Our next introductory evening is on the 6th of January, from 7:30 to 9:30 in the Quaker Meeting House (100 Crown Street). We will teach basic meditation and our ‘Very Short Introduction to Buddhism’ course.
Attending this evening is suggested before coming to the Regulars’ group.
Author: aberdeenbuddhistgroupadmin
Winter 2015/16 meetings
02 Dec – What did the Buddha mean by ‘not-self’?
09 Dec – The five spiritual strengths
16 Dec – Midwinter celebration
23 Dec – closed
30 Dec – closed
06 Jan – Introduction to Buddhism / Introduction to meditation
13 Jan – Regulars’ meetings restart
Programme autumn 2015
The Noble Eightfold Path
These five evenings will be mostly discussion-based, covering the main areas of Buddhist practice. They are suitable for beginners if attending from the beginning.
23 Sep – Right View, Right Intention
Meditation: Body awareness
30 Sep – Right Speech
Meditation: Mindfulness of breathing
07 Oct – Right Action
Meditation: ‘Gladdening the mind’
14 Oct – Right Livelihood, Right Effort
Meditation: Cultivation of goodwill (metta bhavana)
21 Oct – Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration
Meditation: Four-stage metta bhavana
28 Oct, 4, 11, 18, 25 Nov – Buddhism in Daily Life
September meetings
Our autumn programme will begin with a brief introduction to both Buddhsim and meditation – an ideal introduction for beginners or a useful refresher for regulars.
2nd Sep: A Very Short Introduction to Buddhism
Seven key Buddhist concepts. Meditation – body-based mindfulness.
9th Sep: Schools and Sources
Buddhism was passed down as an oral tradition for several hundred years. How did it come to be written down? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the different texts and traditions that we know Buddhism through? Meditation – mindfulness of breathing.
16th Sep: Culture and Practice
Buddhism comes with various bits of Eastern cultural baggage. What are these? Where did they come from? Are any of them useful today or can we practice Buddhism without any of them? Meditation – mindfulness and emotion
Summer Break 2015
There will be no meetings of the group over July and August 2015. We’ll be back with a new programme from the start of September.
Programme April – June 2015
Saturday 16th May; 10:00 to 13:00
Thursdays 21st and 28th May, 4th June; 19:30 to 21:30
REGULARS’ GROUP (Wednesdays 19:30 to 21:30)
The regulars group is open to anyone who has been on an introductory course or who is already familiar with Buddhism and meditation.
8 Apr Alan – The Soṇadaṇḍa Sutta: on nobility
15 Apr Nigel – A question of skill
22 Apr double meditation
29 Apr Alan – The Mūlapariyāya Sutta: clinging to beliefs
6 May Wesak celebration
13 May Shona – Fate or free will?
20 May Nigel – Strength training for the mind
The next four talks form a short series on the Brahma Vihara meditations, which include the metta bhavana. Each talk and meditation will also stand on its own.
27 May ‘Gladdening the mind’
3 Jun Practising the Brahma viharas
10 Jun The mudita bhavana: sympathetic joy
17 Jun Bodhisattvas of compassion
24 Jun to be confirmed
All meetings are in the Quaker Meeting House, 98-100 Crown Street.
Study Group
The study group meets every other Sunday in members’ homes and studies books chosen by the group. During this programme we will be using ‘The Happiness Hypothesis’ by Jonathan Haidt. If you would like to join the study group, please contact the group email.
Programme January – March 2015
REGULARS GROUP (Wednesdays 19:30 to 21:30)
The regulars group is open to anyone who has been on an introductory course or who is already familiar with Buddhism and meditation.
7th Jan Dedication ceremony
14th Jan Nigel – New Year’s Resolutions
21st Jan Alan – The Kutadanta Sutta: the Buddha on Sacrifice
28th Jan Shona – Non-self Esteem
4th Feb Nigel – Doing Something, Doing Nothing
11th Feb David – Buddhism Without Beliefs
18th Feb Festival – Parinirvana puja
25th Feb Alan – Practising the Brahma Vihara Meditations
4th Mar Nigel – Practical Mantra
11th Mar To be confirmed
18th Mar Spring puja
25th Mar Phil – meditation discussion
Introduction to Meditation 2015
These courses are an introduction to basic Buddhist meditation practice, including mindfulness and metta (goodwill) meditations. They are suitable for complete beginners. They run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. We will also be teaching meditation during our Thursday evening Introduction to Buddhism courses which follow on from these Saturday sessions, but these courses give the opportunity to take more time and go deeper.
The next course is:
10:00 – 13:00 Saturday 16 May
Quaker Meeting House, 98-100 Crown Street
Cost – donation
There is no need to book formally for the courses, but if you are thinking of coming do drop us an email as it is nice to know who to expect.
Introduction to Buddhism courses 2015
We run three-week Introduction to Buddhism courses periodically through the year. They cover basic Buddhist concepts and practice (including meditation) and an overview of the different sources used in Buddhism. They are strongly recommended for anyone who would like to start attending our Wednesday evening Regulars group as this will no longer include any introductory evenings. The courses are on Thursday evenings from 7:30 to 9:30 and the dates for the next one are:
21st and 28th May, 4th June.
Each course is preceded by a three-hour Introduction to Meditation class. It isn’t essential to come on this as well since we do cover meditation on the Thursday evenings, but you might find that you get more out of it if you do since the morning class allows us more time to go over meditation in more detail.
Further details can be found in Meeting times.
Week 1: A Very Short Introduction to Buddhism
Seven key Buddhist concepts.
Week 2: Schools and Sources
Buddhism was passed down as an oral tradition for several hundred years. How did it come to be written down? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the different texts and traditions that we know Buddhism through?
Week 3: Culture and Practice
Buddhism comes with various bits of Eastern cultural baggage. What are these? Where did they come from? Are any of them useful today or can we practice Buddhism without any of them?
Programme Sept – Dec 2014
REGULARS’ GROUP (Wednesdays 19:30 to 21:30)
The regulars group is open to anyone who has been on an introductory course or who is already familiar with Buddhism and meditation.
3rd Sep Nigel – The fourth precept
10th Sep Shona – The worldly winds
17th Sep Alan – Freud and the Buddha: ego, id and superego
24th Sep Autumn puja
1st Oct Talk by Joe – subject to be confirmed
8th Oct Nigel – The fifth precept
15th Oct Alan – ‘The Better Angels of Our Nature’
22nd Oct Double meditation
29th Oct Phil – The practice of the precepts
5th Nov Nigel – Working in meditation
12th Nov Nigel – Metta practice
19th Nov Fiona – Mindfulness and medical undergraduates
26th Nov Shona – subject tbc
3rd Dec Alan – subject tbc
10th Dec Nava – subject tbc
17th Dec Winter puja
24th Dec No meeting
31st Dec No meeting
Aberdeen Buddhist Group 