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1. Weekly Meditation Groups in person or on zoom

Tues 7 - 8:30 pm and Fri 8:30 - 10 am

To attend a meditation session in person, come to 518 - 2 St. in Canmore. To attend on zoom see the homepage to access the links. We are here to support one another in our meditation practice. There is no requirement to be Buddhist to attend. Since we meditate in silence, you are welcome to practice whatever tradition of silent meditation/contemplation/prayer you find useful. The teachings and discussion following the meditation are in the Theravada Buddhist tradition.

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    The Groups are Drop-in

When you arrive for the group, no need to knock...just walk in. We meet upstairs. If you have your own sitting gear, feel free to bring it along.....just don't bring a zabuton as the available floor space will already be covered with ours.  There are plenty of mats/zabutons and chairs as well as a variety of other sitting gear available on a first come, first serve basis.

 

If stairs are a challenge for you, you are welcome to sit downstairs. Sound travels well from upstairs, so you’ll be able to hear the Dhamma Reflection.

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      Honouring Sacred Space

You are welcome to chat quietly in the foyer when you arrive but please enter silence as you ascend the stairs or enter the downstairs sitting area to help start the practice of focusing inward.  At the end of the meeting we invite chatting/connecting to build community.

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    Meeting Format

We start with three bows to the Buddha, which is optional. Next there is a chant to help us shift from the busyness of our day to an inward focus. Then we have a silent meditation for about 30 minutes.  Next is a teaching for about 1/2 hour.  This is followed by 10 - 15 minutes of questions and discussion. The evening ends with a very, very short meditation on one of the Brahmaviharas....the beautiful emotions: metta (loving friendliness/unconditional love), karuna (compassion), mudita (sympathetic joy....feeling joy when someone else is experiencing happiness) and equanimity (unflappable calm, serenity).

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2. Moon Days of Silent Meditation

Each full and new moon day from 9 am - 5 pm

You are welcome to join us in person or on zoom for silent meditation practice on these moon days. The day of silent meditation begins and ends with an opportunity to ask questions about your practice at the beginning and end of the day. You can come for the entire day or any portion. Please visit our Moon Days of Silence page for more details and dates for the Days of Silence. 

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3. Morning and Evening Puja

Morning puja is 6 am - 7 am each day except Mondays.

Evening puja is 7 pm - 8 pm on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

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The resident community at the monastery sit in meditation (no teaching) each morning and evening. You are welcome to join us. You are most welcome to join us.  This is live only, not on zoom.  Please just walk in and come upstairs. There is no talking as the community is in silence from evening puja until after lunch the following day.

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4. Personal Interviews 

If you have some questions about your meditation practice that you’d prefer not to bring up in the group discussion, you may request an individual interview with Ayya Ahimsa or Sanghamitta. Interviews with Ayya Ahimsa are scheduled at 1pm each afternoon, except Mondays. Interviews with Sanghamitta are more flexible.  Please email us at canmore.t.buddhism@gmail.com to schedule an interview. 

 

Donations

There is no charge for attending any of our meditation events. If you would like to offer a donation to support the monastery and the presence of nuns in Canmore, please see our Donations page. Thank you (Anumodana).

  

Additional Orientation to Meditation 

Who can benefit from meditation? Everyone can! Some introductory instructions about how to meditate are available in the top menu bar under Teachings, along with additional, more in-depth information.

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The Buddha's teachings, including meditation, are about the ending of suffering. They offer skillful ways to deal with the everyday stressors of life. Even applying these teachings to a minor degree in our lives can result in great benefit.  

 

For a fuller discussion on this topic, please go to Lesson 6 in Basics Teachings and read the section on the Noble Eight Fold Path. Although we are practicing meditation in these group meetings, meditation practice only works when based on generosity and moral behaviour, which are all about opening our hearts and learning more about not causing harm to ourselves and others.​​​

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