Meditation

The ultimate “purpose of meditation is to awaken in us the sky-like nature of mind, and to introduce us to that which we really are, our unchanging pure awareness which underlies the whole of life and death.”
The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying

By training in mindfulness and calm abiding (shamatha) meditation, we pacify our scattered minds, defuse our powerful emotions and overcome distraction.

The first & basic practice of meditation is to allow the mind to settle into a state of ‘calm abiding’, where it will find peace & stability. It is a practice through which we rest the mind naturally in a state of relaxed awareness, in order to allow the nature of mind to reveal itself.

The ancient method of meditation has come to be seen as a powerful support for modern life—something that can be practised anywhere, by anyone, of any age or background. Moreover, there is growing scientific evidence that meditation has a positive effect on our health and wellbeing.

Compassion

The practice of compassion has for centuries been a guiding principle in the world’s major religious and ethical traditions, but it has never been more urgently needed than it is today.

By developing compassion and loving kindness both for ourselves and others, we discover a stable sense of self-esteem and a healthy, nourishing love for ourselves. This supplies the basis from which we can begin to direct our minds to relieving the suffering of all beings.

Compassion is not simply a sense of sympathy or caring for someone who is suffering, not simply a warmth of heart toward the person before you, or a sharp clarity of recognition of their needs and pain. It is also a sustained and practical determination to do whatever is possible and necessary to help alleviate their suffering.

The particular strength of the Buddhist teaching is that it shows the ‘logic’ of compassion, as well as the damage that a lack of compassion has done to us.

When studying and practising compassion, we develop a more wholesome, less selfish way of being. We gain knowledge and awareness by looking at compassion from Buddhist, personal and modern scientific points of view and then deepen it through personal analysis and reflection.