General Spiritual Director
Work Day with Resident Teachers preparing for International Summer Festival
Jul 21, 2026
JUL 25 - AUG 9, 2025
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International Summer Festival 2025 diaries
Day 1 ~ It's day one of the Summer Festival 2025
It's day one of the Festival, and there are happy, peaceful and busy Kadampas everywhere. People are greeting each other fondly, happy to meet again and looking forward to spending one or two weeks together immersed in Kadampa life.
Meanwhile as tents are going up, people find their rooms and get orientated to the Festival site. Last minute preparations are made to the various areas that make the Festival run smoothly, and many team meetings are taking place as volunteering gets underway.
The Teachings Begin
warm welcome from Gen-la Kunsang.
At the heart of Manjushri centre is the first Kadampa Temple for World Peace, its golden lantern roof and vajras gleaming. Then the moment comes when after all the travel and busyness of the day, everyone gathers into the temple for the first session of the Festival, receiving a warm welcome from Gen-la Kunsang. Gen-la shares a beautiful message from Venerable Geshe-la about the benefits of listening to Dharma teachings. She reminds us that although we receive many messages each day, this is a precious direct message from our Spiritual Guide that can have a huge impact in our life now and in the future.
It feels very special to spend time thinking about how to listen well, with a clear attentive mind and to really appreciate deeply the benefits of attending the Festival. We look forward to having the opportunity, day by day, to listen to Buddha's teachings, to contemplate them deeply, to meditate on them, and take them to heart.
