A Buddhist group held celebrations involving intense meditation on Wednesday night during one of the most important monthly events of their religious calendar.
Rigpa, a Tibetan Buddhist organisation on Caledonian Road, celebrated Dakini Day yesterday by praying, meditating and offering food in an attempt to visualise and connect with deities.
Alastair Bye, National Administrator and Centre Manager at Rigpa, explained the traditional importance of this event for Buddhists. He said: “While we in the west were in the industrial revolution looking at how to go out there into the world, in Tibet they were going in, looking into the mind and working with the mind. “
The definition of Dakini is elusive, but Mr Bye said that the celebration offers a chance to connect with the “feminine energy” that helps on the journey to enlightenment.
“You can’t say a Dakini is this, a Dakini is that. It is a whole range of how that principle manifests. It is about how someone can embody the feminine principle and all of what that means.”
Dakini Day is on the 25th day of every month and Mr Bye recognises the global importance of London Rigpa’s local event.
He said: “Tibetan Buddhism is far wider than what this practice is, but tonight’s celebration is key to show what Tibetan Buddhism stands for.”
