Danish Christmas Meditation Retreat

From 26-30 December 2008 a determined group of Danish meditators put aside the temptations of the Christmas binge to spend five days studying meditation, Buddhist culture and concepts at Wat Phra Dhammakaya, Juelsminde, Denmark. Phra Nicholas Thanissaro led the retreat with the assistance of Phra Henrik Katapuñño. The retreatants' progress in meditation and lively discussion of newly learned Buddhist insights makes it probable that a more extensive such retreat may be organized during the Easter vacation of 2009. See details as they are finalized on Wat Phra Dhammakaya, Denmark's website.

Preliminary World-PEC III Results

You will have to wait for the worldwide results and announcement of prizewinners on 9 January 2009. However for those who took the exam in English wanting to know their multiple choice marks, a sneak preview of the results for the London Exam Centre is as follows:

1. Francis Windsor/Maneenuj & Maneenate Rakkhithana 92/100
2. Margitta Dieterman/Mirella Kampus/Maria-Elisabeth Imguet 90/100
3. Tosca & David Saladin 78/100
4. Anthony Kelly/Suttipong Kamjadphai/Chutiporn Matukarok 70/100

All passes - but please wait for the worldwide announcement to see how the London Centre measured up to the rest of the world!

World-PEC III in Europe

This year the World Peace Ethics contest on 14 December 2008 outside Thailand was admittedly upstaged, DMC media-wise, by the congregation of 500,000 'V-star' exemplary children at Wat Phra Dhammakaya in Thailand. Nonetheless, with a new improved textbook in English called Family Step-by-Step and a translation of last year's Warm Hearted Family now in German Das Herz einer Familie, there was a trickle of newcomers joining the contest at exam centres up and down Europe. In London we had two teams taking the exam in English - and we offered the exam by distance learning for another two teams in Zürich. The exam paper was easier than previous years - with plenty of obvious trick answers, however, from a cursory look at the paper I found two places where questions were repeated (10/92 and 16/37) which is double points for those who knew the right answer, and another where the correct consequence of everyone in the world keeping Five Precepts included that 'monkeys would win World War III against the humans' (Q.76).

New way to celebrate Eid al-Adha

For the first time in Morocco, monks from Dhammakaya Temple were invited to celebrate the first Sunday of the month in the capital city, Rabat, from 7-11 December 2008. Phra Somsak Piyasilo and Phra Nicholas Thanissaro accepted the invitation of the Thornsberry family to lead meditation for the ex-pat Western and Thai communities in Morocco. With the possibility of organizing meditation teaching in local schools, the next visit by a monk is expected in February 2009.

Zürich's First Sunday

Celebration of the first Sunday of the month at the Chinderhaus, Wädenwil, Zürich on 7 December 2008 was well attended. Phra Thammasarn Cittabharano flew from the Dhammakaya Centre in London to lead the ceremony. In the evening he gave a series of lectures for adults, children and families on subjects including the life of 'Khun Kamnoi', a Thai woman who continued with her Dhamma practice and bringing up her children in spite of having both legs amputated. One of the group, Margitta Dieterman, revealed that they enjoyed the session very much. The group is now preparing for their third annual World-PEC examination on 14 December 2008.

Request for News from Farangs practising Dhammakaya Tradition in Europe

For a long time there has been a trend (mostly from Paul Trafford) to create a news feed in English for our Dhammakaya Temple in London. Actually, I confess to being too lazy to keep a diary, especially if publicising it is just some sort of self-aggrandizement. However, it occurred to me that a diary not for myself, but of the events and news specific to the western (farang) followers of the Dhammakaya Tradition in Europe, would be very much welcomed to fill a gap in information which is often bridged only for those who understand Thai. I hope to include news relevant to western followers of Dhammakaya Tradition in Europe before and after the event - so readers please forward such news to me. I'll try to do some book reviews and I'll also try to post more cultural articles relevant to 'bridging the gap' from time to time too!