Religion || One of Europe’s biggest Buddhist retreat centres will soon be opening doors in the Alentejo.
A 100-hectare centre is expected to officially open in September, near the small town of Santa Catarina in Alcácer do Sal, giving national and international Buddhists a retreat for “meditation, peace and tranquillity”.
The project, representing a €1 million investment, was launched by Estoril’s Pendê Ling Centre of Tibetan Studies, whose community of Buddhist followers has existed for 10 years.
Lama Guyrme, one of the Tibetan masters of the centre, says the Alentejo retreat will offer the chance to “come together with Nature far away from the troubles of everyday life”.
“Anyone who appreciates a culture of peace and tranquillity will be welcome,” Lama Guyrme said.
Infrastructures built thus far are able to receive as many as 30 people, but plans are to build a Buddhist temple in the future.
The centre’s first event – a meditation and teachings retreat – will be taking place between September 13 and 27.
In Portugal, a total of 15,000 people are thought to practice Buddhism. According to Lama
Guyrme, people’s interest in Buddhism “tends to come and go” but the religion has been gaining ground in recent years.
He believes that Buddhism’s “good relationship” with science is one of the factors that make it “very interesting” for modern generations.
Buddhism is a 2,500-year-old nontheistic religion that focuses on personal development and the search for deep inner knowledge. Around 376 million people in the world are thought to follow Buddhism.
