This course has now been published by Windhorse Publications as a book:

Starting on the Buddhist Path: An Invitation

“An engaging and practical guide to transforming your life through Buddhist practice.

The Buddha said that you can’t develop wise perspective and freedom through ideas alone – you need to test the truth in your own experience. This book is aimed at people who have an interest in Buddhism and are looking for a way to improve their lives and relationships. Without jargon, and illustrated with cartoons, diagrams, and photographs, it leads readers through potentially life-changing meditations, perspectives, reflections, and practices for everyday life.”

from Windhorse Publications website

November 2019 – Handouts from Manchester Buddhist Centre

Notes from 6 week Foundation Course in Buddhism at the Manchester Buddhist Centre

Week 1 – The Buddha’s Quest (pdf)

Week 2 – Siddhartha’s Path to Awakening (pdf)

Week 3 – Siddhartha Becomes the Awakened One (pdf)

Week 4 – The Buddha Begins to Teach the Dharma (pdf)

Week 5 – The Buddha’s Teachings on Human Relations (pdf)

Week 6 – The Five Ethical Precepts (pdf)

Recommended Reading and Online Resources (pdf)

programme-week 1 (doc)

programme-week 2 (doc)

programme-week 3 (doc)

programme-week 4 (doc)

programme-week 5 (doc)

programme-week 6 (doc)

structure for new buddhism level 1 course (docx)

Seeing the implications of our behaviour for ourselves and others.

A six-week course exploring Buddhist Ethics. Provided by Vajrapriya, Cambridge Buddhist Centre, UK. This is the fourth module of Vajrapriya’s Level Two Buddhism Course in six modules.

Download this overview here

Overview

• Ethics as individual choice
• Love – the golden rule
• Generosity – respecting and contributing
• Contentment – weakening the neurotic drives
• Honesty – being true about ourselves
• Awareness – the working edge for any growth

Week 1: Ethics As Individual Choice

a) Attitudes when trying to communicate ethics

b) Notes for the teacher, including suggestions for:

• Learning outcomes for module
• Exercise: Why practise ethics?
• Sources of ethical judgment
• The workings of karma
• Intention and intelligence (skilfulness)
• Precepts as training principles
• Suggestions for home practice
• Recommended further reading

c) Materials/handouts:

• Exercise: Quotes on ethics
• Handout on main topics

Week 2: Love As The Golden Rule

a) Notes for the teacher, including suggestions for:

• Learning outcomes
• Review of last session
• First precept
• Exercise: Debate on vegetarianism
• Love mode vs. power mode (with writing exercise and small group discussion)
• Suggestions for home practice

b) Materials/handouts:

• Handout on main topics

Week 3: Generosity

a) Notes for the teacher, including suggestions for:

• Learning outcomes
• Review of last session and home practice
• Dana as the fundamental Buddhist virtue
• Ways of taking the not-given
• Recollecting generosity
• Role-play: giving – taking – receiving OR generosity audit
• Dana at the Buddhist centre
• Suggestions for home practice

b) Materials/handouts:

• Cards for Role-play
• Worksheet for generosity audit
• Handout on main topics

Week 4: Simplicity and Contentment

a) Notes for the teacher, including suggestions for:

• Learning outcomes
• Review of previous class and home practice
• Brainstorm about Buddhist attitudes to sexuality
• How can we cultivate simplicity and contentment?
• Exploring stillness, simplicity, contentment
• Suggestions for home practice
• Recommended further reading

b) Materials/handouts:

• Handout on main topics
• Quotes about stillness, simplicity, contentment

Week 5: Truthfulness

a) Notes for the teacher, including suggestions for:

• Learning outcomes
• Review of previous class and home practice
• Why be truthful?
• Exercise: What are the consequences of (un)truthfulness?
• How to practice
• Communication exercise
• Suggestions for home practice
• Recommended further reading

b) Materials/handouts:

• Handout on main topics
• Quotes on truth

Week 6: Mindfulness

a) Notes for the teacher, including suggestions for:

• Learning outcomes
• Review of previous class and home practice
• Centrality of mindfulness in Buddhism – why?
• Exercise: mindful passing of an object
• Importance of body awareness
• Losing mindfulness and intoxication
• How to enhance mindfulness in everyday life
• Suggestions for home practice
• Recommended further reading

b) Materials/handouts:

• Worksheet Mindfulness and Intoxication
• Handout on main topics

Buddhist Ethics – A Six-Week Course by Vajrapriya (zip)

Here you can download the handouts for a six-week course, provided by Achala from New Zealand.

