Meeting the magician....On Sun 14 some of us gathered to celebrate Padmasambhava day. Padmasambhava is a pivotal figure in Tibetan Buddhism and one that our founder Sangharakshita has a strong connection with. We meditated, listened to a great talk from Simhanada (which we forgot to record :( sorry), did writing and puja and, as ever on a festival day, hung out together. If you'd like to catch up with the theme, Simhanada recommended this very early talk from Sangharakshita which draws some parallels between the Dharma going to Tibet and coming to the West: Padmasambhava: Tantric Guru of Tibet
|
On 22 Oct we celebrated Martin Rimmer's mitra ceremony He says: My Mitra ceremony was a pivotal event for me. The last two years have involved huge personal change, and my practice has been central to it, being both cause and consequence of change. Becoming a Mitra was a personally important symbol for me of my arrival at the point where the precepts and the practice had become central to the way I aspire to live, and a readiness to make a formal declaration to myself of this intention. It also marked a significant shift in my practice, that of involving myself in the sangha, of relating more openly and connecting with others. What I was not quite prepared for was the wonderful, heartfelt and inspiring celebration by the sangha. The thoughtfulness in its preparation, the generosity of everyone, the sense of encouragement, the kind words and support of spiritual friends, and the sheer outpouring of love in the room, lifted me and carried me in a way which was almost overwhelming. I am grateful beyond words.
|
|
Our chair, Jvalamalini is now back from her month's retreat at Akasavana in Spain and says: Although my children were 6 months and 4 years old when I started practising the Dharma, I've found retreats of up to two weeks an indispensable part of my practice for gaining confidence in meditation and making connections with people in the sangha. With my children now at university, I welcomed the opportunity to do a longer retreat and booked on a month long silent meditation retreat for dharmacharinis (women members of the Triratna Buddhist Order) at Akasavana retreat centre in Spain.
This proved very timely, coming after unexpected changes in my life which I was finding difficult. Under the big open skies of Akasavana, living a simple and meditative life supported by the practice and metta of other dharmacharinis, I could find enough space in my experience to better examine the contents of my mind, experiencing more fully the emotions accompanying some of my obsessive circles of thought and repeatedly finding the faith to let go my grip on recreating myself in the same tightly tangled form.
In the language of our current focus on the five Buddhas, I wove together threads of blue mirror-like truthfulness applied to my thoughts, red metta and love of meditation (and some spectacular sunsets), golden delight in our opportunity to practise and awaken, green fearlessness in facing my experience, all held in still white spaciousness and increasing trust in what is of central importance in my life.
I'm so grateful for the excellent opportunities for practice that Triratna offers, created by the love and energy of many people over the years. And all of us practising in Bristol can contribute to keeping our sangha alive and growing for ourselves and others.
For more photos of Akasavana: http://akashavana.org
|
Younger Sangha Lucy Bray writes: 130 young buddhists at the stunning Smallwood Manor, West Birmingham, proved to be as energetic and as fun as I had expected! Over the weekend retreat we shared wonderful meditation, beautiful puja, insightful talks, lively discussion, beautiful countryside walks and delicious homemade food.. not to mention all the tea drinking, chatter, guitar playing and singing that took place in between! It was a fantastic and immensely inspiring weekend with fellow younger sangha, I'm very much looking forward to the next one!
|
|
Later in the month 18 of us set out to Anybody's Barn in the Malvern Hills for a Sangha weekend retreat and a deeper encounter with the red Buddha Amitabha There was a wide range of practice experience between us and some of us knew each other whilst others didn't but by the end of the weekend we had deepened connections and formed new ones. We spent time in silence and time talking. We meditated, did puja, communication exercises, worked, ate and walked together. A rich time and we were blessed with good weather.
Some comments from the retreatants: Absolutely fantastic. Exceeded my highest expectations. Wonderful food, weather,scenery,company and of course meditation and other practice. Lots of peace and contentment.
Great opportunity for deepening of friendships and practice - to be immersed in love and warmth - highly recommended.
Great team, great retreatants, great surroundings. Thank you everybody.
Found Amitabha very inspiring. Greaaaaat! Mazers! What a wonderful journey - wish it was a week.
|
Women's Day...Inhabiting the Mandala
I really enjoyed our women’s day in the Mandala of the five buddhas. Most of the day was spent sitting within the colourful mandala in the realm of our choice. Some of us dressed in the matching colour and stayed in one realm where others moved positions as the day progressed.
Each Buddha was introduced by one of the group and it was lovely to listen to each individual account how the chosen Buddha has been present in each woman’s life.
I chose to talk about the green Buddha of the north, Amoghasiddhi as I felt drawn to the aspect of fearlessness and his connection to green Tara and discovered he had been present in my life all along.
The day has brought each Buddha and their teachings towards enlightenment and helping to free us from our conditioning alive with colours, symbols, the sound of the mantras and our personal stories. I felt on the one hand quite bereft when we slowly had to dismantle this magical circle but on the other hand have come away with a heartfelt connection to each of the buddhas.
Thanks to Satyalila and Khemajoti for creating this opportunity to come together in this way.
|
Gardening days at Tiratanaloka retreat centre - at the beginning of the month Dharmavajri, Joy, Sarah and I (Khemajoti) joined a few other women for some gardening days at Tiratanaloka in the Brecon Beacons. We had a great time clearing ivy and undergrowth that was threatening to choke parts of the lovely grounds. I especially enjoyed working under the giant beech trees in the spot where I was ordained. It was lovely meditating together in the mornings, working outdoors during the day and then hanging out in the eves. We are all hoping to go back again and do some more. Any women mitras or dharmacharinis who would like to come and join us, look out for future dates.
|
Karunavapi with Anna de Moor on retreat in October 2012 at Metta Vihara. Showing the picture of the Buddha from Bristol Buddhist Centre's shrine room that Karunavapi gave Metta Vihara as a gift for their opening year. For those who remember Anna de Moor who used to come to Bristol Buddhist Centre, Anna now lives near Brighton where she attends Triratna activities. She has asked for Ordination and, as she is Dutch, she was on the Dutch GFR retreat that I attended at our new retreat centre in the South of Holland in October.
|
|
