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50 Merchant Taylors’ Prep School Newsletter - 25.03.2022 MTP Religious Studies Parinirvana: Our First Buddhist Assembly Three boys, Deiyen Hettiaratchi (Y5), Austin Ivan (Y7) and Kyle Palihakkara (Y8) worked brilliantly together to host our first ever Buddhist Assembly on Friday 11th February. Parinirvana is the time when Buddhists mark the death and final enlightenment of the Buddha. Deiyen introduced the assembly, and told us the story of Siddhartha Gautama and his journey to enlightenment as the Buddha. Austin and Kyle shared how Parinirvana is celebrated in their families and in Buddhist communities around the world. Due to Covid restrictions at the time, the boys actually delivered the assembly three times to smaller groups, and it was great to see their confidence growing with each retelling. During the last assembly, we had an informal Q&A session, and the boys discussed both temples that they saw overseas and in the UK, and rites that they took part in. Mr Waddington Head of Religious Studies