Dharmachari Subhuti

Who is Dharmachari Subhuti?

Dharmachari Subhuti, originally Alex Kennedy, is a senior associate of Sangharakshita, founder of the Triratna Buddhist Community, and President of the London Buddhist Centre. He has held various positions of leadership and has been instrumental in many developments in the community.

Subhuti was influential in the building of the London Buddhist Centre, which opened in 1978, and he helped to raise funds from the Greater London Council for its completion. He developed training for men preparing to be ordained into the Triratna Buddhist Order at Padmaloka retreat centre, near Norwich in England. He also helped to found Guhyaloka, a retreat centre in Spain, where men make final preparations to become members of the order.

As well as being involved in the spread of the Dharma in the West, particularly in Britain, Subhuti spends six months each year working with the community's Indian wing, the Triratna Bauddha Mahāsaṅgha.

Most of TBM's members are drawn from the poorest people in India, sometimes referred to as Dalits, or so-called 'untouchables'. The late Dalit leader, Dr. Ambedkar, converted to Buddhism, saying it was necessary to escape the caste oppression and discrimination which this group experienced. Hundreds of thousands of Dr Ambedkar's followers subsequently converted to Buddhism.