Brighton Buddhist Centre

What is Dharma Night? By Alanna
Tucked in the early part of my 55 hour work week, wedged immovably into the maelstrom of worldly mundane existence is Dharma Night.
What is Dharma Night? What happens Wednesday evenings on Tichborne Street? Many different things may occur, among them, discovery of surprising gems, cultivation of love, an opening to connect with ourselves as well as the sangha, and an examination of the Dharma.
... Also there’s tea and often cake as well!
Dharma Night guides us on a focused course of reflection, and on occasion alongside the organised topic, other more personal understandings may intimately come to us. Often a few words have leapt out and revealed a perspective of my own practice I had not understood before. Recently on an evening where we were looking at Puja, I had a personal Ah!Ha! moment suddenly becoming aware of the emotional nature of Craving and Suffering!
Turning towards the Dharma, breaking free from a lifetime of conditioned existence in a world that encourages a preoccupation with work, status, and the acquirement of possessions is a huge task, learning how to walk in the footsteps of the Buddha requires a consistency and devotion that is all too often and easily challenged.
After a long day it is so easy to look for respite and reward in a glass of wine, or a silly TV program, and favourite take away. Honest observation in my own life is that while these mild pleasures offer some gratification in the moment, I’m no better rejuvenated or equipped for whatever the next day, or week brings.
When I shrug off the tired habits, and on Wednesday evening make the train journey to Brighton and the Buddhist Centre, I rub the groove of practice into my spiritual life, and actively engage in living this path.
Modern life wages its demands, our phones are constantly pinging away with alerts, daily chores, and obligations, never a shortage of items “To Do” asking to be ticked off the list, and it is just too easy to get on with it without inquiry. Participating with Dharma Night as a project signifies this as something more than another appearance in my mental week at a glance diary. This is an opportunity to keep the fire of inspiration alight in practice especially when the day to day world threatens to come crashing over head. The more my life centres around this Wednesday evening, the more freedom I find inside of myself and reflected around me in the world.
This project called Dharma Night keeps me from becoming complacent, It is a space to ask, what am I cultivating with this practice, what stones are turning over? Dharma Night is much more than a series of talks on of Buddhism, it is a commitment to practice with myself as well as with the sangha, it is an invitation to dig in and truly engage with this great turning about that as Buddhists we strive towards.
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This week @ Dharma Night - ‘What is Puja?’ - ‘Mantra’
No sooner does the puja begin and you are making offerings to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to the sound of Mantra!
This week Dyotana give a talk on Mantra and in the second half of the evening we perform another Sevenfold Puja!
... See you there!
Dharma Nights Every Wednesday 7.30pm - 9.45pm By donation
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7 WEEKLY MEDITATION DROP-INS at Brighton Buddhist Centre
Monday evening Mindfulness 'drop in' (for people who have completed a mindfulness course) ... 7.30 - 9pm, by donation
Tuesday Lunchtime 'drop in' Class (suitable for beginners and regulars) 1pm - 1.45pm, £3/£2
Tuesday Free Student Meditation (term-time only, for beginners and regulars) 4.30pm - 5.30pm, Free
Wednesday Lunchtime 'drop in' Class (suitable for beginners and regulars) 1pm - 2pm, By donation
Thursday Morning Meditation Class (for regular meditators). 10am - 12pm, £7/£5
Friday Meditation and Puja Class (for regular meditators). 1pm - 2pm (Puja at 2.30pm), by donation.
Saturday Morning Meditation Class (For regular meditators). 11am-12.30pm, £7/£5
For more info, see: https://bit.ly/2HrAHWN
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Death Cafe, Sunday July 7th, 11.30am-1pm All welcome.
At a Death Cafe, people, often strangers, gather to eat cake, drink tea and discuss death. Our objective is ‘to increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives’.
... A Death Cafe is a group directed discussion of death with no agenda, objectives or themes. It is a discussion group rather than a grief support or counselling session.
With Ketuhridaya and friends. By donation
For more info on the Death Cafe project: https://bit.ly/2PvhA1w
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Dharma Day Sunday 14 July, 10.30am - 4.30pm led by Dhotana
Dharma Day is one of the main festivals in the Buddhist calendar. It celebrates the Buddha's first teaching of the way to Enlightenment to those who became his earliest disciples. He spent the rest of his life teaching and sharing his experience, and his disciples in turn shared with others, creating a network of Sangha that continues to this day. As a result, we all have the opportunity to follow the Path of the Dh...arma and, as we practice the teachings, we in our turn exemplify and share what we have learnt with others. This will be a day of meditation, ritual and dharma talks.
Come for all or part of the day. Shared lunch at 1pm.
If attending the shared lunch, please bring a vegetarian or vegan contribution.
By donation
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Monday Night Mindfulness Drop-in, 7.30-9pm
On Monday nights, Maitridarshin (Ron Gower) leads meditation and reflection drawn from therapeutic mindfulness courses such as Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Mindfulness-based Compassionate Living (MBCL) and Breathworks.
This is a great way to keep your practice going once your mindfulness course has finished, or to reconnect with it if it's fallen away. It's open to anyone who has completed a mindfulness course, and als...o to those who have done an introductory meditation course at the Buddhist Centre.
Maitridarshin is an ordained member of the Triratna Buddhist Order. He has a Master's degree in Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy and over a decade's experience of teaching secular Mindfulness-based approaches. He is also a qualified and practising Cognitive Behavioural Therapist. For more about Maitridarshin see: https://choosecompassion.co.uk/
Suggested donation: £5 waged, £3 unwaged.
