‘A group of people from Sheffield Buddhist Centre were due to visit Barcelona last April to facilitate links with Centres around Europe, but unfortunately this did not happen. However, it did happen last Saturday when, by the magic of zoom, we were able to reschedule our visit ably facilitated by Edward and Gabriel.
We met at 10 am to introduce ourselves and were give guided tours of both Sheffield Buddhist Centre and Barcelona Buddhist Centre, and saw how they grew into what they are today. We shared how we practice and organise our respective centres with talks from our own Amoghavamsa and an order member from Barcelona. We also meditated together. In the evening we did a multilingual Puja in Spanish English and Catalan which was truly beautiful.
For me the experience of meeting Buddhist practitioners from Barcelona was a treat. It gave a real sense of the international nature of The Triratna Buddhist Movement and its growth. It made me feel that we have to see the international nature of our movement, the need grow and take the Three Jewels to every part of the world. I was also touched by language used, the Barcelona Sangha were happy to use English to communicate with us which I am truly grateful for because I only know one word in Spanish.
What struck me was the dedication of people to create Sangha out of very little. I felt a great sense of fellowship with our friends in Barcelona and look forward to a physical visit to Barcelona next year. This was a truly inspiring occasion and hopefully the start of a connection with Barcelona that will grow in the future’
Sarah Blagdon