Events

The events of the BuddhaFest are held on two locations. In the Gödör Club you can see the exhibition and the accompanying events (lectures, videos, party, etc.) The lectures of Lama Ole Nydahl wil be given in the Körcsarnok Sports Hall.

(Erzsébet téri Kulturális Központ és Park), 1051 Budapest V., Erzsébet Tér » map

(Népstadion Sports Complex) 1146 Budapest, Istvánmezei út 3-5. » map

Monday, 14 December 18:00
Opening ceremony with Nóra Winkler; Péter Major, the representative of the Tibet-Europe Foundation; and Gergely Puskás, representative of Diamond Way Buddhist Community

Nóra Winkler is the host of the Hungarian State Television’s Kultúrház programme and is a journalist covering cultural events. A year and a half ago, she interviewed Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche. Meeting him made a deep impact on her life, so she was happy to accept our invitation to open BuddhaFest and to help to bring people closer to Buddhism.

Tuesday, 15 December 18:00
Buddhism in the 21st Century – a first-hand account of the meeting between East and West

Lecturer: Tommy Boggs

Buddha’s teachings don’t change only our life circumstances do. It is important for independent and well informed people today to be able to discover and develop their fantastic inner potential.

In the 70s and 80s, Tommy Boggs was actively involved in the Danish rock scene as a sound engineer for one of Denmark's most popular rock bands. He took refuge in 1981 and met the greatest Tibetan teachers. In 1986, he met Lama Ole Nydahl, another Dane who had had a similarly wild youth, and took part in several of Lama Ole Nydahl's tours around the world. He spent years studying Buddhism in Asia and was present when these two different yet matching cultures of East and West met. Tommy’s style is free of conventions. He is a unique teacher who is able to pass on 30 years of experience – the history of western Buddhism – in a most exciting way.

Wednesday, 16 December 18:00
The Art of the East: Statues, Thangkas and Stupas as the Expressions of the Limitless Possibilities Within Us

Lecturers: Gergely Porkoláb and Péter Porkoláb

Buddhist art goes beyond idealising beauty. It is meaningful in every detail be it a scroll painting or a statue. With its noble purity it is able to reflect the depths of our minds which can’t be reached by words. This lecture shows how this artistic tradition continues in Nepalese shops today and attempts to give us a glimpse of the spirituality behind the objects. Thus, we can see how the inspiring teachings of the Buddha affected all levels of culture.

Gergely Porkoláb has been a Buddhist for 21 years. He is involved in the purchase of dharma objects for Diamond Way meditation centres. His direct contacts with the painters and sculptors in workshops has made him an experienced connoisseur in the field of Buddhist art. Gergély also uses the Buddhist view in his private life and is a successful businessman.

Péter Porkoláb has been practising Diamond Way Buddhism since it first came to Hungary. He is an art teacher by profession. His early interest in fine arts turned towards Buddhism over the years. His experience and deep lexical knowledge always impresses his students.

Thursday, 17 December 18:00
Everybody Wins: Increasing One’s View in Daily Life and in Business

Lecturer: Michael Fuchs

Michael Fuchs is an organisational developer and trainer and has been a Buddhist for 20 years. As a practitioner, in his lectures he combines a 2500 year-old empirical/practical religion with the knowledge of the modern world. He works primarily as a management consultant, and his main areas are organisation development and support, management training/coaching, and development. His special field is integrating the Buddhist view and methods into organisational culture and performance management. He is a Cambridge graduate and consultant for such well known multinationals as Allianz, Bosch, BP, and Metro.

Friday, 18 December 17:00
Buddha and Love: Completely Developing Male and Female Qualities and Potential

Lecturers: Zsuzsa Kőszegi and Róbert Szilágyi

Is there an experience more intense than love? In which other areas of life are we so open and yet vulnerable? Where can we experience such joy? What matters really in love, and how can we reach lasting happiness with our partner? How can we go on if we fail to do so? What moves men and women, and how does sexuality relate to love? From a Buddhist view, love and relationships are the basis for one’s development, and at the same time they also help one to go beyond one’s limitations.

