*** LIVE & IN-PERSON AT THE NLBC ***
Sunday 25th July, 10:00-17:00
Led by Karunagita & Ratnaprabha
Open to all, including newcomers
Cost: by donation
Dharma Day is the annual Buddhist celebration of the point at which the newly-Enlightened Buddha first taught the Truth he had realised - the Dharma - to others. This is called the first turning of the Wheel of the Dharma. Join us to celebrate this in person this year! No booking required.
NLBC Dharma Day Festival 2021: Celebrating True Freedom
The Dharma can help us weaken and break the link between what happens and our experience, freeing us from Dukkha. As Sangharakshita wrote:
“Happiness (or freedom from Dukkha) can only be attained if all of existence accords with our desires, or our desires accord with existence. The second is hard, but the first is impossible”
While we rely on others or on our conditions being a certain way, we cannot be truly free. The Buddha said: “Just as the ocean has one taste, the taste of salt, my teachings [the Dharma] have but one taste, the taste of freedom”. Our Dharma Day festival will take a personal approach, as we identify and share Dharma teachings which help weaken that link and give us a taste of true freedom in our day to day lives.
PROGRAMME FOR THE DAY:-
10:00 Arrive & welcome followed by meditation
11:15 Break
Arrival time - doors open 11:30-11:45
11:45 “Personal Tastes of Freedom” - Talk by Karunagita, with Q&A and reflection. What Dharma teaching is most live for you right now?
12:45 LUNCH (please bring your own lunch as we won’t be able to share)
Arrival time - doors open 13:00-14:00
14:00 Workshop on the theme with guided reflection and discussion
15:30 Tea
Arrival time - doors open 15:45-16:00
16:00 Meditation and Puja
17:00 Farewells
All Welcome! Just turn up at one of the four arrival times (10:00, 11:30, 13:00, 15:45). Please don't ring the bell outside of the set arrival times as you will disturb the practice in the shrine room. Please bring a mask and a drink.
This event is offered by the teachers in the spirit of generosity - a cornerstone of the Buddha’s teaching. If you would like to help us be able to carry on offering our classes and events into the future then please do consider joining that spirit of generosity and giving a donation for this event, if you are able to do so and would like to do so. Click here to donate. Suggested amount for the day £20 but any contribution is welcome.
If you can't come or feel concerned about being indoors with others, join the stream on our YouTube channel. With the new guidelines, we can have more people in the shrine room, but the number is still limited. However, we hope we won't have to turn anybody away.