A Buddhist Centre in the Heart of Nottingham
A place to learn about Buddhism and meditation;
to participate in creating a vibrant spiritual community;
and respond creatively to the sufferings of the world.
The Buddha lived 2,500 years ago in India and taught love, generosity and awareness. At the heart of his Enlightenment experience, alongside an awakening to the way things really are, was a radical and altruistic vision to alleviate the sufferings of the world which are so evidently all around us. The Nottingham Buddhist Centre is dedicated to the spread of the Buddha's message in a way that is relevant to us here and now, yet remains faithful to the essentials of the Buddhist Tradition.
The centre is run by a team from the Triratna Buddhist Order, assisted by many of those who attend the centre regularly. It is affiliated to the Triratna Buddhist Community, a Buddhist movement founded by Sangharakshita in the late 1960's and originally known in the west as the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO). This name was changed in 2009 to more truly reflect the international nature of the movement which now has centres in all six continents of the globe.
The name Triratna also reminds us of our central ideals, meaning ‘Three Jewels’, which refers to the Buddha - the man who, through his own efforts, gained Enlightenment; the Dharma - the teachings and practices taught by the Buddha that help us to overcome suffering and create a better world; and Sangha - the spiritual community of Buddhist practitioners who are dedicated to creating a world free of suffering.
For those new to the Centre, we have several weekly drop-in meditation classes, suitable for beginners, as well as regular 6- and 8-week Change your Mind, Change the World - an introduction to Buddhism and Meditation courses and our Open Doors mornings on many Saturdays. We also host many other activities that help to support a deepening practice of Buddhism.
We run the Centre on the spiritual principle of generosity - dana in traditional Buddhist language - whereby we strive to make what we do freely available to all those wishing to benefit from it whilst also asking for what we need in order to keep the Centre running. We ask for both financial donations from those who can afford it and offers of practical help in running the Centre. Indeed, we invite people to help us in whatever way they can to make Buddhism available to more and more people.
The Centre is located in the Lace Market district of Nottingham, right in the heart of the city centre. As well as our wonderful shrine room, our reception area has Nottingham's best-stocked Buddhist bookshop, which sells books on most Buddhist topics, cards, postcards and incense and some CDs. We also have some resources for the visually impaired in the form of CD recordings of some books.
Although we don’t have a cafe, the Buddhist centre is vegan in that we only provide soya and oat milks for the drinks we offer at classes.
The Buddhist Case for Veganism
“When I think about Buddhism and veganism, it makes me think first of all about just how crucial, from a Buddhist point of view, it is to practice non-harming of living beings. This is something the Buddha said right from the very beginning: you must practice non-harming of living beings and you must behave from kindness as if all beings are your friends. This is why I became a vegetarian and then became a vegan.”
January is now Veganuary, an opportunity for people to try a Vegan diet for the month. If you are interested to explore the Buddhist case for Veganism, here are a number of resources -
Eat Peas! Thinking about the Ethics of Veganism by Sadayasihi
Buddhism on a Plate: the case for Buddhists to go vegan by Samacitta
Vegetarianism: A Buddhist View by Bodhipaksa (accessible and practical, includes a section on Veganism)
Veganuary is a national campaign encouraging people to try veganism in January. The campaign began in 2014 and each year participants have more than doubled, with a total of more than 250,000 people across 193 countries signing up over the campaign's five years. Last year there were over 168,000 pledges and this is set to rise again this year! You can sign up any time in January to receive excellent daily support emails, with recipes, a vegan starter kit, free digital cookbook, meal plans and inspiring videos and articles. You don't have to be a meat-eater to sign up! Last year 22% of pledges were vegetarian, 14% were pescatarian and 17% were already vegan! Veganuary is a brilliant opportunity for people of any diet to be supported in moving toward a completely plant-based diet that is better for animals, the environment and our health.
If you wish to join thousands of others who are taking the pledge go to the Veganuary website.
'To place the heart upon' is the literal translation of the term sraddha, more often translated just as faith. It plays a key role in the Buddhist life and suggests an emotional response to what we value, indicating that the Dharma life is not just about learning techniques or changing our perception of the world but a whole-hearted engagement with the Three Jewels. We will explore what faith really is along with the related emotions of devotion, reverence and gratitude; we will hear some stories about faith from the Buddhist tradition; and we will engage in devotional practices that help to strengthen the faculty of faith within us.
This is a two-day weekend retreat - 10.00 a.m. until 5.00 pm. on both Saturday and Sunday 19/20th January - held at the Buddhist Centre and led by Saccanama.
Please bring vegan food to share for lunch on both days.
This is a dana event, suggested donation of £50.