Zsuzsa Kőszegi returned to Hungary after spending nine years in the US and one in Asia. After many years of practice and meditation, she became a travelling teacher in 1996 and teaches about Buddhism around the world. "I absolutely have to have my freedom, but in the last few years I had to realise that I’d defined freedom in the wrong way. I’m sure that the key to it isn’t in the circumstances, and as long as we are attached to things it is impossible to be free."

Róbert Szilágyi first encountered Buddhism in 1996 and became a travelling teacher in 2002. With his young and relaxed style, he approaches Buddhism in a flexible, comprehensible and humorous way. This trait makes his lectures particularly easy to understand. In his lectures both in Hungary and abroad, he is regularly asked to speak about love from the Buddhist point of view including ways of handling everyday situations and difficulties.

Saturday, 19 December 14:00
Joy and Freedom: Buddhism in the West

Lecturer: Lama Ole Nydahl

(entrance fee: 1500 Ft.)

Lama Ole Nydahl is one of the few Westerners fully qualified as a lama and meditation teacher in the Karma Kagyu Buddhist tradition. In 1969, Ole Nydahl and his wife Hannah became the first Western students of H.H. the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, who was one of the greatest yogis of the century and head of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. Karmapa had a great impact on their lives. After Ole and Hannah completed their intensive studies and training in the Himalayas, Karmapa asked Hannah and Ole to bring Tibetan Buddhism to the West.

They have travelled almost constantly for the last 40 years, giving lectures and meditation courses and organising meditation centres throughout the world. He travels around the world twice a year. Almost every day he is in a different city giving lectures lasting 5-6 hours. Sometimes his lectures last an entire day. During this time, Lama Ole shares his experience with every open-minded person. With his tireless work, his perspective has helped countless beings. His lectures are almost always attended by between 1,000-2,000 of his students.

"My recipe is simple: tell people the necessity of finding something which can carry them through sickness, aging and death, and don’t be afraid to give them a glimpse of your joy of life. Tell people that the mind is like space: open, clear and limitless, and talk about both way and goal."

Láma Ole Nydahl

Saturday, 19 December

11:00 Questions and answers
Question and answer session hosted by teachers who have practiced Buddhism for years

20.30 Concert
Paganza
Paganza is a fresh, alternative world rock trio which combines the progressive rock sounds of the 70s with the freedom of world music. Their concerts are characterised by incredible musical openness, catchy lyrics, strong stage presence, and a great deal of energy. This evening we would like to offer our students a great evening of entertainment where they can unwind in the „here and now.” The group’s music can be downloaded from the following web address: www.paganza.hu

22:00 Closing speech
Caty Hartung and Láma Ole Nydahl

22:30 Party
FreQ Nasty
Breakbeat pioneer FreQ Nasty, born in Fiji, raised in New Zealand, is well-known in the music scene for consistently breaking boundaries with his music and his social activism. His internet site Giveback.net's first campaign in support of the Tibetan People's Uprising Movement, successfully raised $8,000 for the March to Tibet. His reasons for supporting the campaign, in his own words:

"Most of us don't vote, most of us see the news as something that happens to somebody else, and most of us have excess that the majority of the people we see on the news can only dream of. If we can help spread the idea that creating positive change in the world elsewhere is an investment in our own security and happiness then I'm a happy DJ."

FreQ Nasty on myspace: www.myspace.com/djfreqnasty

DEK / Dynamic Ego Killaz
A Buddhist saying states that highest truth is highest joy. Following this view, DEK unleashes its final assault against the ego lurking within us with the full force of its breakbeat, the tricky beats of its drums and bass and the depths of dubstep. In this way it liberates the indestructible joy inherent in all of us. Adam Freeland once said „ We want your soul.” We, however, want your ego! You can get a taste of ego-killing sounds from the following web site: www.dek.dj

DEK’s DJs tonight are andorground and tanGate.


