Amida Buddhism Newcastle

Meetings week beginning June 2nd 2008

You will find the details here

Amida France Retreat Centre - Events Summer 2008

Details of events and booking information, what to bring with you etc to our wonderful retreat centre in the middle of France.

amida france is opening in may + news of dharmavidya's teachings, 10 - 30 july

Susthama and a couple of members from The Buddhist House will go to France in mid-May (2008) to open it up for the summer season. The retreat centre has been closed for the winter period and so there will be alot of work initially; getting the place aired out and clean, digging the garden to get the beds ready for planting, clearing paths for outdoor walking meditation and also to make a way to the meditation hut ready for anybody interested in doing a solitary retreat in the woods.

It's a great time of year to be in France. If you're in need of space, fresh air, and a retreat atmosphere then do come along.

::link

During the three week period of the July Retreat,
Dharmavidya & Prasada
will give lectures on
Pureland Buddhism and its Application in Society, Culture and the Arts

* 12 lectures over the three week period

There will also be

* periods of Pureland practice
* introductory seminars for the less experienced on the basics of the Pureland approach
* seminars and coaching for the more experienced related to Buddhist chaplaincy and ministry

As usual there will be plenty of opportunities for outdoor life, community living, discussion and sharing with stimulating company, and good vegetarian food, much of it from the centre's own garden.

::link

5th living buddhism conference - an update

The 5th Living Buddhism Conference

"Breaking the Mould: Buddhism Comes West & Gets Engaged"

Narborough, Leicestershire, UK in April - May 2008

• 26 - 27 April: Pre-Conference Gathering: Practice, Discussions, Gatherings

• 28 - 30 April: Pre-Conference Events: Monday Outing; Tuesday & Wednesday Mini-conferences "Buddhism & Arts", "Amida Around the World", "Buddhism in a Multi-Faith World", "Buddhist Education".

• 1 - 4 May: Conference Proper: Keynote Speakers, Plenary Sessions, Presentations, Workshops, Exhibitions, Bookshop, Entertainment.

• 5 May: Post Conference Meeting: "Buddhism in Organisation Development"

Website - http://amidatrust.typepad.com/conference2008/

A message from Susthama:

Dear Friends,

With the Amida conference approaching fast we need your help to get the word out. If you would like to help, please circulate information on any networks you know, put notices on notice boards, and, above all, tell people. Word of mouth is what helps most. If you can distribute publicity material please do and if you need more, please let Mudita or me know.

Kenneth Tanaka - new patron for Amida Trust

NEW PATRON: KENNETH TANAKA President of the International Association of Shin Buddhist Studies

“ I welcome being included in the growing family of Amida Trust, which, in my view, has successfuly begun to share the message of Pure Land Buddhism in a context not encumbered by traditional institutions, while not rejecting or criticizing them. I appreciate its openness to push the boundaries to ally with like-minded groups and to articulate the teachings in a more accessible manner for us ordinary beings of the 21st century.”

Kenneth Tanaka is President of IASBS, the leading academic association for Pureland Buddhism, author of the book Ocean, and a good friend of Dharmavidya and also of Professor Bloom who is another much valued patron, supporter of Amida Trust, and mentor to Dharmavidya. We are delighted to have these leading authorities from Japan and the West on the Amida team. ::link

Buddhism at Northumbria University

Details of all events can be found on the Northumbria Buddhist Society website

Dharmavidya on Creativity

Qu: Can u tell me about creativity at The Buddhist House?
Dh: Well, TBH is a creation in itself. I don't mean the fabric of the building - tho that did involve a lot of repairing and painting and the usage of the rooms is a flexible ever changing evolution. I mean more the community itself.

::read more

Irene Brazier Memorial Garden - news

The Irene Brazier Memorial Garden is no longer functioning in its original form, although there are new communal gardening opportunities with other members of the local Amida sangha. For details, look ::here

Dharmavidya's latest pastoral letter - Safeguarding the Domain of Bliss

Safeguarding the Domain of Bliss

Pastoral Letter of 9th October 2007

Dear Friends

My last pastoral letter focussed primarily upon the fact that our sangha mission seemed to be at a liminal point as we noticed that we are being drawn into a phase of growth and outreach. This prediction has been confirmed by the sequence of events over the six months since that letter was written. Our community at Narborough has grown during this period continuing a trend that started some time previously. Not everything goes perfectly, but we are clearly in a period of rising energy and, what is more important, deepening faith and practice. While what a Pureland Sangha offers may not be immediately popular due to the fact that it does not chime with current fashions either in popular spirituality or secular rationalism, those who take the opportunity to examine what it offers may be impressed with the seriousness and the spirit of love that they find in a communion springing from the earliest traditions of Buddhism and led by Amida’s grace.

::more

Pastoral Letter of 9th October 2007

Buddhist meetings at Amida Sanctuary and Newcastle University throughout the summer

Details ::here