The beautiful film of one extraordinary day in October 2018 when tens of thousands of people watching online around the world joined the many assembled mourners at Adhisthana to say goodbye to their friend and teacher, Urgyen Sangharakshita - "Bhante". 

It's rare enough for one person to found an entire international spiritual Movement and community. Sangharakshita was one such person, and his death was a major staging point for everyone involved with the Triratna Buddhist Community as it begins its second 50 years of bringing the Buddha's teaching to the world in ways that are relevant to the times.

His extraordinary contribution to the flourishing of the Dharma in India and the West – and to the lives of a great many people during his nine decades of life – will not soon be forgotten by those who gathered to witness his passing.

With thanks to Amaradaya, Sanghadhara and the team at Clear Vision.

Watch highlights from the day  |  Watch the live-streamed coverage from the day

See more videos from the funeral and burial ceremonies for Sangharakshita

Immediately after Bhante’s death we at Clear Vision began to document the preparations for his vigil and funeral, and working with our colleagues at The Buddhist Centre Online  to do all we could to help ensure that thousands of people in our worldwide community were able to witness the event through a live-stream. We have produced this short film of highlights from the funeral and time surrounding the event for you all, and for future generations, to revisit this most significant event in the history of our community.

Clear Vision works to document the life of the Triratna Buddhist Community, keeping us connected around the world and over the years, by creating and sharing a visual record of events and protecting the video and image archive of our Founder, Order and Movement.If you have appreciated our work over this time, please set up a direct debit to support our continuance and the preservation of the archive. We depend on your support to continue documenting and creating media that informs and inspires us as a community.

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Watch the complete film of the funeral and burial services for Sangharakshita

Urgyen Sangharakshita. 26 Aug 1925 - 30 Oct 2018.

Funeral and burial at his home, Adhisthana, on November 10th 2018. 

A short tribute put together by Guilhem Monin.

Urgyen Sangharakshita, 1925-2018, was laid to rest at his home in Adhisthana on November 10th 2018.

Here are the main welcoming speeches and eulogies from Sangharakshita's close friends and colleagues as they say their own goodbyes to our teacher.

Recorded at Adhisthana, November 2018.

On the evening of Urgyen Sangharakshita's funeral and burial, after the departure of most of the 1,200 guests, those who remained gathered together to perform a special, final sevenfold puja and close an extraordinary day. 

Padmavajra led the devotional ritual, specifically dedicated to Padmasambhava. In this extract we hear Surata reading verses to Vajrasattva known as 'The Confounder of Hell', followed by a rousing version of the Great Guru of Tibet's mantra. 

Voices were uplifted and many offerings made: to say a last farewell with heartfelt thanks to the founder of the Triratna Buddhist Community. 

Recorded on Saturday the 10th of November 2018, at Adhisthana.

On Saturday 10th November the funeral of Urgyen Sangharakshita took place with an estimated 1,200 to 1,400 people attending the ceremony and burial in Adhisthana.  Here are some of the photographs taken by Dhammarati during this significant day in the life of our community.

See the full album of pictures here

Read Munisha's reflections from after the funeral

Watch the complete live stream of the funeral and burial

Thanks to everyone - the many thousands - who tuned into our live stream on the day of Urgyen Sangharakshita's funeral and burial. And to those who have been watching and re-watching since. It's been moving to read the continuing flood of messages and appreciation from around the world. 

On the day we were faced with a number of unexpected (and some expected!) technical difficulties, and the live stream was effectively broken up across different channels, posts and platforms. Here then is a "supercut" of the different parts, reassembling the best versions available from the live stream into a complete record of the broadcast and the day itself.

Our friends at Clear Vision Trust have will soon be producing a high definition, edited film of the day – and you can already watch their selected highlights. Audio extracts from the day will also be available from Free Buddhist Audio, and we'll gather together in this space more extensive image collections over the next week or so.

It takes a lot of work to produce and distribute coverage of such large and significant events in the life of our community. We'd love you to support our media work so we can continue to bring you the best of Triratna online and extend even further the range of possibilities. You help make international sangha connection possible. Thank you! 🙏🏻

Support Dharmachakra’s work on The Buddhist Centre Online and Free Buddhist Audio

Watch highlights from the day  |  Watch the new complete film of the funeral and burial services for Sangharakshita

The funeral of the Venerable Urgyen Sangharakshita, August 26, 1925 - October 30, 2018
November 10th 2018, 12.30 pm UK time, at Adhisthana

Download the Order of Service for Sangharakshita's Funeral and Burial

Details of how to watch or follow online