A buddhist temple in Brandenburg
From september onwards our Buddhist Temple is hosted inside the ballroom of Schloss Sommerswalde. It arose from the pure intention of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso and was built by means of the International Temples Project.
The shrine and its significance
The centre piece of the Temple will be the shrine cabinet which is constructed from woods and glass and covers the entire width of the room. Inside the shrine are various representations of Buddhas body, speech and mind. In the Centre sits Buddha Shakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism in our world and main object of Buddhist refuge. To his left he is flanked by Arya Tara, the female Buddha of wisdom, and to his right by Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha of compassion. To his right is Je Tsongkhapa together with his two spiritual sons – the principal Spiritual Guide and founder of the New Kadampa Tradition. On the right side of the shrine are the Five Lineages of Dorje Shugdän which embody the five Buddha families in the aspect of Dharma protectors.
Both voluntary workers and professional companies are putting a lot of effort into restauring the ancient ballroom. Its ceiling is a copy of the stukkato ceiling of the so-called White Hall of the previous Berlin city royal residence. It is undergoing extensive repairs and will soon receive its old colours again. The windows were replaced by those which resemble the original 19 century ones.
In Buddhism, Temples are regarded as a representation of a Pure World and their statues as actual Holy Beings.
“Just looking at the Temple with a happy mind brings inner peace.” Geshe Kelsang Gyatso