2024 Event Calendar
Click here to download the calendar in PDF format.
Katina Robe Offering Ceremony – October 19th, 2024
Dear Devotees, Well-Wishers, and Friends of the Temple,
We wish to inform you that this year’s Katina Puja Ceremony of New England Buddhist Vihara and Meditation Center (NEBV&MC) will be held on Saturday, October 19th from 10:00 AM – 3:30 PM at Nipmuc Regional High School, 90 Pleasant Street, Upton MA 01568.
One Day Meditation Retreat – July 20th, 2024
A one-day meditation retreat will be held at NEBV & MC on Saturday, July 20th, 2024, conducted by Bhante Pannasiri. If you would like to participate in this program, kindly register for it by using filling out the form below.
Please note that only the attendees who are planning to participate in both morning and afternoon sessions (full day) are required to apply for registration. We have made this decision to give them priority within the limited number of positions available.
Teacher: Bhante Pannasiri
Time: 8:30am – 3:30pm
Date: Saturday, July 20th
Location: NEBV & MC
Registration Status: Closed
Medium: English
Registration: Required
Lunch will be provided by the 2024 Katina sponsors.
Vas Araadhana – Invitation to observe Rains-Retreat – July 20th, 2024
A formal invitation to observe the rainy retreat “Vas Araadhana” will be extended to the venerable monks by the families of Nanda & Janaki Gulavita, Janeshi & Gihan Amarasinghe, Lilani & Chamal Perera, who are sponsoring this year’s event on the Esela Full Moon Day, Saturday, July 20th, 2024 at 5.00 pm at the premises of the New England Buddhist Vihara & Meditation Center.
As part of the Rains-Retreat observances, there will be a Dhamma program for all lay devotees on every weekend from July 27th to October 12th, which will include homage to the Buddha, Buddha Vandana, and chanting followed by a special Dhamma sermon.
Vesak Celebration at the Massachusetts State House – May 29th, 2024
Nearly eighty people gathered at a historic event to mark Vesak, at the Massachusetts State House on Tuesday, May 29, 2024. Vesak is the most important occasion for Buddhists to commemorate the birth, enlightenment and passing of the Buddha on the Full moon day in May. This event was organized by the Massachusetts State House’s Middlesex 13th District State Representative, Mr. Carmine Gentile, Bhante Pannasiri of the New England Buddhist Vihara and Meditation Center, and the State House’s Asian Caucus.
Many Buddhist traditions were represented by monks and nuns from organizations in the Boston area. These included Sangha and devotees from Sri Lanka, Japan, Cambodia, Tibet, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Nepal and India. This gathering included speeches about Buddhism, cultivating loving-kindness and world peace, and chanting Buddhist Gathas. Bhante Pannasiri explained the relevance of the Buddha’s message of 2600 years to the world today. That the root of our individual suffering, greed, hatred and delusion leads to society’s problems. The antidote to these ills is generosity, helpfulness, kindness, tolerance and forgiveness. One of the event’s highlights was the resolution adopted by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to commemorate Vesak Day 2024 in recognition of the Buddhist community. We concluded the event by chanting the Karaniya Metta Sutta (The Buddha’s Words on Loving-Kindness).
Vesak Ceremony – May 25th, 2024
Children’s Vesak Sila Observance – Saturday, May 25th
World Vesak Celebration from 5:00PM onwards
Dear Friends,
You are invited to celebrate a special Buddhist holiday. On Saturday, May 25, 2024, between 5:00 and 7:30 PM, we will be celebrating Vesak Day. Vesak Day is important to Buddhists because it marks the enlightenment of Buddha and celebrates his importance in the world.
The Buddha’s teachings focused on compassion, peace and goodwill with the possibility to awakening wisdom within every human being. His teachings have become a beacon of light pervading the far corners of earth today guiding millions through the darkness of human suffering. We invite you to light a candle to show your gratitude to the Buddha.
Activities:
– Mal perahara/Procession
– Making symbolic offerings to the Triple Gem (Buddha Pooja)
– Blessings
– Messages
– Devotional songs sung by children and adults of the community
– Lighting of Vesak decorations
– Dansala/Dinner
May all immensely meritorious deeds performed in the Vesak season lead you down the path to Enlightenment. With the blessings of the merits accrued, may you all be well, happy, peaceful and successful. Please keep in mind that the Buddha emphasized the only way to pay homage to him is by diligently learning and practicing his teachings.
Vesak Sila Observance – May 18th, 2024
Vesak is the most sacred day on the Buddhist calendar and typically we spend the day to reflect upon the sublime teachings of the Buddha and also to memorialize and celebrate the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and entering into Parinibbana. We are cordially inviting you to a full day retreat on Saturday, May 18th at NEBV & MC. The program will be from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm. Prior registration is important to us for providing lunch to the participants.
