General Spiritual Director
Spreading Inner Peace and Joy in Our Communities
Dec 3, 2024
NKT-IKBU International
Summer Festival 2024
Festival Diaries
The Festival Begins
The first day of Festival is a beautiful day, showing the Lake District at its very best, with all the peaks of the mountains visible and the sea tranquil and beautiful in Morecambe Bay. As the international Kadampa family arrives at Manjushri Kadampa Meditation Center they are greeted by friendly faces and immaculate grounds and gardens, which are the result of many weeks of preparation. Volunteers have been creating perfect conditions for campers throughout the woods, for guests staying in the main building, for families to enjoy activities on the lawn and for every aspect of the Festival to run smoothly.
Day 1 ~ It's Festival Time!
There is a steady stream of people arriving throughout the day and you can feel the anticipation building as the Festival swells. It is a joy for some to be together once again, for others it is exciting to be visiting the Mother Center, to see the World Peace Temple, or to be attending their first International Festival.
Everyone is looking forward to setting aside the ordinary to focus on their spiritual lives for a concentrated period of time. In the evening we enter the Temple and receive our first glimpse of the empowerment shrine. There is a beautifully crafted golden Buddha Prajnaparamita statue shimmering in the midst of a sea of rose colored flowers and surrounded by exquisite offerings.
Forget your problems with Gen-la Kunsang
We settle our minds with prayers, powerfully recited by thousands of people all together. Then we listen to the first teaching with Gen-la Kelsang Kunsang who encourages us to make a plan. She asks us questions about what we want to achieve with our spiritual holiday and shares advice on how to make best use of this opportunity.
In particular she encourages us to think positively using Dharma and to feel close to our precious Spiritual Guide, remembering that he has carefully designed every aspect of these Festivals and that his mind is always with us. In this way we can create a pure, peaceful world.
