This Being, That Becomes by Dhivan Thomas Jones is said to be a ‘clear, practical and open’ guide to that central but sometimes obscure Buddhist teaching of ‘conditioned co-production’. It will be the next book for the Study Group, which meets every other Sunday morning in members’ homes. The group is open to anyone who has read that week’s chapter, so if you are interested in joining in, please email us.
These two days are each an introduction to basic Buddhist meditation practice, including mindfulness and metta (goodwill) meditations. They are suitable for complete beginners. The mornings both 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.
Details:
10:00 – 13:00 Saturday 20 Sep or 1 Nov 2014
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.
We are running two new Introduction to Buddhism courses for the remainder of 2014. These will run for three weeks each and 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 are:
First course: September 25th; October 2nd and 16th
Second course: November 6th, 20th and 27th.
Please note that there are gaps in both courses due to the availability of the venue. The dates are still to be confirmed so please check again closer to the time. 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?
The Sunday morning study group has started on a new book – ‘The Art of Communicating’ by Vietnamese Zen teacher and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh. The study group meets every other week in members’ homes and is open to anyone who has read that week’s chapter.
May
Wed 14th Wesak / Buddha Day festival
Wed 21st The First Precept
Wed 28th A Very Short Introduction to Buddhism
June
Wed 4th The Second Precept
Wed 11th Double meditation
Wed 18th The Third Precept
Wed 25th The Social Teachings of the Buddha
Introduction to Meditation
An introduction to meditation posture and to the mindfulness of breathing and metta bhavana meditations.
10:00 – 13:00 Saturday 25th January
Quaker Meeting House, 98-100 Crown Street
Cost – donation
These talks build on each other, adding up to a rounded introduction to Buddhism, with the emphasis on practical application. However each talk is also meant to stand on its own and to be useful even if you can’t attend all of them.
February
Wed 05th How To Approach Buddhism (Meditation: body awareness)
Wed 12th The Noble Quest (Meditation: body awareness)
Wed 19th The Buddha’s Enlightenment (Meditation: body awareness)
Wed 26th The Four Noble Truths (Meditation: mindfulness of breathing)
March
Wed 05th Right View, Right Intention (Meditation: mindfulness of breathing)
Wed 12th Right Speech (Meditation: mindfulness of breathing)
Wed 19th Right Action (Meditation: metta bhavana)
*Wed 26th Right Livelihood, Right Effort (Meditation: metta bhavana)
April
Wed 02nd Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration (Meditation: metta bhavana)
*Wed 09th The Historical Development of Buddhism (Meditation: karuna bhavana)
Wed 16th Buddhism and Society (Meditation: just sitting)
*Wed 23rd The Five Hindrances
*Wed 30th The ‘Meditation Roadmap’
May
Wed 07th Discussion
*Wed 14th Wesak / Buddha Day festival
* Not suitable for those with no experience of meditation
Wed 08th New Year’s Resolutions
Wed 15th The science of metta bhavana
Wed 22nd Talk by Nigel
Wed 29th Burns and Buddhism
The study group is going back to basics with a book we have done before: Vision and Transformation by Sangharakshita. It’s an introduction to the Buddha’s Eightfold Path, one limb of the path per chapter and an excellent practical introduction to the teachings. There is a free pdf for those with e-readers at http://www.sangharakshita.org/_books/Noble_Eightfold_Path.pdf Otherwise, we have a number of spare copies in the library.
The study group meets fortnightly(ish) on Sunday mornings in members homes. If you would like to join, please contact us.
Meditation posture, mindfulness of breathing and ‘metta bhavana’ meditations
Venue: Quaker Meeting House, 98-100 Crown Street
Date: Saturday 31st of August, 10:00 to 13:00
Cost: by donation
Aberdeen Buddhist Group 