In this informal manifesto Sangharakshita explains why he founded the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order, an entirely new kind of Buddhist movement, and examines its relationship to the wider Buddhist tradition in the East and West.

By identifying the great predicament of our times as the threatened extinction of the individual, by warning us of the need to distinguish between essential Buddhism and its many cultural manifestations, and by urging us to build our Buddhist institutions on the foundations of commitment and spiritual friendship, Sangharakshita sets an agenda that will be ignored only at the risk of Buddhism's survival. That he has established a worldwide spiritual movement to put this agenda into action makes the FWBO of interest to all who care about the fate of Buddhism in the West.

For those who feel anxious about the survival of the individual - especially of their own individuality - and who wish to nurture and unfold their highest human potential, this book is essential reading.