Uploaded August 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
Sangharakshita (1925-2018) the founder of the Triratna Buddhist movement (formerly the FWBO) is a polarizing figure, and thus a particularly challenging one to apply the Middle Way in our attitudes to. However, the man himself appreciated and applied the Middle Way (though not always consistently) and made many important contributions to the dialogue between Buddhism and Western thought. Dr Robert M. Ellis, founder of the Middle Way Society who was himself influenced at one stage by Sangharakshita, tries to disentangle some of the key helpful from the unhelpful elements in Sangharakshita's thinking here. This process is carried on in much more detail in his book 'The Thought of Sangharakshita: A Critical Evaluation' (Equinox, 2020). This talk was delivered in the context of an online retreat focused on Buddhist perspectives on the Middle Way.
Sangharakshita (1925-2018) the founder of the Triratna Buddhist movement (formerly the FWBO) is a polarizing figure, and thus a particularly challenging one to apply the Middle Way in our attitudes to. However, the man himself appreciated and applied the Middle Way (though not always consistently) and made many important contributions to the dialogue between Buddhism and Western thought. Dr Robert M. Ellis, founder of the Middle Way Society who was himself influenced at one stage by Sangharakshita, tries to disentangle some of the key helpful from the unhelpful elements in Sangharakshita's thinking here. This process is carried on in much more detail in his book 'The Thought of Sangharakshita: A Critical Evaluation' (Equinox, 2020). This talk was delivered in the context of an online retreat focused on Buddhist perspectives on the Middle Way.
