Thursday DAYTIME Group

Every Thursday - Meditation and Introduction to Buddhism
Each week we will start with a guided meditation and, after a tea break, we'll explore some aspect of the Buddha's teaching. 
This regular group is a perfect introduction to Buddhism and meditation practice and is run on a drop-in basis - come as often as you can but it doesn't matter if you miss weeks as each session will be complete in itself. Join us just for the meditation or for the whole class.

This is a drop-in class so come when you can - no need to book

From Thursday 20th June: Introducing the Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path 

Finding a sense of peace in this turbulent world is not easy. The Eightfold Path is a classic and practical introduction to Buddhist thought and practice and a very comprehensive overview of the Buddhist life. If we commit ourselves to it fully, it can transform our lives and eventually take us all the way to Enlightenment!

Week by week we will be exploring each of the Buddha's branches of the Path and relating his guidance to our own lives through talks, discussion and reflection. Complete newcomers are very welcome as this is an excellent introduction to Buddhism, but this course will also help those who already have some experience to go deeper in their practice.

There will also be a guided meditation each week - one which follows the breath and helps calm the mind and one which cultivates loving-kindness to ourselves and others.

Come whenever you can, each week is complete in its own right. 

Week One: 20th June - The Path of Vision - Seeing the potential in our life
Week Two: 27th June - Perfect Emotion - Cultivating a positive direction in our lives
Week Three: 11th July - Perfect Speech - Creating Harmony through the way we speak
Week Four: 25th July- Perfect Action - Being more ethical in our interaction with the world. 
Week Five: 1st August - Perfect Livelihood - Bringing our spiritual practice to our work

Week Six: 8th August - Perfect Effort - Guarding the gates of our minds
Week Seven: 15th August - Perfect Awareness - Being fully present in the world and in our lives
Week Eight: 22nd August - Perfect Meditation - Equanimity and contentment in our life

All over 18 Welcome. Suitable for all levels of experience - or none

There is no need to book, just turn up

DONATIONS: If you can, we ask you to make a donation each week when you attend. We suggest £8 to £12 each week but please give what you can. York Buddhist Centre has no outside income or support and no one is paid. So these classes are given freely in a spirit of friendship. However it costs over £3500 per month to keep York Buddhist Centre open so we depend on the generous support of those who use our centre. 

From Thursday 29th August we will be learning How to Sail the Worldly Winds

How to deal with the ups and downs of life and find true contentment
We all get blown around in our lives. Things go wrong, people let us down and our plans fall apart. We get angry, disappointed and upset. And life can seem so hard. If only things would go my way…

The Buddha called these ups and downs The Worldly Winds and he said that

• we go from gaining things to losing them; 
• from being admired to being criticised, 
• from experiencing pleasure to feeling pain 
• and from feeling worthwhile to feeling that we are hopeless. 

And, whilst we can influence our lives to a certain extent, the Buddha said that these Worldly Winds would always blow no matter how much we wanted them to stop. We will not always get what we want and often we will get what we don't want. He called this samsara - our uncomfortable existence in a world that refuses to be how we want it to be.

But what if we could rest easy, no matter what the world and other people throw at us? What if we could just be happy and content whatever happened in our lives? This was how the Buddha experienced life and he said that we too could live out our lives in peace and contentment if only we could see how.

During these six weeks we will be looking at the Buddha's teaching on how to overcome the worldly winds and to find contentment no matter what happens in the world and in our lives. Each week we will explore how we get into conflict with the world and other people and why we are the cause of much of our suffering. We'll be looking at practical ways of changing our approach to life and seeing how this can lead us to a state of greater happiness and tranquillity.

These six weeks are open to all over 18. Those who are completely new to Buddhism, those who are experienced practitioners and everyone in between.

This is a Drop-In so just come when you can (no need to book). There is no charge but, as we have no other income we would appreciate a donation each week (we suggest £10 but please donate whatever feels okay)

Programme

29th August: Blown by the Wind - What are the Worldly Winds

5th September: Learning to Sail the Worldly Winds - Seeing the Worldly Winds as an opportunity to change our lives for the better

12th October:  Shelter from the Storm - The inner work of meditation and Mindfulness

19th October: Winds of Change -  Deepening our perspective around change and seeing our potential

26th October: Winds from the West - The Worldy Winds in the modern world

3rd October: If… - Standing in the midst of the Worldly Winds, yet feeling fine