Program of the day
07:00AM – Kiripidu Pooja/Offerings
08:30AM – Sila Observance
09:15AM – Meditation
10:15AM – Dhamma
11:15AM – Buddha pooja
11:35AM – Devotees partaking lunch
01:00PM – Dhamma/discussion
04:00PM – Buddha pooja
04:30PM – Dhammachakka sutta chanting
05:00PM – End
Medium: Sinhala
Registration status: Open (please contact temple)
Spring Cleanup – April 27th to May 12th, 2024
Dear Dhamma friends,
With the arrival of spring, we are seeking assistance from volunteers to spruce up the temple and its surroundings. Please select the day and time you wish to drop by and participate. You can choose multiple days if you are able to do so.
Planned dates: April 27th, May 4th, May 11th, May 12th
We will be cleaning up, mulching, planting flowers and putting up Vesak decorations.
Please bring gardening tools and/or gardening gloves if you have them.
We will need:
1) Plants (annuals/perennials)
2) Garden soil and fertilizer
3) Landscape fabric
4) Mulch (color Red)
If you are unable to participate, but want to donate plants, please bring them to the temple at your convenience and volunteers will plant them for you. Mulch will be provided by the temple. For more information on any of the above please contact the temple.
Sri Lankan New Year Celebration – April 13th, 2024
The New England Buddhist Vihara and Meditation Center is organizing the Sri Lankan New Year Festival 2024 on Saturday, April 13th, from 11.00 am to 4.00 pm at the Nara Park Picnic Pavilion at 25 Ledge Rock Way, Acton, MA 01720.
Celebrations will commence with religious observances, and we will then proceed with cultural customs such as “Kiri Ithiraveema” (boiling milk), “Hisa thel gema” (anointing oil), “Avurudu kreeda” (New Year games) and a potluck feast of traditional New Year food for everyone to share.
As we did last year, we are having a potluck meal, and we are kindly requesting the entire community to bring any food items to share, with an emphasis on traditional food and sweets.
We will have a separate table to symbolically represent the Avurudu table, which will include traditional sweets and kiribath. We are sharing a sign-up sheet for the food contributions for that table and for the goodie bags for kids, with our Dhamma school parents before it is sent out to the wider community.
We appreciate all contributions and your generosity towards making this event a success. There will be a list of fun games for everyone. We would love to see the participation of Dhamma school students and parents in the festivities and games. We hope to see you all there!
Buddhist Meditation: A Powerful Tool for Transformation – March 12th, 2024
Join Bhante Pannasiri and Jenn Linde from New England Buddhist Vihara as they lead us in meditation and offer teachings and a conversation about transformation.
Stay for tea and fellowship afterwards. Held in Edwards Hall. No registration required.
New Year Blessings – January 1st, 2024
The resident monks of the New England Buddhist Vihara & Meditation Center (NEBVMC) wish you a very peaceful, happy, and prosperous New Year.
On the 1st of January at 3:30 p.m. blessings will be invoked upon all devotees and friends of Dhamma for the New Year, by making offering to twenty-eight Buddhas (Atavisi Buddha Puja) at the temple. All are cordially invited to participate. May the Noble Triple Gem Bless You All!
විශේෂ මතක් කිරිමයි
2024 නව වසර වෙනුවෙන් සැමට සෙත් පතා පවත්වනු ලබන අටවිසි බුද්ධ පූජාව සහ සෙත් පිරිත් දේශනය 2024 ජනවාරි මස 01 වෙනි සදුදා දින සවස 3:30 ට විහාරස්ථානයේදි පැවැත්වේ.
මේ උතුම් පින්කම සදහ පැමිණ සහභාගිවන ලෙස මතක්කර සිටිමු.
Winter Retreat 2024 – January 20th, 2024
Dear Dhamma Friends,
There will be a one day meditation retreat on Saturday, January 20th, 2024 conducted by Bhante Pannasiri. If you would like to participate in this program, kindly register for it by using following link.
The retreat is open to practitioners of all levels. Registration is on a first-come first served basis.
Total number of seats/people: 14
Lunch and refreshments will be served.
Registration is free – but you may donate any amount. All donations go towards temple maintenance.
Teacher : Bhante Pannasiri
Topic: Vipassana Retreat
Time: 8:30am – 4:30pm / 8hr
Date: Saturday, January 20th
Number of seats: 14
Registration Status: Closed
Medium: Sinhala
Registration: Required
Please note that only the attendees who are planning to participate in both morning and afternoon session (meaning, full day) are required to apply for registration. We have made this decision to give them priority within the limited number of positions available.
You can view our older events below:
– 2023
– 2022 and before