Buddha's Birthday

On Sunday the 7th of April, I went to a ceremony at the Buddhist Temple in Willen and joined the celebration of the Buddha’s birthday. There was a welcome and introduction, invocation and then a scattering of flower petals which were offered to the Buddha. In Japan the date for Buddha's Birthday is April the 8th, but some temples start the celebrations earlier. The festival is different at each temple. The Buddha means the awakened being. He was born as Prince Siddhartha more than two and half thousand years ago in modern day Nepal. When he was young, he was greatly saddened by the sufferings he saw around him and embarked on a journey to free people from pain, disease and old age. 
Through arduous practice, Prince Siddhartha realised through his own experience of enlightenment that ultimate salvation is through freeing oneself from the slavery of his own mind. He became the Buddha –the awakened one and devoted the rest of his life teaching this realisation to his fellow human beings. The essence of the Buddha’s teaching is that true peace begins with making peace with oneself. Clear perception comes when one stops projecting, fantasizing and misinterpreting reality. In my view, this is particularly relevant with the current world situation. Wish more and more people hear the message and make some real efforts to bring lasting peace to the world.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/mkbuddhism

Alex Fox

Deer

A deer or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae. It is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) and Capreolinae (which includes, among others reindeer (caribou), white-tailed deer, roe deer, and moose). Male deer of almost all species (except the water deer), as well as female reindeer, grow and shed new antlers each year. These antlers are bony extensions of the skull and are often used for combat between males.
The musk deer (Moschidae) of Asia and chevrotians (Tragulidae) of tropical African and Asian forests are separate families that are also in the ruminant clade Ruminantia; they are not especially closely related to Cervidae.

Alex Fox

Open Mic Night

Congratulations to Camphill Milton Keynes resident Lucie & team for organising a fabulous open mic night on Monday 18th March. People had a fantastic evening, and it was great to see residents and staff shine!

Alex Fox

Astronomy

Astronomy is the study of everything in the universe beyond Earth's atmosphere. That includes objects we can see with our naked eyes, like the Sun , the Moon , the planets, and the stars . It also includes objects we can only see with telescopes or other instruments, like faraway galaxies and tiny particles.

Alex Fox

Easter Egg Hunt

An egg hunt is a treasure hunt played at Easter during which people look for hidden decorated eggs or Easter eggs. Real hard-boiled eggs, which are typically dyed or painted, artificial eggs made of plastic filled with chocolate or candies, or foil-wrapped egg-shaped chocolates of various sizes are hidden in various places; as many people give up sweets as their Lenten sacrifice, individuals consume them after having abstained from them during the preceding forty days of Lent.

The game is often played outdoors, but can also be played indoors. People typically collect the eggs in a basket. When the hunt is over, prizes may be given out for various achievements, such as the largest number of eggs collected, for the largest or smallest egg, for the most eggs of a specific colour, consolation prizes or booby prizes.  Real eggs may further be used in egg tapping contests. If eggs filled with confetti left from Mardi Gras (cascarones) are used, then an egg fight may follow. Eggs are placed with varying degree of concealment, to accommodate people of varying ages and development levels. In South German folk traditions it was customary to add extra obstacles to the game by placing them into hard-to reach places among nettles or thorns.

Alex Fox