Tag: Association Culturelle Chinoise de Luxembourg

  • Chan (Zen) and daily life – public lectures in Luxembourg and Trier

    Chán monk and chief teacher of Dharma Drum Mountain Ven. Guo Yuan will be giving several public lectures during the next days:

    • Sunday, March 23 from 16:00 to 17:30 in Trier. Languages: Chinese and English. Location: ESG, Im Treff 19, 54296 Trier. Flyer (PDF).
    • Monday, March 24 from 18:30 to 20:00 in Luxembourg City. Languages: English with French translation. Location: Franciscaines de la Miséricorde, 50 avenue Gaston Diderich, 1420 Luxembourg. Flyer (PDF).

    Attendance is free, registration is not required.

    There will also be lectures in Chinese in Luxembourg on Sunday and Monday, you can download the flyer here.

    To find out more about Chán and Dharma Drum Mountain, visit chancenter.org (where you can download Chan Magazine which contains transcripts of similar lectures) or dharmadrum.org.

    Update Monday March 24, additional info for the talk in Lux.: You can park your car on the premises. Use the main entrance to get into the building. There’s another door behind it which is usually locked, so you might have to wait a minute for a friendly nun to let you in. The way to the room is indicated with the flyer posted above.

    The talk itself is mostly going to consist of several stories with very little “Buddhist jargon”. (if it’s similar to the one in Trier yesterday). Spoiler: You can read one of the stories in this picture. Guo Yuan Fa Shi is going to give a brief explanation of each story. The audience will have the opportunity to ask questions in the end. You may also be asked to close your eyes and think of nothing for a minute, but that’s pretty much it as far as audience participation is concerned.

    Finally, the organizer (Mrs. Lin) is going to thank everyone and remind you of the donation box sitting by the exit, although nobody’s going to shame you into donating (I’ve seen far more heavy-handed methods employed by other charities). You can also get some books and pamphlets for free!

  • Bored in Luxembourg? Go see the Multiculture Festival at Luxexpo!

    You probably wouldn’t like me if you met me early in the morning. If I don’t get enough sleep, my mind goes into “Charlie Brooker“-mode. In this kind of situation, it’s best not talk to me so that whatever goes through my head stays there.

    This morning I had to get up unusually early for a Saturday because I had been volunteered to help decorate a stand at the “29e Festival des migrations, des cultures et de la citoyenneté et le 12e Salon du livre et des cultures du Luxembourg”. The ridiculously long name didn’t instill me with a strong sense of purpose as I dragged myself out of bed. Instead, I asked myself a couple of not-so-nice questions:

    How come there are 1.35 billion Chinese and none of them could be bothered to help set up the stand of Luxembourg’s Chinese Cultural Association (ACCL)? Why does a country like Luxembourg even need a multicultural festival? If I wanted to buy exotic food and hear people speak foreign languages, all I’d have to do is go shopping at Auchan.

    However, people in supermarkets are generally not in a mood to talk to strangers while those sitting at the stands at the Luxexpo right now will be happy to answer your questions. There’s also no entrance fee and – since the weather sucks like it usually does on a weekend after being totally awesome all week long – it’s not like you’re going to waste a sunny day in the dimly lit Luxexpo halls. With oil prices showing no signs of declining, you might also want use this opportunity to start looking for a country with a warm climate to emigrate to (bonus points if it has friendly inhabitants and good food).

    The 29e Festival des migrations, des cultures et de la citoyenneté and the 12e Salon du livre et des cultures du Luxembourg is open to the public today until 20h and tomorrow (Sunday) from 12h to 19h.