Keeping one’s practice going in lay life can often be a bit of a struggle. Jobs and relationships may seem to get in the way or demand priority; and we inhabit a culture that tends to favour excitement and diversion over stillness and quiet contemplation.

It helps enormously if we don’t have to do this completely on our own. Here is a list of local activities where you can draw on the fellowship, advice and support of other lay trainees.

Sitting meditation is the heart and foundation of all our other activities. We meet for meditation every Wednesday evening throughout the year (August excepted) at the Quaker Meeting House in Sheffield. Newcomers are always welcome and meditation instruction is always available, but it’s helpful if people new to our practice can come on either the first or third Wednesday of the month. We don’t make any charge, though donations are always appreciated.

Our usual format is to have tea and a chat while people gradually assemble and then to sit for two thirty-minute periods divided by ten minutes walking meditation. Some weeks we will listen to a recorded dharma talk in the second period of meditation. Occasionally, too, we will hold a short service at the start or end of the sitting. The evening finishes by 9.15 pm.

Meditation days serve several purposes. Not everybody finds it easy to make it to the group on Wednesday evenings. Sometimes it’s good to sit more intensively than for just the limited time we can manage as part of our daily routine. And it’s often nice to take time out from a busy day and drop in for a short period of quiet meditation with friends.

A meditation day, usually a Saturday, is divided into hourly slots, consisting of forty minutes sitting, ten minutes walking meditation and a ten-minute break before the next period. People can come for an hour, sit for the whole day or anything in between. (You’ll need to have been given meditation instruction before you can take part however).

We hold day retreats three or four times a year at Fulwood Old Chapel, led by Reverend Master Leandra, a senior monk from Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey. The retreats begin on Friday evening with meditation and a chat over tea and resume at 10.00am on Saturday, finishing at about 4.00pm. Some, but not all, of the retreats are silent.

The retreats generally include several periods of meditation, a service, a talk by Reverend Leandra and a discussion, a bring-and-share vegetarian lunch and, for those individuals who request it, private interviews with Reverend Leandra about their training. Meditation instruction can also be given if you haven’t already been to one of our weekly sessions. People can attend for all or any part of the retreat.

At least once a year we host a weekend together in the Derbyshire town of Wirksworth. The weekend includes both meditative and social activities and has proved to be one of the most popular and helpful of all our activities. It’s important enough to us that we’ve written a fuller account of what we do and why we’ve come to value it so much, which you can view here.

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