Last weekend, Kadampas around the world celebrated Buddha’s Enlightenment Day with joyful gatherings and devoted practice. Nyungnay retreats to purify negative karma, teachings, empowerments and courses, vegetarian feasts, and activities for young people were just some of the ways practitioners marked the anniversary of Buddha Shakyamuni demonstrating the attainment of enlightenment.
At Manjushri KMC, the mother center of NKT, Buddha’s Enlightenment Day was celebrated this year with a nyungnay fasting retreat and an Offering to the Spiritual Guide puja. To the delight of everyone, a beautiful, warm spring day morphed into a magical full moon evening. Pure magic!
After each International Festival, Kadampa centers around the world organise post-Festival retreats providing an opportunity to spend some time improving our understanding of the teachings and taking their meaning to heart.
April 15 is Buddha’s Enlightenment Day, when we celebrate Buddha demonstrating how to attain enlightenment. Even though he had already attained enlightenment many lives previously, out of great compassion he emanated in our world to demonstrate how we too can follow this path.
In October we reported on the nascent Israeli Sangha forming in Tel Aviv under the leadership of Daniel Koren. The group has thrived during the lockdown period and recently gathered for their first in-person retreat. Here is their update.
Last Saturday special events were held at Kadampa centers worldwide in celebration of the annual NKT Day.
The first Saturday in April is NKT Day, a special occasion on which we celebrate the extraordinary deeds of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche in creating and nourishing the New Kadampa Tradition – International Kadampa Buddhist Union.
On June 4 2021, which was the 90th birthday of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, Kadampa centers around the world joined in a special celebration of retreat and puja based on the recitation of Venerable Geshe-la’s name mantra. This gathering was the first of what has become a new event in the Kadampa calendar that will take place every year on June 4, which is Turning the Wheel of Dharma Day.
As the Opening of the Temple and the beginning of the 2022 Spring Festival approach, preparations are underway at the site to host thousands of people. The Festival will have a distinctive Mediterranean feel. Here we see the team trying out a vegetable paella, one of the dishes offered at the chiringuitos distributed throughout the site, which will also provide tortilla, tapas, salads etc.
At the suggestion of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, yesterday a special Prayers for World Peace was held at Manjushri KMC led by Gen-la Kelsang Dekyong, the General Spiritual Director of NKT-IKBU, to pray for peace in the world at this time.
General Spiritual Director
