A quick taste via Instagram pictures and video of what it’s like to arrive at a great Dharma gathering in India, where over 600 members of the the Triratna Buddhist Order are gathered for a week of fellowship and practice, for the benefit of all beings.
We were welcomed by Lokeshvara and Parami, made the seven traditional offerings (water to drink, water to wash, a flower, a candle, incense, perfumed water, food), performed the dedication ceremony, and greeted...
The birds sing at dawn for you And, after winter, Earth puts out bright flowers The stars adorn your hair And oceans lie like crumpled silk Beneath your feet. Your eyes shine with pure love. Clouds melt in your hands Dropping moisture to plants and streams.
Bestowing confidence, unwavering Tara you are the perfect friend Delighting in turning sorrow to joy Your sole desire to heal all pain. ...
Dharmacharini Vijaya, one of our private preceptors on the Indian ordination team, led us in the ‘Indian style’ Shakyamuni mantra in our dedication ceremony last night. Here’s a snippet of it for you all to listen to…
Beautiful harmonies, recorded at the 2016 Triratna International Council as part of a puja to welcome new members of the Order.
Our friend Dhivan, an excellent Pali and Sanskrit scholar, says (see comment below):
“Oṃ Bodhicittam Utpādayāmi
This means ‘oṃ! I generate (utpādayāmi) the bodhicitta’.”
The ‘Bodhichitta’ is sometimes rendered as the ‘will to Enlightenment’ or the ‘heart-mind of Enlightenment’ - signifying the complete dedication of our efforts to cultivate wisdom and compassion, in line...
We finished off the fourth day with a ritual that included readings in many languages and this rather beautiful, atmospheric harmonized chanting of the mantra of the Bodhisattva Manjusri, whose great sword of kindly wisdom cuts through the heart of all ignorance and confusion.
The Birmingham Buddhist Centre sangha, led by Vipulakirti, have recorded their own versions here. Musical notation and an article about how to approach mantras and their chanting will follow soon from him, but, at the bottom of this page, you’ll find a short explanation about the mantras and the musical “principles” behind them.
With many thanks to Vipulakirti and all the chanters!
These searches on The Buddhist Centre Online yield considerably updated resources:Chanting | Mantra
Members of the Triratna Buddhist Order on their Pan-American Convention join with women training for ordination to chant the Bodhichitta mantra for the benefit of all beings.
The ‘Bodhichitta’ is sometimes rendered as the ‘will to Enlightenment’ or the ‘heart-mind of Enlightenment’ - signifying the complete dedication of our efforts to cultivate wisdom and compassion, in line with the Buddha’s teachings, making no distinction between our own well-being and that of others. In that sense the development of Bodhichitta is...
