Saturday 27 January | 2pm - 4.30pm, starting with a shared lunch at 1pm (bring something to share).
2.00pm - 3pm: A welcome from Kulamita, our president Rejoicing in Ratnaprabha (hearing from Aryajit, Kusala, Karunagita, Santva and Vajramitra).
Short farewell speech from Ratnaprabha, followed by a short talk from Ksantikara launching our year of Sangha.
3pm - 3.30pm: Tea break
3.30 - 4.30pm: Sevenfold puja with chair handover ceremony
After five years of being Chair of the NLBC, Ratnaprabha is stepping down and handing on the responsibility to Ksantikara. We will be ritually marking this momentous occasion with the handing over of a sacred vajra in a special ceremony presided over by our president, Kulamitra.
The afternoon will be an opportunity to gather together (all who come to the NLBC are welcome!) to express our heartfelt thanks to Ratnaprabha and give our blessings to Ksantikara. As part of this celebratory afternoon we will launch 2024 as the ‘Year of Sangha’, dedicating the year to the exploring, strengthening and celebration of Sangha (spiritual community), in all sorts of ways.
A message from Ratnaprabha, sent out in our newsletter at the end of October:
"I've been here over 5 years, so we have been looking for a new chair. I was keen to find someone much younger, and I'm really glad to say that Ksantikara has agreed to take on the role.
"Ksantikara is 31 and encountered the dharma a decade ago when he was given the gift of a four-week meditation course for his 21st birthday. He’ll join the North London Buddhist Centre after three years living at Adhisthana Retreat Centre convening the Europe-wide Young Buddhist Project. He trained in theatre production at the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama and worked at the Royal Court Theatre for a while but in the end spent 5 years in his mid-twenties living and working at the London Buddhist Centre in Bethnal Green. He’s a trustee of Future Dharma Fund and is passionate about sharing the Buddha’s teaching with the contemporary world. He was ordained in 2019. The second part of his name, kara, means ‘maker’ and he says that gathering people around the teachings of the Buddha to ‘make’ Sangha (spiritual community) is the greatest joy he has found in his life. He also loves to spend time in art galleries, cinemas, and ancient woodlands.
I plan to continue leading classes and keeping up connections at the centre, and will support the new chair as much as I can as he gets used to being the chair. I'm not going anywhere!"
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