Buddhism and Women - Inspiration

Friday 18 June 
 Is this the best time to be born a woman and to be a Buddhist practitioner?
Join with us to celebrate and evaluate the dynamic role of women in modern Western Buddhism: as inspirational meditators, teachers, centre directors, practitioners, dharma mothers.

Feng Shui: introduction with Ven Jampa

Thursday 24 June 7.30pm
Suggested donation £5

Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese art of arranging our work and living environments to maximise material and emotional benefits from aligning in harmonious balance with the forces around us.  With a long tradition behind it and devotees all over the world from all walks of life Feng Shui remains as popular today as it ever was.

Come along and learn about its theory and practice from an experienced Feng Shui practitioner, Ven Jampa, in this introductory evening talk.  

 

AUTUMN PROGRAMME

Buddhism and The Environment

Friday 8 October
7.30pm
Suggested Donation £7

What is the proper response of Buddhist practitioners to the increasing evidence of the detrimental impact on the environment of human activity ? 

Do Asian Buddhist countries model respect for biodiversity and the environment or are they just as likely to trash it as nurture it.  Do we romanticise the Buddhist role in protecting the environment in traditional Asian Buddhist cultures, or were there just simply too few people around back then to bring about the cumulative damage to the environment that we see now.  Can we reduce our personal carbon footprint and lead more sustainable lives with less impact on the environment while continuing to upgrade to the latest technology in our media hungry lives?

Come along to explore through facilitated discussion themes and issues around our impact on the environment and how to mitigate it.  So that discussion participants start from a common base we suggest for reading some if not all of “A Buddhist Response to Climate Change”, edited by John Stanley, David R Loy and Gurme Dorje.

 

Buddhism and Right Livelihood

Friday 5 November
7.30pm
Suggested donation £7

Right Livelihood features as one of the eight features of the Noble Eightfold Path. A number of modern commentators have given advice on what kinds of livelihood are rightf and which should be avoided and the discussion of what constitutes right livelihood has become a central part of the, often heated, discussion of what is the correct ethical stance (in terms of making a living) that a modern Buddhist lay person should adopt today.

Is the proper practice of right livelihood in Buddhism in the West the sole preserve of those in the caring professions and teaching or the Creative industries (to use the New Labour phrase)? Is it solely the preserve of middle class people with private incomes and or wealthy parents, who don't really have to work for a living because they are already quite comfortable thank you or know that in the end they will be bailed out by the kind parents/ trust fund?

Do the Sutras have anything to say on this? Do the Indian, Tibetan and other commentarial traditions advise lay people on the right livelihood aspect of the Noble Eightfold Path? Has the meaning of what constitutes right livelihood in Buddhism shifted significantly over the last two hundred years? Join with us in a facilitated discussion to discuss these and other issues in a spirit of openness, tolerance, enquiry and mutual respect.