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Special Events
| Parinirvana Day Celebration |
February 2008 |
details to be confirmed |
venue to be confirmed |
| FWBO Day |
April 2008 |
details to be confirmed |
venue to be confirmed |
| Buddha Day: Celebrating the Buddha's Enlightenment |
23-25 May 2008 |
Weekend retreat at Vijayaloka |
Click here for details |
| Sangha Day Celebrations |
6-7 Dec 2008 |
Weekend retreat at Vijayaloka |
Click here for details |
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Dharma Day
Soon after his Enlightenment the Buddha rose from where he had been sitting,
went to find his former disciples and shared his experience with them.
This event, which happened at a place called Sarnath in northern India,
might be called the start of the Buddhist religion. It is this that
Dharma Day celebrates near the full moon in July. On Dharma day there are
often readings from the Buddhist scriptures and a chance to reflect deeply
on their contents. On this day Buddhists can express their
gratitude that the Buddha and other Enlightened masters have
shared their teachings with other people.
Padmasambhava Day
Padmasambhava is the person credited with establishing Buddhism
in Tibet in the eighth century. His remarkable life has always
been surrounded in myth, making him a magical
and mystical figure.
This day, which falls on the full moon in September,
is a celebration of his life and his symbolic qualities
of vision, fearlessness and transformation.
Sangha Day
On Sangha Day, the full moon in November, Buddhists celebrate
both the ideal of creating a spiritual community,
and also the actual spiritual community which they are
trying to create. Sangha Day is a traditional time for
exchange of gifts; it has become a prominent festival
among Western Buddhists even though it is little known in the East.
Parinirvana Day Celebration
Strange as it may seem, Buddhists celebrate the death of the Buddha.
His death came when he was eighty years old and had spent some
forty years teaching after his Enlightenment.
What is more, the notion that all things are impermanent
is central to Buddhist teaching and, for Buddhists,
loss and impermanence are things to be accepted rather
than causes of pain and grief. The Parinibbana Sutta
gives a moving and dignified account of the Buddha's
last days and passages from it are often read on Parinirvana Day.
Celebrated on the full moon day in February, this day is
used as an opportunity to reflect on the fact of one's
own future death and on people whom one has known who
have recently died. Meditations are done for the recently
deceased to give them help and support wherever they might be now.
FWBO Day
This day celebrates the founding and continuation of
the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO) as a context for
learning and practicing the Dharma. The Friends of the
Western Buddhist Order was founded in 1967
by Sangharakshita. It is now an international movement with
activities in more than 20 countries. In India the FWBO
is known as the TBMSG. The FWBO/TBMSG is a non-sectarian
Buddhist movement which seeks promote the practice of
Buddhism in a form appropriate to the present.
Buddha Day Celebration (traditionally known as Wesak)
The Buddha's Enlightenment is the central event in Buddhism,
and the celebration of that Enlightenment on the full
moon of May/June is the most important festival
of the Buddhist year.
Many of the Buddha's disciples also attained
Enlightenment, and in the centuries that have
followed there have been many other Enlightened
masters. They too are recalled on this day with
readings of accounts of their lives or from
works they wrote themselves.
But Enlightenment is also an ideal to which
all Buddhists aspire. So this celebration is
a chance to reflect on what it might mean
for individual Buddhists.
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