 We
are delighted to welcome Dhammachari Lokamitra of Pune, India, to
our advisory board. He has worked tirelessly among the Dalit community
since the 1970s. Dh. Lokamitra submitted the following.
Lokamitra was born Jeremy Goody in London in 1947. He was ordained
into the Western Buddhist Order (WBO) in January 1974 as a Dhammachari,
and given the name Lokamitra. In 1975 he became Chairman of the
North London Buddhist Centre of the Friends of the Western Buddhist
Order (FWBO). In 1977 he visited India, stopping in Nagpur to
meet some of Sangharakshita's former disciples. By chance he arrived
on the 21st anniversary of Dr. Ambedkar's momentous conversion
to Buddhism in Nagpur in 1956 along with 500,000 followers who
were previously designated as Untouchables in the Hindu caste
system. This day changed his life. Encouraged by Sangharakshita,
he decided to remain in India. For the first twenty years he helped
initiate and guide the activities of Trailokya Bauddha Mahasangha,
Sahayaka Gana (TBMSG), the Indian name for FWBO, and its social
wing Bahujan Hitay especially amongst the followers of Dr. B.
R. Ambedkar. In 1984 he married a local Buddhist and they have
two children.
TBMSG now has over twenty Dharma centres, as well as four retreat
centres, while Bahujan Hitay runs over 25 hostels for children
who otherwise would not easily get an education, as well as about
80 community health and education projects in the slums of Bombay,
Nagpur, Pune and other towns.
In recent years Lokamitra has concentrated on the following projects:
1.
Establishing the Nagarjuna Institute in Nagpur to train Buddhists
from different parts of India in basic Buddhist teachings and
practices;
2. Developing the Jambudvipa Trust in Pune. This trains and
advises social workers and activists from socially deprived
communities in different parts of India, and is especially concerned
with responding to the needs of such communities in times of
calamities. Jambudvipa made make a considerable contribution
to relief following the Gujarat Earthquake and the Tsunami in
South India; and
3. Creating understanding and bridges between Buddhist followers
of Dr. Ambedkar and other Buddhists in India and abroad. Please
visit www.jambudvipa.org for information about this inspiring
work.
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