introduction to buddhist meditation course · o helping them develop a regular home meditation...

Brighton Buddhist Centre 1

Introduction to Buddhist Meditation course

The following course outline is offered for you to use in whole, as a framework on which to hang your own ideas and examples, or as a source of ideas for your own course. Please feel free to make use of it how you want.

The aims of the course are:

o To teach participants the mindfulness of breathing and metta bhavana meditations and help them establish a home practice

o To set these meditations within a Dharmic context, using an exploration of the Three Jewels

The method used is to balance input, practice and participation, with plenty of time for questions and discussion.

Each week follows a similar pattern:

o A recap of the previous week’s teaching o Seeing how everyone has got on with their home practice for the week o Some meditation input and practice o Some Dharma input, based on an exploration of the Three Jewels o Sometimes a further period of meditation o Meditation tips and setting of home practice for the following week

Materials, equipment etc needed for each week is highlighted in yellow in the text.

Timings are very approximate – you may need to cut something out if you run out of time or to add in a sit at the end if you have time left.

There is a handout for each week. You can email a copy of this to people if they miss a week.


Week 1

Suggested time

Introductory

Sit – connecting with their body, sitting in this space with its sounds, temperature etc, noticing how they are feeling

5

Introduction to the team, ‘housekeeping’ – phones, toilets, lift, fire alarm 5

In pairs, say a bit about themselves to one another by way of introduction 5

Invite each to introduce themselves to the whole group – their name and one thing they would like to get out of the course

10

Course overview, which can build in what they are looking for from it o Intro to 2 meditation practices o Helping them develop a regular home meditation practice o Placed within the context of Buddhism

5

Meditation

Introduction to mindfulness of breathing Its main purposes are:

o to help the mind settle and focus o to enable us to become more aware o to tune in to the transformative power of awareness

It uses the breath as the object of focus but it could be any object – the breath however is part of us, connected to how we feel; it changes and so can keep us interested.

5

Starting to meditate – finding how to sit in a way that is both comfortable and alert. Demonstrate the various ways of sitting – go round and help them find a posture that works for them

10

Lead a sit – overall awareness of body, encouraging relaxation, tuning into the sensations of breathing and doing our best to stay aware of those, returning to them whenever we notice we’ve drifted away, ending with awareness of body again.

15

In pairs, share their experience of the sit and then feed back anything that particularly struck them to the whole group.

o Encourage curiosity about their experience by being curious

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yourself o If there is judgment going on, stress that meditation isn’t about

getting something right, doing it well – it’s something from which we continually learn.

Leg stretch

5

Dharma Meditation is embedded within the Buddhist tradition although it is not unique to it, and people were meditating long before the Buddha was born 2500 years ago. However he uncovered a depth, range and subtlety to meditation that was previously unknown. To be fully aware of meditation’s potential we need not only to practise it but also to understand something about Buddhism itself – what its core teachings are and how they can transform our lives. So, how can we characterize Buddhism?

o It’s often described as ‘one of the world’s great religions’. But probably most western practitioners at least would not consider it to be a religion because it does not have a creator god and does not require faith in any of its teachings.

o It’s sometimes called a philosophy because it has a lot to say about ethics and about how we understand ourselves and reality. But unlike philosophy, it also appeals to our heart and direct experience.

o It is perhaps best described as a path, a transformative way of life, inspired by the experience of the Buddha and his teachings.

What kind of a path is this?

o It assumes that we can change – that we are not fixed by our background and culture. We have huge potential, and happiness lies in uncovering that potential.

o It shows us that happiness is found within: in a warmer way of relating to ourselves and to others, in becoming more positive, in living a meaningful life.

o It is other-oriented, based on our inter-connectedness and what we can offer to one another.

There are a number of frameworks that we as teachers use to communicate this path, and the one we are going to use on this course is what is known as ‘the Three Jewels’. What does the word ‘jewel’ evoke for them? (precious, valuable, long-lasting, beautiful, multi-facetted, mined from the depths of the earth. . . )

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So what are these Three Jewels? (Have an image of these on the shrine, or use your kesa)

o the Buddha/ golden jewel – the example of a human being like us who woke up to the reality of existence, became what we call ‘enlightened’;

o the Dharma/ blue jewel – his teachings, handed down over the centuries, enriched by the practice and understanding of his followers;

o the Sangha/ red jewel – the community of all his followers over the ages including, as we take on his teachings, us.

