On Friday December 2nd Kagyu Ling Buddhist Centre hosted an event at Manchester Town Hall in celebration of the advent of Buddhism to the West, and in particular Lama Jampa’s role in that transmission. The evening – entitled A Journey to Wisdom - included the screening of a re-mastered version of the interview with Lama Jampa ‘The Making of a Master’ filmed last year by Peter Popham, internationally renowned author and foreign correspondent.
This was preceded by an inspiring talk by Peter in which he drew parallels between the arrival of Christianity in the seventh century with the coming of Buddhism to the West in the twentieth century, referencing one of the original Victorian murals in the Town Hall that depicts the conversion of Edwin of Northumbria to Christianity.
After the screening Lama Jampa answered questions ranging from the commonality of kindness and compassion across spiritual paths and the uniqueness of the Buddhist view of reality, the Buddhist concept of rebirth, how to understand and make ones daily life into a part of ones spiritual practice, the appearance of buddhas in the world and the evolution of Buddhism in the West.
The evening also saw the launch of an exhibition by Molly van der Weij. The artwork comprised four large pieces on the themes of Buddhism’s journey to the West, Manchester as a venue for Buddhist events over the years, Lama Jampa’s activity as a dharma teacher and the experience of being a member of Dechen, the dharma community that he has established across the world. The work is the first stage of a process that aims to develop this content into an online and interactive resource.
The event was attended by over 120 people from Manchester to LA, as well as being live streamed on Facebook to an international audience!