Please note that according to Achala further improvement of some of these handouts is needed! Please share your improvements in the comments.

NOTE: This is what Achala said about his intentions when designing this course:

I tried to construct a course such that it:

• covers what an average human being needs to effectively practice Buddhism
• doesn’t not have a scholastic bent (so a few Pali/Sanskrit terms seemed reasonable but not so many as to give the impression that the courses are oriented towards bookish types)
• appeals to people’s imagination, as well as being intellectually clear
• includes all of Bhante’s fundamental insights such as his stress on right understanding and the importance of Going for Refuge – although I accept that not all Order members will agree what those fundamental are
• appeals especially to younger people – in their late teens and early twenties
• does not involve a great deal of reading (typically max three pages of notes per week)
• excludes material that has neither inspirational value nor practical use.

The notes for the course are almost complete. A few have yet to be written, and some could do with a bit of an edit to correct errors, and perhaps occasionally rephrase things. The material that has been prepared has been in use for about three years, and has worked really well.

Course structure

1. Conditionality (pratitya samutpada) [[needs polishing]]: Parable of the poisonous arrow; example of conditionality in the Buddhist scriptures; five niyamas; cyclic nidanas and spiral path
2. General introduction to ethics [[needs polishing]]: A context for ethical practice; criteria (skilful-unskilful); karma; guilt; ethical guidelines; playfulness
3. The five precepts [needs polishing]
4. The three laksanas (1): Introduction; the three marks and how they are interrelated
5. The three laksanas (2): Exploring impermanence and unsatisfactoriness; some poems
6. The three laksanas (3): Insubstantiality; the 6-element practice; selected poem

Basic Buddhist Teachings – A Six-Week Course By Achala (zip)

Here you can download notes for six talks/guided discussions introducing the Buddha, provided by Achala from Wellington, New Zealand.

1. Approaching the Buddha: His youth; the ‘Four Sights’ and the Going Forth; Enlightenment and the Nature of the Buddha; faith in the Buddha.
2. The Buddha’s Victories: Leaving the family/group; overcoming complacency and ambition; facing existential fear; being alone; Mara.
3. Stories from the Buddha’s Life: The first teaching; a case of dysentery; Kisagotami; Devadatta; meeting with Bharadvaja; mediating between the Koliyans and the Shakyans; Ajatasatru and the silent assembly; Ananda’s grief; Subhadra, the last disciple.
4. Vignette: The Pabbajja Sutta from the Sutta Nipata
5. The mythical Buddha: The Buddha as a symbol for one’s spiritual goal; myths around the Buddha; the diamond throne; calling the earth goddess to witness; Brahma’s request; Mucalinda; Angulimala; the Buddha in the Lalitavistara Sutra.
6. Symbols of Enlightenment: Enlightened beings as symbols; Yab-yum symbolism; the archetypal realm; visualization practices; the symbolism of the three kayas.

Week 1 – Approaching the Buddha

Week 2 – The Buddha’s Victories

Week 3 – Stories from the Buddha’s Life

Week 4 – The Pabbajja Sutta

Week 5 – The Mythical Buddha

Week 6 – Symbols of Enlightenment

This is Module 1 of the Level 2 Buddhism Course by Vajrapriya used at Cambridge Buddhist Centre, UK (November 2007).

