Friday, 26 April 2024

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.
Alex Fox

Friday, 19 April 2024

Deer

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

Friday, 12 April 2024

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

Friday, 5 April 2024

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