The Ashokan Meditation Center (AMC) in New York State’s Hudson Valley has announced a free Visakha Puja Daylong Retreat, to be held online on 30 May. The retreat will be led by Ajahn Wade Bhuripanyo, a Theravada Buddhist monk in the Thai Forest tradition of Ajahn Chah, and live-streamed over Zoom.
Combining devotional Buddhist observance with meditation retreat practice, the retreat will run from 8 a.m. to 8:45 p.m. Eastern Time in three connected sessions. Participants may attend all or part of the retreat.
“Hosted from a small dana-based Buddhist center in North America, the retreat reflects a broader development in contemporary Buddhism: traditional monastic teachings and holy-day observances becoming accessible to geographically dispersed practitioners through online practice communities,” Ajahn Wade Bhuripanyo shared with BDG.
Observed throughout the Buddhist world, Visakha Puja (Vesak) commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana of Shakyamuni Buddha.
Over the course of three sessions, the retreat program will include Buddhist worship and chanting, guided meditation, contemplation, readings from the Pali Canon and early Buddhist texts, and periods of silent practice.
Morning session: Faith, Aspiration, and Refuge (8–10:30 a.m. ET)
Reflecting on the Buddha’s birth and the arising of faith, we begin the day through chanting, recollection, meditation, and readings from the early discourses concerning the Bodhisatta and the rarity of encountering the Dhamma.
Afternoon session: The Path to Awakening (1–5 p.m. ET)
Through extended meditation practice and readings from the early discourses—including selections from the Mahaparinibbana Sutta and other texts concerning the Buddha’s Awakening and final teachings—we will contemplate striving, compassion, and liberation.
Evening session: Immortality and the Unconditioned (7–8:45 p.m. ET)
The retreat concludes in a quieter and more contemplative atmosphere centered on release, non-clinging, and the Buddha’s passing beyond all reckoning.
“The retreat is intended both as a meditation retreat and as a traditional Buddhist holy-day observance honoring the life and teachings of the Buddha,” Ajahn Wade Bhuripanyo noted. “Rooted in the Theravada tradition, the retreat is open to practitioners of all experience levels.”
Ajahn Wade Bhuripanyo was ordained in the Thai Forest tradition of Ajahn Chah in Thailand in 2014. He brings 32 years of experience in Buddhist practice and meditation to the classes. He also shares teachings on YouTube.
The Visakha Puja retreat with Ajahn Wade Bhuripanyo is free and open to all. The retreat will begin live-streaming at the following times:
Auckland: 12am, Sunday, 31 May
Canberra: 10pm, Saturday, 30 May
Seoul, Tokyo: 9pm, Saturday, 30 May
Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei: 8pm, Saturday, 30 May
Bangkok, Jakarta: 7pm, Saturday, 30 May
Kathmandu: 5:45pm, Saturday, 30 May
New Delhi: 5:30pm, Saturday, 30 May
Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, Stockholm: 2pm, Saturday, 30 May
London: 1pm, Saturday, 30 May
Montreal, New York: 8am, Saturday, 30 May
Los Angeles, Vancouver: 5am, Saturday, 30 May
“These teachings are offered freely as a gift of Dhamma,” said Ajahn Wade Bhuripanyo. “Visakha Puja is an opportunity not only to honor the Buddha historically, but to deepen qualities of mindfulness, kindness, wisdom, and spiritual aspiration in our own lives.”
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The Ashokan Meditation Center (AMC), in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York, is a non-profit organization that helps people discover, learn, and live meditation. The AMC specializes in traditional Thai Theravada Buddhist meditation. The center offers teachings emphasizing simplicity, ethical living, and direct experience of the Dhamma through practice.
From its base in New York’s Hudson Valley, Ashokan Meditation Center is extending lineage-based Theravada meditation practice beyond geography while maintaining the orientation of traditional Buddhist training.
See more
Visākha Pūjā Daylong Retreat
Ashokan Meditation Center
Ajahn Wade Bhuripanyo (YouTube)
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