Meditation Classes
Learn Meditation
We offer a range of friendly, practical, online courses and shorter sessions in Buddhist meditation
- Lunchtime sessions: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 1 pm, no need to book – see What’s On for more info. Popular and informal – a good place to start
- Six-week evening courses in Meditation on Wednesdays: Latest started on 2nd March, next will be later in 2022
- Another option: Meditation is a big part of our Tools for Living Buddhism classes, most Saturdays at 11am. No need to book – see What’s On for more info
- Once you’ve been meditating regularly for six months or so, try deepening your practice at our Monday online meditation nights. No need to book – see What’s On for more info
Meditation Classes coming up
Our Teachers
Our teachers are ordained members of the Triratna Buddhist Order and those preparing for ordination. They are well-trained and experienced practitioners, communicating from their own experience.
How to book
You need to book and pay for the six-week courses in advance please, but no need to book for drop-in classes. Prices and booking details for each course are in What’s on. Questions? 0161 834 9232 when we’re open or info@manchesterbuddhistcentre.org.uk
See below for course handouts and led meditations and check our YouTube channel for live-streamed classes and more
What is Meditation?
Meditation can transform our Lives
Many things are beyond our control, but we can take responsibility for our own states of mind and change them for the better. Buddhism sees this as the most important thing we can do. Meditation can help us develop concentration, clarity, positivity, and a calm seeing of the true nature of things.
Through regular practice and over time, we learn our mind’s habits, and cultivate new, more positive ways, transforming our understanding of life and actions within it.
Traditional Practices
In our introductory, foundation and led meditation classes we teach the same two traditional Buddhist meditations:
- Mindfulness of breathing to develop awareness
- Loving-kindness meditation or Metta Bhavana for positivity
Two Traditional Meditation Practices
Mindfulness of Breathing Meditation
This practice helps us become calmer, more centred and concentrated, taking the breath as the object of attention and noticing it coming and going in a relaxed, open way. Settling the attention on the breath lets our mind quieten down and awareness deepen.
The mindfulness developing from this helps us to keep a continuous flow of attention to what is happening in each moment.
- Listen to mindfulness of breathing meditation led by Ratnaguna – 20 minutes
Mindfulness is body and mind fully engaged in a state of clarity and positivity that saturates and colours the whole of our experience
Loving-Kindness Meditation
Traditionally called the Metta Bhavana, this meditation practice helps us to develop a gentle transformation in our emotional life. Through wishing ourselves and others happiness and well-being, we can become more emotionally positive, kind, and compassionate.
- Listen to Metta Bhavana meditation led by Padmadarshini – 27 minutes
You are deeply concerned for their well-being, happiness, and prosperity…When you feel this loving-kindness you want them to be not just happy but deeply happy; you have a strong desire for their true welfare, growth and progress
Going Deeper
Deepen your Experience of Meditation
After an introductory meditation course, you may want to continue your practice or take it to deeper levels. You could try:
- A Buddhism course to put meditation in context. Learn how ethical living can support our meditation
- Evening and weekend meditation events: local and visiting teachers lead occasional workshops to help deepen our practice and answer questions that arise from it. Check our YouTube channel for talks and meditations from past events
- Retreats: an ideal way of going deeper with your meditation with more silence and space
- Using the meditation halls to drop in and meditate during the week. This has become more difficult since the pandemic though – please check first with reception
Meditation Resources
Course Handouts
Background reading for our meditation courses is freely available here in printable pdf format
Six-week Foundation Course
- Week 1 – The Purpose and Aim of Buddhist Meditation
- Week 2 – Sensing More, Thinking Less
- Week 3 – Introducing the Metta Bhavana
- Week 5 – Calm and Insight Revisited
One-day Course
Other Meditation Resources
You can listen to talks and more led meditations on the talks page. There’s a wide range of meditation kit and introductory books in our shop and we also have a reference library.
Led Meditations
Led by Ratnaguna and Anita Banerji – download or click and play here. More on our YouTube channel
Six-week Foundation Course
Meditate – do not delay, lest you later regret it
Manchester Buddhist Centre
16-20 Turner Street
Northern Quarter, M4 1DZ
info@manchesterbuddhistcentre.org.uk
0161 834 9232
Please contact us by email when we're closed
Opening Times & more
Opening Times:
• Tues, Weds, Thurs: 11am - 3pm• Sat: 10.30am - 2.30pm
• Bodywise opening times
• Join mailing list
Charity details
Mission statement from our charity registration
The advancement of the Buddhist religion, in particular:
- To encourage members and others to live in accordance with the teachings of the Buddha
- To support ordained members of the Triratna Buddhist Order and other duly ordained Buddhists at the discretion of the Council of Manchester Buddhist Centre
- To maintain close communication with, and work under the guidance of, the Triratna Buddhist Order and in co-operation with other groups with the same objects
- To use applications of the Buddha’s teaching to promote the health and well-being of all