Sangha Night – Tuesdays 7:30pm
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.
COMING UP
May 13th: Tyranny – A Buddhist Response
Led by Siṃhanāda
We live in challenging times. Over the centuries, Buddhists often have. How should Buddhists respond to the serious social, cultural and political challenges that we face today?
Simhanāda shows how a Dharmic analysis offers a clarifying and empowering critical perspective on the swirling murk of secular politics, and a way to carry on going sane as the world carries on going mad. Simhanāda’s talk will be followed by a period of free discussion over tea (of course) and an open Q&A session. Bring big bold difficult questions!
Simhanāda is a specialist in the application of Madhyamaka philosophy to contemporary issues. His approach to applying Madhyamaka to the enforcement of International Humanitarian Law against military atrocity has been supported by the International Committee of The Red Cross and published in The Journal of Contemporary Buddhism.
Current Course. 5 week Course: Transforming Poison into Wisdom with Bhadra
Exploring the significance and relation between the amazing symbolism of the Wheel of Life and the Five Buddha Mandala
April 8th. Week One. The Nature of poison
Exploring the nature of poison manifesting as compulsion and fixed views arising in our bubbling cauldron of awareness.
April 15th. Week Two. Manifestation of the Poisons
Investigating the haunting imagery of the Wheel of life illustrating how the poisons condense into the variety of lived experience.
April 22nd. Week Three. Imagination and Emptiness
Transformation of perception using reflections on emptiness and the tantric symbol of the Vajra.
April 29th. Week Four. Mandala of Wisdom
The beautiful vision of Liberation encapsulated in the rainbow light of the Buddha Mandala
May 6th. Week Five. The Transformation of Vision
Seeing through the poisons into their inherent wisdom nature using imaginative investigation into our lived experience
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Listen to Talk: Tuesday April 1st: The Dharma is Like an Avocado! – The Buddhist Poetry of Gary Snyder
https://www.freebuddhistaudio.com/audio/details.php?num=LOC6460
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Material from the meditation course with Prajnamati
Handouts on the approaches covered can be downloaded below:
Listen to an introductory exercise on balanced effort:
Listen to a talk and exercise on balanced effort:
Listen to a talk and exercise on the polarity map of Concentration and Relaxation:
Previous Talks:
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
Listen to the third talk in the series by Kayamoksini 21st January
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.