After you have completed the two introductory courses or feel able to guide yourself through the mindfulness of breathing and metta bhavana practices, then a lot is available to you at the Birmingham Buddhist Centre. The best place to see what’s coming up soon is on the What’s On page.
Regular Events:
You could join the Going Deeper class on a Tuesday evening, which is a 6 week course exploring a different theme of Buddhism each time for a further exploration of the Buddhist path.
At the heart of the Birmingham Buddhist Centre is a community of people that are exploring and practising Buddhism. Every Thursday night is Dharma Night, where we come together to create a place of friendship, connection and depth, whilst enjoying collective meditation, Dharma and devotional practice. Every 7 weeks there is a new theme alongside guest speaker nights and rituals.
If you wish to practice meditation with others, then we have Saturday morning silent meditation sessions, from 10am – 1pm. These are great for a chance to spend a bit more time in meditation than we might otherwise by ourselves. The morning consists of three sections, and it is possible just to come along for one or two if you’ve not time for three. Arrive on the hour if you’re joining in the middle.
Suitable for those familiar with the mindfulness of breathing and metta bhavana. These meditations are unguided, but someone will ring bells.
“It is the entire spiritual life, that is: good friendship, good companionship, good comradeship.“
– THE BUDDHA
Monthly Events:
There are monthly Men’s and Women’s Mornings on the second saturday/sunday of the month. All women are welcome on Saturday morning, and all men are welcome on Sunday morning. Both sessions are from 10:30am until 1pm.
If you’re under 30, then we have a Sub 30s group which meet regularly on the second Friday of each month,from 7pm until 9pm. No need to book just come along. See what’s happening on the What’s On page, or email alice.evans.bbc@gmail.com if you’d like more info.
There are also monthly People of Colour meditation mornings – see this page.
Study Groups
After coming to the centre for around 6 months to a year, you may wish to join a study group. An Order member will lead a group of 8-10, a situation which fosters the kind of trust and companionship that cultivates progress and depth.
There are groups for all women meeting on Monday evenings and for all men meeting on Wednesday evenings.
If you’d like to know more: all women are invited to speak with Maitrisara (maitrisara1@gmail.com) and all men are invited to speak with Dharmashalin (dharmashalin@gmail.com). You may have to wait a while before a space in a group becomes available. If you’d prefer to speak in a non-binary setting, please contact Dayakarini (dayakarini@gmail.com).
Following the Foundation Study Course is a 3-year course for Mitras. A Mitra (‘friend’) is someone who has made a commitment, at a special ceremony, to practise as a Buddhist in the Triratna Buddhist Community. There is more information about becoming a Mitra here.