Stonewaterzen

24/05/2026

Next week Manchester Museum is celebrating Vesak with a Buddhist Festival. Details below for anyone interested in attending.

Saturday 30th May 2026 1.00 pm to 4.00 pm
FINAL PROGRAMME WITH LIST OF PARTICPANTS

Vesak Celebrations start with Vesak Chanting from 1.00 pm - Living Worlds Gallery
- Welcome: Venerable Sumana, London Mindfulness Meditation Centre and Anna Bunney,
Manchester Museum Team
- Introduction to the Significance of Vesak – Venerable Sumana
Procession of all chanters from the Living Worlds Gallery to Buddha Rupa.
Taking of Three Refuges and Five Precepts by all chanters – led by Venerable Sumana.
Procession returns to Living Worlds Gallery
Vesak Chanting – introduced by Venerable Sumana
- Ketumati Buddhist Vihara, Wythenshawe, Manchester (Sri Lanka style Chanting): Atavisi
Pitritha, Protective Chant of the Twenty-Eight Buddhas, Maha Jayamangala Gatha
(Great Blessings). Bhanete Piyatissa (Abbot) + 1 monk.
- Wat Sriratanaram Monastery, Bolton (Thai style chanting): Iti pi so (Recollection of the
Triple Gem), Karaṇīyam Mettasutta, Puraparasming Phra Phuttha Khunang (Eight
directions protection). Venerable Arjarn Paganon (Head Monk), Ven Phramaha
Songsak Chotipanya, Ven Phra Srisoothorn, Mr Oliver Wilde.
- Samatha Chanting Group, Manchester Centre for Buddhist Meditation, Chorlton, Manchester
(Theravada style lay chanting): Buddhamaṅgalagāthā, Mangalasutta and
Bojjhaṅgaparitta. Ian Rose + 6 chanters.
- Fo Guang Shan, Stretford, Manchester (Taiwanese style chanting): Heart sutra (in Chinese),
Prostrations to the Medicine Buddha. A Prayer for World Peace. Venerable Chueh Yann
and Venerable Miao Neng + 8 devotees.
[Texts of chants to be displayed on a screen in the gallery].
Buddhist Cultural Events from 2.15 pm - Living Worlds Gallery:
- Introduction: Keith Munnings
- Video of Annual Walk for Peace and Happiness in Thailand February 2026: Venerable Arjarn
Paganon (Head Monk).
- Thai Dancing and its significance from dancers from Blackpool and Edinburgh: Miss Atchara
Rigby and Miss Suda Mitchell plus Miss Wilasinee Pam Weston.
- Seven Buddha Rūpas for developing the Factors of Enlightenment through movements: Anne
Schilizzi and Keith Munnings.
Final Blessings from 3.00 pm – Living Worlds Gallery
- Sacred Words: Tibetan Buddhist Chants and Prayers. Jamyang Buddhist Centre,
Leeds. (Tibetan Gelug Tradition style mantras): Geshe Rinchen
- Meditation and Final Blessings. Kagyu Ling Meditation Centre: John Sainsbury +
others
- Final blessing chant: Bhavatu Sabba-Mangalam: Bhanete Piyatissa

FREE | Just drop in ACROSS THE MUSEUM Discover one of the most important festivals in the Buddhist calendar and join the celebrations during Vesak at your Museum.

19/05/2026

Here is the second of the posts from this edition on the newsletter, this by Gordon Gaho Tyrall

I came to Zen, and Buddhism generally, through reading. I came across Peter Matthiessen’s book The Snow Leopard when it came out in the 1970s. I’d never heard of Zen, but I was intrigued, and then read Zen Flesh, Zen Bones—another cult classic. Then more and more reading. Then I went for a lon...

17/05/2026

It's nearly newsletter time again and that means that new posts will be appearing on the website. Here is the first from Ed Howard.

In August 2000, I completed a short retreat at the Eiheiji monastery. At the time, I was caught between two paths. One was to remain in Japan, where I’d been teaching English for five years, and follow a monastic route. The other was to return to the UK and fulfil a promise I had made

12/12/2025

And here is another new web post, this one by Stuart Gendai Hollyoak

In the open air, it was difficult to hear Manu’s instructions clearly. Together, some 15 or 20 of us, barefoot on a field in unseasonably warm weather, followed his direction to become unfamiliar, estranged even, from our bodies. We unlearned how to move our limbs and how to hoist ourselves up aga...

11/12/2025

It's newsletter time again so we have a series of posts appearing on the website. Here is the first from Manu Myoshin Bazzano https://www.stonewaterzen.org/2025/12/manu-bazzano-soul-kitchen/