MEDITATION CLASSES
Short Talk followed by guided Tibetan meditation: Mondays 6 - 7pm
Where: Schunck room, first floor, in Burlington Rooms. Burlington Rooms are in Burlington street. If you face the entrance to John Rylands Library (the main library of the University), the entrance to Burlington Rooms will be on your right, above the Vegetarian Cafe.
A short talk on Buddhism followed by a guided Tibetan Guru Yoga meditation. In Buddhism, meditation means "effortlessly remaining in what is." Guru Yoga is a Buddhist meditation where additionally to holding and calming the mind one focuses on the goal, the full development of one's mind as a form of energy and light.
- 6th February 2012: What is Buddhism?
- 13th February 2012: Buddha's Life
- 20th February 2012: Goals in Buddhism: Liberation and Enligthenment
- 27th February 2012: The Three Levels of Buddha's Teachings
- 5th of March 2012: Buddhist Refuge
- 12th of March 2012: Karma: Cause and Effect
- 19th of March 2012: Compassion and Wisdom
- 16th of April 2012: Buddha-nature: mind's potential
- 23rd of April 2012: Meditation
- 30th of April 2012: Goals in Buddhism: Liberation and Enlightenment
- 7th of May 2012: BANK HOLIDAY-No Session
- 14th of May 2012: Disturbing Emotions: Sources of Wisdom
It is advisable to dress warmly as the rooms heating is not very good.
All the classes are free of charge.
Samatha Meditation: Thursdays 7 - 9pm
Where: St Peter's House Chaplaincy, opposite Blackwells bookshop on Oxford Road
The type of meditation taught is called Samatha, which mean calmness. Samatha meditation is an effective way of training the mind to develop inner strength and freedom from turmoil, leading on to clarity, happiness and understanding. It involves stilling the mind by being mindful of the breathing process. In meditation the constant activity can be stilled allowing a basis for seeing directly how the mind works.
This Samatha meditation is in the tradition of mindfulness of breathing (ana-pana-sati = inbreath-outbreath-mindfulness) meditation. The meditation is practised in stages, from the grosser to the subtler. As in most meditation traditions, it is taught on a teacher-student basis.
The classes are open to anyone who would like to give it a try. There is no need to be a 'Buddhist' or in fact have any interest in Buddhism as a religion. Most people who mediate practice daily and the instructions in the class are taught in a way to enable all the basics of the technique to be learnt.
The group meeting begins at 7pm and afterwards there is tea or coffee and you are able to discuss one to one with the teacher how your practice is developing. If you are coming for the first time, it is helpful if you can come a little before 7.
It might be advisable to bring a pillow or cushion along with you when you come to the meditation, as it might help in sitting comfortably.
All the classes are free of charge, although we ask for a donation of 20p towards the cost of tea and biscuits.
