The experience developed within the Buddhist tradition over thousands of years has created an incomparable resource for all those who wish to improve the quality of their lives and follow a path towards fulfilment. This course will teach you two Buddhist meditation practices - The Mindfulness of Breathing and the Metta Bhavana (the cultivation of loving-kindness) and the fundamental tenets of Buddhist teaching: nothing is fixed or permanent; actions have consequences; change is possible: as well as exploring how the teachings can help you uncover more value and meaning in your life today.

To get the best from this course we will be asking you to carry on practicing meditation between meetings and keep a meditation diary.

This 6-week course will focus on learning and practicing meditation as well as an introduction to the Buddha’s teachings; The Four Noble Truths: the truth of suffering or unsatisfactoriness; the truth of the causes of suffering; the cessation of suffering; and the way leading to the cessation of suffering, which is the Noble Eightfold Path.
Our courses are run on a donation basis so we can offer to you the opportunity to practice heartfelt generosity. We do have costs so we suggest a donation to cover expenses, we will not exclude those who may be short of money. The suggested donation is £8.50 per week or pay £40 up front. If this is too much then simply give what you can afford.

Please only book if you intend to attend all 6 evenings as this is a progressive course building upon the work of previous weeks.

Running from Monday 15th January 2018 for 6 weeks please book using the link below.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/an-introduction-to-meditation-and-buddhist-practice-tickets-40073492896

To reprise our very successful Chai and Chanting from earlier in the year we will be having our second such event.

We will be following the theme of beauty and change as we enter the autumn months. Participants will be asked to create a room of beauty using natural objects as well as decorating the shrine using such objects.

We will meditate upon change and we will learn and practice a number of Buddhist mantras in an atmosphere of joy.

Starting at 14.00 and going on until 17.00 when we will share in Massala Chai tea and vegan cake.

At my home;

14 Carlton Close, Woodley, Berkshire, RG5 4JS.

Attendance by donation giving you the opportunity to exercise the practice of Dana.

Please let me know if you will be attending by test to 07771171466.

Following on from our highly successful Soup and Sangha we introduce Chai and Chanting.

On Saturday the 4th March from 14.00 to 17.00 we shall engage in meditation and devotional practice with a special focus on reciting Buddhist mantras.

There will be Chai (Indian spiced tea) and there will be cake.

This will be a joyful occasion of joined voices in harmony (we hope!) so please come and join us. 

From Tuesday 13th September we will start a new series of sessions to introduce newcomers to what Buddhism is all about.

Week 1 – What is Buddhism? A discussion of what makes Buddhism unique, introducing the Buddha. We will begin the meditation practice of Mindfulness of breathing.

Week 2 – Why meditate? Some key features of the practice of meditation and benefits of a regular practice. We will continue the Mindfulness of breathing.

Week 3 – Living as a Buddhist – an investigation of the ways in which we can put Buddhism in to effect in our daily lives. We will also practice a Puja or ceremony  and we will introduce the meditation practice of Loving Kindness.

Week 4. – Numbers – an introduction to some of the key teachings of the Buddha. as well as continuing the Loving Kindness meditation.

In our program to deliver practical actions in line with the Buddhist precepts and as part of Buddhist Action month we;

Have donated the Dana bowl each week to a charity chosen by the Sangha. So far we have donated

£40 to the Green Tara Trust operating in Nepal

£50 to WaterAid providing access to clean water in deprived parts of the world

£50 to Addington School for special children to help to give two boys a day out to remember as they leave the school. Cathy works at this school with children with autism and other special needs and she will be organizing the day out.

£50 to the Samaritans for the amazing work they do for people in distress.

We held a 'Soup & Sangha' event on Sunday the 26th with a teaching from Ratnaprabha from the West London Buddhist centre and from which we raised £40 for the Karuna appeal.

Mick went litter picking in his street, Stuart donated food to the local food bank. Mick George and Eduardo have been cycling more.

Cathy went vegan.

Stuart distributed materials for Amnesty International and has engaged with a number of local charities and the local organic food Co-op.

Loose change was given to the Dana bowl by everyone.

Our meditation each week was around some aspect of the metta bhavana choosing groups near and far for our focus.

And a lot, lot more!

Throughout June we shall be participating in Buddhist Action Month. Each week we shall focus on one particular way in which we can make a difference in the world using the broad themes of:

Sustainability - the effects of our way of life upon the world.

Compassion for others - how we can offer loving kindness and compassion to those people near and far.

Giving - what we can do to offer money, time, skills or effort to bring about positive change in the world.

We shall make undertakings each week to make a change and each week we shall disucss our successes. We will also identify barriers or difficulties we each may face and how we can help each other overcome these.

Each week the Dana bowl will be offered to an appropriate cause.

Please come and join me in my home in Woodley for what is becoming a regular event

We will get together to enjoy Soup and, nourished in our body, we will seek spiritual noyurishment through meditation practice in the company of friends - and then we eat cake!

I will provide delicious homecooked vegetarian soup and rolls and we will have an afternoon of meditation practice in the peaceful garden room in my home.
I will need to know numbers in advance so please get in touch with me as soon as possible.

If you want to bring a friend then that is fine. I will have to limit numbers so please get your booking in early.

The date is Sunday 26th Juneso put it in your diary now!
We will meet at 12.00 for lunch, please be on time so the soup doesn't get cold, and we will meditate and talk about meditation and Buddhist practice until 15.30 when we will have tea and cake and then finish at 16.00.


There will be a suggested donation of £5 for unwaged or students and £15 for waged. This is a suggested donation and you can offer more or less if you wish.

If you are interested and want to know more please call me on 07771171466 or 01189693084, or you can email me on readingtriratna@gmail.com

From Tuesday 5th April for eight weeks we will be looking at the Noble Eightfold Path, the path from suffering to happiness.

