Sangharakshita Pilgrimage
Map showing location of Pancha Shila Vihara — FWBO's First Indian Base

Pancha Shila Vihara — FWBO's First Indian Base

Parnakuti, Pune, India · 1979

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18.52040°N, 73.85670°E

Key Facts

  • Located at the Ambedkar Housing Society, Parnakuti, Pune; Padmavajra was resident, Lokamitra the organiser.
  • Programme included public lectures, mitra study groups, name-giving ceremonies, and the first Indian WBO council meeting.
  • Sangharakshita was welcomed as a yellow-robed monk familiar to many Ambedkarite Buddhists from up to twenty years earlier.
  • This visit marked the formal beginning of what became the Triratna Bauddha Mahasangha (TBMSG) in India.

“We were passing through the suburbs of Poona … to the Ambedkar Housing Society and the tiny semi-detached bungalow on the edge of the colony which was the FWBO’s temporary home … As the taxi stopped outside the Pancha Shila Vihara, and Padmavajra came out to meet us, men, women, and children emerged from their bungalows to watch our arrival with unabashed interest and curiosity.”

Through Buddhist Eyes

Source: Through Buddhist Eyes

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