Triratna News
Triratna News

Peacock Plumes in Southampton - Introducing The Amitabha Project

By Centre Team on Tue, 1 Mar, 2022 - 12:00

Peacock Plumes in Southampton - Introducing The Amitabha Project

By Centre Team on Tue, 1 Mar, 2022 - 12:00

Since opening the centre in the converted premises of the old Plume of Feathers pub in the St Mary’s district four years ago, The Southampton Buddhist Center has been through a period of what feels like an incubation of new sangha lives. During the Covid pandemic, 20 people have had their mitra ceremonies. There have been two local ordinations and numerous ordination requests.

Now that the lockdowns have eased, these lives are interacting together in a range of endeavors that...

North London Buddhist Centre
North London Buddhist Centre

Full Moon Puja to Amitabha

By Ratnaprabha on Thu, 23 Jul, 2020 - 19:26

Full Moon Puja to Amitabha

By Ratnaprabha on Thu, 23 Jul, 2020 - 19:26

Friday 31 July, 19:30-21:30,
Anandavajra is leading a Sevenfold Puja dedicated to the red Buddha of the West and of compassion. Puja: Buddhist devotional verses and mantras, all are welcome to participate or just watch. Meditation too. Zoom link here.

Bristol Buddhist Centre
Bristol Buddhist Centre

Great Faith, Great Wisdom Retreat, 2017 - day 6

By jvalamalini on Fri, 15 Sep, 2017 - 17:14

Great Faith, Great Wisdom Retreat, 2017 - day 6

By jvalamalini on Fri, 15 Sep, 2017 - 17:14

The last morning of the retreat found me with a mind full of reflections in the early morning double meditation, and a fair bit of energy released – I was dancing in my living room when I popped home for a few things after breakfast.

This was the day we’d been building up to – the day we met the Buddha! Ratnaguna introduced the Buddha Amitayus of the Guan Jing, the ‘Buddha beyond the Buddha’, the principle of Buddhahood which the Mahayana...

Bristol Buddhist Centre
Bristol Buddhist Centre

Great Faith, Great Wisdom Retreat, 2017 - day 4

By jvalamalini on Wed, 13 Sep, 2017 - 13:22

Great Faith, Great Wisdom Retreat, 2017 - day 4

By jvalamalini on Wed, 13 Sep, 2017 - 13:22

Today we focused on the very beautiful descriptions of the beings in the happy land of Sukhavati. In many ways these are my favourite sections of the sutra; I’ve spent happy meditations in the past basking in the golden light as I imagined being amidst great beings with “minds of equality, minds of loving-kindness, gentle minds, affectionate minds, diligent minds, clear minds, stable minds, unhindered minds, unshaken minds, unagitated minds, minds which practise the perfection of wisdom” who stroll around...

Bristol Buddhist Centre
Bristol Buddhist Centre

Great Faith, Great Wisdom Retreat, 2017 - day 3

By jvalamalini on Tue, 12 Sep, 2017 - 09:04

Great Faith, Great Wisdom Retreat, 2017 - day 3

By jvalamalini on Tue, 12 Sep, 2017 - 09:04

Another beautiful day in the pure land!  On my way home, I sighed - “oh it’s all so lovely!”.

Today our sutra reading was sections of the text describing the land of Sukhavati, which is the Dharma aspect of the text. (Yesterday focused more on the Buddha - including beautiful descriptions of bodhisattva activity)

I found the description of the river particularly beguiling - the sound of the river is both soothing, and conveys the Dharma. It conveys the Dharma by murmuring the only,...

Community Highlights
Community Highlights

Great Faith, Great Wisdom Retreat Online!

By Centre Team on Mon, 11 Sep, 2017 - 16:37

Great Faith, Great Wisdom Retreat Online!

By Centre Team on Mon, 11 Sep, 2017 - 16:37

All this week we’ll be bringing you online resources and blogs from the Bristol Buddhist Centre’s Rainy Season Retreat on ‘Great Faith, Great Wisdom’ with Ratnaguna.

Follow the retreat online

On this retreat Ratnaguna will guide us on a journey into Amitābha’s Pure Land, Sukhāvati – a mythical realm where the ground is golden, trees are made of jewels, heavenly musical instruments play ravishing music, and magical birds sing the Dharma. It is...

Buddhist Centre Features
Buddhist Centre Features

The Buddha of Infinite Light

By akasajoti on Fri, 26 Aug, 2016 - 16:01

The Buddha of Infinite Light

By akasajoti on Fri, 26 Aug, 2016 - 16:01

Today on the Women’s Convention we have been with the Buddha of Infinite Light, Amitabha. This morning we celebrated Bhante’s birthday, and passed on gifts and cards to Suvajra, singing Happy Birthday in three languages - Dutch, English and Hindi! Then Satyajyoti and Padmabodhini invoked Amitabha’s presence with two very personal, and tender talks about their bonds with him and Maitrimala led us in the Amitabha Sadhana. We heard a reading of Bhante’s vision of Amitabha holding up...

European Chairs' Assembly
European Chairs' Assembly

Ratnaguna - Three Talks On The Pureland

By Centre Team on Wed, 13 Jan, 2016 - 00:09

Ratnaguna - Three Talks On The Pureland

By Centre Team on Wed, 13 Jan, 2016 - 00:09

A new three-part series from Ratnaguna introduces the Pureland texts as a practice in themselves, and discusses their relationship to Sangharakshita’s core teachings. 

In the first talk Ratnaguna takes us on an excellent exploration of imagination itself, essential for understanding the sutras on their own terms. The second talk discusses how the texts hint at what Sangharakshita calls the supra-personal force of the Bodhichitta. The third talk is on the importance of sangha in the sutras and its relevance...

Free Buddhist Audio
Free Buddhist Audio

FBA Podcast: Adventures In the Pure Land – Beauty

By Rijupatha on Mon, 23 Mar, 2015 - 22:39

FBA Podcast: Adventures In the Pure Land – Beauty

By Rijupatha on Mon, 23 Mar, 2015 - 22:39

Subscribe to the FBA Podcast

Support FBA today!

The Pure Land Sutras are described as practices, not texts to be read and understood, but rather engaged with as if a piece of music, inviting us to awaken our imagination. Ratnaguna gives us a in depth look at the beauty in the Sukhavati Sutras in this week’s FBA Podcast“Adventures In the Pure Land – Beauty.” This is the 2nd...

Bristol Buddhist Centre
Bristol Buddhist Centre

Day 4: Karuna & Amitabha

By jvalamalini on Tue, 17 Mar, 2015 - 14:57

Day 4: Karuna & Amitabha

By jvalamalini on Tue, 17 Mar, 2015 - 14:57After days of gloom outside it’s wonderful to have spring sunshine today as we move into contemplating karuna - which Sangharakshita has described as like metta with a shadow over it.

Ratnavandana says:
It is good to reflect on our attitudes to suffering, whether it’s physical or emotional. I know for a long time I had this a sense that somehow suffering was wrong, that I shouldn’t be suffering, so there was a feeling of failure there which was...

Pages