Meetings

Introductory talk: Skillful speech

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An evening of Buddhist practice suitable for complete beginners.

The first part of the evening introduces mindfulness meditation.

In Buddhism, mindfulness is always applied. One important area of practice is our speech, which both affects and reflects our state of mind. The second part of the evening looks at the Buddha’s teaching on how to make our speech a daily part of our practice to become more mindful and less self-deluding.

Wednesday 7th June 19:30 – 21:30, Quaker Meeting House, 100 Crown Street

May-June 2023 meetings

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03 May  Sutta study Samyutta Nikaya 53:11 by Julian
10 May  Four Noble Truths by Nigel
17 May  The Gradual Training by Nigel
24 May  The Acrobats by Alan
31 May  The Ten Perfections by Lucy

07 June Right Speech by Alan
14 June Talk by Nigel
21 June Practice discussion
28 June Memorial for Barbara

Spring 2023 meetings

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01 Feb  INTRODUCTION: Buddhism in Eight Words by Alan
08 Feb  INTRODUCTION: The Four Noble Truths by Nigel
15 Feb  Practice discussion
22 Feb  Sutta study by Julian

01 Mar  Dealing with physical pain by Alan
08 Mar  Sutta study by Julian
15 Mar  Practice discussion
22 Mar  Right Speech by Alan
29 Mar  Metta by Nigel

05 Apr  To be arranged
12 Apr  One thing – thought by Nigel
19 Apr  Practice discussion
26 Apr  Sutta study by Julian

Introductions to meditation and Buddhism

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We’ll be starting the year with a comprehensive introduction to both meditation and Buddhist teachings, so if your New Year’s resolution is to start or improve a meditation practice, now is the perfect opportunity. All classes are suitable for beginners and, while we recommend coming to all of them if you can, each one of them stands on its own.

4 Jan – Meditation posture
Sitting comfortably.

11 Jan – How daily life feeds into meditation
Meditation and daily life both affect each other.

18 Jan – What to do immediately before and after meditation
Preparation and post-meditation.

25 Jan – Working during meditation.
Good meditation is not a fixed practice. Learn the skill of adapting your meditation as you go along.

1 Feb – Buddhism in Eight Words
An introduction to basic Buddhist concepts.

8 Feb – The Four Noble Truths
More on this key teaching.

All meetings are Wednesday 19:30 – 21:30 in the Quaker Meeting House, 100 Crown Street. Like all our meeting, payment is by donation.

August 2022 meetings

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All meetings are from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the Quaker Meeting House, 100 Crown Street.

3rd Aug – Beginners: Buddhism in Eight Words
A brief introduction to key Buddhist concepts

10th Aug – The Positive Precepts
The negative precepts (I undertake not to…) all have a positive counterpart in the form of a positive quality to be cultivated.

17th Aug – Practice group: The Five Hindrances
A discussion of the things that stop us getting deeper in our practice and our meditation. See here for the handout on this.

24th Aug – Suggestions for improving meditation
By Nigel.

31st Aug – Subject to be arranged
The end-of-the-month online meetings are over, so all Wednesday night meetings will now be in person in the Quaker Meeting House.

7th Sep – Beginners: 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?

Introductory meetings – summer 2022

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If you are interested in Buddhism or meditation and want a straightforward introduction with no need for any previous experience or beliefs, these courses are for you. Introduction to Meditation covers the basics of Buddhist meditation, including why we meditate, how we meditate and how to sustain a meditation practice. Buddhism in Eight Words is about the basic ideas that underlie all forms of Buddhism.

If you haven’t been to the Aberdeen Buddhist Group before and don’t have an established Buddhist practice, we ask you to come to at least one of these classes before coming to meetings on other evenings. Although the classes are free, we are taking bookings so that we don’t end up with too many people. You can use the links below to book – please remember to cancel if you can’t make it, to give someone else a chance. All meetings are from 7:30 to 9:30 pm on Wednesday evenings in the Quaker Meeting House, 98 Crown Street.

