To celebrate the 125 Jayanti (birthday) of Dr B. R. Ambedkar and the incredible achievements of his life, the Sydney Buddhist Centre's Young Triratna group and a number of committed members of the Sydney Order (many of whom were recently ordained in India) hosted a special evening of reflection and celebration of this remarkable man. 

This short video gives some of the many highlights of an evening rejoicing in the man who, among his many achievements, helped re-establishe Buddhism in the country of its birth.

Today, in two shrine rooms filled with sangha members, family and friends, we bade farewell to Dharmachari Dipankara who, along with Dharmamati and Buddhadasa, brought Bhante’s explication of the Dharma to Australia back in 1981. Without their efforts, and Dipankara’s fortitude in particular, there would not be a Sydney Buddhist Centre.

Dipankara had lain in state since Monday afternoon. During even the small hours of the morning he had not been alone - meditators sat by his side throughout the night, filled with gratitude and love for this kindest of men. This morning the Order in Sydney gathered to recite the refuges and precepts and prepare his journey with a heartfelt offering of the Vajrasattva mantra.

Dipankara’s family, and in particular his mother, were warmly welcomed to the Sydney Buddhist Centre.

Dharmananda prepared and led the funeral service with grace and attention. Euologies were provided by Tim McNally, Dipankara’s elder brother and also by Dharmamati and Chittaprabha. Further rejoicings were made by a long standing friend Cecilia and fellow Order Member Ratnajyoti. All praised Dipankara’s tenacity, his dedication and his open-hearted friendliness that dissolved conflicts, though he was not unfamilar with them. His energy to share the Dharma with anyone was celebrated - the fruits of his efforts being the very people in the room and beyond.

For those who were unable fit into the main shrine room, an audio video feed was set up into the smaller shrine room so that all who came could be part of the event.

The Karaniya metta sutta and the Mangala sutta were shared, reminding us all of Dipankara’s kindly manner, his dedication to family and his devotion towards seeking the Truth. With the Last Vandana and the Blessings, Dipankara was prepared to leave us but not before members of the singing group (the Vocal Locals),with whom Dipankara sang, gave us a moving version of ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ - one of his personal favourites. 

After a short break for refreshments, we gathered in the courtyard and, chanting Sabbe Satta Sukhi Hontu, we took Dipankara from the Sydney Buddhist Centre. Chapter brothers helped him into the hearse for his last journey.

Whilst we rejoice in the man who, as his name means, brought the light of the Dharma to others, we must also thank those who worked so hard to make this his final days at the SBC so special for us all. Thanks go to Buddhadasa, Danavira and Dharmamati who provided many of the photos of Dipankara through the years that were projected during the service. We also thank the men’s chapters in Sydney and the wider Order for all their efforts in helping the family to make this a moving and suitable celebration of Dipankara’s luminous life.

The following is the text of an introductory talk given at the commencement of the Walk in the Footsteps of the Buddha retreat incorporating the Buddha Day Festival at Vijayaloka Retreat centre.

Two and a half thousand years ago far away in the Ganges Valley, during the full moon in May, the world changed completely: an Awakened being arose in the world. Siddhatha Gautama become the Buddha.

Since then, his life, his example, his teachings have profoundly shaped individuals, schools of thought, nations, arts, languages, the very fabric of history. Enlightenment, freedom from suffering in all its forms and the attendant wisdoms that arise in the process of becoming awakened, became his legacy - a shared legacy for us all. And it has brought us all here on this retreat today.

But this retreat is not about exploring the Buddha’s biography. We will not read about his birth, early years, exposure to old age, sickness, death and the renunciant life (if indeed that actually did take place). Those details you can find anywhere. However, his story is more than a worthy history to google, to study and to revere. His story is also our story.

This morning in the puja we chanted the words as we often do, ‘What the Buddha overcame, we too can overcome. What the Buddha attained, we too can attain.’ The Buddha’s story is our story. Or more accurately within the confines of this retreat, Siddhartha’s story is our story. The main beats of the Buddha-to-be-Siddhartha’s life are remarkably similar to our own, regardless of his living so far back in time in such a far away place.

