Thursdays 7.00 for 7.30pm
Hosted by Singhamati and Team
At the heart of the Birmingham Buddhist Centre is a community of people that are exploring and practising Buddhism – this is the sangha. Every Thursday night is Sangha Night, where we come together each week to create a nourishing place of friendship, connection and depth, whilst enjoying collective meditation, Dharma and devotional practice. Like most of our events, it is run on a donation basis.
The programme is usually:
7.30pm Meditation, 8.20pm Tea, 8.45pm Talks and Discussion, 9.45pm Tidy up and finish.
You can find talks from previous seasons on our Talks Page.
2019 Theme: Skillful Action “Cease to do Evil, Learn to do Good, Purify the Heart.”
July series: Dharma Inspiration for Living Our Lives
A new series co-designed by Merry, Veronica, Nick, Xen, Roz and Maitrisara. Each evening is based on an inspiring text – together we can reflect on its message for the way we lead our lives.
4 July. Veganism – Communication with Love. With Merry and Maitrisara
Based on a reading from the Dhammapada, an evening of talks, discussion and some healthy vegan snacks to try.
11 July. What is Forgiveness? With Xen, Roz and Maitrisara
This evening, based on the Bodhicaryavatara, includes a choice of creative reflection exercises and a ritual to end the evening.
18 July. Meditation and Full Moon Puja – Practice Evening led by Balajit
25 July. Discipline – How much do we need it? With Veronica, Nick and Maitrisara
With a talk and small group discussions, the selected text from the Dhammapada will help us look at the theme of discipline in our own lives.
August/September Series: Entering the world of Milarepa
August and September Sangha Nights will be hosted Dharmashalin. We’ll be plunging into the world of Milarepa, the 11th century Tibetan saint who started as a murderer and ended up renewing Tibetan Buddhism. So he’ll have plenty to tell us about ‘ceasing to do evil, learning to do good and purifying the heart.’
1 August: Overview of Milarepa
8 August: Full-Moon Milarepa puja led by Sthanasraddha
15 August: Letting go of past regrets and atonement – Marpa and the towers
22 August: Facing Demons, led by Balajit
29 August: Remembering Sangharakshita on the anniversary of his birthday
5 September: Renunciation: It’s not the end of pleasure, but finding something better
12 September: Joy: the lessons we can learn from Milarepa’s songs of joy
19 September: The power of sangha: Milarepa as teacher