Wed 6th July – Introduction to Meditation

Wed 3rd Aug and 7th Sep – Buddhism in Eight Words

We’re back!

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We’re happy to say that we are now holding in-person meetings on Wednesday evenings (7:30-9:30) in the Quaker Meeting House again. We are trying a new format for the month, with a monthly pattern of different kinds of meeting.

Beginners’ meetings
The first Wednesday of the month will always be a beginner’s-level meeting, needing no previous experience of Buddhism. If you are new to Buddhism, please come to one of these before coming to other meetings.

Practice group
The third Wednesday of the month will be focussed on personal practice. You can find a description of how the meetings will work and advance readings for each month in the study materials section of the website.

Regular meetings
All other Wednesdays will be regular meetings, usually following the format of meditation-tea-talk-discussion.

Online meetings
We also have a group that meets online by Zoom, currently on Monday evenings. Meetings include a meditation (often led) and a discussion on a reading agreed previously. Please contact us if you are interested in taking part.

Buddhism from the Beginning 2020

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Do you want to learn meditation or understand the foundations of Buddhist practice? This short course introduces the essential Buddhist ideas and meditations that you need to begin. Its emphasis is on teachings that you can test and put into practice in your own life, not on untestable beliefs. We ask people to come to at least the Very Short Introduction before joining our regular Wednesday evening meetings

15 Jan 2020 A Very Short Introduction to Buddhism – part 1
22 Jan 2020 A Very Short Introduction to Buddhism – part 2
What do terms like karma, nirvana and enlightenment really mean? This two-part introduction looks at how to understand essential Buddhist ideas in a clear and practical way.
Meditations: mindfulness of body and breath

29 Jan 2020 Culture and Practice
Buddhism comes with various Eastern cultural attachments. What are these? Where did they come from? Are any of them useful today or can we practice Buddhism without any of them?
Meditation: gladdening the mind

05 Feb 2020 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: nurturing goodwill

There is also the option to do a longer introduction to meditation on the morning of Saturday the 11th of January. Click here for details.

Time and place

bodhi leaf 5 150pt

Programme autumn/winter 2019/20

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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. Evenings marked INTRODUCTION are suitable for complete beginners.

04 Sep  The Fire Sermon by Julian
11 Sep  The Acrobats by Alan
18 Sep  Planning meeting – At which those who don’t come get volunteered for tasks 🙂
25 Sep  Resilient by Ruth

9:00 to 13:00 on Saturday 28th September – Introduction to Meditation by Nigel
Suitable for complete beginners as well as those with an established meditation practice.  The morning will include sessions on posture, stress reduction, mindfulness, different approaches to meditation and establishing a regular practice. In the Quaker Meeting House.

The afternoon of Saturday 28th September – Social event by Jacqui
Walk, meditation, food.

02 Oct  A Very Short Introduction to Buddhism, part 1 – INTRODUCTION
09 Oct  A Very Short Introduction to Buddhism, part 2 – INTRODUCTION
16 Oct  A Buddhist reflection on violence and terror by Bright
23 Oct  Comprehend dukkha by Nigel
30 Oct  Double meditation

06 Nov  Talk by Natasha
13 Nov  The Pali Canon by Julian
20 Nov  Buddhist economics by Bright
27 Nov  Double meditation

04 Dec  Right speech by Alan
11 Dec  Talk by Kris
18 Dec  Double meditation
25 Dec   closed

01 Jan  closed
08 Jan  My New Year’s resolutions by Nigel
11 Jan (Saturday) Introduction to Meditation morning
15 Jan – 5 Feb Buddhism from the Beginning (introduction)

All meetings are in the Quaker Meeting House, 98-100 Crown Street – meeting details

Costs: All events in the programme are on a dana basis. This means that the costs are funded by donations but individuals decide for themselves how much they wish to contribute.