Meeting between the monks of Cellole and the monastic sangha of Pomaia
“Compassion and beauty as a spiritual QUEST are the traits that unite us.” With these words and with the commitment to see each other again, the monks and nuns of the Sangha Lhungtok Choekhorling Association and the brothers of the monastic community of Cellole said goodbye on Tuesday, February 10, meeting for the first time at the Lama Tzong Khapa Institute in Pomaia for a fraternal exchange.
Il Prior Emiliano Biadene, accompanied by Brother Dario Romano with friend writer Alex Corlazzoli, they found the people to welcome them venerable Massimo Stordi Ven. Phil Gallenberger e Ani Ciampa Tashi.
The monks of Cellole, who live according to the Rule of the Bose community, founded by Brother Enzo Bianchi, were guided by Venerable Stordi on a tour of the Institute, showing them the meditation hall, the tea garden, and the library. He also explained the significance of the stupas present and the monumental statue of Chenrezig, the Buddha of Compassion, an original work by Oscar-winning Dante Ferretti and created for Martin Scorsese's film Kundun.
A journey through decades of history, brought to life by the testimonies and faces of the Tibetan masters and students who have transformed Pomaia into a unique and precious place.
Preceded by an interreligious prayer, the lunch took place in a convivial atmosphere with all the Buddhist monks and nuns present for the occasion.
The Venerable Massimo Stordi with the Prior Emiliano Biadene
In the afternoon, Venerable Stordi accompanied the monks of Cellole to visit the site where Lhungtok Choekhorling, the first Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Italy, will be built.
The group visited the hillside near the Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, where the land affected by the excavation of a former abandoned quarry will be reclaimed. The architecture will be sensitive to both ancient traditions and the surrounding landscape, and will follow a path of eco-sustainability, thus ensuring a low environmental impact and energy and resource conservation.
Just a Milan March 8, 2025, Enzo Bianchi attended the presentation of the Monastery Tibetan Buddhist Mass held at the Royal Palace in Piazza Duomo, in the presence of the Abbot of the Monastery, the Venerable Geshe Thubten Chonyi.
“The meeting with the Buddhist monks – Brother Emiliano and Brother Dario explain – It was precious. Certainly, different faiths create differences in language, vision, and rituals. Yet, the different monasticisms have always felt close and in communion in the human and spiritual quest: we are men and women who decide to live chastity, to experience universal brotherhood, to love those we meet before even knowing them, to seek wisdom, inner peace, and hope. In particular, Christian and Buddhist monasticism both place compassion, mercy, kindness, and giving at the center of their monastic life. All this makes us profoundly brothers and envelops us in communion, making us truly companions on the journey, always available to offer spaces of freedom and welcome to those who question themselves, to those who desire to experience silence, and to those who seek wisdom and a fraternal spirit.
“An important enrichment of dialogue and comparison with the monks of Cellole”, underlines Ven. Stordi The experience of monastic life we shared, albeit in a brief encounter, is very similar to that of all of us. Once again, the importance and necessity of strengthening and recognizing the fundamental role of encounters between religious people of all traditions as an indispensable contribution to dialogue and peace in the world emerges. We hope this is only the beginning of a valuable collaboration in the service of others.
📚SPIRITUALITY: Reading recommendations
Alex Corlazzoli
Diary from a monastery.
Words of a walking atheist.
What happens when a journalist, teacher, and writer who calls himself an "atheist" decides to stay for two months in a monastic community? This question gave rise to "Diary from a Monastery," Alex Corlazzoli's latest work. enriched by the preface by Enzo Bianchi.
Corlazzoli leads us within the walls of the Cellole Monastery in San Gimignano (Siena). This is not a theological treatise, but an honest account of a profound human experience: the discovery of silence, the value of shared solitude, and the rediscovery of brotherhood as a cornerstone of every community.
The book invites the reader—believer or not—to confront the big questions of life through the little things: the slow pace of walking, the observation of beauty, and the importance of "learning to accept ourselves" before even wanting to change the world. It is a eulogy of secular spirituality that speaks to anyone seeking a horizon of meaning in an age of fragmentation and confusion.
🎥 Watch the video "Finding Peace. Presentation of the first Tibetan Buddhist Monastery in Italy"
The event “Finding Peace,” sponsored by the Municipality of Milan, was held in the Conference Hall of the Royal Palace on March 8th.
In order to stimulate a reflection on the importance of choosing the contemplative and monastic life nowadays and on the opportunity for interior and social growth of the individual and of the communities, they talked Enzo Bianchi, founder of the monastic community of Bose and Casa della Madia, and Geshe Thubten Chonyi, Abbot of Lhungtok Choekhorling and Kopan Monastery and Convent in Nepal, with over seven hundred monks and nuns, and a member of the board of the FPMT (Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition), which has over 160 social centers and projects around the world.
You will find meditation guided by Buddhist nun Ani Ciampa Tashi aimed at strengthening the relational value of interreligious dialogue.