The exhibition can be viewed during the party.

Sunday, 20 December 13:00-14:00
Lama Ole Nydahl signs his book Entering the Diamond Way

At the end of the hippy era a young married couple set off to Nepal in a ragged Volkswagen van to get new experiences in knowing mind. This was the first time that Ole Nydahl and his wife Hannah met Tibetan Buddhism, which changed their lives forever. Soon they were among the first westerners who could take part in initiation ceremonies of high lamas. On their journeys Ole and Hannah reconsidered their previous way of thinking, they both committed to the teachings and gradually learned the practices from Tibetan lamas so that they could become the students of the greatest meditation master of the Karma Kagyü lineage, the 16th Karmapa and later on as full Buddhist teachers they could make the useful and joyful practices of the Diamond Way known even in the West.

Entering the Diamond Way was published by Jaffa Kiadó, publisher of Lama Ole Nydahl's books in Hungary.

Sunday, 20 December 15:00
Joy and Freedom: Female Wisdom - Male Activity

Lecturer: Lama Ole Nydahl

(entrance fee: 1500 Ft.)

According to Eastern philosophies, love and partnership can become the basis of a full life and human development. Lama Ole Nydahl speaks with wisdom and humour about the feeling in our life that brings most happiness and suffering: love. In the light of Buddha’s 2500-year-old teachings, he answers those questions in which many are interested, such as what is it that really matters in love; how can we be happy with our partner in the long run; how can we go on if it doesn’t work out; what motivates men and what women; how are sexuality and love connected; what happens to a relationship when a baby is born of their love; and how can we become loving and lovable partners. Following the advice of this lecture, we can learn – on the ever exciting practice field of love - to live a life which makes not only ourselves, but our also our surroundings happy.

PERMANENT PROGRAMMES
Besides the lecture and the exhibition, the permanent programmes are open for the visitors every day:

Movies every day:

13:00 A lecture in Coppenhagen in 2006, where Lama Ole Nydahl speaks about the western development of Buddhism, about his meeting the 17th Karmapa, about the Buddha’s teachings, the Diamond Way meditations and that we ourselves decide how we want to live. “Buddhism is nothing, but listening to our common sense. The most convincing evidence of this is that we don’t escape life, but we control it.” – Lama Ole Nydahl

16:00 Buddhism in the Modern World – this movie gives a realistic picture of Diamond Way Buddhism, which is more and more attractive to idealist, critically thinking western people who are looking for such authentic and practical methods that can easily fit in with their everyday life. We can also watch an interview with the 17th Karmapa, who is also called the King of Yogis, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Diamond Way Buddhism.


Guided meditation with introduction:

15.00 Everybody can try one of the effective methods of Tibetan Buddhism in the form of a short guided meditation. One can simply follow the descriptions of the different phases of the meditation, which is read by the leader of the meditation, who also meditates along with the other participants. Meditations are held like this in every Diamond Way group.


Tuesday – Friday

12:00 Lectures for school students (from the age of 14)
It has become a trend that school groups attend our exhibitions all over Europe. We warmly welcome interested teachers and students at this festival as well on our daily programmes, so that they can obtain information about this enriching lifestyle free from dogmas and mysteries. If there is demand, we are available from 12 o'clock. Registration: info@buddhafeszt.hu

We continuously ensure guided tours and we can also provide audio guides.

Multimedia corner, where one can study the history, the art and the teachings of Buddhism in a more detailed way on several computers. For example: with meditation for the thicker cortex, quantum physics and Buddhism, a Stupa of Enlightment in Becske, Buddha and Love, space, joy, freedom, direct transmission: student-teacher relationship, etc...

There is also a shop at the venue of the exhibition, where visitors can find books, meditation booklets, videos, audio materials and different tools of meditation and ceremonies coming from Nepal and India.