The resources include: notes for the course leader (including learning objectives, guide lines for input and exercises, background information, suggestions for home practice), and handouts

Week 1: Sraddha – Faith within a Buddhist context
Topics: Grounds of faith; developing faith; faith and doubt; faith and inspiration; experiences of faith.

• Notes for the course leader
• Handout 1 (2 pages): Faith within a Buddhist Context
• Handout 2 (1 page): Quotes on Faith

Week 2: Going for Refuge
Topics: Historical expressions of refuge; GfR as commitment; what are we taking refuge from?; where do we usually take refuge?; true and false refuges; Going for Refuge to the Three Jewels.

• Notes for the course leader
• Handout 1 (2 pages): Going for Refuge
• Handout 2 (6 pages): Background Reading on Going for Refuge

Week 3: The Buddha and Enlightenment
Topics: What is Enlightenment? Epitaphs & metaphors from the Pali Canon; qualities in terms of the 5 skandhas; the psychology of goal-setting (advantages and disadvantages).

• Notes for the course leader
• Handout (2 pages): The Buddha and Enlightenment

Week 4: Dharma as Truth Teaching
Topics: Buddha Vacana; Dharma as Truth Teaching; attitude to doctrine; importance of views; Going for Refuge to the Dharma

• Notes for the course leader
• Handout 1 (2 pages): Dharma as Truth Teaching
• Handout 2 (5 pages): Edited talk by Sangharakshita “The New Man Speaks” (background reading)

Week 5: Dharma as Path and Method
Topics: a toolkit of practices; the ‘three trainings’; progressive nature of the path; attitude to practice

• Notes for the course leader
• Handout 1 (2 pages): Dharma as Path and Method
• Handout 2 (1 page): One-week practice diary on threefold training

Week 6: The Sangha
Topics: What is the Sangha and why is it important?; how to Go for Refuge to the Sangha; Review of the 6-week course.

• Notes for the course leader
• Handout (2 pages): The Sangha

What Makes You A Buddhist? A Six-Week Course By Vajrapriya (zip)

This course over eight weeks on The Place of Imagination, Beauty, and Ritual in the Spiritual Life was provided by Padmavajri from the Brighton Buddhist Centre.

Padmavajri says: “I led two groups on this. The course was aimed at any Mitras and it turned out I had a group of experienced Mitras, and a group of newer Mitras (one or two years old). … The two groups here loved it, enjoyed it, were challenged by it, and also were helped to understand ritual and the arts much more.”

The material for each week includes:

• a short list of learning objectives for the teacher;
• a handout with questions for reflection (it may be best to give these to the participants in advance, and encourage them to prepare for the week);
• a handout with suggestions for practice during the following week and references for further reading.

Overview Course

Week 1 – Emotional Energy and Spiritual Aspiration

Week 2 – Faith and Non-faith

Week 3 – The Psychology of the Spiritual Life

Week 4 – The Life and Death of the Imagination

Week 5 – Beauty and the Hierarchy of Art

Week 6 – The Dharma in Poetry

Week 7 – The Psychology of Ritual

Week 8 – Approaching the Sevenfold Puja

This is a fully-worked-out six-week course introducing Triratna’s main meditation practices, by Sagaraghosha from the Cambridge Buddhist Centre, UK. We’ve included a file with the complete course combined into one document.

Week 1:

• Guide line for the teacher
• Handout ‘Practical Points‘
• Handout ‘Four Types of Meditation‘ (concentrative, generative, reflective, receptive)
• Handout about meditation diary and meditation CDs

Week 2:

• Guide line for the teacher
• Handout ‘Meditation Posture‘
• Handout ‘Mindfulness of Breathing‘
• Handout ‘Diary‘ 2

Week 3:

• Guide line for the teacher
• Handout ‘Diary‘ 3

Week 4:

• Guide line for the teacher
• Handout ‘Metta Bhavana‘
• Handout ‘Diary‘ 4

Week 5:

• Guide line for the teacher
• Handout ‘Diary‘ 5

Week 6:

• Guide line for the teacher
• Handout ‘Diary‘ 6
• Handout ‘Feedback sheet‘
• Programme for Meditation 1 Practice Day

SIx-Week Beginners’ Meditation Course by Sagaraghosha (zip)

SIx-Week Beginners’ Meditation Course (Sagaraghosha) – Complete Files (PDF)

This six-week course was provided by Sagaraghosha from the Cambridge Buddhist Centre, UK.

