dia del aobo - la paella

on sunday the 15th april we celebrated fwbo day (dia del aobo) in valencia. there was a really nice atmosphere although not loads of people there. the weekend before, when lots of people were celebrating fwbo day was easter sunday and that doesn't work in spain -- big holiday so lots of people away. also the women who have asked for ordination were having a retreat. however the monday after easter is also a big holiday in valencia. it's the day of the patron saint - san vicente - and so lots of people have that weekend as a holiday as well. some even have from good friday till the monday after easter. so, lots of people away. there were around 20 of us there.

the day started with a meditation led by sasatya for order members and the mitras who have asked for ordination. then jayanti gave a short presentation of what we were celebrating for those newer people who had by then joined us. she talked about the celebration of spiritual community and the importance of that in a world so marked by productivity and material goals and measures. after that she led us in another meditation - and then ---- the paella! the traditional festival lunch: a vegetable paella, patatas bravas and salads. very enjoyable.

then after lunch and coffee i gave a talk on the fwbo / aobo. i talked about the early days, partly from the point of view of the different conditions in play to bring the movement into existence. the strange combination of factors - historical, cultural etc. how we were very much born in the 60s / 70s. i also shared a few anecdotes from my own early days almost 30 years ago. then i talked of the changing times we live in, the challenges that face our world today and how the dharma and the movement can work with those challenges - what buddhism might offer to the 21st century and what part we may play in that. i talked of my own inspiration when new to the movement on hearing bhante talk of the new society and of my involvement with the 3Cs: centres, co-ops, communities. i recognised and welcomed changes that have taken place witin the fwbo and also called for a re-visioning of those early radical principles in a way that would help deal with the problems our planet faces now. a re-visioning for the 21st century.

then dharmakirti led us in a 7 fold puja. a really enjoyable way to end what had been an enjoyable day all together. i valued the collaborative efforts - different people leading different elements of the day and also the organisation that had gone on behind the scenes.

paddington station

on my way through paddington on friday night i was amazed to see this brass band playing. it was fantastic, strange, eccentric, lovely. everyone had big grins on their faces and a couple of kids were dancing together.

gfr retreat in spain

while i was in spain i led a women's gfr retreat. hit the heading here to see some piccies of the venue

energy vacation

hey i just came across this blog entry (click the header energy vacation)and thought it was a great idea. i´d like to organise something like that later in the year. maybe a few of us over the country on the same weekend.

to spain by bus

i'm in spain. got here on sat night having left london at lunchtime on friday. for years i haven't taken domestic flights but still fly to spain once or twice a year. i feel increasingly unhappy doing this but every year i look at seat61 web page and try to work out train prices etc to come overland. the train sounds good but is just too expensive. so this time i thought i'd try the coach - at least one way. it was alright and i'll definitely do it again. i left london at 15.30 on fri on the coach for lyon, france. the coach was pretty comfortable - lots of leg room and it looked like it wouldn't be too busy so i could have two seats all to myself, meaning i could stretch out a bit. unfortunately just as we were about to leave victoria over twenty young people (sorry that's the best i can do as a description) got on. they were students from lyon who had come to london to look at the bank of england and the stock exchange. honest, i kid you not!!!! anyway, so much for a restful journey. they were alright though, i had a good chat with a couple of them about capitalism and about global warming among other topics. worse thing was that my carefully chosen (and not cheap) vegan, sugar free food parcel got knicked somewhere between calais and lyon. i was left with only the fruit salad. it was a nice fruit salad and did me for breakfast but sad about the sandwiches from friends organic. not easy to be vegan on the road, especially in france!

so we crossed on the ferry dover to calais - full of kids going to disneyland for some special offer weekend. kinda sweet i suppose. then overnight to lyon. i even managed to sleep a bit - well doze. thank the great apple in the sky for iPods. that helped. an hour in lyon which was good cos i could freshen up a bit then down from lyon to barcelona. that was great. the bus was really comfy and there was loads of space. i had a couple of interesting conversations - one with a finnish woman who lives on the isle of wight and speaks 8 languages. and one with a really nice woman from margate who has had panic attacks since her husband died some years ago. she is going to go to her gp and see if he or she can recommend meditation classes. and the scenery rocks even though it was raining. i spent a fair bit of time just looking out of the window which was restful and quite a good way to arrive into spain.

the worst bit of the journey was from barcelona to valencia. partly cos i was tired and also the bus was really uncomfortable. and full of people on their way to granada for semana santa (easter). anyway, i'm glad to have done my small bit for the planet. i am flying back as there are only two buses a week at this time of the year and the timetables don't work for me.

btw, if you are interested in overland travel clink on the header of this entry (i.e. to spain by bus) and it will take you to the web site for seat61. it's great