Religious Services – Mahamevnawa Meditation Centre

Cultural Programs

admin — Mon, 13 Nov 2017 15:52:41 +0000

Vesak day haas known to be the most important festival traditionally observed by Buddhists all over the world. The festival commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and death (Parinirvāna) of Gautama Buddha in the Theravada tradition. Poson Day also holds a huge importance among Sri Lankan Buddhists as this celebrates the arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka.

Importance of Vesak Day

Dear parents and children, on Vesak we should remember that the great prince Sidhartha Gautama was born in this world and at the age of 29, after seeing the drawbacks in life, he gave up the lay life to attain lasting happiness. After experiencing pain for six years, finally by following the Noble Eightfold Path, that great person became a Buddha for the benefit of gods and mankind. After preaching his Dhamma for 45 years, he left this world like a lamp extinguished with nothing more to burn. This is what we call the Maha Parinibbana.

We should understand that Vesak day is more important than our birthdays and any other special occasion in life. Only because of the events that we commemorate on Vesak day do gods and humans have the opportunity to escape from the suffering in this cycle of birth and death. Only because of following his teachings do we have the chance to perfect our qualities of human goodness. Only because of his achievements do we learn to be more concerned about the mind than the body. Only because of him do we learn to recognize the beneficial as beneficial and the unbeneficial as unbeneficial. Without him people don’t understand the value of doing merit. They never learn that doing even a small good thing can lead us to be born in a good destination even at the last stage of life. Only a Buddha can teach us how suffering arises in life and the exact way to overcome it. This is why celebrating Vesak is so very important.

Importance of Poson Day

Poson is celebrated to mark the arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. This commemorates the occasion over 2,000 years ago when Arahat Mahinda, the son of Emperor Asoka of India, travelled to Sri Lanka and preached Sri Lanka’s first Buddhist sermon to the King Devanampiyatissa, which result in converting him to Buddhism. This festival holds great importance among Sri Lankans as Arahat Mahinda brought us the most precious gift of all and when Arahant Mahinda introduced the Doctrine, the Sangha Saasana was part of the legacy which was established for the propagation of the Dhamma. Today we are given the opportunity to escape from the never ending cycle of life and death, by following the path taught by our Supreme Buddha

Evening Buddha Vandana

admin — Mon, 13 Nov 2017 15:52:09 +0000

Our Monastery perform chanting and a meditation session every evening. Chanting is a traditional means of preparing the mind for meditation.

Everyone is welcome to join our evening Buddha Vandana.

Buddhism for Happiness

admin — Mon, 13 Nov 2017 15:51:32 +0000

This class is designed for everyone to understand Buddhist concepts. Understanding Buddhist concepts will help you to face today’s challenges effectively. This knowledge will help to develop your mindfulness and stay focused even in difficult moments of life. You will be prepared to work more effectively in your working places, schools and universities. Understanding the superior knowledge of the Buddha will help to resolve problems with the mind of Loving Kindness, develop critical thinking, and resolve problems effectively. Deep concepts of Buddhism such as the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, Five Hindrances, Five aggregates of clinging, and Dependent Origination will be taught in the class. You will develop your knowledge to understand Suttas by yourself.

This program is excellent for high school and university students. Also, the program will be helpful for students to reduce and eradicate their stress, depression, and anxiety. Students can learn techniques from Buddhism to improve the efficiency of the mind by developing mindfulness. Hence you will learn how to do many things in a small period of time.

Because this class is more interactive, you will get the opportunity to ask questions. You can learn how to resolve day-to-day difficulties with the Buddha’s wisdom.

The class will be taught by a monk trained in the Theravada Buddhist tradition.

Approximate schedule:

7.30 pm – 8.15 pm – Buddhist concepts and Sutta study
8.15 pm – 8.30 pm – Q & A, Solving real-life scenarios and the end of the program