Reading Buddhist Priory is one of several small temples of the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives in Britain and is run by a senior monk of the Order. There are regular weekly meditation sessions as well as various other events during the year. In addition it is possible to visit the Priory at times apart from scheduled events if you check in advance that someone is in.
We ask people to attend an introductory session if they have not had meditation instruction in this particular tradition before. Introductory evenings run on one or two Tuesday evenings a month at 7.30pm. Alternatively you are very welcome to email or phone to arrange an alternative time to come if a Tuesday is not possible.
At an introductory evening we give practical instruction in how to meditate and help people to find a suitable posture, which may be sitting on a chair with a wedge shaped cushion, on a kneeling bench or a round cushion (zafu). We recommend wearing loose, respectful clothing as tight trousers or anything constricting make it difficult to sit comfortably. After the instruction we have a short period of seated meditation followed by walking meditation which helps to bring the focus of sitting meditation into activity. The evening finishes with a chance to ask questions about the meditation practice and Buddhist teaching. The evening usually takes under 2 hours. When the resident Prior is away a senior lay member gives meditation instruction.
After someone has attended an introductory evening they are then very welcome to come to any of the scheduled events in the calendar.
