Meditation courses and classes in Buddhist meditation in Bristol at the Bristol Buddhist Centre

Meditation at the Bristol Buddhist Centre

Many people come to meditation looking for ways to deal with stress and an overly-busy life. Our meditation courses and classes can certainly help with this but can also offer much more.

We teach two meditation practices. One, the mindfulness of breathing, is a simple practice that helps us to focus on the breath and bring about calmer and clearer states of mind. The other, the development of loving kindness, focuses on our emotional states, helping us to transorm negative emotional patterns and become more positive, kindly and aware of others. Together, these practices can give us powerful tools to help us regain a sense of calm but also initiative in our lives. Although both practices are drawn from the Buddhist tradition, neither of them require you to be a Buddhist to benefit from them and we offer them to Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike.

The best way to learn meditation is through a meditation course where you will be helped to find a suitable meditation posture that is appropriate for you and you can be led through our two practices with plenty of time for questions and discussion. If you are unable to attend a course, we also run drop-in meditation classes (on Tuesday evenings and Thursday lunchtimes) where you can get a taste for meditation.

Whilst the essentials of both practices can be learnt in a few weeks, the full benefits will be felt over months and years. Many people who have learnt meditation with us continue to come to the Centre to practice meditation in the very supportive conditions of our shrine room which has a great atmosphere for meditation. It can also be a great help to practice with others and explore the worlds that meditation can open up with like-minded people.

Whilst we strongly recommend the support of face-to-face teaching whilst you are learning meditation, if for any reason you can't attend the Centre, you can attend online meditation classes via the Wildmind website which also has a good range of free material on meditation.

Dhammapada Verses 1 and 2

"What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow; our life is the creation of our mind. If a person speaks or acts with an impure mind, suffering follows him as the wheel of the cart follows the beast that draws the cart.

What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow; our life is the creation of our mind. If a person speaks or acts with a pure mind, joy follows him as his shadow."