[Vesak] Special Meditation and the Story of The Buddha’s Enlightenment

Alan Wallace Live from Phuket!

This afternoon we started with a special guided meditation to commemorate the Buddha's Enlightenment, not specifically centered on Shamatha or the Four Immeasurables.
After the meditation, Alan gave us a short recap on the night/morning of the Buddha Gautama's enlightemnent, up to the moment when he went back to his five companions and they also achieved Enlightenment. He ends the story on a heartwarming reflection about the day we are commemorating, which set this whole sequence of events flowing (up to our retreat here and this podcast), which have given rise to so much goodness in the world. Alan then spontaneously adds a very beautiful and inspirating note on what it means to be a Buddhist, saying it's simply a matter of trust.
After we silently recovered from the powerful emotions that were generated in many of us, we went to a much lighter tone and Alan read a poem submitted by an anonymous member of our Sangha here. I must say it was very good and quite impressive, expanding Alan's "3Rs" into "33Rs"!
After the nice poem, we went into an interesting question about the prana system, why it has not been studied scientifically despite the staggering evidence about its existance, and its relationship to the mind.
Enjoy, and continue meditating in commemoration of this day! I took this photo of our Teaching Hall Buddha just minutes ago after we finished some chanting in Pali masterfully led by Malcolm.
May all sentient beings have genuine happiness and its causes,
May all sentient beings be free of suffering and its causes,
May all sentient beings never be separated from bliss without suffering,
May all sentient beings be in equanimity, free of bias, attachment and anger.
May the benefit spread in all directions so that all sentient beings realize full awakening.