Category: Buddhism

Introduction to Buddhist Meditation course

TriratnaDevon

Thursday evenings: Four weeks from 14th January 2021, 7  to 9 pm.

Meditation is a natural human activity in which we can take time to notice the way our mind works and connect more deeply with our hearts. It offers a practical way of becoming more calm, clear and alive to our moment-to-moment experience.

At our meditation classes we teach simple but profound meditation practices rooted in the Buddhist tradition that were taught over two thousand years ago, the Mindfulness of Breathing and the Metta Bhavana, (Loving kindness).

Meditation can also be described as a conscious training in mindfulness or awareness and in this course we will explore four aspects, or dimensions, of awareness – awareness of self, of others, of the world and of reality.

The course will take place online in our regular Thursday Sangha (‘spiritual community’) evening, so you will also be joining, and get the chance to meet, established members of our community. To book a place please email us. There is no charge for the course but if you would like to make a donation to help us cover costs, please let us know.

Finding Peace in a Turbulent World: An Introduction to Buddhism and Meditation

TriratnaDevon

Six weeks from Thursday 23rd Jan to Thursday 27th Feb, 2020, from 7 pm to 9 pm.

It seems as though we are living in a turbulent world and we can experience ourselves as blown around by what the Buddha called the ‘worldly winds’ of pleasure and pain, gain and loss, praise and blame, and, fame and infamy, which blow constantly regardless of how we try to stop them. However, Buddhism teaches that we can engage more positively and creatively with the world, and our experience, and that we can cultivate peace and be happier and kinder. On the course we will explore some of the most fundamental teachings of Buddhism and learn two meditation practices – one to cultivate a calmer mind and another to help us become kinder.

The six sessions will be held on our regular Thursday evenings from 7 to 9 pm at the Exeter Natural Health Centre, starting on 23rd Jan and continuing weekly until 27th Feb 2020. Due to the size of our venue places are limited so please book and decide to attend the course in full. The cost of the course is by donation, but we suggest £60 (for the full course) if you are well resourced, and £30 if you are less so. To book a place we ask for a £10 deposit for which you will receive a course booklet. For more information and to book please email nandavajra

Radical Buddhism – 6 Week Course

TriratnaDevon

Discover central Buddhist ideas and how they can change your life

This six week course explores how we might bring about positive change in our lives through the application of central Buddhist principles and meditation. We will explore how these ancient teachings can help us to lead a richer, fuller and happier life in the modern world.

Six weeks from Thursday 16th May 2019, from 7 to 9 pm, at Exeter Natural Health Centre (ENHC). Due to the size of our venue places are limited so please book by emailing Nandavajra and decide to attend the course in full. The cost of the course is by donation but we suggest £60 for the full course (if you are well resourced and £30 if you are less so).

Four levels of speech

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We’re coming to the end of our current theme of ‘What is the Sangha/ What is a spiritual community?’ which we have been exploring over several weeks in our regulars class on Wednesday evenings at the Exeter Natural Health Centre. Today we had a very enjoyable and thought provoking discussion on the four levels of speech – a traditional Buddhist list of four aspects to aim to develop: truthful, kindly, meaningful and harmonising.

Here is a picture of the flip chart that Nandavajra so helpfully provided! 
And next week we are concluding this theme of sangha by looking at the archetypal sangha of Buddhas and bodhisattvas – if you have ever been intrigued by the many mythical figures that are associated with Buddhism, come along and find out more – all welcome!

Sangha Nights in January and February 2018

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Our regular’s class takes place every Wednesday evening at the Exeter Natural Health Centre, just behind the Boston Tea Party on Queens St – all our welcome! If you haven’t been before, you can email Mokshini (via the ‘contacts’ page) if you’d like to find out more what to expect or talk about meditation and/or Buddhist practice.
The next few weeks are dedicated to the theme of Buddhist wisdom, the final stage of the Buddha’s Threefold Path of Ethics – Meditation – Wisdom:

Buddhist Wisdom: an exploration and practice of the ‘three marks of conditioned existence’ (the three lakshanas)

17 January – Buddhist Wisdom: three marks of conditioned existence – impermanence
24 January – Buddhist Wisdom – insubstantiality
1 February – Buddhist Wisdom – unsatisfactoriness
8 February – Working with the three marks/ the three ‘lakshanas’