AUGUST
7th – Nigel – Questions are the Answer
14th – Nigel – The Precepts
21st – Alan – The Art of Listening
28th – Erin – title to be confirmed
SEPTEMBER
4th – Alison – The Presence of the Buddha
11th – Julian – The Maha-Rahulovada Sutta
18th – Nava – Inclusive Buddhism
25th – Thilini – reading
OCTOBER
2nd – Nigel – Strength Training
9th – Alison – Mantras
16th – Double meditation
23rd – Alan – Ritual in Buddhism
30th – Autumn puja
We’ll be taking a break from Wednesday evening meetings over the month of July. We’ll be back in August with a new programme. An Introduction to Meditation day is planned for the 31st of August – subject to confirming that the room is free. Have a good summer 🙂
For the next 8 weeks or so, the group will be working with the new meditation guide by Thanissaro Bhikkhu, ‘With Each and Every Breath’. We have a pile of free copies for people to use and it can also be downloaded as an e-book at dhammatalks.org. It isn’t essential to have read the book as the evenings will be led, but it’s the best way to get the most out of it.
The next study group book will be ‘The Jewel in the Lotus’ by Stephen Batchelor. It’s a bit different from our usual study group books in that it’s more about the history of Buddhism than the practice. It is out of print but there are plenty of copies available second hand.
The study group is held once a fortnight in members’ houses and is open to anyone who has read the week’s text. There is a separate mailing list for the study group wo if you would like to join it please email us.
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.
JANUARY
Wed 9th How To Approach Buddhism
Meditation: body awareness
Wed 16th The Noble Quest
Meditation: body awareness
Wed 23rd The Buddha’s Enlightenment
Meditation: body awareness
Wed 30th The Four Noble Truths
Meditation: mindfulness of breathing
FEBRUARY
Wed 6th View and Intention
Meditation: mindfulness of breathing
Wed 13th Speech
Meditation: mindfulness of breathing
Wed 20th Action
Meditation: metta bhavana
Wed 27th Livelihood and Effort
Meditation: metta bhavana
MARCH
Wed 6th Mindfulness and Concentration
Meditation: metta bhavana
Wed 13th The Historical Development of Buddhism
Meditation: karuna bhavana
Wed 20th Buddhism and Society
Meditation: just sitting
Wed 27th The Five Hindrances
APRIL
Wed 3RD The ‘Meditation Roadmap’
Wed 10th Discussion
Meditation posture, mindfulness of breathing and ‘metta bhavana’ meditations
Venue: Quaker Meeting House, 98-100 Crown Street
Date: 17th of November, 10:00 to 13:00
Cost: by donation
05 Sep Khemaka – Feelings
12 Ian – How I Came To Buddhism
19 Meditation and reading by Thilini
26 Julian – Death of a Cat
03 Oct Alan – Self and Non Self
10 Nigel – Metta Bhavana
17 Khemaka – Elements
24 Double meditation
31 Mhairi – subject to be confirmed
07 Nov Nigel – The Breath
14 James – Practicing the Four Contemplations
21 Dan – Buddhist Global Relief
28 Sangha Day Festival
05 Dec Julian – Being Peaceful, Peacefully
12 Alan – Deceit and Self Deception
19 Double meditation
26 Closed
The Thai Buddhist community in Aberdeen is working towards building a temple and have started a programme of events. You can read their new website here.
The Wednesday evening meeting is back from its summer break, starting again on the 22nd of August. The first two meetings will be:
22/8/12 – Introduction to meditation – Alan
29/8/12 – Working in meditation – Nigel
The September-December programme isn’t quite ready yet, but will be kicking off with a talk by Khemaka on the 5th.
The study group’s new text is ‘Tales of Freedom’ by Vessantara, which discusses the teachings through stories from the Buddhist tradition. It seems to be out of print at present but there are lots of second hand copies available online.
The first meeting to discuss the first chapter will be on Sunday the 29th of July. Anyone can come, so long as they have read the text.
Aberdeen Buddhist Group 