You might say that a jewel is a static object – how can a jewel be a path? The Three jewels become a path as we turn towards them, try to understand them, build what they offer into our own lives. In Buddhist jargon this is called ‘going for refuge to the Three Jewels’ – like a place of refuge, we see the Buddha, his teachings and the community of Buddhists as a safe place in which to build our lives. Over this course we will be looking at each of these Jewels in turn. Give everyone 3 small pieces of paper. Works best if these are yellow red and blue. Guide them through a short reflection in which they allow to come to mind a quality they associate with each of the Three Jewels. Then go round and ask them in turn to read out what they have written. Invite questions

Home practice One of the aims of this course is to help you establish a meditation practice at home. So each week we will suggest what you might try to do over the coming week, and give you a few tips as to how you can help this happen. If you live with others, you might want to talk with them about how you are going to need this time to get the most benefit from the course. This week we’d like to suggest you aim to meditate at least three times for 10 minutes. Invite them to get into pairs to consider when and where. Suggest they use the insight timer or meditation timer apps which they can set to ring a bell after a chosen time. End with just a couple of minutes sitting quietly with the experience of body and breath. Give them a week 1 handout

10


Week 2

Welcome. A very short ‘arrival sit’. Go round and say names again. Brief recap of last week’s teaching: Buddhism as a path, a transformative way of life that leads us to greater happiness within and greater connectedness with others; the Three Jewels and turning towards these for true value in our lives.

5

How did they get on with meditating in the week? Divide into pairs/groups of 3 to talk about this, then invite them to share anything they’d like with the whole group. Meet their comments with curiosity, encouragement, gently highlighting any judging that they’re doing.

15

Mindfulness of breathing meditation One of the aims of this practice that we gave last week was that it was to help the mind settle and focus. We do this is by following the sensations of breathing. This week an extra tool: dividing the meditation into 4 stages, with something slightly different going on in each one. Explain the four stages:

1. Gently counting after each out-breath in groups of 10 – emphasis on relaxing quality of out-breath.

2. Gently counting after each in-breath in groups of 10 – emphasis on energizing quality of in-breath.

3. Letting go of the counting – simply following the flow of in- and out-breaths, relaxing further into the meditation.

4. Focus on one point – more subtle energy.

10

Lead a sit with a few minutes of body awareness and relaxation to begin with

20

Invite questions and comments. Prompt questions if need be.

10

Leg stretch

5


The Buddha Jewel First of the Three Jewels we will look at is the Buddha. In some ways his is a familiar figure. We see statues on sale in shops, his image used in advertising - he clearly speaks to many people who aren’t Buddhists. But what do we actually know about him?. . . Brief outline:

That he was a historical figure, born into an affluent family in north-east India approx. 2500 years ago

The four sights– however it happened, he truly became aware of old age, suffering and death for the first time – a turning point. He wanted to learn how to find some kind of resolution of these aspects of existence.

The going forth, his teachers, his memory of his experience beneath the rose-apple tree

His enlightenment

His teaching of the four noble truths which is fundamental to the Buddhist tradition. At the heart of these is the teaching that we suffer because we want things to be different from what they are (more on this next week)

Spent rest of his life as a wandering teacher

Founded a monastic community but taught many lay people Crucially, the Buddha was a human being just like us who, through his own efforts, transcended the suffering inherent in being a human being. The ideal he represents, what he achieved, can sustain the life of a Buddhist. In this account we can highlight the theme of the journey – the traditional account of the four sights, the going forth, his life as an itinerant monk. As we learn to meditate, learn about Buddhism and begin to absorb its teachings, we can think of ourselves as entering a new phase in the journey of our life.

