Meditation
Meditation at the DBC
Meditation is a means of transforming the mind. It helps us change the way we relate to ourselves and the world around us.
Buddhist meditation techniques offer a way of encouraging and developing positive states of mind, such as calmness, clarity, emotional positivity and a deeper seeing of the true nature of things.
The main thing we learn when we meditate is that we have a choice about how we respond to our thoughts and feelings. Even though much is out of our control in life, we can always take responsibility for our own states of mind and choose to change them for the better. Meditation empowers us to make this choice.
Over thousands of years Buddhist meditation techniques have developed to help people work with their minds, and the foundation of them all is the cultivation of a calm and positive state of mind.
The meditation techniques we teach cultivate this calm and positive state of mind. They consist of two simple but effective practices drawn from the Buddhist tradition and originally taught by the Buddha himself. The pair complement each other and can be learned by anyone, and you don’t have to be a Buddhist to benefit from them!
What kind of meditation do we practice?
Mindfulness
The Mindfulness of Breathing
Loving Kindness
The Development of Loving-Kindness
Mindfulness
Central to meditation is the practice of mindfulness. When we are mindful, we are aware; we notice what is going on around us and inside us.
Mindfulness is something we can practice when we’re on the bus, when we’re waiting in the queue at the shop, while we’re eating. It’s not religious – it’s simply about paying attention to what’s there with an attitude of interest and exploration.
Through being mindful, we learn that small things can have a big effect. Becoming aware of our bodies, our emotional life, our communication with others, helps us to live a life that flows into a rich tapestry of awareness, imbued with beauty and appreciation.
From a Buddhist perspective, mindfulness includes even an awareness of ‘how things really are’ – an awareness of the true nature of things. By being mindful, the Buddha says, we become more wise and more free. It’s because of this that he said that ‘mindfulness is the direct path to freedom’.
The Mindfulness of Breathing
Mindfulness is simply about being aware of our experience. To help us to cultivate this, we do the ‘Mindfulness of Breathing’ meditation practice.
As its name implies, the practice uses the breath as the object of concentration. By focusing on the breath, we become aware of the mind’s tendency to jump from one thing to another.
The simple discipline of concentration brings us back to the present moment and all the richness of experience that it contains.
In particular, the Mindfulness of Breathing is a good antidote to restlessness and anxiety, and a good way to relax. Focusing on the breath has a beneficial effect on both our body and our mind.
The practice isn’t just about helping us relax, however – it also helps us to unlock and integrate our deeper emotional energies. By practising the Mindfulness of Breathing regularly, we can experience ourselves becoming more free at deeper and deeper levels of ourselves.
Loving Kindness
Central also to Buddhist meditation practice is the cultivation of ‘metta’, ‘friendliness’ or ‘loving-kindness’. It involves having an openness and emotional positivity for ourselves and other people.
Loving-kindness is an emotion – a desire in our heart for the well-being of people. To cultivate loving-kindness is to develop positivity and warmth, to leave behind harmful emotions, and to connect with other people at a deeper level.
Loving-kindness is powerfully transformative, and can change how we see and experience the world. To cultivate loving-kindness is to grow out of self-centredness and emotional negativity, and into being able to have harmonious and satisfying relationships with other people, as well as with ourselves.
The Development of Loving-Kindness
he ‘Metta Bhavana’, or ‘Development of Loving-Kindness’ meditation practice helps us to develop or cultivate loving-kindness.
The practice starts with ourselves – overcoming feelings of low-self esteem or low self-worth, and instead befriending oneself with kindness and wishing oneself to be well and happy.
We then develop loving-kindness for others, until we eventually include all beings, without discrimination, in our loving-kindness.
The Development of Loving-Kindness meditation is a particularly good antidote for irritability, ill-will and hatred. It’s also good for relieving anxiety and stress.
Ultimately, the Development of Loving-Kindness is a wisdom practice. Wisdom, from a Buddhist perspective, means seeing that other people are no different from ourselves, in that they too want happiness and fulfilment, just as we ourselves do. Developing loving-kindness can help us to see this for ourselves.
Would you like to learn to meditate?
Come and join us in our next introductory course.
12
November
Meditation Essentials – Five Week Course
Cost
Mindfulness and loving-kindness meditation course – learn to meditate with experienced teachers. Learn to be calmer and more energised.
Led by Prasannadeva, Prajnamayi and Sadayasihi.
An In-Person Event.
Learning to meditate in the DBC
Meditation is something that’s best learned from others and with others. When you come to the DBC, you are part of an active community of like-minded people, all exploring what meditation can offer, in an atmosphere of friendliness and warmth, so you can easily learn our Mindfulness and Loving-Kindness meditation practices.
All our courses take place in our beautiful and custom-built city-centre location, just off Talbot Street, Dublin 1.
Our courses are practical and relevant, distilling the wisdom of the Buddhist meditation tradition into a form that’s easy to learn and at the same time profound in its application.
Many people have found that learning meditation with us has changed their lives (see testimonials below), with the practices of mindfulness and loving-kindness having a deeply transformative effect on their minds and emotions.
All our meditation teachers are ordained members of the Triratna Buddhist Order, men and women who are themselves living a life of meditation and Buddhist practice, and have been for many years.
The DBC is a not-for-profit charity – our desire is to make the wealth of the Buddhist tradition available in a useful form that anyone can take up – regardless of whether they’re a Buddhist or not.
Our Courses and Classes
The best way to learn meditation with us is to do one of our five week courses.
The aim of the course is to help you set up and maintain a meditation practice of your own at home.
Over the five weeks, you’ll learn:
WEEK 1. Meditation & Mindfulness
What is Meditation?
