Informal Gathering for Parinirvana

We had a small informal gathering on Sat 16th Feb to mark the annual Parinirvana Festival of the Buddha. It was a very spontaneous affair, meeting with no fixed plan!

We met at the beautiful Manchester FWBO Buddhist Centre, where we sat and drank tea together and talked about what "Zen" is. Then we walked to a new community cafe which we'd heard offers cheap drink to the homeless... This cafe, Nexus, turns out to be a cheap cafe-art gallery with a good vibe. We talked for a long time there about future plans for the Manchester Zen Peacemakers, especially discussing possible social action businesses which we could consider developing, helping the jobless and homeless.

We then came back to the FWBO centre, where we asked if we could use their shrine room to meditate. Stacie, who is part of the Nicheren school of Pure Land Buddhism, taught us a little about their chant to the Lotus Sutra, and then we did this chant together for a while. It was appropriate that the Buddha statue in the FWBO shrine room is of Amitabha, the Pure Land Buddha!

Zang sang the opening invocation from the Gate of Sweet Nectar "Calling Out to Hungry Hearts..." with the tune composed for Roshi Bernie by Krishna Das. We talked a little more about future plans, including the possibility of studying/connecting to the Lotus Sutra in the Manchester Zen Peacemakers. Then we went our separate ways...

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