10

Brainstorm the qualities of a physical/geographical journey – write on flipchart (starting point, many experiences along the way, it changes us, we may get lost, we usually have a destination in mind. . . ) Although some people like to just wander, most prefer some kind of guide whether it’s a book or person. When it comes to our life or spiritual journey, a guide can spare us many years of lack of direction. The Buddha and his teachings offer direction: suggested understandings and ways of living that we can test out in our experience. In small groups:

1. Do they think of their lives as a journey – or some other image? 2. Are they looking for a fresh sense of direction? 3. Are they open to exploring the guidance offered by Buddhism?

Have a brief version of these questions on the flipchart. Discuss as a whole group

15-20


Making our own connection with the Buddha . . . (miss this out if time running short) Exercise: sitting with awareness of breath, imagine that you are in the presence of the Buddha who is also seated in meditation. Allow this sense of the Buddha to deepen, reflecting perhaps that it was he who taught the mindfulness of breathing. Notice the effect this has on you.

10

Home practice Try meditating 3 times again, this time for 15 minutes. You can find a led mindfulness of breathing practice on the Wildmind website but it is about 30 minutes long. In pairs, think about anything that got in the way of meditating last week? What could you do to overcome this? End with a poem if there’s time – ‘The Journey’ by Mary Oliver One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began, though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice– though the whole house began to tremble and you felt the old tug at your ankles. ‘Mend my life!’ each voice cried. But you didn’t stop. You knew what you had to do, though the wind pried with its stiff fingers at the very foundations, though their melancholy was terrible. It was already late enough, and a wild night, and the road full of fallen branches and stones. But little by little, as you left their voices behind, the stars began to burn through the sheets of clouds, and there was a new voice which you slowly recognised as your own, that kept you company as you strode deeper and deeper into the world, determined to do the only thing you could do– determined to save

5-10


the only life you could save.

Handouts Week 3

Welcome, a short arrival sit then a brief recap of last week’s teaching: after learning the full four stages of the mindfulness of breathing, we looked at the life of the Buddha and focused on the theme of the journey in this, reflecting on our own life’s journey.

5

How did they get on with meditating in the week? – in particular, did they manage to get round the obstacles they’d foreseen? Divide into pairs/groups of 3 to talk about this, then invite them to share anything they’d like with the whole group.

15

Introduction to the metta bhavana A meditation to help us develop a friendly, loving relationship with ourself and others. We saw last week how the Buddha spent much of his life on the road, teaching others what he understood. This points to the other-regarding aspect of Buddhism: it isn’t just about our own personal development but also how we respond to others in all their suffering and happiness. Our connection with others is complex – we have many likes and dislikes - and and how we relate to ourself may not be easy. The metta bhavana meditation helps us shift into a more straightforward, open-hearted relationship with ourself and others.

5

Guide them through a few minutes of body awareness and relaxation, leading into a 15 minute metta bhavana covering the first two stages and the last (this might just be for the others in the group). An emphasis on keeping it relaxed, simply opening into awareness of self, other, accepting them as they are, noticing when this becomes difficult and relaxing back into openness.

20

Invite comments as to how the sit went, questions

15

Leg-stretch

5


The Dharma Jewel – 1

o Last week we learned how the Buddha - after many years of searching, meditating with the best teachers, reflecting, finally finding his own way – attained what we call enlightenment or awakening.

o What was it he woke up to? He himself found it challenging to say because the experience had taken place in a deeply absorbed, subtle state of mind in which language had faded away.

o He tried to communicate this in a number of ways, and the one that has come down to us that seems to most speak to us is that of the Four Noble Truths. These are:

1. There is suffering in life – it is inherently unsatisfactory and with many difficulties.

2. There is a cause of this suffering, which is the mind’s tendency to respond to experience by clinging on to what we like and pushing away what we don’t.

3. It is possible to end suffering, if we can learn not to react like this. 4. The way to do this is to follow the Eightfold Path, which transforms

every aspect of our experience.

Unpack these: 1. The Buddha is not saying that life is all suffering, a common mis-

conception about Buddhism – there is happiness too. But existentially what we are up against, what we would love to bring an end to, is what is difficult for us.

