Calendar 2018

Dharma Light Meditation Center, Finsterwalde

30. December 2017 - 01. January 2018
New Year's Retreat

06. January 2018
Seminar and Aspirant's Ceremony

28. January 2018
Day of Mindfulness

15. - 18. February 2018
Têt- Retreat

04. March 2018
Full Moon Ceremony (first full moon in the vietnamese year)

16. - 18. March 2018
Seminar "Mindfulness is a Source of Happiness"

29. March - 02. April 2018
Easter-Retreat

06. - 08. April 2018
Retreat for Young People (Vietnamese)

15. April 2018
Day of Mindfulness

20. - 22. April 2018
Seminar "Introduction to the Practice of Mindfulness"

28. April - 05. May 2018
Hiking Retreat in Noble Silence

09. - 13. May 2018
Retreat für Young People (German/English)

18. - 21. May 2018
Seminar "The Path to True Love"

25. - 27. May 2018
Vesak-Retreat (we celebrate Buddha's birthday)

29. June - 01. July 2018
Health-Retreat - The Practice of "Dao Cong"

28. July - 05. August 2018
Summer-Retreat

10. - 12. August 2018
Vietnamese Retreat

17. - 19. August 2018
Seminar "The Path to Enllightenment"

08. - 15. September 2018
Retreat in Noble Silence

21. - 23. September 2018
Vietnamese Retreat

28. - 30. September 2018
Seminar "Transforming Habit Energies"

Living fully in the present moment - Dharma Talk in Bremen, 26th March 2017

Thay Phap Nhat

To me, it is a beautiful practice to accept whatever comes to us. Usually our mind does not allow us to do that, it always intervenes. It tells us to do this, do that. Our mind always has the tendency to choose. But when we are in a dilemma, we do not know how to decide if a specific option is good or bad to do, and then we create inner conflicts. And because of these conflicts our mind and body become tired. That is very unhealthy. The way to get out of this situation is to realize that there is no need to get out. We just do nothing, we are flowing with life as it is. We welcome whatever is happening to us. We can say: “Hey, I am really happy to welcome you”. That is enough. This is the way to get out of all our problems, all our sufferings. But often we do not have the courage to do that because we feel an insecurity within ourself. We know that if we go there we will enjoy a beautiful view, a beautiful success but we are afraid that maybe in the middle of the way there is a hole and when we go there we will fall down into the hole. We are creating a lot of stories in our mind that might never happen. We are educated with the belief that we need to live in security and we are not taught that life  is always insecure. Only in insecurity we will have a chance to grow up. Only in insecurity we will discover the beauty of life. Life is really an adventure. In order to understand and to know the secret of life, we just need to be in that adventure.

Smile! Life is an Adventure - Thay Phap Nhat (English/Spanish)

New Year Ceremony in the "Dharma Light Center" (Finsterwalde)

On the 3rd of January 2017, for the first time a Ceremony was taking place in the "Silent Illumination Hall" in Finsterwalde. We were very happy to see that many friends of the center came to support the New Year Ceremony by their presence. In this way we were able to generate a powerful collective energy of mindfulness and concentration when we were chanting together. The New Year Prayer was read in three languages (German, English and Vietnamese). We welcomed the new year, and we had a chance to transform the suffering we have created during the last year. Then we were invited to silently think of our wishes for the new year, and afterwards send them into the universe together with the text of the prayer that we burnt in the fire. After the ceremony we enjoyed the evening with some songs and joyful sharings.

The Text of the New Year Prayer:

Inaugration of the meditation hall in the "Dharma Light Meditation Center" (Finsterwalde)

On Tuesday, the 3rd of January 2017, the meditation hall in the new "Dharma Light Meditation Center" in Finsterwalde (Germany) has been inaugrated. The meditation hall got the name "Silent Illumination Hall". We are all very happy that numerous friends from Finsterwalde and several friends from Hamburg and Bremen came to help with the preparation of the hall, decorate the altar and give the Buddha a beautiful place to sit. Already in the weeks before, many friends have supported us by starting to work on the renovation of the center. On the Day of the Inaugration of the meditation hall, the atmosphere was very joyful and reverential, as this was a unique moment for us all. On the same evening we have celebrated the New Year Ceremony for the year 2017.