Introduction to Mindfulness
Meditation Posture
The Mindfulness of Breathing
Setting up your daily meditation practice at home
WEEK 2. Exploring Aspects of Mindfulness
Reviewing how you got on with meditation during the week just past
The foundations of mindfulness
Setting up and finishing your meditation well
WEEK 3. The Development of Loving-Kindness
Reviewing how you got on with meditation during the week just past
What is Metta? Exploring loving-kindness
The Development of Loving-Kindness Meditation practice
WEEK 4. Working with the Mind: Distraction and Absorption
Reviewing how you got on with meditation during the week just past
How to work more deeply with the mind in meditation
Working with distractions in meditation
Working with absorption in meditation
WEEK 5. Taking Meditation into the World
Reviewing how you got on with meditation during the week just past
Mindfulness and loving-kindness off the cushion
Continuing your meditation practice after the course
If you can’t commit to doing a five week course, you can also do one of our weekend day events.
And you’ll have a host of resources available to support your practice, including detailed notes each week and audio downloads (or audio CDs if preferred) to guide you in your meditations.
Testimonials from Meditation Course Participants
Would you like to learn to meditate?
Come and join us in our next introductory course.
12
November
Meditation Essentials – Five Week Course
Cost
Mindfulness and loving-kindness meditation course – learn to meditate with experienced teachers. Learn to be calmer and more energised.
Led by Prasannadeva, Prajnamayi and Sadayasihi.
An In-Person Event.
Introductory Days
If you can’t commit to doing a five week course, you can also do one of our weekend day events.
Introduction to Meditation Days
We run Introduction to Meditation Days, teaching both the Mindfulness of Breathing and the Development of Loving-Kindness meditation practice.
Each day runs 10am – 4.30pm.
Yoga & Meditation Days
We also run Yoga and Meditation Days, teaching both the Mindfulness of Breathing and the Development of Loving-Kindness meditation practices, as well as having two sessions of yoga. These are a great opportunity to see how meditation and yoga can go hand-in-hand with each other.
Each day runs 10am – 5pm.
Come on one of our day retreats
13
October
Meditation Essentials – Day Retreat
Cost
On this day retreat, we will be learning the 'Mindfulness of Breathing' and the 'Development of Loving-Kindness' meditation practices.
Led by Prasannadeva and Satyaprapta.
An In-Person Event.
27
October
Yoga and Meditation – Day Retreat
Cost
On this day retreat, we will be learning the 'Mindfulness of Breathing' and the 'Development of Loving-Kindness' meditation practices, and doing two invigorating yoga sessions.
Led by Pavara.
An In-Person Event.
10
November
Meditation Essentials – Day Retreat
Cost
On this day retreat, we will be learning the 'Mindfulness of Breathing' and the 'Development of Loving-Kindness' meditation practices.
Led by Prasannadeva.
An In-Person Event.
After the Course
Once you’ve completed a meditation course with us, a whole range of events are available to support you in your meditation practice, and to help you to explore how to take it deeper.
For example, every week, we have a drop-in Sangha Night, where you can meditate with other people and have input on meditation and Buddhism.
We also run Life with Full Attention mindfulness courses, residential retreats, morning and lunchtime sits each day, and many more events for you to come along to.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do I need to bring to the meditation class?
You will just need to bring yourself and some suitable clothing for yoga to the class. Mats, blocks and all other yoga equipment are provided. Suitable clothing is clothing which is not tight and will not impede your movement. A good example is tracksuit bottoms and a loose t-shirt.
There are also facilities to change your clothes in the centre, especially if you are just coming from work.
Will the meditation course help me to relax?
Meditation is a tool for positive change. It will help you to move from stressed, uncomfortable states of mind to more open, appreciative and calm states of mind.
It will also help you to deal with situations which would normally lead to stress in a more creative and resourceful way.
I’m a complete beginner. Is it difficult to learn to meditate?
The introductory course is suitable for complete beginners who have never meditated before. Some people find it difficult, some find it easy, but all people who do it remark on its usefulness.
The course aims to help you have your own regular practice at home, with enough skills to maintain your practice.
Do I have to be interested in Buddhism to do the course?
You do not have to be interested in Buddhism to do the course. Most people who attend are simply looking for a way to relax, de-stress, and reinvigorate their lives. Others learn to meditate as a means of personal development and growth.
The main aim of meditation is to bring about positive change in people’s lives, and this is true regardless of personal beliefs.
For those who are interested in Buddhism, the course is a good introduction to the Buddhist approach in working with the mind. You could also try the Buddhism Courses, and once the introductory meditation course is completed other courses and retreats on Buddhism are available.
Does the course involve chanting or mantras?
There are several different types of meditation available today in the West, many involving chanting or the use of mantras. However, we don’t use mantra or chanting in our classes.
For instance, in the ‘Mindfulness of Breathing’, the object of meditation is the breath. This meditation involves sitting quietly observing the flow of the breath in and out of the body.
The ‘Development of Loving-Kindness’ involves quietly cultivating feelings of warmth and friendless towards ourselves and others.
Do I need to be able to sit cross-legged or in full-lotus posture to meditate?
On the first night of the introductory meditation course we show all participants how to sit comfortably in a posture which suits their individual bodies.
This may be cross-legged, but can also include sitting in a chair or on cushions. The main thing is that you are able to sit comfortably, upright and alert.
Meditation
Meditation is a means of transforming the mind. It helps us change the way we relate to ourselves and the world around us.
Buddhist meditation techniques offer a way of encouraging and developing positive states of mind, such as calmness, clarity, emotional positivity and a deeper seeing of the true nature of things.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is one of the central practices in Buddhism. Put simply, when we are mindful, we are aware, we notice what is going on around us and inside us.
The centre is fully wheelchair accessible.