Morning Meditations will not run on the week commencing the 9th November. They will recommence from the 16th of November.

Join the bleary eyed men’s community in the Great Hall for Monday morning meditations. Please book if you would like to reserve a place, or you can drop in as it’s unlikely that we will reach our social distanced capacity.

Morning Meditations will not run on the week commencing the 9th November. They will recommence from the 16th of November.

Join the bleary eyed men’s community in the Great Hall for Monday morning meditations. Please book if you would like to reserve a place, or you can drop in as it’s unlikely that we will reach our social distanced capacity.

Jayagupta leads a double meditation every Friday 7.30pm – 9pm on Zoom

Follow the zoom link.

Sangha Skills for Sale: Raising money to give away on Sangha Day

As part of Sangha Day celebrations this year we are running a selection of sangha skill sharing sessions. Sangha members will host informal Zoom sessions teaching various skills.

We invite you to donate to do the sessions, raising money to be given away by the Centre to good causes after Sangha Day. This year we missed out on fundraising with the cancellation of the summer fair, so if you can attend a session this would mean we get another chance to be generous as a sangha, as well as a great way  to come together and have fun.

You will be able to make a donation online. After Sangha Day we will vote to decide where to give our collected donations. In the past we have given to projects in Sheffield, Venezuela and in India. If you can’t make any of the skills sharing sessions, you are welcome to take this as an opportunity to give anyway.

The sessions will run on Saturday 28th November at either 10am, 2pm or 4pm and will be about 40mins long.

Here’s a list of the skills sessions on offer – an abundant selection: 

• Issy – French Breakfast with the Sangha – 10am
• Cesca and Tee – ‘The Dharma illustrated’ zine / comic making – 10am
• Sanghagita – Singing workshop – 2pm
• Tim – Sanskrit Calligraphy – 2pm – 

• Valli and Lou – ‘Writing for Insight’ reflective session – 4pm

More information and zoom links below

Join Issy on Zoom

More information from Tee and Cesca.

We will be hosting a zine making workshop which is like a comic but a little bit different.

What is a zine?

We have found a Youtube video explaining what they are, please watch this. (2 mins)? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9INUang4oMACesca has also created a quick zine themed on the sangha as an example to give you an idea of what they are. Please see 3 images at the bottom of the post.

What is the theme?

We would like to introduce the theme today, to give you some time to get inspired before the session. We have designed 2 options…1.)   If you don’t like rules when you’re being creative, your theme is THE SANGHA. Let your imagination run wild and fill the pages with things that rejoice in our Sangha.2.)   If you prefer to have a bit of structure, your theme is THE SANGHA ALPHABET. You can choose to rejoice in people whose names start with a letter, or perhaps name the Sangha’s common attributes like… K for kind or G for generous! You don’t have to do every letter, just pick the ones that inspire you.

What materials do you need?

If you have the time, you can choose to spend the week collecting materials for your zine. You can be traditional and just use your biro or the humble pencil…..or you can choose to collect lots of things from around the house…maybe even go through the recycling bin to see if you can make something out of waste!The essentials are a rectangular piece of paper (such as A4 printer paper or something nicer) or a smaller long rectangle of  paper to make a accordian zine.

Last but not least….postal zine swap

Once we have finished the workshop you can choose to offer it to your shrine during the Sunday puja and then take part in our optional postal zine swap. If you want to, you can send your zine in the post to a fellow sangha member and receive one back. Simply send Cesca or Tee your name and address on Slack after the workshop and we will mix everyone together and give you a random person to send yours to.

That’s it! So get collecting, enjoy your week and see you on SaturdayLots of loveCesca and Tee x

Join Tee & Cesca on Zoom

More information from Sanghagita

Hi all – thinking about the singing on Saturday at 2pm. It can’t be the same as when we’re all together singing our hearts out and feeling that energy from each other and blending our voices to create harmony and sound that lifts our hearts. The conditions we find ourselves in don’t allow for that and it’s sad… but we’ll be singing together in a different way!  We’ll start on the floor and connect with our bodies using sound and breath and movement  and then singing and leaping about will emerge…for the singing bit have a think about setting yourself up in the best room for acoustics. As we probably know this is likely to be the bathroom! You don’t need to bring anything except a drink of water and a willingness to make some noise!

Here are the words to a couple of songs we’ll learn: The Brahma Viharas May all beings find happiness and the courses of happinessMay all beings be free from suffering and the causes of sufferingMay our minds constantly dwell in joy, transcending sorrowMay we live in equal love, for both near and far.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 The Blessings May all blessings be yoursMay all powers protect youBy the power of all Buddhas/Dharmas/SanghasMay all happiness be yours

Join Sanghagita on Zoom

More information from Tim

Hi everyone thinking about about joining us for to explore writing mantra sounds using siddam scriptYou need to get a few things togetherSome sort of black ink or paint. Watered down Cheap kids black paint is fine
A shallow dish for the paint
Newspaper to practice and A3 white paper . I like using cheap wallpaper lining paper from Wilko or home bargains 25 m for£4!!
A toilet roll and scissors to make a brushIf anyone needs anything message me and I will see if I can get stuff to you.If anyone interested in exploring what we are going to do. The following website by one of our order members Jayarava is great to explore
http://www.visiblemantra.org/bija.html

  visiblemantra.orgSome of the most common seed bija or syllables in Siddham and Tibetan scripts

Join Tim on Zoom


Join Lou & Valli on Zoom

Private Meditation in the Great Hall

We are very pleased to open the Great Hall for Private Meditation.

These sessions will run from Sunday 15th November to Sunday 3rd January

There are two slots of about 40 minutes starting at 10am and 11 am.

Because we are following guidelines to limit the spread of COVID-19 we are doing things a little differently than normal so please read these instructions carefully.

• Please come early. The doors will open at 9:45 and 10:45 so we can start the meditation on the hour. We have space for 13 people to meditate at one time with a 2m distance.
• Please come to the door that opens directly into the Great Hall, up the steps by the Remembrance Garden from Joseph Road. (These are the doors we normally use for latecomers.) All other entrances to the Centre will be closed.
• We are following social distancing guidelines so there will be limited spaces in the Great Hall and you may need to wait outside for a few minutes.
• This is a chance to meditate and enjoy the atmosphere of the Great Hall. There will be just a bell at the beginning and a bell at the end of the sit.
• Please bring your own meditation equipment – mat, blanket, cushions or stool if you can
• Tea making facilities and toilets won’t be available but you are very welcome to bring your own drink and sit in the garden after the private meditation slot if you’d like to.
• it is a legal requirement to wear a mask.