Regular classes and one-off events exploring Buddhist practice
Thursday DAYTIME Class: The Path to True Contentment
Every Thursday - 11.00am to 1.15pm
This is a wide-ranging, practical and fascinating exploration of the Buddha’s teaching over eight months which you can fit into your normal week. It will give you a solid basis for living your life in a spirit of peace and harmony with others. This is a drop-in course looking at Buddhist Practice mostly in the context of how we approach it in the Triratna Community.
We are a contemporary tradition founded by an Englishman in 1968 so our approach is very accessible for people in the West. You don’t need to become a Buddhist or want to be one. Each week will begin with a guided meditation.
Wed PRACTICE night:
The Three Characteristics of Existence
Three Wednesday Evenings from 17th June to 1st July
During these three weeks we will be taking a good look at the nature of reality as we typically experience it through the Buddha's teaching of the Three Laksanas - or 3 marks of conditioned existence. These are impermanence, insubstantiality and unsatisfactoriness. This might sound a little dry or technical but, actually, these three marks cut to the root of our suffering as human beings.
These three crucial insights point the way to a more meaningful engagement with our lives, and offer material for deep reflection and progress along the spiritual path. All over 18 welcome.
SUMMER EVENT:
Full Moon Woodland Puja
Friday 26 June 7pm – 9pm
The Full Moon each month is the occasion when, in the Buddha's time, his followers would gather together in the forest. We too will be gathering as a sangha in the woods at Rowntree Park to practise in the open air (and in the centre if very wet!). We'll be meeting in the woods with our portable chairs or cushions, refreshments and a small shrine. And together we will be meditating, socialising and performing a special Puja to celebrate the Full Moon of June. The venue is accessible by car and okay for wheelchairs. There is a car park.
All over 18 are very welcome. Details of the venue, and how to find us, will be emailed nearer the time. Booking is essential. Please bring any natural materials (pine cones, a flower etc) with which to make an offering.
Wed PRACTICE night:
Saying Goodbye to Mark Jones
Wednesday 8 July 7pm – 9:15pm
Tonight is a very special evening: we are saying goodbye to our dear friend Mark Jones as he leaves for his Ordination Retreat at Padmaloka. Ordination in Triratna is a very serious step - a lifelong commitment taking many years to become ready to join the Order. Mark has been practising for over 20 years and asked to train for Ordination three years ago. Tonight is his final evening with us.
So please come along this Wednesday and give Mark a really good send off as he leaves his old life behind and takes this important step in his spiritual life.
Wed PRACTICE night:
My Favourite Sutta
Every Wednesday Evening from 15th July to 19th August (with a break on 5th August)
The Pali Canon is a huge collection of suttas - discourses or teachings - given by the Buddha or sometimes by one of his close disciples. These suttas were passed down orally by generations of monks and nuns and only written down around 500 years after the Buddha's Parinirvana.
During these Wednesday evenings Jo, Susan, Shakyapada and Tasha will be choosing their own favourite suttas, telling the story, exploring the teaching in each and saying why it resonates so much with them. The Pali Canon is our direct connection with the Buddha and with his often magical and inspiring teaching 2,500 years ago.
Come and join us and hear the words of the Awakened One! All over 18 welcome. Newcomers are also very welcome too. No need to book, just turn up.
SUMMER EVENT:
Full Moon Woodland Puja
Friday 31 July 7pm – 9pm
The Full Moon each month is the occasion when, in the Buddha's time, his followers would gather together in the forest. We too will be gathering as a sangha in the woods at Rowntree Park to practise in the open air (and in the centre if very wet!). We'll be meeting in the woods with our portable chairs or cushions, refreshments and a small shrine. And together we will be meditating, socialising and performing a special Puja to celebrate the Full Moon of July. The venue is accessible by car and okay for wheelchairs. There is a car park.
All over 18 are very welcome. Details of the venue, and how to find us, will be emailed nearer the time. Booking is essential. Please bring any natural materials (pine cones, a flower etc) with which to make an offering.
Wed PRACTICE night:
The Return of He-who-was-Mark
Wednesday 5 August 7pm – 9pm
In the Triratna Buddhist Community, Ordination is a deeply significant step in a person’s spiritual journey. It is not just a formal ceremony but a transformative process that symbolizes a kind of spiritual death and rebirth—entering into the “family of the Buddha” and dedicating one’s life to the ideals of wisdom and compassion for the benefit of all beings. Tonight we welcome back the being who was Mark Jones. He will have a different name - given to him by his Private Preceptor Mahasraddha - and he will not be the same person as the one who left.
Please join us to welcome our new Order member - something which is very significant for Mark, but also for York Buddhist Centre and our community as well.
SUMMER EVENT:
Full Moon Woodland Puja
Friday 28 August 7pm – 9pm
The Full Moon each month is the occasion when, in the Buddha's time, his followers would gather together in the forest. We too will be gathering as a sangha in the woods at Rowntree Park, for the final time this year, to practise in the open air (and in the centre if very wet!). We'll be meeting in the woods with our portable chairs or cushions, refreshments and a small shrine. And together we will be meditating, socialising and performing a special Puja to celebrate the Full Moon of August. The venue is accessible by car and okay for wheelchairs. There is a car park.
All over 18 are very welcome. Details of the venue, and how to find us, will be emailed nearer the time. Booking is essential. Please bring any natural materials (pine cones, a flower etc) with which to make an offering.
Buddhist Teachings to help with Anxiety, Low Mood and/ or Chronic Health Problems.
Have you been struggling recently with anxiety, low mood or do you have chronic health problems that challenge you and cause you to suffer psychologically? This introductory course is designed to help people who have been struggling with their psychological and/ or physical well-being and are ready to consider a new approach. This course will help you to identify what creates unhappiness in your life and will give you the practical tools to change the way that you respond to the difficult and uncomfortable situations and thoughts that you meet during every day.
You don't have to be a Buddhist or wish to become a Buddhist to join this course. Our aim as a Buddhist Centre is to offer these practical down-to-earth teachings as a way for you to find greater contentment in your life.
Finding Peace in a Turbulent World: An Introduction to Buddhism (EVENING COURSE)
True happiness can be elusive. Good times so easily give way to anxiety, anger, disappointment and other painful states. Yet much of the suffering we experience can be avoided. Buddhism is a radically different vision of religion. Without belief in a creator god, it envisions an life of connection - with others, with the natural world and with our own precious lives.
This course will help you to identify what creates unhappiness in your life and will give you the practical tools to change the way that you respond to the difficult and uncomfortable situations and thoughts that you meet during every day.