About Buddhist Society London
The Buddhist Society is a UK registered charity with the stated aim to: publish and make known the principles of Buddhism and to encourage the study and practice of those principles. The Buddhist Society is an inter-denominational and non-sectarian lay organization. It offers talks and classes on the teachings of all the different major mainstream Buddhist schools and traditions, as well as a structured programme of courses on general Buddhism, for both the public and members. It has a publishing programme and in its premises houses one of the main libraries in Britain on Buddhism. It is managed by an elected council and its patron is the 14th Dalai Lama. Among other publications, it produces The Buddhist Directory, a reference book which lists the vast majority of Buddhist groups, centres and other related organisations in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and The Middle Way, a quarterly journal. HistoryThe Society was created in 1924 in London as an offshoot of a Theosophical Lodge by Christmas Humphreys, a British judge and convert to Buddhism. It became an independent body in 1926 and Humphreys remained its president until his death in 1983. In 1961 His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama became patron of the Society, the first organisation in the West to be so honoured. The Buddhist Society was one of the first Buddhist organisations outside Asia and remains one of the oldest in Europe to date. ActivitiesThe Buddhist Society runs a number of classes, courses and lectures, many of which are open to the general public. This includes Saturday meditation classes and popular Tuesday and Thursday lunchtime sessions. More specific members classes are offered in the Zen, Theravadan and Tibetan traditions. The Society is open on occasional Sundays to the public for 'Zen Sundays', 'Theravadan Sundays' and a Pure Land class.
Buddhist Society London Description
The Buddhist Society is a UK registered charity with the stated aim to: publish and make known the principles of Buddhism and to encourage the study and practice of those principles. The Buddhist Society is an inter-denominational and non-sectarian lay organization. It offers talks and classes on the teachings of all the different major mainstream Buddhist schools and traditions, as well as a structured programme of courses on general Buddhism, for both the public and members. It has a publishing programme and in its premises houses one of the main libraries in Britain on Buddhism. It is managed by an elected council and its patron is the 14th Dalai Lama. Among other publications, it produces The Buddhist Directory, a reference book which lists the vast majority of Buddhist groups, centres and other related organisations in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and The Middle Way, a quarterly journal. HistoryThe Society was created in 1924 in London as an offshoot of a Theosophical Lodge by Christmas Humphreys, a British judge and convert to Buddhism. It became an independent body in 1926 and Humphreys remained its president until his death in 1983. In 1961 His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama became patron of the Society, the first organisation in the West to be so honoured. The Buddhist Society was one of the first Buddhist organisations outside Asia and remains one of the oldest in Europe to date. ActivitiesThe Buddhist Society runs a number of classes, courses and lectures, many of which are open to the general public. This includes Saturday meditation classes and popular Tuesday and Thursday lunchtime sessions. More specific members classes are offered in the Zen, Theravadan and Tibetan traditions. The Society is open on occasional Sundays to the public for 'Zen Sundays', 'Theravadan Sundays' and a Pure Land class.