Each of the eight begins with the word 'Samma' most usually translated as 'Right-'. The Pali word also denotes wholesome, wise, skillful or ideal.

Right view or vision

Right intention

Right speech

Right action

Right livliehood

Right effort

Right mindfulness

Right concentration or focus

The eight are not sequential but to be practiced as the capacity and circumstances of the individual allows.

These eight can be seen as a way to challenge and change established behaviours leading to a more positive attitude and way of life.

Please come and join me in my home in Woodley for what I hope will become a regular event - Soup and Sangha.

Soup you know about, Sangha means those who get together to support each other in their meditation practice. An act of friendship and loving kindness.

I will provide delicious homecooked vegetarian soup and rolls and we will have an afternoon of meditation practice in the peaceful garden room in my home.
I will need to know numbers in advance so please use the Eventbrite booking link.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/soup-and-sangha-sunday-3rd-april-tickets-22629379082

If you want to bring a friend then that is fine. I will have to limit numbers so please get your booking in early.

The date is Sunday 3rd April so put it in your diary now!
We will meet at 12.00 for lunch, please be on time so the soup doesn't get cold, and we will meditate and talk about meditation and Buddhist practice until 15.30 when we will have tea and cake and then finish at 16.00.


There will be a suggested donation of £5 for unwaged or students and £15 for waged. This is a suggested donation and you can offer more or less if you wish.

If you are interested and want to know more please call me on 07771171466 or 01189693084, or you can email me on readingtriratna@gmail.com

Please note that there will not be a meeting in Reading on the 29th March due to Easter.

We hope to see you on the 5th of April when we will be starting a new study course

From the 1st of March for 4 weeks we shall be focusing on the Brahma Viharas which translates as the 'abodes of wisdom' or 'houses of understanding'.

Pictured as a vast tree, the canopy, leaves and trunk are made up of Metta - being the practice of loving kindness to all beings. Not informed by how we think about them or our attitude towards them but rather by a desire to actively bring happiness, good health, freedom from suffering and contentment to all beings, including ourselves.

Within the tree we identify two particular branches:

Karuna or the practice of compassion. Coming in to an emotional understanding and empathy with the suffering that all beings have or will experience. This is not just passive sympathy but is an active intent to help to alleviate suffering in any way that we can.  

Mudita or empathic joy. Seeing happiness in others, most especially that happiness that arises from their own efforts and actions, and then engaging with that joy, celebrating it without any element of jealousy or craving.

The roots of the tree are Upekka or equinimity. This is not neutral but passionately engages with the other three and provides a place of balance and harmony, a deeply felt inner peace.

Exciting news!

On Tuesday 23rd February, Nandavajra, an ordained member of the Triratna Buddhist order, is visiting Reading. He has kindly offered to join our regular Tuesday night meeting to give us his views on Mindfulness meditation practice.

It would be wonderful if you could join us to meet Nandavajra. Cake will be available!

We meet at the usual time of 7.30pm at the Quakers' Friends Meeting House, 2 Church Street, Reading, RG1 2SB.

Please come and make this a great meeting.

Please let your friends know and bring them along.
 

From 2nd February we shall be investigating practices of mindfulness and how they relate to our everyday experience.

If we practice mindfulness how will it affect our lives and our relationships with other people?

Mindfulness and an appreciation of the present moment and the distractions of the future, the past and the world of dreams and fantasy.

In 2016 we shall be running a series of Dharma study courses.

January 5th - January 26th - The Bhavacakra, the Buddhist Wheel of Life. Rich in symbols this representation of Samsara has been used as a teaching aid to explain the ways in which beings are bound to the realms of existence. Legend has it that the original was created by the historical Buddha and given to King Rudrayana.

The centre of the image image includes the three poisons of igorance, attachment and greed. Other levels show the realms of Samsara and the links of dependent origination.

The figure of Buddha pointing at the moon indicates that liberation is possible.

Living in the Greater Mandala

As a Sangha we shall be participating in the International Urban Retreat. This event is aimed at brining us all together to support the conditions for a deeper investigation of what the Dharma means in our daily lives.

We will be taking part in something that will be shared across many groups and centres of Triratna around the world and so this will give us a greater sense of involvement.

The theme is Living in the Greater Mandala which is a teaching from the founder of Triratna around learning to live in an expansive way with a greater appreciation of beauty.

Over the next few weeks we shall be looking at the following topics;

10/11   Introduction to Buddhist meditation - going deeper with the Metta Bhavana

17/11  Closed

24/11  Urban Retreat - taking part in the worldwide urban retreat

8/12  Who was the Buddha? - an historical perspective

15/12  What is Buddhism? - Religion or philosophy

22/12  Why live a Buddhist Life? - a personal perspective

29/12  Closed

From January we shall be running Dharma study blocks of 4 - 6 weeks focusing on a particular aspect of Buddhist teaching. While it will not be essential to attend the full block it would be helpful if you could give a committmenmt to do so.

If you have a particular topic you would like us to pursue please let us know.

In our next meeting on the 10th of November we shall be going deeper in to the meaning of the Metta Bhavana meditation as a means to generate a positive and loving relationship with ourselves and others.

One of the members of our small but growing Sangha, Michelle, has decided to become a Mitra.

A Mitra, the word means friend, is someone who has chosen to give a public commitment to study Buddhism and to endeavour to live a Buddhist life.

Michelle will have her Mitra ceremony at North London Buddhist Centre this December.

Saddhu Michelle!

Tuesday 3rd November 19.30 - 21.30

At the next meeting we shall be investigating the mindfulness of breathing and how we can use it to calm the mind.

Call 07771171466

Email readingtriratna@gmail.com

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