Week 1:

• Guide line for the teacher (Outlook over the course; setting up and preparing; ‘useful emotions’; exploring values; general and specific intentions
• Handout 1 on preparing for meditation
• Handout 2 (main points from class + meditation diary 1)

Week 2:

• Guide line for the teacher (review; reviewing metta bhavana; balancing effort; trying this out with mindfulness of breathing)
• Diary 2: Balancing active and receptive effort

Week 3:

• Guide line for the teacher (review; focus and broadness)
• Diary 3: Focus and broadness

Week 4:

• Guide line for the teacher
• Handout ‘Exploring experience’ (positive and negative aspects [hindrances and factors of absorption])
• Diary 4: Exploring experience

Week 5:

• Guide line for the teacher (review from last class; guided meditation; using the four ‘types’ of meditation from first course; levels of meditation)
• Handout ‘Hindrances and Antidotes’
• Handout ‘Experimenting in Meditation’ (with difficulties)
• Diary 5: Making choices

Week 6:

• Guide line for the teacher (review of course; making the transition from inner to outer experience)
• Handout ‘Working in Meditation’ (changing mental states; developing more positive mental states)
• Diary 6: Exploring positive mental states

SIx-Week Beginners’ Level 2 Meditation Course by Sagaraghosa (separate weeks as zip)

SIx-Week Beginners’ Level 2 Meditation Course – Complete Files by Sagaraghosa (PDF)

Buddhistisches Tor Berlin. Überblick Über einen 6-Wochen-Kurs, basierend auf den Büchern Buddhismus auf einen Blick von Kulananda und Wegweiser Buddhismus von Sangharakshita.

Einführung in den Praktischen Buddhismus Kurs Überblick

Buddhismus Quiz Deutsch

LEERGANG BOEDDHISME – overzicht en cursusmateriaal voor cursisten (syllabus)  en studieleiders – Gunabhadri e.a. (Boeddhistisch Centrum Amsterdam)

jaar 1 – syllabus

• module 1 – Boeddha
• module 2 – Dharma , Achtvoudige Pad
• module 3 – Dharma, Levenswiel
• module 4 – Boeddhisme in de samenleving (geen materiaal)
• module 5 – Ethiek, het zuiveren van het hart
• module 6 – Wijsheid

jaar 1 – materiaal voor cursusleiders

• module 1 – de Boeddha
• module 2 – Dharma , Achtvoudige Pad
• module 3 – Dharma, Levenswiel
• module 4 – Boeddhisme in de samenleving (geen aantekeningen)
• module 5 – ethiek, het zuiveren van het hart (geen aantekeningen)
• module 6 – meditatie en wijsheid

jaar 2 – syllabus

• module 1 – mandala van de 5 Boeddha’s
• module 2 – het spiraalvormige pad
• module 3 – de wijsheidsoetra’s
• module 4 – spirituele vriendschap, horizontaal en verticaal
• module 5 – ethiek, meditatie, wijsheid
• module 6 – bodhisattva ideaal

jaar 2 – materiaal voor cursusleiders

• module 1 – mandala van de 5 Boeddha’s
• module 2 – het spiraalvormige pad
• module 3 – de wijsheidsoetra’s
• module 4 – spirituele vriendschap, horizontaal en verticaal
• module 5 – ethiek, meditatie, wijsheid
• module 6 – bodhisattva ideaal

folder jaar 1 en folder jaar 2 cursusjaar augustus 2009-december 2010

Leergang Boeddhisme – 2-jarige cursus

De syllabus voor jaar 1 is ook in boekvorm beschikbaar via Lulu:
Leergang Boeddhisme 1

Here are some older versions of some of the main pujas and other ceremonies as practiced in Triratna – in several languages.

