Dzongsar monalam sidharth festival Bodhgaya

Dians Remembering An Indian From The Past
Siddhartha was born as an Indian prince, but he wasn’t born enlightened. It's tempting to deify him; to say a God walked amongst us, but that would go against everything he taught us. The moment Prince Siddhartha encountered suffering, he dedicated his life to find a way out of it, for himself and everyone else. He renounced all material belongings, suffered adversity, triumphed over desire and longing to eventually achieve enlightenment. When he became the ‘Buddha', he laid out the path he followed in a way that any and all humans beings could attain exactly the same enlightenment for themselves.

Two millennia later, the Buddha’s wisdom and teachings have spread all over the world and have been integrated into various cultures. His knowledge, informed by the wisdom and cultural traditions of the land around him has become an invaluable gift to the world. The extraordinary path the Buddha chose to walk, now lights the way for those who followed.

Siddhartha Festival celebrates the Buddha’s life and teachings at the place where he attained enlightenment: under the Bodhi tree in Bodhgaya, India.

Founded in 1989 by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche, Siddhartha's Intent is an international Buddhist association of non-profit nationally registered societies and charities, with the principal intention of preserving the Buddhist teachings, as well as increasing an awareness and understanding of the Buddha's teachings, beyond the limits of cultures and tradition

Deer Park Institute is a project under Siddhartha’s Intent Society, formed in March 2006 by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche. Its core vision is to restore the non-sectarian spirit of the great university of Nalanda to its country of origin, preserving and propagating India’s profound classical wisdom traditions for the benefit of all who live here, as well as the many who come from all over the world pursuing an inner quest. WCCL (World Centre for Creative Learning) Foundation, a Non-Government Organisation in Pune, has been pioneering the use of arts in healing since 2001. The foundation is currently involved in two main projects - Arts-Based Therapy and Study of Mind. Vana Foundation aspires to create a paradigm shift in people’s minds and the society in which we live. Our relationship with the self, one’s community, nature and our culture continues to degrade exponentially. Through its foundation, Vana hopes to in some way reverse this decline, and be of service and benefit to all beings. As a beginning, its activities include the planning and execution of the Siddhartha Festival, creating the Vana Food Network, beginning an Indian wisdom initiative with the blessings of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and exploring initiatives in the areas of culture, crafts and textiles. Khyentse Foundation is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the support and enhancement of Buddhist study, practice and scholarship throughout the world. Founded by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche in 2001, its primary aim is to extend the Buddha’s wisdom and compassion as widely as possible, in order to benefit all beings.