Dear friends

Living creatively in turbulent times – Corona virus and Triratna Exeter activities

I hope that you are keeping as well and in good heart as possible under the present turbulent and uncertain circumstance. As many of you will know we have cancelled all our face-to-face Exeter Sangha activities in light of the corona virus crisis and government guidance. I am writing with some information on how we plan to sustain our Sangha here in Exeter and South Devon and to invite you to keep in touch through a ‘virtual’ Sangha evening on Thursdays and our online presence. There is also some information on resources which are available more widely across Triratna.

Practising mindfulness and loving-kindness during times of crisis is ultimately what supports us all to stay emotionally positive and to grow. We therefore want to keep alive our connection as friends in the Sangha and our shared Dharma practice, supporting each other as much as possible.

Continuing our Sangha evenings online.

We are planning to keep our Sangha evenings going on Thursday evenings using zoom. You can sign up for an account here https://zoom.us/ or simply follow a link, which I can email, when the time approached. You will need to email me at nandavajra@hotmail.com in advance to let me know that you wish to participate.

The free zoom platform allow meeting of up to 40 minutes (for up to 100 participants!) so we will start at 7 pm with a welcome and at least a guided meditation along with, perhaps, some chanting a chance to hear a little from everyone. It could be that we then have a ‘tea break’ and then recommence the meeting for up to a further 40 minutes with a chance to explore some aspect of the Dharma (probably focussing on what is particularly helpful in these troubling times). This will of course be a bit of an experiment which we will adapt and refine as we go along but I do hope that as many of us as possible will be able to join in.

Other online gatherings

Our priority will be to sustain our Thursday Sangha evenings but if this proves successful and if there is an interest, we may organise other online gatherings such as a led morning meditation session.

Keeping in touch

We will be using our online platforms to keep in touch and to provide information and resources. These are:

https://thebuddhistcentre.com/exeter?display=latest
https://www.facebook.com/exetertriratna/

We may also send out further newsletters from time to time.

Other resources

Triratna has developed several resources to support people in their Dharma practice and keep alive an experience of Sangha and connection.

The buddhistcentre.com has developed a Dharma Toolkit for Uncertain Times which you can access here (again, you may need to create an account and ‘follow’).

The London Buddhist Centre is providing a range of online resources and teaching which you can follow by visiting https://londonbuddhistcentreonline.com/

Finally, if you have any questions or suggestions please do not hesitate to contact me. I wish you as much solace and ease as possible.

With love,

Nandavajra