I feel honoured and so very grateful to have been able to serve Bhante as secretary in the last few years of his life. Clear and bright was his mind right up until his death, full of warmth and kindness for those that came into his sphere.
Though we were generations apart he always took interest in what interested me and our work together was so very smooth and straightforward, which is impressive given Bhante’s poor eyesight and my general lack of secretarial...
It’s become clear that the apparently large gathering of 1,200-1,400 people in the barn at Adhisthana on Saturday for Bhante’s funeral was, in fact, a small fraction of the international audience taking part by following the day live on Facebook and YouTube, and by participating in simultaneous events at Buddhist Centres around the world.
For a start, it’s estimated that those watching at public screenings across India numbered at least 61,000 – not including all those who watched at home or in social projects...
It is almost a week since the funeral and Adhisthana is returning to normal, although of course it is a new normal. “Life is King” as Bhante Urgyen Sangharakshita told us and Life goes on. The trees drop their leaves and work needs to be done. Sunday and Monday here saw community and volunteers taking down chairs, dismantling the shrine in the barn - will it ever be the same space? - and cleaning. Lots of cleaning,...
On Saturday 10th November the funeral of Urgyen Sangharakshita took place with an estimated 1,200 to 1,400 people attending the ceremony and burial in Adhisthana. Here are some of the photographs taken by Dhammarati during this significant day in the life of our community.
Thanks to everyone - the many thousands - who tuned into our live stream on the day of Urgyen Sangharakshita’s funeral and burial. And to those who have been watching and re-watching since. It’s been moving to read the continuing flood of messages and appreciation from around the world.
On the day we were faced with a number of unexpected (and some expected!) technical difficulties, and the live stream was effectively broken up across different channels, posts and platforms. Here then is...
Today Adhisthana welcomed 1,200-1,400 friends from many countries. They arrived throughout the morning by coach, train and car, drank 1,800 paper cups of tea and later disappeared into the darkness - after a few momentous and beautiful hours in which we said goodbye to our teacher, Bhante Sangharakshita.
I’d like to offer two impressions from today and some of Dhammarati’s photographs. (Click to see full-frame.)
The arrangements for a high quality Facebook Live online video transmission from the funeral mysteriously failed at the last minute, which...
The Funeral of the Venerable Urgyen Sangharakshita August 26, 1925 - October 30, 2018
Our online coverage starts just before the funeral ceremony begins, at around 12.20pm UK time. There will be a live video stream of the ceremony, as well as a regular stream of updates on social media throughout the day.
A conversation with Candradasa, Munisha, Parami and Sthanashraddha towards the end of a strong week at Adhisthana, home of Urgyen Sangharakshita, who died last week at the age of 93.
We talk about our personal relationships to the founder of the Triratna Buddhist sangha over decades, and the great change his passing represents for our community.
Join us online to begin saying farewell to a man whose long work for the Dharma transformed so many lives around the world for the good.