Back in Rio again

Back in Rio



With Ven. Uganda Buddharakkhita at Aprador rock in Rio de Janeiro with Ipanema beach and the iconic Dois Irmãos and Pedra da Gávea rocks in the backround.

Hi friends,
I have been at the Rio Buddha Vihara in Rio de Janeiro since January 16th. When I arrived it was fortunate that the Ven. Buddharakkita from Uganda was also there at the Rio Buddha Vihara. He was finishing up a two week visit with them. Then he moved on to visit some other centers in Brasil. He taught the yearly `Carnival retreat`for the Buddhist group´in São Paulo while I taught the Carnival retreat in Rio. Ven. Buddharakkhita had lived at the Bhavana Society for several years while I was there before 2010.

I came to Rio to spend for months until mid May. I spent the first month in Rio helping to spruce up the vihara for this active four month period. The Carnival meditation retreat is in fact a retreat from the loud colorful Carnival Holidays (similiar to Mardi Gras in New Orleans) that help make Rio famous apart from the obvious georgeous physical beauty of the mountains and sea. The fact that the average temperature at this time of year is 27-30 degrees C, while in northern Europe and the USA-Canada it is often freezing, makes it an appealing destination.

There is a growing group of mostly young Brazilian Buddhists who support and run the Rio Buddha Vihara. I had trained up a small group of dedicated young lay practioners two years ago to carry on the weekly Sunday puja, meditation and Dhamma talk. And they had been continuing it successfully.

Here are a selection of fotos from the last month and the retreat. At the end of these fotos I will post a link to the facebook page of the SBB (Sociedade Budista do Brasil) and a web page where many more of the Dhamma talks, chanting and fotos can be seen.



 

 

Stairway to the Rio Buddha Vihara in Santa Teresa

Bodhi tree and main building at the Vihara

Site of future renovated pond and stupa

Men´s dorm above main building



Mens dorm and meditation deck above

stairs to upper meditation deck



Upper Meditation hall



 



Dhamma asana and altar



 

 

Daytime view



Sunrise at end of morning meditation



 

 

 

 

Night time view when meditation is over

 

Christ statue from vihara

 

 

Talk being tramslated into Portugues

 

 

 

 



With group of Vihara friends after Sunrise meditation at Aprador rock

Morning view of Leme and Copacabana beaches and skyline

Sugar Loaf rock from Urca beach

Reflecting on the ocean of samsara

With Joao and Anna on Copacabana beach



Minfully treading through the roots of greed, hate and delusion



Fellow traveller in Samsara



Various views of Rio taken from Urca hill



Christ statue

Sugar Loaf rock



Guanabara bay with Santos Dumont airport

Guanabara bay harbour

Panorama view from Vista Chinesa

Sunset at Aprador

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By the way, if any dhamma practioner wants to combine a Holiday in Rio with staying at the Rio Buddha Vihar and joining the meditations pujas and meeting Brasilian Buddhists that is possible. There a some beds available in dorm rooms (men and women separate) where you could stay on a donation basis. You must follow the five precepts. See the SBB website or facebook for contact.
One of the board memberes of the SBB, Fabiana Gomes, also rents out a room in her apartment in Flamengo for visitors. It is listed on Airbnb.com. She can be contacted diectly on her facebook page below.

http://www.sbb.riobudavihara.com
facebook.com/sociedadebudistadobrasil
facebook.com/fabiana.gaspar.gomes733