Well over 2000 years ago the Buddha urged Ananda his constant companion and a faithful disciple to become a lamp unto himself, and not to be distressed by the fact that the Buddha in the very nature of things, would pass away. Difficult as it was Ven. Ananda took the advice and he and his disciples of the Buddha saw the dharma as the unfailing lamp which would guide us all to the bliss of Nirvana We the resident monks in the Georgia Buddhist Vihara decided to cherish and revere the memory of the Buddha by commemorating the 2600 anniversary of the Buddha’s awakening and –specifically on May 28 till May 31st. Six youth participated together with one adult committed themselves to observe the ten precepts in our Vihara for a retreat which lasted four days. For the duration of those four days in our collective spiritual imagination we were all for those moments in the beautiful valley of the Ganges made more than real by the sense of the presence of the great path finder (The Buddha) Metta, loving kindness, Dharma discussions, and the practice of meditation was witnessed by all. The spirit of the Dharma was in the air.The six young men were text book examples of metta , karuna, muditha, which affected the considerable amount of people who visited the Vihara. The young men followed a simple regimen of attending to their daily and hourly needs. They were consistently disciplined and were examples to all who chose to be present. From all that we observed it was clearly transforming spiritual encounter to the participants. If their serenity and visible loving kindness was any indication they were no doubt the principle beneficiaries of a truly beautiful lingering experience. We in the Georgia Buddhist Vihara took heart and inspiration from the success of the four day retreat. In reality it became an inspiration to all who were present who no doubt were themselves transformed by witnessing the event. We hope that our dayakayas who generously and spiritedly supported were made happy by what they saw. Our success inspires us to nobly strive t o do better than what we did on all future occasions. Soon the word would get around that it is in the Georgia Buddhist Vihara that one might see a fleeting glimpse of the shores of nirvana- where we will all know the peace and serenity the surpasses all understanding.
Conclusion of the 4 Day retreat Diary of a Dhamma Brother
By Ranuka Manamendra
I got to the temple around 7:30. Within me I felt a sort of confusion, because I had no idea what would take place. It felt weird to have my parents bow down to me and in all honesty, when Bhante asked how we felt after taking the dhasa-sil...more
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By Janith Wickramasuriya
We practiced group meditation for the first time today. It was a very calming time for us all. After this we had a lesson about a wealthy householder named Anathapindika. He had built a temple in India that was named Jetavanaramaya. We also learned of a very interesting...more
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By Nuwan Perera
Today was the beginning of our Dhamma immersion experience, and I am not sure what to expect. We did not follow the entire schedule because we took Das Sil at ten,..More
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By Rajitha Siyasena
When we started the retreat I had no idea that I would learn the amount I learned today. Meditating and sitting in one place sure was difficult but the valuable insight we got from the first day clearly outweighed the hardships. As the day progressed we meditated and discussed Suttas ....More
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