Hull Buddhist Groups

Saturday 17th May 2008

There will be meditation and readings from Buddhist scriptures. Lay Buddhists of all traditions are welcome to attend. Newcomers are asked to arrive at 10-00 a.m. Tea is available and you are welcome to bring some food for a shared cold vegetarian buffet at 12-30 p.m. (please do not bring food that needs cooking or reheating). Do not feel obliged to stay for the whole day.

click here for a poster that you can print out and display

further details -

There will be 3 periods of meditation and readings about the life of the historical Buddha - His birth, going forth, enlightenment, first sermon, the five precepts and His death. We aim to be able to give the opportunity to people to get the most from the day, without making it into a formal silent retreat, so please allow others to meditate in silence and listen to the readings. There is plenty of time scheduled to chat to old friends and make new ones over the lunch. (click here for probable event schedule) The event is probably not suitable for children, but if you want to catch up with old friends and cannot find a childminder - you could bring them along to the lunch.

You are advised to bring your own meditation cushion (Zafu), matt or rug if you have them. There is plenty of plastic chairs to sit on, but you could bring your own cushion to make it more comfortable. The floor could be quite cold so a thick pair of socks would be useful. It would be helpful if you could bring an old tea-towel and perhaps your own cutlery (if it is distinctive).

You can do your normal meditation, sitting wherever you choose. For people who are new to Buddhism there will be a simple guided breathing meditation; veterans may prefer to do their normal meditation prectice. You are welcome to wear meditation robes if you like and a name badge to identify yourself and the Buddhist Group you attend. You are also welcome to bring Buddhist flags, Thangkas or posters to decorate the hall; we will start setting things up at 9-30am.

We have decided that we wanted the day to be accessible to Buddhists of all traditions, so there will be no special ceremonies during the event because each tradition has different rituals. If you wish to bow or do prostrations then you please do so at an appropriate time. If you are a newcomer do not get confused by the fact that those attending are meditating or doing things slightly differently - this is just a manifestation of the wide scope of Buddhism!

We would like people to volunteer to: select and read scriptures or other appropriate texts (10 minutes each), welcome guests, set things up, make the tea and do the washing up. We will draw up a rota so these duties are shared. Also, if you would like to give a short reading (5 minutes) from your favourite Buddhist book please bring the text with you and we will see if there is enough time. (click here for rota)

There will be a begging bowl for donations to cover the cost of the hire of the rooms and other running expenses. Any excess after the costs have been covered will be donated to Angulimala - the Buddhist Prison Chaplaincy.

Buddhist Groups are welcome to bring some posters about the group and free literature for people to take. At present we do not know the deatils of display facilities. If your Group wishes to support the event please us know and we will add your name to the list of supporting Groups.

If you would like to attend the event or help please e-mail Ann Surgey ann_surgey@hotmail.com or telephone 01964 612374 or 01482 472645 . Please do contact us so we have an idea of how many people are planning to attend and so we can organise the event to run as smoothly as possible.