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.
Meetings
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 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
Introduction to Meditation – 20th Sep and 1st Nov
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.
Introduction to Buddhism 2014
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?
Summer break 2014
The Wednesday evening group will be taking a break for the summer over July and August. Back on Wednesday the 3rd of September.
Winter/spring 2014 ‘Buddhism from the Beginning’
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
Programme for January 2014
Wed 08th New Year’s Resolutions
Wed 15th The science of metta bhavana
Wed 22nd Talk by Nigel
Wed 29th Burns and Buddhism
Aberdeen Buddhist Group 