This annual event organised by ‘The Light of Buddha Dharma Foundation International (LBDFI)’ under the leadership of Ms. Wangmo Dixey from USA, brought to the Ashram about 40 monks from India, Thailand, Myanmar and Tibet. The program consisted of chanting the entire Dhammapada, one of the best-known scriptures of Buddhism, and a Dhamma talk by Prof. C. Upendra Rao, Professor of Sanskrit and Indic Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi.

The disciplined, synchronised loud chanting created a group consciousness which crowded out stray thoughts and facilitated a meditative mindfulness.

In the Dhamma talk, tracing the history of Buddhist scriptures, Prof. Rao said that the scriptures were compiled about 500 years after Buddha’s advent. During these centuries, the teachings were preserved by monks through the oral tradition. Prof. Rao further said that Lord Buddha – full of compassion for all, never exhibited anger nor uttered a harsh word to anyone – was a great teacher, and exhorted people to practice detachment as well as shun worldly propensity to greed, jealousy, revenge and falsehood. The detachment comes from realising the impermanence of everything in the world. Buddha’s strictures were, however, graded. Expectations from ordinary householders were less severe than those from the monks. Prof. Rao thanked the LBDFI and the Ashram for the inspiring experience that his visit to the Ashram and the company of the monks entailed for him personally.