Author: Alan Carter

December 2024 meetings

~ Alan Carter ~ Leave a comment

Over the rest of December we’ll be finishing the Introduction to Buddhism after the weather got in the way of some sessions. If you miss any parts of it the whole thing will be up on the Study materials page. After that we’ll be off on the 27th and 1st for the holidays, returning on the 8th of January. Merry Midwinter to you all!

Introduction to Buddhist meditation

~ Alan Carter ~ Leave a comment

‘I teach only two things: suffering and the ending of suffering’ – the Buddha

Wednesday evenings in November at Love Yoga

While meditation apps and five-minute mindfulness are now familiar to lots of people, the Buddha’s full meditation path offers something much deeper. Starting with meditations for relaxation and focus, it builds to awareness and then transformation of the way our mind works. It is a way to become happier, kinder and saner.

This course begins with an overview of the path as a whole, then introduces simple meditation techniques and covers how to meditate comfortably and set up a regular practice. You will also meet other members of the course and the group. We aim to be an open, mutually supportive group where questioning and discussion are encouraged and people share both difficulties and experience to help one another on the path. This is followed by an introduction to the Buddha’s teachings.

The group operates on the basis of dana or generosity. We ask that attendees give a donation to help cover the costs of the venue but, in order to keep the practice available to all, the size of the donation is entirely up to you.

The course is held in the Love Yoga studio at 42 Union Terrace, Aberdeen. Sessions are from 7:30 to 9:00 pm.

To book a place, please call Alan on 01224 276810 or email aberdeenbuddhistgroup@yahoo.co.uk.

06 November – Introduction to the Aberdeen Buddhist Group
13 November – The Buddha’s meditation path
20 November – Meditation practice
27 November – Introduction to Buddhism part 1
04 December – Introduction to Buddhism part 2

We are moving!

~ Alan Carter ~ Leave a comment

For the past quarter of a century, the Friends Meeting House on Crown Street has hosted the Aberdeen Buddhist Group on Wednesday evenings. With its simple decor and atmosphere of calm it has been a very appropriate space for us. We are very grateful to the Aberdeen Quakers for making it available for all these years.

But all things are impermanent, and we have been offered a slot at the Love Yoga studio. This is a bright, warm space at the northern end of Union Terrace, overlooking the gardens and Rosemount Viaduct. It is beautifully set up for meditation practice and (we checked first) also has a kettle! We hope that taking a place in the studio’s programme of events will give the group a new lease on life.

We’ll miss the Meeting House and would like to invite everyone who has ever joined us there to do so for one last time at our last meeting on the 23rd of October to share memories and take our leave. On the 30th we will have our first meeting at Love Yoga with a dedication ceremony and settling in. Once we have found our feet we will have a series of introductory classes over the course of November.