Introduction to Buddhist Meditation Course

A 4-week course. Four Saturday afternoons: 2nd, 9th, 16th and 23rd May.

Suitable for complete beginners, but those who already know the practices and would like more help and input are also very welcome.

Change Your Mind… Learn the two meditation practices we teach here at the Buddhist Centre – the Mindfulness of Breathing and the Metta Bhavana… and since this is a Buddhist meditation course, every week you’ll learn something about Buddhism too.

In Week 1 we’ll spend some time finding you a comfortable posture to sit, before discussing what mindfulness is and then learning the “nuts and bolts” of the stages of the Mindfulness of Breathing. We’ll also discuss setting up a space for meditation at home so that you can practise during the following week.

In Week 2 we’ll review how your home practice went, answer any questions, hear your observations and ideas, sort out any difficulties etc. Then we’ll repeat the process by learning the “nuts and bolts” of the Metta Bhavana practice, including defining what metta and bhavana mean (and what they don’t!)

In Week 3 we’ll discuss how the two practices complement and support each other, so we’ll suggest alternating the practices each day. We’ll also discuss dealing with distractions, aches and sleepiness but also look at broad awareness, kindly awareness, positivity, concentration and enjoyment in your meditations.

In Week 4 we’ll make sure that your practice is rounded and natural. We’ll discuss other ways of developing mindfulness and metta in your daily life.

To finish the course we’ll discuss next steps – setting up a regular home practice, further classes and courses at the Buddhist Centre, retreats and we’ll suggest some follow-up resources.

Although we won’t be following this book, it is a highly recommended complement to this course as it gives you more information, ideas and advice than we can cover in our 4 weeks together: Change Your Mind: A Practical Guide to Buddhist Meditation by Paramananda. We’ll have copies of this book available in our bookshop.

Watch a video of Shuddhadhara introducing the course.

Led by Shuddhadhara