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INTRO TO MEDITATION AND BUDDHISM COURSE 8 Weds mornings 10am-midday, starts 4th Sept or 8 Weds evenings 7.30-9.30pm, starts 4th Sept
A perfect place to start if you want to learn how to meditate! Whether you are a complete beginner or have a little experience of meditation but want to learn it more formally, this is the course for you. Led by our senior meditation teachers, this course offers a hands-on and systematic introduction to meditation.
... By the end of the course you will have a solid grounding in meditation, and an understanding of how it sits within a broader Buddhist context.
Following completion of this course, you will be able to access a range of other courses and events at Brighton Buddhist Centre including Day Retreats, Dharma Nights, Dharma Foundation Courses and Going Deeper in Meditation Courses.
To book and for more info: https://bit.ly/2AvGN2l
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'Going Deeper in Meditation' Short Course 3 Tuesdays, 7.30pm - 9.30pm, starts 9th July
This short but intensive course will look at attitudes and approaches needed to explore meditation at a much deeper level. There will be lots of time to practice meditation (led and unled) and the opportunity to establish more confidence and purpose in meditation.
... Participants need to know the Mindfulness of Breathing and Metta Bhavana (loving kindness) meditations to attend this course. This course is suitable for anyone who has completed an 'Introduction to Meditation and Buddhism' Course or anyone who wants to go deeper in their practice of Meditation.
Led by Maitrivajra and Vidyadhara To book: https://bit.ly/2X23cko
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Caring for our Planet: Day retreat with Akuppa THIS SUNDAY, 30th June, 11am-4pm
All welcome. Come join us for a day retreat led by Triratna Order member and environmental activist, Akuppa, author of the book "Saving the Earth: a Buddhist View", and hosted by Subhadassi. Part of Buddhist Action Month 2019.
... Free, but donations on the day are welcome.
Bring a contribution to a shared vegan lunch.
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Day Retreat with Maitridarshin. THIS SUNDAY, 30th June, 10.30am-4.30pm Free, but donations are welcome.
A great opportunity for those have done an ‘Introduction to Meditation and Buddhism’ Course at the Brighton Buddhist Centre. Its also suitable for anyone who knows the ‘Mindfulness of Breathing’ and ‘Metta Bhavana’ and wants to reconnect with their practice or have space and time to take their practice deeper.
... Bring a contribution to a shared lunch (veggie or vegan).
This is a free event, but donations on the day are welcome. Please book online to reserve a place:
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Triratna Book Club THIS SATURDAY, 29th June, 2-4pm Brighton Buddhist Centre Library.
This month the book club will be discussing the Akuppa's book 'Saving the earth - a Buddhist View', and its author, Akuppa, will be there to answer questions, as part of Buddhist Action Month. All welcome.
... by donation.
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THIS WEEK @ DHARMA NIGHT
Week two of our new series ‘What is Puja?’
After last weeks introduction to this series, this week Dharmajit will give a very short talk about the first stage of the Sevenfold Puja - ‘Worship’.
... We will then have an earlier tea break and then as last week have a period of meditation and a Sevenfold Puja in the second half.
See you there!
Dharma Night Every Wednesday 7.30pm - 9.45pm By donation
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Monday Night Mindfulness Drop-in, 7.30-9pm
On Monday nights, Maitridarshin (Ron Gower) leads meditation and reflection drawn from therapeutic mindfulness courses such as Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Mindfulness-based Compassionate Living (MBCL) and Breathworks.
This is a great way to keep your practice going once your mindfulness course has finished, or to reconnect with it if it's fallen away. It's open to anyone who has completed a mindfulness course, and als...o to those who have done an introductory meditation course at the Buddhist Centre.
Maitridarshin is an ordained member of the Triratna Buddhist Order. He has a Master's degree in Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy and over a decade's experience of teaching secular Mindfulness-based approaches. He is also a qualified and practising Cognitive Behavioural Therapist. For more about Maitridarshin see: https://choosecompassion.co.uk/
Suggested donation: £5 waged, £3 unwaged.
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W.H. Auden at Brighton Buddhist Centre

Caring for our Planet: Day retreat with Akuppa Sunday 30th June, 11am-4pm
All welcome. Come join us for a day retreat led by Triratna Order member and environmental activist, Akuppa, author of the book "Saving the Earth: a Buddhist View", and hosted by Subhadassi. Part of Buddhist Action Month 2019.
... Free, but donations on the day are welcome.
Bring a contribution to a shared vegan lunch to share.
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DAILY YOGA DROP-IN SESSIONS at Brighton Buddhist Centre
Did you know that we have yoga drop-in sessions every weekday afternoon (1-2.15pm) and every weekday evening (6-7.15pm), as well on sessions Friday and Saturday mornings.
... We have 8 different regular yoga teachers, all are qualified, insured and experienced. Between them they teach 6 different styles of yoga.
For more info, follow this link: https://bit.ly/2DzVHGI
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'Going Deeper in Meditation' Short Course 3 Tuesdays, 7.30pm - 9.30pm, starts 9th July
This short but intensive course will look at attitudes and approaches needed to explore meditation at a much deeper level. There will be lots of time to practice meditation (led and unled) and the opportunity to establish more confidence and purpose in meditation.
... Participants need to know the Mindfulness of Breathing and Metta Bhavana (loving kindness) meditations to attend this course. This course is suitable for anyone who has completed an 'Introduction to Meditation and Buddhism' Course or anyone who wants to go deeper in their practice of Meditation.
Led by Maitrivajra and Vidyadhara To book: https://bit.ly/2X23cko
See More