Consider this, he was born into affluence. His life was comfortable. The texts say that he had whatever he needed and that unsightly things were just that, unsighted, unseen. Whilst we might not live in a palace, we live within a culture of excess that relishes the flawless glamour of beauty, the thrill of entertainment and it hides from the unsettling stark reality of ageing. His life, also in accord with ours, knew love and duty and responsibility none the the less. He learned his part in the scheme of things, training as befits one of his social class. Like him, we may have initially trained to belong.

Yet, there was in him, regardless of the rendering of the story, a restlessness to know more. Surely, I can imaging him asking, there must be more than this?

The accounts vary, but that sense of discontent grew in him at a relatively early age. In his twenties I think it is said. When did that discontent grow for you? Perhaps it wasn’t a discontent of the grumbling kind. Perhaps it was more of a curiosity born from wanting to know more?

In the stories from the early texts, and elaborated in later ones, Siddhartha leaves the world he knew, the culture that had brought him into existence, that life of duty and honour and responsibility and pleasure, for something else, some unknown destination that was perhaps as elusive as the question in his heart.

Have you turned away, in even the smallest way, from the call of societal norms, from the demands of an accomplished life, from aspects of family, career and external expectations? Have you left where you grew up and the various behaviours associated with it? Well, you are on retreat and not at IKEA so, yes, you have.

Siddartha sought a path, led by the yearnings of his heart, towards the undisclosed goal that would free him and this is critical other people - he was not just in this for himself. He gained skill, wisdom, self-knowledge, greater compassion but not full-transcendence. Not at first.

Are you not also pursuing some gentle or insistent calls from within? Have you not muted some of your habits, taken on new more skilful ones and gained awareness to some degree? Have you let go of some of your views, habits, attitudes and ways of living? Are you in the process of transcending the limits of you? Is there a kindness in your heart right now?

You see, his story is our story.

His awakening that we celebrate today, is also a celebration of the human potential.  A shared human potential. A celebration of our potential and our own journey towards it. It is also the potential of others we respect who have also walked this noble path. And of those who frustrate our efforts.

On this retreat we will be walking the path with the Buddha, placing ourselves if not in his footprints but at least a few steps behind.

To the practicalities.

We won’t be reading a lot from books. We will be practising, meditating, reflecting, rejoicing, engaging in ritual, enacting and imagining the Buddha.

In particular we will examine three key moments of his journey which are powerful symbols of transcendence. One will be more known to you than perhaps the other two.

The first one is we are calling The Cave and it relates to the time the still unenlightened Siddhartha spent engaged in austere practices away up in the mountains not far from the Naranjara river and the place that became known as the Bodhi Tree. This was, in a sense, a dead end for him. It did not lead to the goal yet at the same time the period of years spent practising there was not wasted, it lead to the understanding that this was not the way.

The second of these symbols is that of The Gifts. Even closer to the enlightenment experience on that full moon in May, Siddhartha received two gifts - one from a man of the land and one from a young girl. These gifts supported and sustained his striving.

The third is perhaps the most well known and the most dramatic - The Battle.  It refers to the forces of Mara - death, impermanence, ego and clinging - desperately waging a war to stop the soon-to-be-Buddha from reaching the furthest shore.
 
Today we will reflect upon and recreate aspects of these symbolic moments (no, no dress up is required, no drama skills needed) rather you are invited to move into an imaginative connection with these three potent symbols and how they, in some way, manifest in our own lives. We won’t lose sight of the Buddha in all this and turn it into some mere psychological exercise. Our response to him will be at the forefront of all we do, after all this is his day.

But, as I’ve said before. His story is our story.

What the Buddha overcame we too can overcome
What the Buddha attained, we too can attain.

So let’s start walking in the footsteps of the Buddha.

by Bodhidasa

• Aaron Matheson who is now Aryadharma (meaning 'Noble Dharma')
• Steven Caldwell who is now Bodhidasa (meaning 'He who is in the Service of Enlightenment.')
• Kevin Griffith who is now Karunamitra (meaning 'Compassionate Friend')
• Glen Davies who is now Nandavani (meaning 'He whose voice is blissful')