Intensive training trip to Thailand in order to deepen our meditation practice, understanding of Buddhist wisdom and ability to grow the Inner Peace Club in the University of Lisbon.
Hello! We are Alex and Martim, two students who love to meditate and coordinate an Inner Peace Club at the University of Lisbon. As volunteers of The Middle-Way Meditation Institute (MMI - www.mmipeace.org), this summer we are going to Thailand to deepen our practice and increase our ability to help more people as well. Join us on this journey towards inner peace!

Sessão semanal no jardim Lago dos Barcos, Campo Grande
We found in Buddhism a simple and direct path to access our inner peace and true happiness that springs from within and becomes accessible at all times. Visiting such a rich asian country, where traditional culture is still kept alive through the communities of practitioners, makes this a sacred journey, enhancing an enormous enrichment of our being. We are not going for conventional tourism at all, but rather to diligently cultivate ourselves, develop good habits and do wholesome deeds so that we will grow wiser and return better people.

Cerimónia de Ordenação
We urgently need to shine our light and be the change we want to see in the world, something we can all contribute to. Here in Lisbon, we created an Inner Peace Club in partnership with the Academic Association of the University of Lisbon (https://www.instagram.com/pazinterior.ulisboa/), contributing to the well-being and mental health in academia. We encourage the practice of Inner Peace Education, a systematic and scientific platform of Buddha's teachings developed by MMI, with regular meditation sessions and activities that promote the achievement of the SDGs and world peace. In this first semester, we already held two retreats, opened a new weekly session in two faculties and organized several thematic events on Happiness Day, Earth Day and Freedom Day. We are also planning another summer retreat and big candlelight celebration on May 21st, World Meditation Day. Stay tuned and come along!

Evento no Dia da Felicidade
We are thus creating bridges between East and West so that the wisdom of the monks can effectively reach everyone, through new, more creative and captivating approaches. And nothing better than drinking directly from the source to recharge ourselves and be more capable and motivated to continue helping all beings towards the realization of our full potential.

Retiro Carnaval '23
In June, we are going to train ourselves more intensively by visiting Thai temples, doing retreats and even ordaining as Buddhist monks. Our plan is to start by celebrating Vesak Day (June 3rd), the biggest Buddhist celebration of the year, and participate in various volunteer activities with the locals and MMI staff in the first week. Then we will visit Bangkok, the temple of the founding master of Middle-Way Meditation - Wat Paknam - as well as the sacred places of his life, and the historic capital of Ayutthaya. Then, we will do several retreats within the lineage of Middle-Way Meditation, passing by iRetreat in Pak Tong Chai, another retreat center on the island of Koh Samui (south) and then, already in Chiang Mai (north), the PaPae Meditation Retreat until finally ordaining as monks at an international forest monastery - iMonastery - in July.

Meditação no iMonastery
While Martim will stay at the monastery for 2 months, before starting a new semester in September and assuming the leadership of the Inner Peace Club, Alex will stay until the end of the rainy season (4 months total), returning in November. As students with no income beyond our parents' allowance (which we are saving up too), we humbly ask for your support to help cover travel costs and donations to the places we pass through. We invite you to be a part of this merit!

Celebração no Dia da Terra
It is our intention to cultivate the maximum of good energy and virtues, training our mind and doing good deeds in service of humanity, and sharing the fruits of our practice with all beings, especially those who support this journey (even if spiritually), with an enormous sense of gratitude and compassion. So please consider donating to our campaign. And if you need any specific support, please let us know and we'll send our best intentions and wisdom. Thank you, may all be well.
Clube da Paz Interior da AAUL
Hello everyone! Long time no
Hello everyone! Long time no talk…
Thank you so much for you unconditional support. With everyone's faith and generosity we were able to reach our goal!! All of this process has been a dream come true and we were so inspired by your donations that we ended up donating all of the crowdfunding money back to the temples and retreats we've been to in order to express our gratitude and also accumulate more merits for ourselves. We are lucky to have enough to sustain ourselves and are confident that our good deeds and inner cultivation will attract all the material wealth we need in our lives. So we share all the positivity back to you!!
We've been really enjoying each moment and wanted to update you on our journey before we ordain and disconnect from the outside world :)
Since we arrived we joined Vesak Day which is one of the biggest and most auspicious Buddhist celebrations of the year and since then joined 4 retreats in a row before arriving to the International Forest Monastery training site. So we've been accumulating a lot of pure positive energy and wisdom and can feel really uplifted and ready to take the next step forward.
We felt this was a good time to share some pictures so far with you, but will share more after ordination and look forward to connect with all of you once again when we go back to Portugal. But actually Alex decided to stay longer and ordain for life since the spiritual calling is very strong and this is the best years of our life, full of strength and inspiration, to practice well. And it's not like abandoning the projects back home, only allowing the space and encouragement for others to step up. And from his spiritual deepening Alex is sure he'll have more precious things to share when he returns to Portugal, eventually. So let's keep in touch and see you all very soon!
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Clube da Paz Interior da AAUL
Já na reta final, muito obrigado!!
Estimados apoiantes,
A nossa campanha está agora a 3 dias de terminar e queremos agradecer-vos por toda a generosidade recebida até agora. Já alcançámos 70% do objetivo, o que é um enorme sucesso!
Tem sido um processo muito bonito e surpreendente que nos desperta para o poder de envolver toda uma comunidade e gerar méritos através de boas ações em conjunto. Trazemos cada um de vós no nosso coração e partilhamos toda a positividade e bênçãos geradas do centro do nosso ser. Bem hajam!
Dito isto, vínhamos só fazermos um último pedido no sentido de vos encorajar a partilhar a campanha com as vossas redes de amigos e familiares, explicando porque consideram uma causa nobre e benéfica de apoiar, para que mais pessoas tenham a oportunidade se entrar a bordo desta jornada Rumo à Paz Interior. Juntos vamos mais longe! E apesar de já conseguirmos cobrir os custos principais da viagem, podemos sempre aumentar a nossa capacidade para doar e apoiar os projetos e mosteiros valiosos por onde estamos a passar :) E quanto mais damos mais recebemos, não é verdade? Muito gratos por tudo. Até breve!
Dear supporters,
Our campaign is now 3 days from the finish line and we would like to show our appreciation for all the generosity received thus far.We've reached 70% of the goal which already is a huge success!
It has been a very beautiful and surprising process that awakens us to the power of going as a team and accumulating merit from good deeds together. We bring each one of you in our hearts and share all the positivity and blessings from the centre of our being. May you be well!
That being said, we would like to ask you for a last favor, encouraging you to share our campaign with your network of family and friends, explaining why you consider this cause to be noble and beneficial to support, so that more people have the chance to hop on board this Journey Towards Inner Peace. Together, we go further!
And even though we can already cover the majority of the costs for the trip, it's always great to expand our capacity to donate and support the precious projects and monasteries that we're passing by :) And the more we give, the more we receive, right? Very grateful for everything, hope to see you soon!
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