Dear friends
Welcome to the third Amaravati Lay Buddhist Association's email bulletin for 2013, with news of forthcoming ALBA events at Amaravati. We have attached an ALBA retreat booking form for those who wish to book one of the available places on our April, July and October retreats. The forms can be attached to an email or pasted into an email and sent to:
We use this email address for all ALBA correspondence. Remember that you can email any of the ALBA Committee at this address – we all have access to the account - and we’ll continue to publish our telephone numbers where relevant, for example for booking queries or to find out more about a particular retreat.
As usual, this bulletin will also be posted on the ALBA website .
In this issue:
Our forthcoming Weekend Retreat from Friday 12th to Sunday 14th April led by Chris Ward on the theme of ‘Practising in the Life that You Lead’
Our next Day of Practice on 25th May led by Martin Evans and Ajahn Sundara on the theme of ‘The Wisdom of Emotions’
Dates for your diary: ALBA events at Amaravati in 2013
Bodhinyana Group
Find out more about the ALBA Community
ALBA Connections Facebook Group
The Triple Gem Buddhist Foundation
LifeSkills Mindfulness Course
If you have any queries or comments about what you read here, I would be pleased to hear from you.
Chris Ward, on behalf of the ALBA Committee
Email: buddhacommunity@gmail.com
Tel: 07885 067374 (Chris)
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COMING UP
OUR FIRST WEEKEND RETREAT IN 2013
Friday 12 – Sunday 14 April
Weekend retreat – ‘Practising in the Life that you Live’ Led by Chris Ward
Most of those who value awakening live in the world of work, family and relationships. Sometimes we may feel that we struggle to balance our responsibilities with what we consider is necessary for leading an awakened life.
During this short retreat we will be practising ways to integrate contemplative practice into our daily lives in a natural and wholesome way.
The retreat is now almost full. There are still some places left for men in the dormitory but we are running a short waiting list for women. If you have booked and no longer able to come, please let us know so we can give your place to someone on the waiting list.
Chris Ward
Email: buddhacommunity@gmail.com
OUR NEXT DAY OF PRACTICE
Saturday 25 May 2013 led by Martin Evans in the morning and Ajahn Sundara after lunch on the theme of ‘The wisdom of emotions’
On the Buddhist Path emotions are often perceived as hindrances, or a failure in one's practice. This can leave us with a sense of helplessness, when we habitually judge and condemn them because they do not fit into the framework of our rational understanding of the teaching. Is there a way of approaching and receiving our emotions consciously and kindly, and of realising their potential to bring about understanding and transformation? Ajahn Sundara
In the morning Martin will lead meditation, sitting and walking, some of which will be guided. There may also be an opportunity to prepare the grounds of the monastery for the celebration of Vesak which will happen on the following day. In the afternoon Ajahn Sundara will lead a meditation and give a talk, followed by Q&A.
Registration at 9.30am in Retreat Centre Kitchen for 10.00am start Bring some food to share. No booking required. All are welcome.
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ALBA EVENTS IN 2013 – DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Here are the dates for next year’s events at Amaravati Retreat Centre. Details of topics and leaders are now complete, although if there are any changes we will publicise these as soon as possible.
Saturday 8 June
Day of Practice
Led by Chris Ward and Jenna Ghouse
Friday 5 – Tuesday 9 July
Five-day retreat
Led by Martin Evans
Saturday 14 September
Day of Practice
Led by Martin Evans
Friday 4 – Sunday 6 October
Weekend retreat
Led by Chris Ward
Saturday 9 November
Day of Practice (Kathina in on the 10th November)
Led by Martin Evans with Ajahn Amaro
Saturday 7 December
Day of Practice
Led by Chris Ward
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GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT ALBA DAYS OF PRACTICE AND RETREATS
Days of Practice – no need to book
Registration begins at 9.30 am for 10.00 am – 5.00 pm
Retreats – advance booking essential with booking form
Fri 5.30 pm – 3.00 pm on last day
For more information about booking, or if you do not have access to the internet, contact Martin Evans on 01442 409844
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BODHINYANA GROUP
Meetings are held at Amaravati Buddhist Monastery each Thursday during term time.
Meetings are as follows:
Mar 28 – Easter holiday
Apr 4 – Martin – Parinibbana Sutta
April 11- Martin – Parinibbana Sutta
April 18 – observance day, join community in Temple
April 25 – observance day, join community in Temple
May 2 - leader TBC
May 9 - observance day, join community in Temple
May 16 - leader TBC
May 23 - leader TBC
May 30 - leader TBC
The evening begins at 7.30 pm with a short chant and a period of meditation, following which an experienced lay Buddhist introduces the topic for discussion. All are welcome – we are particularly pleased to see monastery guests – just turn up. Finishes at 9.20pm.
Organised by:
Martin Evans, martin.evans350@ntlworld.com – phone 01442 409844
CONNECT WITH ALBA – ON FACEBOOK AND ON YAHOO! GROUPS
Do you live a long way from a monastery or a local group? Or are you housebound or otherwise limited in how much you can get out and about? Would you like to meet like-minded people in your part of the country? Are you looking for a lift to the monastery to come to a day of practice? Or would you be prepared to offer one.