2. So the Buddha says that at the heart of our difficulties, our suffering, is a kind of wanting. This can mean not getting what we want (a job we applied for, a lasting relationship. . .) It can mean having what we don’t want (a job we don’t enjoy, a tired relationship. . . ) It also means the suffering that goes with growing old, becoming sick, dying – we don’t want any of these to happen either to ourselves or those we love! Basically our problem is, that we want things to be otherwise than they are. But rather than changing what we can and accepting what we can’t, we get stuck in restless patterns of longing, protective habits and addictions that protect us from reality.

3. So how do we stop this craving and put an end to suffering?

Answer next week…..

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4. The Eightfold Path ensures this transformation is thorough. If you

study Buddhism further you will learn more about this, but in a nutshell it begins with having a vision of our life and then lays out the different areas in which this can be put into practice: in our emotions, in how we speak, how we earn our living, where we put out energy, how we meditate and so on.

Invite questions. You might invite them to reflect on their own experience of ‘wanting things to be otherwise’.

Mindfulness of breathing meditation if there is time

Home practice Try meditating 4 times this week for 15 minutes, twice doing the metta bhavana and twice the mindfulness of breathing. A few words about developing a regular practice:

o It doesn’t depend on willpower. This doesn’t work, and when we don’t keep up with our goals we feel we’ve failed.

o Instead, find ways to make meditation as enjoyable as possible e.g.

Sit with a friend (can use skype)

Let yourself be guided by a recorded meditation

Use candles, incense, a warm blanket

Have a sense of playfulness – it doesn’t need to be deadly serious

Be kind to yourself e.g. when you find you’ve been distracted for ages. What’s it like to look with love? Can you look at yourself that way?

Any other ideas? o And congratulate yourself at the end for doing it!

10

If time, a few minutes mindfulness of body and breath, or a mindfulness of breathing practice if there is more time. Give them the date of the course day retreat Handouts Tell them about the course day retreat if it is going to be soon after the end of this course.


Week 4

Welcome, a short arrival sit and brief recap of last week’s teaching: we began to look at the ‘Dharma Jewel’, in particular the Buddha’s teaching of the Four Noble Truths which state that our experience of suffering, of unsatisfactoriness in life is created by wanting things to be different than they are, but that we can bring an end to this.

5

How did they get on with meditating in the week? – in particular, did they explore ways of making their meditation time more enjoyable? Divide into pairs/groups of 3 to talk about this, then invite them to share anything they’d like with the whole group.

15

Metta bhavana Last week we introduced the metta bhavana meditation and said that its purpose is to help us develop a friendlier, more open-hearted connection with ourself and others. This is something we all need to practice over a long period of time, gradually building that kind of connection. Along the way, it will reveal and challenge previously unacknowledged aspects of ourself and, in bringing them into light, help them transform. It will also give us an emotional resilience to deal with life’s challenges. We learnt 3 of the 5 stages, metta for ourself, a good friend and the wider world. Today we will bring in two further stages which follow on from the 2nd – metta for someone we don’t know well and metta for someone with whom we have a difficulty. These 2 stages require a degree of effort – to engage with someone we don’t really know, to go beyond what we find difficult – and connect with each as a rounded person just like us. Keeping it relaxed and simple is, as before, the key.

10

Lead a 20 minute meditation that includes a few minutes relaxation at the beginning. Encourage just being open to the person in each stage. Invite comments and questions from the group

35

Leg stretch

5


The Dharma Jewel – 2 Last week we learned about the Buddha’s teaching of the Four Noble Truths – summarise. This week we are going to look more closely at the 3rd of these, at how he taught that we can bring an end to suffering. This teaching can be summarized as ‘the wheel and the gap’ and is basically about how we can free ourselves from our habitual ways of responding to the world, the situations we find ourselves in and other people – ways that bring us grief. Could have this diagram on the flipchart

