Sunday 2 May 14:00-17:00 (with breaks)
With: Lalitaraja
Most suitable for Intermediates & Regulars but Curious also welcome (see here for definitions). Some experience of meditation is helpful but not essential.
Pay what you can. Suggested donation £12 or whatever you wish to give. Please click here to give.
Pleasure and wisdom - an afternoon exploring this through meditation and ritual (with Lalitaraja)
Join Lalitaraja for an afternoon of practice, focusing on pleasure in meditation and culminating in a ritual to celebrate Beltaine with a puja to Prajnaparamita. The solar festival of Beltaine marks the time of union between goddess and god, handfastings, sex and fertility. In this context we can think of ‘union’ as a metaphor for ‘integration’, especially between wisdom and compassion, awareness and kindness. Beltaine holds the origins of maypole dances and many other mayday festivities that hold this symbolism of the union of god and goddess. Our ‘May Queen’ and the central focus for our puja (ritual) will be Prajnaparamita - the perfection of wisdom. A female Buddha, she is known as the great mother of all the Buddhas because the perfection of wisdom is said to give birth to all Buddhas. The perfection of wisdom is the synthesis of wisdom and compassion arising. We seek to give birth to the Buddha within by opening to our own possibilities for wisdom and compassion and touching our potential for awakening.
There will plenty of time to meditate, and plenty of chanting in the ritual. You are welcome to come to either or both parts of the afternoon.
14:00-15:50 Meditation Workshop: focusing on attuning to sense experience, finding pleasure in meditation and opening to the possibilities of wisdom and compassion.
16:00-17:00 Puja (ritual) to Prajnaparamita celebrating the Beltaine solar festival: including a short introduction to Beltaine and Prajnaparamita as well as time for reflection.
Lalitaraja is a very experienced and well-loved teacher with a strong connection to the archetypal Buddhist and pagan figures. He has a special love of integrating these ways into the mysterious and more mythic parts of our psyches through meditation and ritual.
Lalitaraja
Lalitaraja offers this event in the spirit of generosity in that he gives his time for free so that as many people as possible can access Buddhist teachings and practice. Please join with this spirit of generosity, if you can and would like to, by donating to help us continue this work. Suggested amount £12 or whatever you wish to give. Please click here to give.
To join the afternoon sign in to Zoom at https://zoom.us/signin and use Meeting ID: 881 7750 6311 and Passcode: 493274. So we can start on time please join just BEFORE 2pm if you are attending the meditation workshop and just BEFORE 4pm if you are coming for the puja only.
If you have not yet set up a Zoom account you will need to do so first. This is free at https://zoom.us/signup.