Buddhafield, boogieing, & bouillon

Mar 04, 2024

∙ Paid

Buddhafield Base in the City - Sacred prayer-song with Sweet Remembrance

Buddhafield runs workshops, retreats and a big festival in Somerset each summer.

From their website: The concept of a “Buddhafield”, or of “Buddhafields”, originates in the Mahayana Buddhist Sutras. In these Sutras, Buddhafields are planes of perfect beauty created by the compassionate action of a Buddha. As such they are an environment in which all conditions are perfectly conducive to spiritual practice and in which to gain Enlightenment.

I attended the one-day Buddhafield Base in the City in Bristol this weekend and loved cramming into a bell tent with a few dozen new friends to sing with the group Sweet Remembrance, which meets a few mornings each week outside St. Anne’s church to sing sacred prayers.

Armed with song sheets and whatever harmonies bubbled up we spent a lovely hour singing and swaying.

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Buddhafield Based in the City - Ecstatic Dance

Buddhafield is substance free. Seeing so many people moving freely and dancing without the social lubricant of alcohol or other substances is really amazing. The day ended with DJ Sophie Bolton accompanied by a trombonist!

Ecstatic Dance is simply being present and moving as the music moves you with the idea that you may go into a trance like state leading to ecstasy. I hung back toward the edge of the crowd and held onto a chair for balance while moving to the music. When I got too tired to stand, I did some chair dancing and watched the crowd let loose. The tenant of not letting self-consciousness or being “good” get in the way of finding connection and using the movement as a form of meditation really helped me feel more at home in my body, which doesn’t always move the way I want it to.

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Buddhafield Base in the City - Sacred prayer-song with Sweet Remembrance

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Buddhafield Based in the City - Ecstatic Dance

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Oil-free plant-based cooking

Veggie Soup

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