Amida News

Eileen is Citizen of the Year

Amida-kai member Eileen Conn has been awarded the Southwark Active Citizen of the Year Award. See full story

Sahishnu Returns from India

Rev. Sahishnu, Amida chaplain and project leader at Amida Delhi, has returned to UK after a very successful five month tour of duty in India.

Book Now for 5th Living Buddhism Conference

Book now to secure a place at the 5th Living Buddhism Conference using the pdf booking form

Amida Chaplain Chairs City of Sanctuary Event

Rev. Bhaktika facilited an evening event for Sheffield Faiths Forum & City of Sanctuary.

Amida Delhi: Visit and school admission ceremonies

Just got back from a week in Delhi visiting our project there. The project is in its fourth year and offers English classes to some of the poorer communities in the East of the city. This year Amida chaplain, Sahishnu has two volunteers with her. Kaspalita and I travelled out on Monday a week ago. We spent most of our time visiting the different classes, held in different Buddhist temples around the area. Some were for children, some for young women, and others for mixed adults. They tended to be very interactive with lots of word games and singing. On Sunday the visit culminated with a school admission ceremony for ten people in Shanti Nagar, a district just over the border in Uttar Pradesh. This group has been meeting with Sahishnu for a couple years to practice Buddhism and its members have become particularly interested in our form of Pureland and wanted to become part of our group. You can see photos of our visit on my facebook site

Among those joining the school was Shiv Kumar Gautam who has been a very active supporter of the project in his local community. At the ceremony he also received the Buddhist name Suvidya. The community from Shanti Nagar presented us with a lovely picture of the Buddha teaching the five ascetics. In this picture you see Kaspar and I seated with Suvidya in his home. 

Prasada and Kaspa return from India

Rev. Prasada, assisted by Rev. Kaspalita, has just returned from ten days in Delhi where she went to support the Amida Trust project which provides English teaching to children and young people from poor areas and also to conduct ceremonies to admit ten new members to the Amida-shu.

A funeral in Newcastle

Sujatin has attended the Service of Thanksgiving for the life of Rev Kit Widdows, the Master of St Thomas', in the city centre,who died suddenly on December 8th while giving a talk at another church. Kit was robustly involved in ethical action, enthusiastic about setting up the local inter-faith community and the Newcastle Make Poverty History group. He had a Fair Trade shop within his church. ::link

Spiritual Facilitation Seminar

This weekend there was a two day course on Spiritual Facilitation at The Buddhist House led by Prasada Caroline Brazier. It was a lively and informative seminar.

Burma - another Newcastle event

Yesterday evening we met up at five pm and walked again for the people of Burma. This was our fourth event and, although there were only three of us this time, we created continued interest, as we walked slowly and chanted 'Amitabha' down the main shopping street of the city ::read more

Latest from Yaya in Sudan

Yaya de Andrade is an associate of the Amida Research Institute currently working in Sudan...

Prasada India Visit Plan Finalised

Rev. Prasada Caroline Brazier, deputy head of the Amida Order, will be traveling to India on 10th December for a one week visit to conduct refuge ceremonies. She will be accompanied by Gareth Thompson as jisha. This visit will support the Amida Delhi Project and help establish the Amida-shu sangha in India.

Sheffield Event Announced

Dharmavidya and Prasada will speak on socially engaged spirituality in Sheffield on 8th November

Newcastle Walk for Burma

At 5pm last evening Newcastle Buddhists For Peace walked slowly, chanting, down Northumberland Street, the main shopping street in the city, and then sat in meditation at Grey's Monument in the city centre. The group included members of Amida Newcastle and other groups including the Newcastle University Buddhists. We attracted much attention and all comments were supportive of the people of Burma. We intend this to be a regular Thursday event.

