The first day of the NKT Summer Festival 2024 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.  

The Empowerment day is always a very special day at the Festival. There is gentle morning of meditation to deeply prepare our minds guided by Gen Kelsang Ananda. The finishing touches are put in place for the empowerment shrine and even more abundant offerings appear. Everyone files in to the temple, our General Spiritual Director, Gen-la Kelsang Dekyong enters and there is a special quiet and unity as the empowerment begins.

Day 3 of the Festival dawns and by now everyone is beginning to settle into Festival life. Enjoying a change of pace, letting go of ordinary life, falling in to a delightful rhythm of meditation, attending teachings, volunteering, meal times and evening puja.

In this morning's teaching we received a transmission of the Heart Sutra, being transported back not only ten years to Portugal in the presence of our Spiritual Guide, but in fact going back further to the time of Buddha when the original Sutra was delivered.

Another extraordinary day of teachings with Gen-la Dekyong focusing on a deeper explanation of four lines at the heart of the Heart Sutra. Gen-la uses beautiful examples and analogies that came from our Guru's heart and that have the power to help us understand these profound topics.

After a feast of teachings in week one of the Summer Festival, we now have two days of retreat with Gen Rabten to deepen our wisdom in meditation. Following Gen-la Dekyong's advice, the retreat focuses on going deeply by using the same sequence of meditations in each session.

It is extraordinary that in these modern times we are still able to practice the original meaning of the perfection of wisdom exactly as Buddha explained. For us as Kadampas this is due solely to the kindness of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche.

For those attending both weeks of the festival it is the free day. A day to pause, to rest, to do laundry, to visit the charming local town of Ulverston for afternoon tea or to take a hike up the Hoad or a mountain peak.

The joy of Festival has many faces. There is a joy that comes from mixing our minds with Dharma teachings and feeling peaceful; the joy of feeling safe and accepted, surrounded by people all trying to practice the teachings with a good intention; the joy of working together and cherishing others.

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.

The Pure Land of Vajrayogini is not so far away! At Festival and in our daily practice we are training in special methods to purify our mind so that we have purer experiences.

The final day of teachings focused on many important things and completed the transmission of the sublime practice of the Uncommon Yoga of Inconceivability. Included within this beautiful, transcendent practice are so many practical teachings.

We begin three days of retreat meditating according to Venerable Geshe-la's advice in the beautiful, holy space of the Temple. Kadam Morten guides everyone step by step, letting the retreat go gradually deeper. He encourages us to be light and joyful and to practice on the basis of faith, in a relaxed way, with confidence.

The peace of the Festival is indescribable. It feels so powerful to meditate as a great assembly of practitioners at the culmination of this Festival. Step by step, session by session, we have the experience of collectively holding our minds on pure objects. The Kadampa Temple becomes so quiet, even though we are a huge assembly of people. It is harmonious on a deep, subtle, heart level as we meditate together for long periods of time in silence.

It’s the last full day of the Festival and we conclude with three more sessions of retreat, keeping our minds in such a blessed and peaceful state and looking forward to the play of The Life of Buddha.The Temple is packed and it's an incredible atmosphere, as the lights go down and we are all together watching this special, holy play on a giant screen.

The Temple is once again full for a final morning of heartfelt prayers, requests and dedications as we engage in an extremely auspicious practice of Offering to the Spiritual Guide. It is a beautiful and fitting conclusion to what has been an extraordinary Festival.

The conclusion of the 2024 Summer Festival offers us an opportunity to reflect on this truly inspiring event.