News from the post Fall Festival retreats
Nov 13, 2024
30 July 2023
The Complete Path to Enlightenment
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Today is the first full day of festival, with opportunities from morning to night to enjoy holy Dharma. Starting with clear and peaceful morning meditations with Gen Demo, then two sessions of sublime Lamrim teachings from Gen-la Khyenrab and ending joyfully with prayers to our Dharma Protector Dorje Shugden.
Everyone is happy to be here, still settling in and exploring the festival site and the Mother Centre. It always feels so blessed and special to be in Venerable Geshe-la’s home. It is truly a holy place in the world, imbued with powerful living blessings accumulated over years of practice, empowerments and teachings that have taken place here.
In the last twelve months so many improvements have been made to our Spiritual home, taking care of it in seen and unseen ways. It is clear a lot of thought has gone in to making things beautiful, protected, better organised and more modern. So many walls, inside and outside, are newly painted, new paths are created, a food court has appeared, the new reception welcomes people, and the shrine is more exquisite than ever. Manjushri KMC feels cherished and cared for.
It is so easy to enjoy being at the festival, from our joyful inner experience in the Temple, quiet walks in the woods, to the fun of the children’s area and the buzz of the cafes and dining marquees.
At the heart of it all are the precious teachings. People discuss how Gen-la Khyenrab's commentary covered so many essential points with such clarity. Based on Modern Buddhism, which is Venerable Geshe-la’s own presentation of the Lamrim of Sutra and Tantra, Gen-la gave a precise overview of the initial and intermediate scope and guided our mind to clear meditation objects.
If we do meditation on death everyday we will naturally put energy into practising Dharma purely and sincerely.