We welcome everyone to our classes! We are continually reviewing the way we run our events and classes to make them as inclusive as possible. If there’s something that would make you feel more welcome, or would help you access our classes then please do let us know. Honest feedback is welcome. Email info@bristol-buddhist-centre.org to start a conversation, or speak directly to a member of the team.

Gender Inclusivity

The Bristol Buddhist Centre welcomes every person and aims to support them to participate fully in the events and the life of the Centre. This includes people whose sense of gender exists outside of the binary notions of ‘man’ or ‘woman’.

If you identify as gender diverse and need/would like a discussion, then you are very welcome to speak to our Mitra Convenors.

Read more about the history and current day situation around gender at the Bristol Buddhist Centre here.

Race & Ethnicity Inclusivity

Some people of African, Asian, mixed heritage and other racial and ethnic identifications and backgrounds may prefer to have some spaces that are for practising together.

Here in Bristol we are starting to introduce some People of Colour events – check the Whats On page to see if any are coming up. Adhisthana Retreat Centre also holds People of Colour retreats. Online sessions with the London Buddhist Centre are also available – take a look here for more info. The Buddhist Centre Online sometimes has online retreat and events too.

Advayamati was an Order Member in Bristol. Watch/listen to Advayamati’s reflections on the Black Lives Matter movement:

‘I’m Black, I’m White, I’m Jewish, I’m Buddhist”

We have held a People of Colour Meditation Retreat Day and hope to hold more of these in future. Keep your eye out. Here is what people said about the day:

“I want to continue with a daily mediation practice….and appreciate the power of being in a POC space…”

“I’ll be coming back to the Centre and doing other things in person!”

Disability Inclusivity

We are looking into ways of making our Centre easier to access for those with additional accessibility and mobility needs.

Currently, have a microphone for our speaker, and an amplifier to wear for the individual who uses hearing aids. Let us know if this is something you’re interested in and we can set it up for the class you want to attend. We have a hearing loop system, if you’d like this to be used in sessions you attend then email us beforehand / leave a note for the team in the mailbox outside the centre. There is also wheelchair access into the Centre (we are currently looking into installing new doors to improve access). Previously we offered online access to certain classes, however due to limited capacity and low attendance we have retracted this.

If you’d like to listen to texts or the Mitra course you can find links here. There’s also lots of other information and resources beyond the Bristol Centre, such as FreeBuddhistAudio, for talks, as well as Facebook groups for those who identify as Gender Diverse or Neuro Diverse. The Buddhist Centre Online holds frequent meditations and regular online retreats. Take a look!