There are two online groups you can join.
1) The ALBA Connections Yahoo! group enables you to contact each other directly, for example to discuss Dhamma topics, to support each other's practice, to make practical arrangements, for example for lifts to events at Amaravati, or simply to make conversation with Dhamma friends. Click on Join This Group! , in the top right-hand corner of the home page, to join.
2) Our Facebook group open to all who subscribe to this bulletin and who are also on Facebook.
Like the ALBA Connections Yahoo! group, the Facebook group lets you contact each other directly, for example to discuss Dhamma topics, to support each other's practice, to make practical arrangements, for example for lifts to events at Amaravati, or simply to make conversation with Dhamma friends. You can also share links and photos.
We’ve set it up as a ‘secret’ group, which provides the highest possible level of security and privacy within Facebook. Only you can see the group and it’s invisible to non-members. It will not show up on your profile or come up in a general search, and posts to and from the group will not show up on your wall.
Membership is by invitation only. If you’d like to join, you’ll need to become my friend on Facebook – just add me (Alison Moore) – and I can then add you to the group. If you know me, you’ll recognise me by my picture – if not, just pick the Alison Moore with ‘Oxford University - Innerleithen’ under her name (I think I’m the only one).
If you’re not on Facebook, I hope this will tempt you to join! But rest assured, although we’ll be posting information about events, ALBA news and so on, you won’t miss anything important – you will still get the bulletin as usual, and you can visit the Buddha Community website for all the latest news.
If you have any queries about Facebook and/or the group, so email Alison Moore on buddhacommunity@gmail.com
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THE ALBA COMMUNITY
The Amaravati Lay Buddhist Association is no more nor less than its members and supporters ... and that includes you!
Every one of you who attends an ALBA event, who subscribes to ALBA's newsletter, Community, who is a member of our Yahoo! group, ALBA Connections, or of the ALBA Connections Facebook page, or who reads this bulletin, is part of ALBA, and helps to make it what it is. Of course, ALBA is also a working organisation, and as you're a part of it, you might like to:
Find out more about ALBA, its purpose and how it operates
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TRIPLE GEM – THE BUDDHIST FOUNDATION
The Triple Gem Buddhist Foundation (TGBF) is an independent charity set up by a group of ALBA members to support a range of activities including organising mindfulness and related courses and events, the provision of Dhamma teaching and publications, and providing analyses of social issues and contemporary events.
The TGBF website provides details of all TGBF activities.
Visit Triple Gem - The Buddhist Foundation
THE TGBF LIFESKILLS MINDFULNESS COURSE
The LifeSkills Mindfulness Course (LSM) is derived from Buddhist meditation practices that have been used in a range of training courses over the past 30 years to help alleviate stress, unhappiness and chronic pain.
Mindfulness refers to the ability that we all have to stay present with our immediate experience and to be fully aware of the context of our experience.
More about the LSM full course:
- It consists of a series of 2 hour sessions once a week for 8 weeks
- It is skills based – so we will be practising rather than learning theory
- Full notes are provided by email for the course
- The fee includes a course book
If you wish to register your interest in the next course – date to be determined – please email Chris Ward at c.ward@triplegem.org.uk
Please visit the TGBF website for more information
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BUDDHISM UK FACEBOOK GROUP
Join this at:
http://www.facebook.com/groups/ukbuddhism/
Log in to Facebook in the usual way, then search for Buddhism UK, or just post the link above directly into your browser.
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BUDDHA COMMUNITY BLOG
Every month we invite you to visit ALBA’s website, Buddha Community, on which you will find a wealth of information about ALBA and our events, with a news page that is regularly updated.
We’d particularly like to draw your attention to our blog, where we post articles, views and opinions and invite comments. You are also welcome to submit contributions of your own to be considered for publication on the blog.
Contact Chris Ward at buddhacommunity@gmail.com to find out more.
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PRINT IT OUT AND PASS IT ON
If you know of anyone who would be interested to receive this newsletter but who doesn't have access to email or to the Internet, do please consider printing out the full version and passing it on to them. This might be on an individual basis, between friends, or if you are a member of a local group, for example, you could pass round a copy at meetings.
I do receive requests for printed copies from time to time, so if you would be happy to 'buddy up' with one other person and take responsibility for sending them a copy through the post, let me know on buddhacommunity@gmail.com and I can let you have their contact details.
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UNSUBSCRIBING
You have received this email because you subscribe to the email edition of Community, you have attended one of our retreats, or you belong to one of the ALBA networks. If you do not wish to receive any further issues of these occasional newsletters, just email me at buddhacommunity@gmail.com and I will remove you from the circulation list.
Amaravati Lay Buddhist Association (ALBA)
Tel: 01896 831953
Email: buddhacommunity@gmail.com
Visit Amaravati Buddhist Monastery at www.amaravati.org
