GREETINGS
Welcome to the Meditation Circle site. This longtime Buddhist-oriented meditation group based at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 520 Kanawha Boulevard W., in Charleston, West Virginia, will be closing down its meetings for good effective with the end of June 2022, after a good run. See the ‘RESOURCES’ page for tips on setting up or deepening meditation practice. Be well!
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Tag Archives: Readings
Near & Far Away
If we really investigate and examine our hearts [or minds], we will at some time experience joy, rapture and peace. At other times we will experience feelings of indifference, detachment and separation. If we experience the latter we should not … Continue reading
Posted in Dhamma Talk, Mindfulness
Tagged Dhamma Talk, mindfulness, Readings
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ARTICLE: On a Buddhist retreat 8 Days After 9-11
The Buddhist magazine Tricycle published on its website today a blog article that Meditation Circle co-founder Douglas John Imbrogno wrote 20 years ago, about being on retreat led by Bhavana Society co-founder Bhante Gunaratana right days after 9-11: “An airplane … Continue reading
Posted in Dhamma Talk, Meditation
Tagged article, Readings
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There is no “time off” from karma
By LYNN J. KELLEY | From “The Buddha’s Advice to Laypeople” blog The Dhammapada is probably the most popular Buddhist literature in the world. It consists of 423 verses — sort of poetry, sort of philosophy, and a useful set … Continue reading
Posted in Mindfulness, Readings
Tagged mindfulness, Readings
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When mindfulness is present
READINGS … Hindrances cannot arise when mindfulness is present. Mindfulness is attention to present-moment reality, and therefore, directly antithetical to the dazed state of mind that characterizes impediments. As meditators, it is only when we let our mindfulness slip that … Continue reading
READINGS: It’s like this
READINGS Excerpts from a Dhamma talk by Ajahn Sumedho, one of the most esteemed Western monks in the Thai Forest tradition. + + + Bring your attention to this moment, here and now. Whatever you’re feeling physically or emotionally, whatever … Continue reading
Studying the Dhammapada: Verses 1-2
The Meditation Circle of Charleston has a new schedule that began this week, moving our regular Tuesday meeting to every Monday. We’ve also expanded the meeting time, adding an optional half-hour session from 5:30 to 6 p.m., featuring Qigong moving … Continue reading
Summer 2016 “Forest Path” Newsletter Online
The Summer 2016 edition of “The Forest Path,” the online newsletter of the Bhavana Society Therevadan Buddhist Monastery and retreat center in High View, W.Va., in Hampshire County, is now online at this link. From the introduction to this newsletter: … Continue reading
A discourse on Anapanasati Meditation
Ven. Buddhadàsa Bhikkhu In 2016, The Meditation Circle has been focusing on the Buddhist meditation known as Anàpànasati (the development of mindfulness of breathing) To learn more about this meditation technique, we encourage you to download this .pdf of a teaching … Continue reading
Posted in Meditation
Tagged Anapanasati, Meditation, Readings
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Sitting through fear
“States of fear sometimes arise during meditation for no discernible reason. It is a common phenomenon, and there can be a number of causes. You may be experiencing the effect of something repressed long ago. Remember, thoughts arise first in … Continue reading
mindfulness just accepts it
“It is psychologically impossible for us to objectively observe what is going on within us if we do not at the same time accept the occurrence of our various states of mind. This is especially true with unpleasant states of … Continue reading
The heart of our true nature
“…To forgive does not necessarily mean to forget. Sometimes to forget is not wise, but to forgive is wise. And it is at times not easy. It can, in fact, be quite challenging. It will come as no surprise that … Continue reading
Walking to Lhasa
“… The mind is very powerful. There’s a tremendous strength there, and it makes such a big difference how this mind, this will, this intention is being steered. And everything depends on whether it allows itself to relax and be … Continue reading
Look again
“If the breath seems an exceedingly dull thing to observe over and over, you may rest assured of one thing: you have ceased to observe the process with true mindfulness. Mindfulness is never boring. Look again. Don’t assume that you … Continue reading
Acknowledging the problem
“We carry addictions. The first step is acknowledging that. The acknowledgment itself is the purpose of the First Noble Truth. If you really look at the Buddhist tradition, the First Noble Truth is to understand the truth of suffering, which … Continue reading
Understanding Cause & Effect
Bhante Gunaratana “Once we understand that everything we think, say or do is a cause that leads inevitably to some effect, now or in the future, we will naturally want to think, say, and do things that lead to … Continue reading
