Connect with Community this Week at BuddhaFest!

BuddhaFest week has finally arrived! Experience a unique blend of films, talks and meditation this Thursday-Sunday, June 16-19, at Artisphere in the Rosslyn section of Arlington, VA. There is free parking at the theater, and it's two blocks from the Rosslyn Metro. Enjoy the world premiere of FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL BEINGS, the East Coast premiere of the Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche film CRAZY WISDOM, and talks by Tara Brach, Sharon Salzberg, Hugh Byrne, Roshi Pat Enkyo O'Hara and others.

We do hope you'll join us for opening night on Thursday. It's going to be very special. Our thanks to David Roylance from Thai Institute for Massage for helping us plan the blessing ceremony that will open the evening. It's our goal to be inclusive and show different traditions of Buddhism, but it doesn't always work out with the films. This year we don't have an East Asian film selection, so we're excited to recognize the Buddhist tradition from that part of the world with the presence of these monks.

The monks, from countries such as Thailand, Sri Lanka and Cambodia, will chant sacred Buddhist sutras while performing a ceremony that is often done at the beginning of important or auspicious events. David tells us that the sound produced by the chanting is a beautiful and powerful vibration that fills the physical space -- as well as the spirits of everyone present. We're really looking forward to it.

Following the ceremony, Hugh Byrne will give a short talk, and he will then introduce our inspiring opening night film, I AM. Marianne Williamson is one of the film's many fans, and she says "I AM is a spark of light and a work of love." We definitely agree.

We've recently added a screening of CAVE IN THE SNOW, the stirring film about Buddhist icon Tenzin Palmo, to our Sunday lineup. Her quest for enlightenment led her to spend 12 years secluded in a cave in the Himalayas, performing intensive spiritual practices, and often snowed in for months at a time. She emerged as a champion for the right of female monastics to be educated and held in the same regard as their male counterparts. We wanted to support Tenzin Palmo's efforts by helping to spread her message of equality. We've added the film as a free bonus to your ticket to Ruth King's Sunday talk, "Emotional Wisdom: Healing Heart & Mind." We think it's a great combo.

Also free is Sunday's special panel and Q & A session, "Mindful Parenting." We're able to offer the program free of charge thanks to the generous support of the Budding Yogis Yoga Studio for kids in Washington, DC. Free child care will be available on-site during the program.

We'd like to give a big bow of thanks to our BuddhaFest co-sponsors, IMCW and Tricycle.com, who have both done so very much to make the festival possible.

We hope you'll be part of this year's BuddhaFest community, and join us for a simple, practical and bold look at the profound ways in which meditation, and the cultivation of mindfulness and compassion, can transform our lives.

Please see the BuddhaFest website for tickets and passes, the full schedule, film and talk descriptions, and trailers.

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