Jumping out of an airplane with a parachute on our backs and sitting cross-legged on the floor as we focus on our breathing seem entirely unrelated. What could possibly connect the two? Well, according to some, both free-fall and meditation are experiences during which we’re able to sense the mind’s limitless and spontaneous joy. It’s perhaps even more surprising that one particular Buddhist lama recommends trying both of them.
For seven days this month, a festival presenting and celebrating Buddhism – through events and exhibitions – will be taking over parts of the city. Buddhists won’t be knocking on your doors holding colorful brochures and asking to come in, though. They won’t even stop you on the street. Between December 14th and 20th, however, you’ll be able to sample as much as you’d like to from the Buddhist offerings at the Budapest BuddhaFeszt, taking place at the city’s central Gödör Club and the 14th district’s Körcsarnok.
Don’t expect to see devoutness shrouded in clouds of incense. Instead, you’ll find a breakbeat party with FreQ Nasty, lectures, films, guided meditation, and an exhibition of Buddhist statues and scrolls. One particularly unique piece of art on display will be a 2,000-year old Buddha statue carved from wood. You’ll also be able to hear teachings roughly as old as the statue.
Lama Ole Nydahl and his wife Hannah, both Danes, brought the teachings of Diamond Way Buddhism to the West. In 1969, they became students of the 16th Karmapa, the Karma Kagyu lineage’s highest meditation master, and spent many years studying and practicing under his guidance; they’ve since founded hundreds of Diamond Way centers around the world. Lama Ole first visited Hungary in 1988, and during the years that followed, Diamond Way Buddhist centers have been established in almost all of the country’s major cities.
Buddhist teachings – called dharma in Sanskrit and csö in Tibetan, both meaning “the way things are” – have never been more within the reach of Westerners than they are today. A central tenet of Buddhism is the idea that if we understand the way things truly are, then our essential qualities – fearless wisdom, spontaneous joy, and active compassion – will begin to blossom.