Meditation and Buddhism | Triratna Buddhist Community
Mindfulness is the ability to give our undivided attention to the present moment and to wholeheartedly engage with and respond to what is happening. It enhances all experience. In this course we will learn how to apply mindfulness to our day-to-day activities and bring greater joy, depth, and spaciousness into our lives. No experience necessary.
Open to complete beginners and anyone wishing to refresh, support and deepen their practice.
Online Course 4 Thursday evenings, Feb 23 to March 16, 7pm to 9pm
Even as a mother at the risk of her life, watches over and protects her only child, so with a boundless heart let one cherish all living beings. (From the Metta Sutta)
Buddhism is a vision of human existence. It is also a practical guide that we can apply to every aspect of our lives. Meditation and buddhist principles, practiced together, bring us closer to our direct experience, dissolving our misperceptions to reveal the boundless potential and precious opportunity of life.
Central to Buddhist practice is a deep desire to understand suffering and the means to end suffering; to discover the "magic of the ordinary"; and to live in harmony with ourselves and those around us.
Even as a mother at the risk of her life, watches over and protects her only child, so with a boundless heart let one cherish all living beings. (From the Metta Sutta)
The metta bhavana, or cultivation of loving kindness, is a powerful meditation practice that teaches us how to bring a friendly, kind, curious attention to ourselves and to other people, and to whatever arises in our experience, softening harsh self-criticism and judgment and bringing a sense of ease and openness to our participation in the world.
Would you like to live more creatively, with more freedom, kindness and wisdom, and less fear, irritation and confusion? The Buddha practiced and then taught meditation for this very purpose, and the practices are readily available to everyone.
Mindfulness of the Breathing Body, (or just Mindfulness of Breathing), is a beautifully simple and deeply transformative practice, where we use the sensations of breathing to ground our awareness in the body, so that we can open to the events of everyday life with more spaciousness, clarity and sensitivity.
Almost every Thursday, skipping holidays (no class July 4)
Each Thursday evening at 6pm we offer a guided meditation - either mindfulness of breathing or loving kindness - along with practical tips on posture and other aspects of meditation. No experience is needed - the class is open to complete beginners and to anyone wanting to refresh their practice or find out what the SFBC has to offer.
Our two main introductory practices:
Every year on a Sangha Night close to Day of the Dead (Dia de los muertos) we take the opportunity to get together and celebrate the lives of those we have lost in the recent past. Please bring photographs or souvenirs to place on the shrine to remember your loved ones.
Many people feel isolated and lonely and long for a sense of belonging. Sharing life stories is a powerful way to step more fully into community. This 4 week gathering is an opportunity to be seen and heard with kindness, and to see and hear others with kindness.
The value of sharing life stories
Are you too restless to meditate? Is your mind moving a mile a minute? Do you feel like meditation would give you clarity, but you just can't find time for it?
In this 4-week workshop we will explore new ways in to meditation, through the body. And we will explore variations on the loving kindness and mindfulness of breathing practices taught at the Center.
