The Link #27 - International Network

Quest Foundation (QF) have so far published 28 books by Krishnamurti, many of them in both Thai and English, with six to eight Krishnamurti books from other publishers also in circulation in the country. We are now subtitling DVDs of Krishnamurti’s talks: 24 titles have been completed, another 24 are being worked on. QF manage stalls at two large book fairs every year, plus smaller ones whenever possible. In April 2007, 1,134 books and 295 DVDs were sold. Books and DVDs are kept at a very low price – the tradition, unless given away free, regarding religious material. We have also donated 2,752 books to the libraries of 118 institutions, including public libraries, universities, monasteries and prisons. Once a month, a group meets in Bangkok to view a DVD and have a dialogue. At the last meeting, a local newspaper journalist interviewed some of us and took photos for an article on dialogue and inquiry. Articles on Krishnamurti and Stream Garden (see below) appear fairly regularly in Thai newspapers.

Stream Garden

Stream Garden (SG), Quest Foundation’s six hectare retreat centre in South Thailand (contact details can be found on pg. 58), has an informal yet serious setting for people wishing to retreat and/or engage with others regarding the deeper questions of life. A new office, dining hall and activity area were recently completed, and around 55 people can be accommodated, either dormitory-style or in private and shared rooms.

Many groups – Buddhists, environmentalists, teachers, professors, NGOs, health professionals, even police – rent the facilities to hold workshops (which is necessary to help pay the bills). In the process, they get an introduction to the place and to the teachings of Krishnamurti. This is always arranged and, so far, has always been well received. As a consequence, many of the participants become sufficiently interested in Krishnamurti to buy books and DVDs, to the point where SG now distributes more books than the official distributors. In addition, some of the groups have asked that we arrange future programmes for them around Krishnamurti’s teachings, and individual participants often return for personal retreats and Krishnamurti gatherings.

In one large public library in central Bangkok – Sarnsaeng Arun Library, 64 Satorn Soi 10, North Satorn Road, Bangluk, Bangkok 10500; ssamag@yahoo.com – Krishnamurti’s books have generously been given their own rather prominent section, with a TV monitor close by for individual viewing of the DVDs. The library also offers, free of charge, a meeting room for dialogues.

Krishnamurti once expressed an interest in the teachings being taken to at least one Buddhist country. Perhaps Thailand is that county.

Vanerath Sornprasit, Rabindra Singh, Raman Patel, August 2007

Meeting of the International Committees at Brockwood Park 2007

Hosted by the Krishnamurti Foundation Trust, 40 representatives from 22 countries met in July at The Krishnamurti Centre, Brockwood Park. They met to share ideas, learn from each other, form or renew work relationships, enquire and dialogue, strengthen their ties and friendship with KFT, and especially to be energized and inspired by each other in carrying on with this often challenging work. There were representatives from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Finland, France, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Romania, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and Tanzania.

Choosing their theme for the week, participants considered ‘listening’, ‘creativity’ and ‘working together’ and arrived at, more or less, ‘Are we really together, and how would that express itself?’ There were video excerpts and dialogues in the mornings, and throughout the week informal meetings and walks. In the formal meetings, Committee representatives listened with interest as each told of the work in their part of the world. The Foundation reported on their volunteer programme, cooperation with other Foundations, and offers of free books to distribute to prisons.

Common themes in the discussions included growing interest in dubbing DVDs to distribute locally, finding people to help, keeping up with emails, creating a scholarship fund for Brockwood Park School, writing newsletters, incorporating new people into dialogues, holding video showings when only a few attend, and travelling around their country to donate K books to libraries and prisons.

Committees work in a variety of ways. Some are recently established, some have been developing for decades; some are structured and quite active, others are run by one person alone. Most Committee members affirm that their relationships with colleagues nourish and sustain them. Often they reflect on and question what they are doing, including asking themselves if they are making the teachings available or, instead, proselytising.