'Garland of Mantras' event raises £3,500 for Padmaloka paintings

Padmaloka, the FWBO’s retreat centre for men, in Norfolk UK, recently completed their first-ever ‘Garland of Mantras’ weekend retreat, during which they raised over £3,500 for their Aloka paintings fund.

Aryapala, Padmaloka’s manager, reports -

“I'm delighted to tell you we completed the 24-hour chanting on our Garland of Mantras weekend retreat, with a sort of shift system beginning at midday on Saturday and going non-stop until midday on Sunday.

“A BIG THANK YOU! to all who contributed to this weekend. We collectively raised over £3,500 and our plan is to commission the next paintings in the series as we now have sufficient funds. Our vision is to fill our shrine room with Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

“To this end we have commissioned Aloka to produce a series of large paintings – already we have Padmasambhava, Vajrasattva, White Tara, and Green Tara. Aloka ’s paintings are a unique and valuable contribution to the imaginative life of a modern Buddhist. While he is still able to produce art we want to allow him to fill the walls of the shrine room with images so that the whole room becomes the shrine. "

There’s a video snippet of some of the event on Aryapala’s Facebook page; fans of Padmaloka might also like to join their Facebook group.

Coming next in the series of paintings is a large Amitabha – 6’ by 12’.