Talk this through, showing how our habitual responses reinforce our same old self that will continue to respond in the same old way. Explain using an example e.g. A situation arises: it’s the end of a hard day at work and we want to get home but our train has been cancelled/ there isn’t a bus for half an hour. Unpleasant sinking feeling. BUT WE WANT TO GET HOME! Usual response: we start to get grumpy and then angry. Maybe we go and buy a drink to numb our annoyance This reinforces our habit of getting angry, using alcohol in such situations, making it more likely that this is how we will respond again in future. But. . . there is a possible gap after the initial feeling in which it is possible to avoid slipping into craving or aversion and instead to make a different, creative response that initiates a more positive habit and a different self. We might decide to take a mindful walk while we wait for our bus or train, or we might create an inner smile and connect with everyone else who is being

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self

situation arises

pleasant or unpleasant

feeling

strongly wanting/not

wanting

usual response


inconvenienced like us, or we might strike up a conversation with a stranger. Meditation slows things down so we can see this gap, it offers a look-out point over how our mind is working. We’ve used a relatively trivial example of not getting our way. It may be hard at this point to see how we might ‘stay in the gap’ - i.e. stay with our initial feeling of a situation being unpleasant or pleasant – with some of life’s bigger challenges. But the more we practice doing this, the more we come to see the benefits of its simplicity. We gradually free ourselves of suffering; we become happier.

Suggest they divide into groups to come up with their own examples of being in this reactive cycle – and any examples of breaking out of it. Back in whole group, ask for an example or two, invite questions.

20

Mindfulness of breathing meditation if there is time and/or this poem Autobiography in Five Short Chapters by Portia Nelson

1. I walk down the street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost … I am hopeless. It isn’t my fault. It takes forever to find a way out. 2. I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don’t see it. I fall in again. I can’t believe I’m in the same place. But it isn’t my fault. It still takes a long time to get out. 3. I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it is there. I still fall in … it’s a habit. My eyes are open. I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out immediately. 4. I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it. 5. I walk down another street.


Home practice Try meditating 5 times this week, more if they want, two of those for 20 minutes. Three mindfulness of breathing, two metta bhavana. A few tips as we step up the challenge each week: It’s very easy to become critical or judgmental of ourselves if we don’t meditate the number of times we planned to, or if we fall asleep when we are meditating, or our mind is all over the place. . . Instead of this response:

o We can develop an attitude of learning from each setback: how could we have done things differently? ‘There is no failure, just feedback.’ We are building up a set of skills in meditation.

o We can view all this as a journey, an adventure, and setbacks are just twists in the plot.

o We can choose to keep going regardless of setbacks. Persistence is not a character trait!

Handouts

10


Week 5

Welcome, short arrival sit and brief recap of last week’s teaching: we continued to look at the Dharma jewel and in particular how to lessen our unsatisfactory experience of life, our suffering – by noticing the gap between the pleasant or unpleasant feelings that situations throw up, and our response to them, which can be a habitual and often unhelpful reaction or something more creative which can start to reshape how we are in the world.

5

How did they get on with meditating in the week? – in particular, did they explore ways of dealing with our critical voice, our inner judge when things weren’t going as we’d hoped? Divide into pairs/groups of 3 to talk about this, then invite them to share anything they’d like with the whole group.

15

Mindfulness of breathing - input Last practiced 3 weeks ago, so run through the 4 stages. Introduce/recap the idea of balancing relaxation with alertness. So allowing yourself to relax as fully as possible so as to drop beneath the surface chatter, letting go of any goals other than to be more fully present with your unfolding experience. At the same time maintaining a level of alertness so that (a) you don’t fall asleep (b) you are able to be aware of what is happening in your body and mind. You can see meditation as a play between relaxation and alertness, fine-tuning the balance throughout the practice.

5

Mindfulness of breathing meditation Begin with a period of relaxation, toning it up as you introduce attention to the different aspects of experience. Encourage this balancing from time to time through the sit.

