BURY ST EDMUNDS BUDDHIST CENTRE

WHAT’S ON

A CORONAVIRUS UPDATE:
In response to government instruction we have decided to suspend the Wednesday night Buddhist classes at the Friends’ Meeting House and any planned events at Vajrasana until further notice. You can find full details here. 

COMMUNITY NIGHT: TALKS NOW ONLINE

For now, we will deliver all our Wednesday nights talks online via our YouTube channel here: youtube.com/channel/UCiF0mr6qbuPJQlu88QJDfZQ

WHY I AM A BUDDHIST?

Becoming a Buddhist for someone living in the UK can seem a strange thing to want to do! Meditation may be interesting, mindfulness may seem helpful but do we need to actually become a fully fledged Buddhist? And what does that journey look like for people who are actually travelling on it? In this series we will be hearing from 3 Ordained Buddhists who have been ordained for 11 years, 5 years and 25 years to see what being a Buddhist means to them and how it might change over the years.

BUDDHIST STORIES AND PARABLES

Tales, parables and symbols speak directly to our emotions, and sparking our imagination can take us beyond the restrictive walls of our everyday perspectives. In our new series of Wednesday night talks, we will be retelling stories and parables from the Buddhist tradition, and exploring what universal truths they are communicating. 

7 WEEK COURSE: HOW TO LIVE YOUR LIFE

In this course we will explore how our actions, words and thoughts effect our lives. How does our behaviour towards others affect our lives? Could our minds be cleaner, more fit to the complexities of modern life? And how do our deep rooted ideas and beliefs affect our happiness?
The Buddha talked about these things in terms of ethics, meditation and wisdom and in this course we’ll be following this 3-fold path. 

18 Mar    Taking Life / Loving Kindness          

25 Mar    Taking the not given / Generosity
How can ethics, and particularly generosity, help us in more turbulent times?

1 Apr       Contentment

This week focuses on the qualities of stillness, simplicity, and contentment. We will explore how these qualities are interrelated, and how they can help us maintain a meaningful response to the challenges of life – particularly in these challenging times.

8 Apr       False speech / Truthful communication

15 Apr     Intoxicants / Mindfulness

22 Apr     Right Vision

29 Apr     Prapanca

PUJA EVENINGS

UPCOMING DATES (ALL ARE MONDAYS):

Unfortunately due to the present Government advice our Puja Evenings are postponed, we will put new dates up here as soon as we can.

What we do

A typical Puja evening starts with time for a cup of tea and a chat, includes a period of meditation (sometimes preceded by a short talk), and ends with a Buddhist ritual (usually the Sevenfold Puja).

Our Puja evenings are open to anyone who is familiar with Triratna meditation practices.

CHANTING EVENINGS

UPCOMING DATES (ALL ARE MONDAYS):

Unfortunately due to the present Government advice our Chanting Evenings are postponed, we will put new dates up here as soon as we can.

What we do

We chant traditional Buddhist devotional mantras with the purpose of calming the mind and opening the heart. Open to all.

GARDENING DAYS

UPCOMING DATES:

TBC

Venue: Vajrasana Retreat Centre, Potash Farm, Walsham-le-Willows, IP31 3AR

What we do

The gardens at Vajrasana help to create its tranquil atmosphere, which benefits everyone who goes on retreat there. Keeping the gardens looking beautiful is a lot of work, and the gardener at Vajrasana, Dridhakarin, really appreciates our help.

A day like this is a great opportunity to spend time with like-minded people, cultivating not only plants, but also friendships! Everyone is welcome, so please feel free to invite your friends.

What to bring

If you’d like to come and join in the fun, please wear comfortable clothing and bring vegetarian food to share for lunch. Please let Dridhakarin know you’re planning on coming by emailing him at dridhakarin@gmail.com.