Sangha Night is our regular get-together for members of the Bristol sangha. Each evening includes a mixture of meditation, teaching and discussion suitable for anyone who has completed an introductory course.

On Sangha Night, we cover various topics in the form of short courses or series.

Welcome back: NEW SHORT COURSE. January 7th for 4 weeks

‘20 Suggestions for Dealing with Overwhelm‘

Listen to the talk by Taranita given 7th January where he introduces the theme and skillfully offers some helpful suggestions https://www.freebuddhistaudio.com/audio/details.php?num=LOC6367

Listen to talk given by Maitrijyoti 14th January

The Sangha Night team begin 2025 by looking to bring optimism, hope and
even joy to what can be a difficult time of year by drawing on
Vessantara’s ’20 Suggestions for Dealing with Overwhelm’ .

“We are living in what the old Chinese curse would call ‘interesting
times’. Climate change, species extinction, terrorism, the refugee
crisis, drought, flood, famine, populist movements, radical changes to
the established world order – make your own list. For Buddhists, hiding
our heads in the sand and ignoring it all isn’t really an option.” –
Vessantara

1. Be aware of how much you take in of what is disturbing.
2. Do whatever you need to help you stay resourced and balanced.
3. Be mindful on social media.
4. Make sure you stay well grounded.
5. Look out for the near enemies of compassion.
6. Watch out for irrational guilt.
7. Hold in your heart the wish for suffering to come to an end.
8. Let your heart ‘break’.
9. Work in your sphere of influence.
10. Empathise with the perpetrators as well as the victims.
11. Work on the inner as well as the outer level.
12. Entrust the situation to deeper forces.
13. Check your expectations about life, in the light of the Dharma.
14. Do your best to let go of hopes and fears about outcomes.
15. Use the ‘wishing-prayer that dispels hope and fear’.
16. Equanimity comes from reflecting that everyone has their own karma.
17. Think ‘one at a time’.
18. Use short pieces of Dharma to help anchor you.
19. Being part of a community, and having spiritual friends, is crucial.
20. The ultimate solution to overwhelm is awareness of emptiness.

---

The year will also be peppered through with individual evenings on the theme of Living the Dharma Life. In our movement we live our Dharma lives in a wide variety of ways – in families, communities, work, study, the creative arts, activism, in solitude, in our Centres and organisations – to name only some.  Through the year we will be inviting people to come and share with us these rich and varied experiences.

All our classes are run on donations which means everyone, regardless of income, can learn about Buddhism and meditation. To keep this revolutionary approach going, please do give what you can!

If you’d like to catch up with what’s been happening at Sangha Night, subscribe to our YouTube channel for all the latest recordings, or our Listen Again pages for material from 2020 and before.