latest news
- 26/06/08 - Summer Fayre attracts 2000 people
- 20/06/08 - UKDC web site now live!
- 02/06/08 - Spring Post Festival Retreat at Tara Centre
14/05/08 - Manjushri Empowerment weekend - 12/04/08 - Book online!
Summer Fayre attracts 2000 people
It was Summer Fayre day last Sunday & somehow after a week of rain the sun came out to set the scene. Theeeko (sic) the clown was in presence as were a host of stalls selling a multitude of colourful and interesting items and delicious and nutritious food. We’re not sure what happened to the bloke who was supposed to be playing the didgeridoo but we wish him well wherever he is!
The turn out was again superb, with over 2000 people attending over the day, many of whom attended one of the free meditation samplers on offer. Many people thanked us for bringing a bit of peace as well as a smile to their weekend; to this we say, "it’s our pleasure!". This year the Summer Fayre raised a total of £6000 towards our New Meditation Hall project (wondering what the ‘New Meditation Hall project’ is? More information on this coming soon!)
Kay picks out a frock for her next dinner party
No, we don't know what they are either...
So much choice, so little time...
Alice tried to copy her name sake,
but the rabbit hole just wasn't big
enough
The kids really enjoyed whacking these old prayer drums
(they're still for
sale by the way...)
Theeeko will jump through hoops to entertain the kiddies
Your'e being followed ...
Our calculations show that enough cake was eaten
on Sunday to build an 800ft
Buddha statue
Kelsang Gema makes a new friend
UKDC web site now live!
Click here to go to the newly opened UKDC 2008 web site and find out more
about the teachings and empowerment planned for the event later this year.
Online booking will also be available via the web site very soon!
Spring Post Festival Retreat at Tara Centre
Over the last week Tara Centre has been home to Kadampa Buddhists from all over the globe as she hosted her annual post Spring festival retreat. Following on from the empowerment and teachings given by Venerable Geshe-la at the Spring festival, the international crowd spent the week meditating on the Yoga of Buddha Vajrapani. Geshe-la first gave this empowerment only three years ago and has since reworked the accompanying practice to make this ancient and profound tantra even more accessable to contemporary people. Tara Centre’s Resident Teacher Gen Kelsang Jigme gave concise reminders of Geshe-la’s instructions at the beginning of each session so that those attending could begin to gain familiarity with the practice. Familiarity, Geshe-la explained, was the second of ‘five forces’ which would make our practice successful, the others being motivation, faith, purifying obstructions & aspirational prayer. The retreaters showed their sincere wish to engage in these five forces by volunteering around the centre when they weren’t meditating. It is always inspiring for us at Tara Centre to see the joy with which people apply themselves to every day tasks around the Centre, transforming the mundane into the spiritual.
Thank you to everyone who came and enjoyed the retreat – we hope to see you again soon!
Nicole from Hong Kong cleaning inside the
Dorje Shugden shrine during the Spring post festival retreat
Manjushri Empowerment weekend
Last weekend Tara Centre hosted a weekend event with her Resident Teacher Gen Kelsang Jigme, which included teachings on ultimate truth and the blessing empowerment of Buddha Manjushri. Empowerments are ceremonies where the participants receive a special blessing from Buddha which ripens our potential to become enlightened. We also need to receive empowerment in order to practice the ‘sadhana’, or ‘method for accomplishment’ of a particular Buddha. The sadhana of Buddha Manjushri is a tantric method for attaining enlightenment and over the weekend Gen Jigme gave commentary to the practice, explaining for beginners and more experienced practitioners alike how to engage in this very special practice. Gen Jigme followed Venerable Geshe-la’s example in explaining how success in tantra requires a firm grounding in Buddha’s sutra teachings, in this way ensuring the purity of the
practice and guarding against its misuse. It is our hope that all who
attended found the weekend meaningful and enjoyable and make swift progress along the path to enlightenment.
Gen Kelsang Jigme teaching during the Manjushri Empowerment May 2008 |
Kelsang Pagma offering traditional Tibetan Katag (white scarf) as a thanking for the teaching |
Traditional Tibetan Katag (white scarf) offering |
A member of the Tara Centre community receiving the blessing empowerment of Buddha Manjushri |
Tara Centre teacher Paul Harrison leading a Meditation during the Empowerment weekend |
Online booking system
For your convenience, we are pleased to announce that our secure online booking system is now fully operational. You can now book for all Tara Centre's upcoming courses, retreats and events directly from the website using any of the following cards:
For your peace of mind, all Tara Centre's online payments are handled securely by WorldPay.
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