Name Change

On 6th January 2010 Bhante Sangharakshita sent a message to all Order Members suggesting that the name of the Order be changed to the Triratna Buddhist Order. He later accepted a suggestion from the European Chairs Assembly that the Movement (FWBO)  become the Triratna Buddhist Community.

The Sanskrit word ‘Triratna' means simply ‘Three Jewels' and refers to the Three Jewels of Buddhism, the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.

As to pronunciation:

TRI: it is a short 'i', as in 'trip' not a long 'i' as in 'tree'.

RAT: is pronounced like the English word 'rut', not like 'rat'.

NA: the last 'a' is short too, more a 'nuh' than a 'nerrr'. So... try it,  'Tri-rut-nuh'...

Sangharakshita's suggestion has come after long consideration and the timing was in response to a request from a number of Order Members in India, where the Order and Movement have a different name. Sangharakshita wrote, '... Having one name for the whole Order will make it clear to the world not only that we all go for Refuge to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, but that whether in the East or the West, the North or the South, we are one united Order, with a single vision and a single heart and mind.'

At the last count there was 8 different translations of the present name of the movement which now has members active in India, Russia, Turkey, and China, as well as other non-Western countries. Also 'Western' has become increasingly problematic in referring to contemporary and all-encompassing values. I am pleased to say that when the local Order Members discussed the change everyone positively supported Bhante's proposal. The management committee of the Centre similarly supports the change.

One concern about changing our name is that the new name may make us less approachable to newcomers. With this in mind the current thinking of the management committee is to use the phrase ‘formerly the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order' in our publicity (including on our website) and to continue to use the Melbourne Buddhist Centre as our name. The website address and Centre email address will remain as http://www.melbournebuddhistcentre.org/ and office@melbournebuddhistcentre.org. It is presently proposed that, along with Centres around the world, the launch and adoption of the new name form part of our Buddha Day (Wesak) festival on Saturday 29th May.

One aspect of the name change is the intention that we no longer use an acronym (eg FWBO and WBO) for the movement or the Order but rather we use the word 'Triratna' (eg Triratna Melbourne) or, even the Triratna Community or Triratna Order (and not TBC and TBO). If you have any questions, would like to talk it over or to know more, please feel free to contact any Order Member at the Centre.