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The Millennium Bell: The Next Buddha Is the Collective Sangha
The year 2000 is offered as a bell of mindfulness, reminding us that time passes quickly and that the 20th century’s individualism has made a mess of our future. Happiness cannot be an individual matter, so we must learn to live as a Sangha—with humans, animals, vegetals, and minerals as members—practicing to get out of the prison of self. The next Buddha may take the form of a Sangha, each of us a cell of the Buddha-kāya, ready to climb the beautiful hill of the 21st century together with our blood and spiritual ancestors and children.
The program for December 31 is planned as follows:
- Two hours of solitary meditation in the morning, with instructions on how to look deeply into our suffering, open to the Sangha’s eyes, and make a vow to live as a cell in the body of the Buddha.
- Simple lunch – solitary retreat may continue before or after.
- Afternoon collective mindful walk to prepare for the evening ceremony.
- 17:00 – last Dharma talk of the 20th century, broadcast to Germany and North America.
- Dinner followed by Touching the Earth to connect with ancestors, land, other species, and future generations.
- 23:00 – bell to gather around the linden tree; by ~23:30 a centipede-style walking meditation up the hill, guided by kerosene lamps, pausing for half a minute as the new millennium arrives. Children then push a chariot marked “2000” to the meditation hall.
- At the hall – offerings at the altar to blood and spiritual ancestors, followed by four rounds of Touching the Earth and hugging meditation; reading personal promises aloud in multiple languages.
To keep alive the insight of no-self and interbeing is to see the Sangha’s happiness as our own and to dissolve suffering and loneliness. A wall gazette titled “Climbing Together the Hill” invites everyone to contribute articles, poems, or drawings—in any language—on living as a Sangha in the new century. As new friends arrive, we share deeply our practice so that the 21st century becomes a pleasant climb for all.