Fall Festival 2024 ~ Day 8
Nov 2, 2024
05 August 2024
It's the second day of teachings with Gen-la Jampa, who guides us on a journey through Venerable Geshe-la's teachings on The Blissful Path, helping us to appreciate the deep meaning of self-generation practice and why it is so effective. He shares many jewels from Venerable Geshe-la’s oral teachings with us, giving us great confidence to identify ourself correctly using the wisdom of Highest Yoga Tantra, paving the way out of samsara and suffering. As Gen-la often reminds us: truly, how fortunate we are!
Festivals are an immersive, collective and international experience. As Geshe-la teaches us, it is the best method for maintaining our International Kadampa Buddhist Union. We are living, studying, meditating and working together as one society; having meetings together, learning from each other, being inspired by others; and feeling part of something bigger than our local centers.
Many groups meet up during the Festival from different countries or areas, taking photos, discussing the teachings, or working together on Festival jobs. Yesterday a group of practitioners, all originally from Poland but practicing abroad, met up, talking in their mother tongue and creating causes for a center in Poland to appear one day!
It is also fantastic that so many people are able to join the Festivals online. Two thousand are joining this Festival via livestream, in multiple languages from 40 countries. Also onsite, people listen simultaneously in many different languages.
Together we become spiritually stronger and then we return home around the world carrying this wish with us. You can feel the power of people's good hearts deepening, their connection to their Spiritual Guide and international Sangha increasing, and pure intentions arising that will bring incredible results around the world. One person's dedication can make a huge difference to their area when they return. This is the magic of Festivals.
NKT Fall Festival is held in different parts of the world. This year the Festival is in the World Peace Temple at KMC Brazil.
This morning Gen-la encourages us to receive the blessings of the empowerments of Heruka and Vajrayogini coming in Brazil. This is especially important for those who have not yet received them. He encourages us to develop the wish to be there even if it seems impossible because that wish alone creates wonderful causes.
Gen-la Jampa gives advice to help us remember emptiness during the day, this is very important if we want to improve our Tantric practice out of meditation.