Traveling the path with an international family

Summer Festival 2019

Day 11

Traveling the path with an international family

"We change our physical location many times, but we never change our mind!"

Festival life

A worldwide sangha

A Truly International Festival

International Family

When you arrive at the Summer Festival, the first thing you notice is that you are among an international group of like-minded people. At this year's Festival, to be precise, people from 47 different countries speaking a multitude of different languages. But there is no feeling of separation or alienation, rather an experience of harmony and familiarity.

Where does this sense of familiarity come from?

My First Festival

Gerardo Gutierrez

Mexico

“The feeling I get from staying with people here is different from normal. You can sense a harmony between everyone. It’s as if we are all a family, even though we haven’t met everyone. It feels like coming home, where everyone always values and cherishes each other. This is Dharma in practice. We are really living Geshe-la’s vision for world peace.”

Because everyone at the Festival has the same spiritual aspiration and intention, and relies on the same Spiritual Guide, everyone we meet feels like family - a spiritual family traveling together on the same path.

This feeling of shared purpose and mutual support is the very essence of the Sangha Jewel.

Among the children in the kid's area, the people listening and meditating in the Temple, and the assembly of precious Teachers leading the Festival, we see this union of cultural diversity and harmony.

And we see for ourselves the profound and compassionate vision of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche - a world at peace in which everyone respects and cherishes each other.

You have to be at an International Festival to feel the power of this vision.

Next opportunity - the International Fall Festival at IKRC Grand Canyon, September 2019.

Listen to 5 minutes of wisdom

The Second Great Preliminary Guide - Purification

What people are saying

Rosalinda Raso

Italy

“Being at Manjushri is something that I would recommend to the whole world. We can all relate to each other here because we all follow Geshe-la’s teachings, and being with people who are on the same spiritual path as me is so precious. My Dharma practice has become more concentrated as a result. You can absolutely see the beginnings of world peace here.”

Jun Miranda

Phillipines

“I’ve been coming here since 2013 and it’s like a second home to me - and also a second family, so I look forward to it. As Geshe-la envisioned, it’s an international community coming together, renewing friendships, and deepening our understanding of the Dharma. Every time you come back from an international Festival you get a second wind!”

Anh Tuan Tran

French Vietnamese

"We are in a big family and other people are very kind. I can communicate with anybody if I need to. It feels very easy to meditate here and connect. When I get home - that’s where the work starts!"