Buddhism and also something of an anglophile, intervened personally in order to protect the good name of Buddhism from the risk of being damaged by the publicity surrounding such a case. He persuaded the family to drop the case, on condition Sangharakshita left India. A post as resident monk at the Hampstead Buddhist Vihara in London was arranged for Sangharakshita. Christmas Humphreys, a prominent English Buddhist of the time, was closely involved in arranging this move, but he omitted to tell the Hampstead Buddhist Vihara of the full reasons behind the move, and he also took great care to keep the politician's name out of things, lest this politician be accused of colluding in a cover-up.

Because Sangharakshita and others kept the true reasons for his departure from India largely quiet, initially he and his teachings were well received by Buddhists in England, who were impressed by his erudition, knowledge and the length of time he had spent studying in Buddhist monasteries and viharas in India. As The Buddhist Handbook (John Snelling, Century Hutchinson, 1987) put it: 'For a time [Sangharakshita's] impressive learning made him the idol of the British Buddhist scene'.

However, in 1966 Sangharakshita was expelled from the Hampstead Buddhist Vihara, for sexual misconduct and for other reasons.(see appendix A1 ) Two of his alleged male sexual partners from this period committed suicide”

Stationed in India at the end of the Second World War, Dennis Lingwood deserted the British Army, burnt his passport, gave away his possessions and wandered the sub-continent in search of enlightenment.

When he returned to Britain two decades later, the original “drop-out” would become a modern-day prophet with a new name, Sangharakshita, which means “one who is protected by the spiritual community”. He would arguably go on to do more than any other person to popularise Buddhism in the West.

A tall, gaunt man with crooked teeth and a disarming grin, Sangharakshita founded the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO) in 1967. At the same time, the traditional moral order was being challenged in swinging London. A growing appetite for eastern mysticism was…