At the Exeter Triratna Group we explore the practice of meditation and Buddhism in a way that is relevant to contemporary life. Our group is friendly and newcomers are very welcome! We are part of an international Buddhism movement, the Triratna Buddhist Community.
We are moving to the Exeter Community Centre! From October 2022
The Exeter Natural Health Centre, which has been our home in Devon for the last 11 years, will be closing. We are sad about this long and fruitful relationship coming to an end, but also excited about a new chapter ahead of us.
From October 2022, all of our in-person meetings (unless specifically stated) will be held at the Exeter Community Centre on St Davids Hill in Exeter. We will be meeting in the Merchants Room which has a lovely feel to it for meditation and Dharma.
When we meet and how you can join in
You can view all of the details about our activities on our Events Page.
Meditation
"Our life is the creation of our minds. Experiences are preceded by mind, led by mind, and produced by mind."
The Dhammapada
Meditation is a powerful tool for changing our relationship with ourselves and the world. In meditation, we use the mind to work directly on the mind, gently becoming aware of ingrained mind-habits and learning how to let them change, freeing us from grooves that have maybe kept us trapped for years. The aim is to wake up!
At our classes, we teach two fundamental meditation practices;
Mindfulness of Breathing
This helps us to develop a serene, alert, focussed state of mind, in which we can get beyond the usual chatter in our heads and start to listen to our deeper inspiration and wisdom.
Mindfulness is body and mind fully engaged in a state of clarity and positivity that saturates and colours the whole of our experience
Sangharakshita
The Metta Bhavana
The Metta Bhavana (sometimes called development of loving kindness), helps us to develop positivity and warmth, to leave behind harmful emotions, and to connect with other people at a deeper level.
You are deeply concerned for their well-being, happiness, and prosperity…When you feel this loving-kindness you want them to be not just happy but deeply happy; you have a strong desire for their true welfare, growth and progress
Sangharakshita
We combine these formal practices with the ‘non-practice’ of ‘Just Sitting’, which gives an open space in which we can absorb the effects of meditation.
To really change our minds means taking an overall approach to leading a life which supports our meditation practice, so we teach within a context of Buddhist practice which includes awareness of ethics as well as exploring ‘the Dharma’ - Buddhist wisdom teachings.
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