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The very first Thangka Art Retreat in Sri Lanka!

With a lot of joy and gratitude I look back at an amazing time that I’ve spent with my thangka students on the island of Sri Lanka.

This art retreat was fully booked, with students that came flying in from all over the world: The Netherlands, Singapore, United States, Belgium and England. Some of them combined this trip with a vacation in Sri Lanka or elsewhere in Asia.

The retreat was organized together with The Buddhist Library in Singapore. The spiritual director of this Buddhist center is Ven. Banthe Dhammaratana, who you see on this picture standing in between all the thangka students. Ven. Banthe is Sri Lankan and also has a big temple, the Bellanwila temple near the capital Colombo, and the Paramita Buddhist Centre, near Kandy, Sri Lanka. The latter is a retreat center, beautifully situated on a rock in the jungle, where our course was held, with subject ‘Guan Yin, the female Bodhisattva of Great Compassion’.

Check out all pictures of this Buddhist Art Retreat in Sri Lanka on the Facebook Page

Sightseeing tour to Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa & Dambulla
After Buddhism started in India, Sri Lanka was the very first country where Buddhism spread, in the 3rd century BCE, way before Buddhism traveled to the rest of Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Tibet, Birma, Thailand, Mongolia, Bhutan, etc.)

After the drawing and painting week our group, together with Ven. Banthe, traveled to the most famous Buddhist Sites in Sri Lanka, including Dambulla, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa. It was a wonderful 4 day vacation all the students, who had become friends in the meantime.

NOTE:
We are aiming to organize this special art retreat every three years.
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