Training in Meditation

Training in Meditation with Birgit Saunders

The purpose of meditation is to help us touch base with, and immerse ourselves in, that deep sense of peace and clarity that we hold at the very centre of our being; and then carry this sense of peace into our lives.

All too often, this inner calm gets lost or overwhelmed in the distractions and worries of our lives. Our sense of feeling peaceful and happy seems to last only as long as things around us are ok. When things go wrong, when we don't get what we want, or when friends, family or colleagues do things we don't like, we 'lose the plot' and find ourselves, unhappy, irritated or angry, lonely, and/or disappointed.

What we really want is to develop the skills to help us feel peaceful and calm even when nothing seems to be going our way, and the storms around us are raging (or even when potentially irritating things just seem to be getting in the way). This would be pretty amazing. Just imagine if you could maintain a deep sense of peace, no matter what was happening around you. It would be good for us, and for those around us. The best thing to take into a difficult situation, really is a peaceful mind.

By training in meditation, we create an inner space and clarity that enables us to control our mind regardless of the external circumstances. Gradually we develop mental equilibrium, a balanced mind that is happy all the time, rather than an unbalanced mind that oscillates between the extremes of excitement and despondency.

Based on the book Modern Buddhism by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, in this course we learn what meditation is and how to meditate. We will also explore some of the basic concepts of Kadampa Buddhist philosophy and practice, such as our precious human life, the meditation on death, refuge and karma.

Also in Whanganui on Thursday and Levin on Monday.
For more details go to the website.

This class is also available online as live stream or replay from Thursday onwards on the website.