Thirteen people came along to a day of sustained meditation practice in Highfield this Saturday, 24 November.

It was the first such event in a very long time for Hampshire Buddhist Society, and we hope to host similar events in the near future.

Thank you to everyone who came along and made the event happen, and also to those who were not able to attend ont his occasion but had expressed an interest in this kind of event.​ We will send out details via the email list when the next one has been arranged.

The Hampshire Buddhist Society will be facilitating a day of sustained meditation, suitable for anyone who would like to deepen their practice in supportive surroundings.

We will meet on Saturday 24 November 2018 at the 14th Highfield Scout Group HQ on Brookvale Road in Southampton [map]. This is the first time for several years that we are holding such an event, and if there is sufficient demand we may repeat this kind of event more frequently.

For further information about the November event please see our events page. If you have any further questions, or want to reserve a place at this event, please complete the form on the events page or email hampshirebuddhistsociety@gmail.com

We would like to thank all those who came to September's day retreat; in particular, we would like to thank you for your generosity in respect of donations made on the day. It ensured not only that the event costs were covered but also that we will be able to make a donation to Chithurst monastery. 
 
Should you have any feedback about the organisation of the event that might help future events you are very welcome to drop us an email message. Otherwise we trust you found the day fruitful and look forward to seeing you again at some future time.

We are now fully booked for the day retreat with Ajahn Karuniko on Sunday 16 September 2018. We are however operating a waiting list so you are invited to register your interest if you haven't already done so. We will be confirming attendance of those already registered and any places freed up during this process will be offered to anyone on the waiting list.

If you have already had your place on the retreat confirmed, be assured that we will email you further details about the day towards the end of August.

The Tuwhiri Project is creating an easy-to-read book that will help people work their way through and get a good understanding of Stephen Batchelor’s After Buddhism: rethinking the dharma for a secular age, on their own or with others.

The Tuwhiri Project is seeking support to produce, print, distribute and promote this book, and if you want to join in then you can make a pledge via their Kickstarter funding page before it ends on Wednesday 11 July 2018.

If you're interested in participating in a study group using this book as a guide, please speak to Jim.

What is This? consists of the meditation instructions and Dharma talks given by Stephen Batchelor during a Sŏn (Chan/Zen) retreat offered at the Gaia House retreat centre in Devon in April 2016. It introduces us to the practice of radical questioning as taught in the Korean Sŏn Buddhist tradition and offers reflections on how this form of meditation can be understood today.

The edited talks in this book explore how a practice that originated in China more than a thousand years ago can be enriched by ideas from the natural sciences, ancient and modern Western philosophy, Romantic poetry and the early Buddhism of the Pali Canon. The book serves both as a practice manual as well as a personal and critical reflection on the challenge of being fully human in the contemporary world.

All profits from this book will be donated to the building appeal to help raise funds to improve the building and provide a better environment for all those who visit, reside and work at Gaia House. The book was conceived by Stephen after Jim Champion - the secretary of HBS - sent him the transcripts that he had made  of the recordings of these dhamma talks that are freely available on the dharmaseed.org website (link). The book was launched at a special event at Gaia House on the 28th April, which Jim and family attended.

On Sunday 20 May 2018 several members of the Hampshire Buddhist Society met at Chithurst Buddhist Monastery to celebrate Vesak. It was a beautifully sunny early summer's day to commemorate the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha.

​The next special event at Cittaviveka is the International Thod Pha Pa on Sunday 17 June 2018. [link] This will also be a celebration to mark 100 years since the birth of the Thai Forest Master, Ajahn Chah.