25

Invite comments or questions about the sit

15

Leg-stretch

5


The Sangha Jewel

o The third of the Three Jewels to which we ‘go for refuge’ (recap this idea).

o Sangha = spiritual community o If we go back to the life of the Buddha we see that, although he spent

substantial periods of time alone meditating and reflecting, his instinct was also to connect with others. Within a short time of his enlightenment experience he was seeking out people to whom he could communicate what he had been through, and for much of the rest of his life he was on the road with a retinue of followers, teaching all those who approached him, and then retreating during the rainy season into more settled communities that became the foundation of a monastic order.

o He deeply valued the friendship that evolved between those following the same path – an ancient sutra tells of an exchange between the Buddha and his cousin and constant companion Ananda: Ananda said to the Blessed One, "This is half of the holy life, lord: admirable friendship, admirable companionship, admirable camaraderie." "Don't say that, Ananda. Don't say that. Admirable friendship, admirable companionship, admirable camaraderie is actually the whole of the holy life.

o What does this mean for us? That however much we might learn online or from books about meditation and Buddhism, the greatest learning will come from being with others who are on the same path, especially people who are a little further ahead on it than we are. It will come from developing ‘spiritual friendship’ with one another – friendships in which we can reveal who we most deeply are, connect in our most meaningful experiences, live from what is best and most beautiful in us.

o So this Centre is part of the Triratna (=three jewels) Movement in which we place a great emphasis on community and friendship. You could talk briefly about our development and spread throughout different parts of the world.

o There is the great Sangha of all those who have ever practised and to whom we might turn sometimes for inspiration, and then there is this sangha that we are creating now at this time in the world. It is made up of lots of smaller sanghas – even this class is for a time a sangha that can lead you on into the greater Brighton and UK and even worldwide sangha.

15


Divide into small groups to discuss:

1. What does the word ‘friendship’ bring up for them? 2. What qualities do they bring to a friendship? 3. What do they feel about becoming involved in a spiritual community

as opposed to ‘going it alone’?

Bring comments and questions to whole group.

15

Home practice Try meditating 6 times this week, two of those for at least 20 minutes. Three mindfulness of breathing, three metta bhavana. Next week there will be a chunk of time for their ‘burning questions’ so ask them to think in the week what they might ask. Tip for the week: Last week we were practicing overcoming the inner judge that can undermine us when we meditate. As a step further this week, try this saying this affirmation to yourself – lots! “I meditate nearly every day; it’s what I do, it’s who I am.” Even if you don’t yet, saying this isn’t a lie – it’s a statement of intention. Let it give you a new sense of who you are. You’ll still need to make some effort, but it will be backed up by a belief in yourself as a meditator. Handouts


Week 6

Welcome, short arrival sit and brief recap of last week’s teaching: we looked at the Sangha jewel, at spiritual community and friendship in the life of the Buddha and then now in our own Triratna Movement, and we explored our own feelings around friendship and becoming part of such a community.

5

How did they get on with meditating in the week? – did they use the affirmation and was it helpful? Do they feel confident about meditating on their own now? Divide into pairs/groups of 3 to talk about this, then invite them to share anything they’d like with the whole group.

15

Meditation input When we meditate we notice how active our mind can be – monkey mind – and the instruction we are given is that, when we notice that, to return to the object of the meditation whether that is the breath or metta. This guidance is helpful for all the random chatter going on in our mind. But sometimes what comes up needs our attention: it may be some major emotional issue going on in our life, or just that as we build meditation into our life, we go deeper into our experience and things come up that we had previously been unaware of. If this happens, it’s important to give it space in the practice, kindly attention. You will know when that is enough and you are ready to return to the meditation object. Any questions?

5-10

Mindfulness of breathing

25

Any comments or questions arising out of that?

5

Leg-stretch

5

Open space for their ‘burning questions’

30

Talk about what they might do next – in particular book up for an Introduction to Buddhism course, but also drop-in classes and other events on the programme. Give them the date for the course retreat day.

5


You might want to offer to meet up with them to meditate together and see how they are getting on if there is a long gap before the next course.

Final ritual Sit for a few minutes, suggest they invite a word or image that sums up a quality that has become important for them through following this course, perhaps one they would like to develop further in themselves. Ask them to write this down - paper and pencil And invite them to read it out to the group (optional. . . ) Metta bhavana for self, group, world

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introduction to buddhist meditation course · o helping them develop a regular home meditation...

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