If you couldn’t make the talk by Brother Phap Vu on 6th June or would like to hear it again here are the recordings of the evening. There are three lots of audio: the introduction by Bill and the meditation then the talk itself and then the Q&A session.
Because we are having a talk by Br Phap Vu on 6th June and then many of us are travelling to the retreat at Wiston we will not be having our usual Thursday night meeting on Thursday 7th June at St Marks.
Normal service will resume on Thursday 14th June.
At the weekend we enjoyed a mindfulness morning on the Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing. Pete mentioned the Three Doors of Liberation in the context of breathing exercise twelve.
Brother Phap Vu, a very experienced mindfulness practitioner, was ordained in 2003 at Plum Village, the monastery for the world renowned Zen Teacher Thich Nhat Hanh. He has a strong and active involvement in building monastic and lay communities in the USA and has regularly visited Scotland. He is well versed in Buddhist history and psychology and is committed to sharing this knowledge with a wide audience. His talk will be focused on how we can all benefit from a mindfulness approach and how we can discover life in the present moment. You can read Phap Vu’s blog here. The talk will be followed by a question and answer session.
The last evening we ran with monastics was so popular we had to turn some people away at the door so please ensure your place by buying a ticket through Eventbrite.
When: Wednesday 6th June 7:30pm till 9pm
Where: St. Marks Unitarian Church, Castle Terrace
Booking: Ticketed through Eventbrite. Please book here. If you are unable to use Eventbrite please contact us.
Cost: £10(£6)
After the talk Phap Vu will be running a four day retreat at Wiston Lodge in the borders for which there are a few places remaining: A Residential Retreat with Br Phap Vu June 7th to 10th 2018 Wiston Lodge
Those familiar with the practice will embrace the opportunity to go deeper with two wonderful Dharma Teachers at Wiston Lodge in August. Download the booking form here.
Breathing: Our Way to Freedom
Concentrating and Liberating the Mind
This session will continue our gentle exploration of the Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing. Thay has written:
“I was so happy the day I discovered this Sutra. I thought I’d discovered the greatest treasure in the world.”
As a way to approach exercises 11 and 12 on concentrating and liberating the mind, we will explore three questions together:
• What is supporting our lives?
• What are we seeking?
• How are we being continued?
Although the session builds on material introduced in the previous ones in this series, we hope the session will also work as a stand alone session and all are welcome.
The session will include guided meditation, walking meditation, readings and chatting in small groups.
We will share a mindful lunch so please bring a little vegetarian food to share. Tea will be provided. Cushions, mats and blankets are available at the venue, but you are welcome to bring your own if you prefer.
The session will be facilitated by Pete & Roger.
When: Saturday 19 May – 9:30am to 1:00pm
Where: St. Marks Unitarian Church, Castle Terrace
Booking: Just turn up.
Cost: A donation would be appreciated to cover the cost of hiring the venue. Suggested: £10 (£5).
