On 3rd November 2018, Vasudeva Kriya Yoga organised a Yoga Camp at The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion in Bendigo. The response was overwhelming, there were more than 120 enthusiastic participants despite the fact that the venue was located 2 hours from Melbourne.
About the Venue:
A stupa (also known as a pagoda) is the most sacred building in Buddhism. A stupa symbolises the enlightened mind and the path to enlightenment. A stupa is also a reliquary to house holy relics of the Buddha and other highly realised beings.
The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion, being built near Bendigo Australia, is 50 metres square at its base and nearly 50 metres high. This makes it the largest stupa in the Western World.
The Great Stupa is the same design and size as the Gyantse Stupa (Kumbum) in Tibet. The Gyantse Stupa is one of the treasures of the Buddhist world. The Gompa (temple) inside the Stupa will have many features of traditional large Tibetan gompas including large statues of Buddhas and deities. The Gompa will be used for pujas, meditation and teachings. It is also designed to present an overview of Buddhism to visitors.
Beautiful gardens surround the Stupa and the Peace Park showcases symbols from many faiths including Catholic, Sikh, Islam, Hindu and Buddhist.
Yoga and Meditation Session:
We were blessed to do the Yoga Sadhana inside the temple in front of the magnificent Jade Buddha alter under the able guidance of Yoga Guru Sri Rajendra Yenkannamoole. The temple was very peaceful and was the perfect location to do Yoga and Meditation. The session went on for 3 hours with a brief talk on Buddha’s journey to enlightenment through Yoga Sadhana followed by guided class on Asana, Pranayama and Meditation. It was an out of the world experience for all the participants involved. The temple staff had organised scrumptious vegan lunch. One highlight of the day was that almost all the participants had brought their own reusable plates and cups to minimise the one-off plastic use. They all responded to a call from our school to be environmentally friendly. The temple management expressed their gratitude for this initiative.
The Great Stupa Tour:
All the participants were given a tour of The Great Stupa and surrounding gardens by the temple staff. We were all wonder struck by looking at the sheer magnitude of the structure and attention to detail given by the architects of the Stupa. The magnificent statue of Buddha in the main alter has been carved from a single huge Jade Stone block. The surrounding garden featured many Buddhist symbols such as prayer wheels. It also has a water fall, a peaceful Buddha statue and lots of trees. We found that the ambiance is very favorable for a Yoga Sadhaka with all encompassing peace and tranquility.
Contribution:
The entry fee for this event was set to $20 per person. All the money collected of $2500 was straight away donated to The Great Stupa towards the construction of the Stupa. It was our humble contribution to the massive work ahead to complete the construction. The temple staff expressed their gratitude and have invited us again to conduct similar session in the future.
We would like to thank the temple committee for inviting us and allowing us to conduct this event in the smoothest way possible.