This search for ‘puja’ on The Buddhist Centre Online  yields considerably updated resources

Buddhist ceremonies in many languages – printed version available via Lulu

Also see Triratna Translations for many more translations of key ritual texts used in the Triratna Buddhist Community

Akshobhya Puja – Deutsch

Bodhicaryavatara Puja – Deutsch

De Korte Poeja

Dedication Ceremony

Die Siebenfaltige Puja

Dhammapalam Gatha

Einfache Puja

Irische Puja – Deutsch

La Puja En Sept Parties

La Puja en Trois Parties

Rituel Matinal

Cérémonie de Dédicace

Le Sutra du Coeur

Puja aus der Gandavyuha Sutra

The Heart Sutra

The Sevenfold Puja – printed version available via Windhorse Publications

The Threefold Puja

Ti Ratana Vandana

Ti Ratana Vandana – Pali text and translation

Ti Ratana Vandana – Pali English

Ti Ratana Vandana – shrineroom handout

Tiratana Vandana – Hindi, English and Pali

Ti Ratana Vandana – Deutsch

Weihungszeremonie

Семичленная пуджа

Сердечна cутра

​

On August 26th 2003 on Sangharakshita’s birthday Centres around the world were invited to start an on-going festival and puja to celebrate the life and work of Bhante. This could be seen as a 108 year event or it could simply be an annual festival.
Here is a document outlining the history and context as well as giving instructions for the Bhante 108 year puja with history

And here is a simplified version of the same Bhante 108 year Puja

​

the main rituals used in the Triratna Buddhist Community, in English.

For texts of rituals in other languages, see Triratna Translations 

Dedication ceremony

Threefold puja

Tiratanavandana

The Heart Sutra in English and Sanskrit

Sevenfold Puja

There seem to be more and more funerals happening at Triratna Buddhist Centres. This trend, sadly, is likely to continue indefinitely. The London Buddhist Centre have produced a very useful guide  – some of the names and businesses referred to may have changed since this was produced.

A Guide to Funerals at the LBC (PDF)

Faith, Health Care, and Dying – a Buddhist Perspective

In the UK the law has recently changed to allow marriages to be celebrated in a much greater range of places. Click here for a general introduction. The change in the law has prompted some debate within UK Triratna centres. While each Centre is free to decide its own approach, the following are some notes from Vajratara who discussed this issue with Sangharakshita. At the end is a fuller discussion of the current state of (UK) law and how it might apply to Triratna Buddhist Centres, by Munisha.

– Weddings: Bhante made the point that there is no such thing as a Buddhist wedding.

– In a Buddhist country, the couple usually visit the Temple after their wedding ceremony and reception in order to ask for a blessing from a monk. They do not bring the whole wedding party with them. Bhante suggested that we follow that example.

– If an Order Member or Mitra wanted to get married, the legal part of the ceremony and the reception could take place elsewhere, and the couple, with perhaps a few close friends and relatives, could visit the Buddhist Centre for a blessing.

– The blessing ceremony could be a puja with the three traditional offerings, blessings and a short talk by an Order Member exhorting the couple to live as Buddhists.

– Bhante emphasised that there should be no full scale wedding and reception at a Buddhist Centre, nor should an Order Member go to the wedding ceremony or reception to give a blessing as part of their celebrations (though they could go as a guest).

– The principle is that the reception and wedding itself should be kept entirely separate from the blessings so that in no way could the wedding be interpreted as a Buddhist wedding.

– Bhante was also keen that the couple should be reminded to keep the wedding as simple as possible and not spend a lot of money on the ceremony. Any anniversaries could be similarly marked with a party elsewhere and a blessing at the Buddhist Centre.

A fuller discussion (pdf) of the current state of UK law and how it might apply to Triratna Buddhist Centres.

Baby Naming Ceremony in English