Welcome Back! - Sangha Night
This event has already happened.
We warmly invite you to this first evening of our 2023 programme, taking place on the 3rd of January.
On this evening Vimalavajri and Naravira will be introducing the year ahead on Sangha Night.
This year we are exploring the Mandala of the Buddhas, an archetypal and symbolic formation of the Buddhist teaching dating back many centuries.
We invite you to journey with us into the awakened mind. Passing through five Buddha realms, we invite you to meet the figures who live there – vivid, made of light, blazing with energy. Rich in symbol and meaning, these figures speak to us directly, in all our human complexity. They involve our imaginations, reach into our emotional lives, and, if we allow them, they will lead us to compassion and wisdom.
A mandala could be seen as a geometric representation of both an inner and outer world, which carries deep meaning. The Buddha Mandala, which includes both the ‘male’ and ‘female’ Buddhas, could be seen as the symbolic representation of the Buddha mind. The light of awakening, Bodhi, is reflected in the manifest world to appear as the five Buddhas and their wisdoms (the ‘female’ Buddha figures). But who are they and what do they stand for?
On this first evening we will start by looking at the Buddha figures (ten of them), images of which will be up on the walls of the Buddhist centre shrine room.
We will enter into this world, to begin with, as if entering into an art gallery. Looking at the images that are there and finding our own responses to what we see. We will then be invited to share our responses in small groups.
This will be followed by a short introduction by Naravira to the Buddha Mandala.
After the break we will further explore the mandala through reflective meditation and collective ritual, led by Vimalavajri.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Sangha Night is for the community (anyone who has done the intro course, or has been to the introductory classes for a number of months) to get together to talk, meditate, hear the teachings of the Buddha and discuss them.
We are here today because the people before us have generously given to keep us going. All our classes are run on donations which means everyone, regardless of income, can learn about Buddhism and meditation. To keep this revolutionary approach going, please do give. Thank you.