Wearing White, Standing Up and Speaking Out to Make Poverty History

On Wednesday Sujatin and members of the Newcastle University Buddhist group joined Stand Up and Speak Out (the movement of people no longer prepared to stay seated or silent in the face of poverty and inequality) as they walked from the University Campus in the city centre to the Millenium Bridge over the River Tyne. There were sufficient people involved to span the whole of the river from the Newcastle to Gateshead banks for record breaking photographs. ::link and ::here

Karen Community Burma Protest in Sheffield

Photo by Sally Woods (MAS)

News from Amida Hawaii

Paul and Judy are moving to Malu Aina, an organic farm. Several of the Amida Waimea group joined Malu Aina to march in the Honokaa Hongwanji's peace day parade. We had a very good "entry" and our photo actually made the front page of the paper. Paul gave testimony as part of a hearing to determine if a particular weapons system should be stationed in Hawaii speaking about concerns about the effects of the militirization in Hawaii on the Buddhist communites and in particular on our Buddhist Children. Buddhism does, after all, have a very strong ethic against killing and warfare. The media caught these comments and paraphrased them in an article on the hearings. The Waimea Group has plans for actions to support monks in Burma. Martha Hennessy, granddaughter of Dorothy Day, will be spending some time at Malu Aina starting in November. Marha attended the Waimea Group a week ago, and gave a nice talk about the Catholic Worker movement and Dorothy Day. This led to a good discussion.

Supporting Burmese People in Sheffield

Yesterday evening members of the Amida School in Sheffield sat with sangha friends in the centre of Sheffield, in support of the Karen Community Association, a group of Burmese refugees settled here under the UNHCR's Gateway Programme. There were heartfelt speeches from a range of people in support of the people of Burma. We meditated with a banner saying: Sheffield Buddhists for a Free Burma.

Burma Demonstration in Newcastle

Burma Protests in Sheffield

The Amida Sheffield Congregation are planning involvement in the campaign to support imprisoned monks in Burma.

Walk for Burma in Newcastle

80 people gathered at Grey's Monument and walked to the Millennium Bridge - students from Newcastle University and Buddhists from the umbrella group, 'Buddhists For Peace', which included members of several of the Newcastle Buddhist groups, the Burmese community in County Durham and academics from Newcastle, Durham and Sunderland Universities. We received several comments about the quietness of our walk attracting more attention than had been more vociferous. When we reached the Tyne we gathered in a circle while Ashin Nandapala, a Burmese monk, chanted the Metta Suta (teaching on Loving-kindness) in Pali, which was then chanted in English by a small group. We then filed onto the bridge, facing upstream and all dropped petals into the river and tied red threads to the bridge.

Vigil for Burma in Leicester

Members of The Buddhist House community held a vigil and chanted in central Leicester in support of the monks in Burma who are suffering severe oppression.

Chanting in Leicester 6th Oct.

A group from The Buddhist House will be in Leicester City Centre, 6th October, to chant nembutsu, and show support for the Burmese sangha, as part of GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION

We will be meeting at 12.00 outside the Town Hall, all are welcome to join and sit with us or chant.

To follow the situation in Burma see: http://www.irrawaddy.org , http://www.mizzima.com or
http://www.aappb.org

Yaya in Sudan

Yaya de Andrade, associate of the Amida Research Institute, is now back in Sudan
"I am back in Sudan, now working in a small city / more like a village to me, called Wau, in the South of Sudan. it is not so different than Malakal, and it is a relief to feel some familiarity in so distant place. My job here is very much the same. to provide staff with counselling and advance welfare in terms of getting basic needs attended. I expect that there will be always opportunities to create something that will make people more relaxed, and feeling that their jobs here are worth, and that they are accomplishing something important to many others."

Newcastle Rally in Support of Burmese Monks

On SATURDAY 6th OCTOBER we will be gathering at Monument (subject to change - please recheck on Friday) to support the people campaigning against the military regime in Burma. Hundreds of thousands of people will be joining us globally in this rally!

All people must wear red or at least a red headband and if you can bring red petals we will make our way to the Millennium Bridge to sprinkle them into the river to coincide with similar events taking place in major cities all over the world. See http://newcastletyne.facebook.com/group.php?gid=24957770200 for more details of who else is involved!

Burma Vigil

There are plans for another vigil in Leicester this coming Saturday to highlight the terrible events in Burma. If you would like to participate, contact susthama@amidatrust.com, 0116.2867476. Last weekend Sr. Susthama organised a multi-faith vigil that got extensive TV, radio and press coverage.