We live in difficult times. If we look back on the last few years we have had the threat of terrorist attacks, floods, brexit, Covid-19 & now a combination of all these things. One of the biggest things we face is uncertainty. We can’t guarantee anything anymore. This sounds quite bleak but there are steps we can take to improve things.

At present we try to protect ourself from stress & anxiety with entertainments. Unfortunately these entertainments don’t improve our mental resilience or our ability to deal with stress. They just provide a timely distraction or a little relief. Also with these lockdowns many of these distractions are not available.

What we really need is something that gives us this relief, makes our mind stronger & more able to deal with difficulties & that cannot be taken away from us by lockdown restrictions.

What we really need is to train in & develop deep inner peace. When our mind is peaceful we are happy regardless of external conditions but if our mind isn’t peaceful then we aren’t happy even in the most  joyful conditions.

If we train in inner peace & gradually deepen this peace over time we will develop this mental resilience & as this peace becomes more & more stable changing external conditions will start to have less power to knock us off balance until finally we will be able to remain peaceful even in the most challenging situations.

This is what Buddha taught 2,600 years ago. It was relevant then & is even more relevant now in this modern world.

Odiyana Kadampa Meditation centre is running a half day workshop on Saturday 27th March at 10am. On this day course you will learn how to begin developing deep inner peace

ll our half day courses start at 10am and run until about 1.30pm.
They cost £10 per person.

BOOKING

The course will only be available online.

To book onto this course please click on the link below

This retreat is a wonderful opportunity to learn to rely on Vajrasattva, the Buddha of purification and practice a special meditation to free ourself from all of our negative karma.

We spend all our time and energy trying to avoid problems by making changes to our external world. However, our unhappiness and difficulties are not caused by the external world but are the result of the negative karma we have created in the past through our own harmful actions.

By relying upon Vajrasattva, the Buddha of purification and practising a special meditation we can free ourselves from all our negative karma. As a result, all our experiences will be positive, we will have a peaceful, pure mind and will easily remove obstacles to our spiritual development.

Retreat Sessions

During a retreat we reduce our normal worldly activities and concentrate for a period of time on developing spiritual qualities and peaceful minds – finding happiness from within. 
Everyone is welcome to enjoy this special opportunity.

There are four sessions a day 7am, 11am, 4pm and 7pm. Each session lasts for one and a half hours and consists of chanted prayers and guided meditation. Please note there will be no 7pm sessions on Monday or Tuesday due to the evening meditation class. The 7pm session on Thursday will be the chanted prayer session Lama Chopa.

The retreat is running from 7th December to 11th December. There will be spaces available for in person attendance but this must be booked 24 hours prior to attending and confirmation will be given by email. To book on any of the retreat sessions please email me on epc@meditationincheshire.org  – YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO JUST TURN UP. 

We will also be offering live stream the following session

Monday 7th December – 7am Tuesday 8th December – 7am Wednesday 9th December – 7am Thursday 10th December – 7am, 11am and 4pm Friday 11th December – 7am, 11am, 4pm and 7pm 

Recently someone shared a story with me about working from home.  They were finding their relationship with one colleague difficult and no matter how many friendly emails they sent it seemed impossible to improve things.  They told me that when they finally decided to ring their colleague what they discovered was someone who was very stressed and finding the challenge of working from a one bedroomed flat difficult.  

Maybe this is our story?  or maybe our story is about spending more time than usual with those we love which can often put a strain on relationships.

On this day course what we will discover is Modern Buddhism, Buddha’s teachings for us in our busy and often unusual circumstances. 

We will learn how we can develop mental attitudes that enable us to develop a much lighter and clearer perspective on situations that arise and give us the space to see things from others point of view, which is often not what we think it is.

Why not put down all the usual busyness for this time and step back to explore the power of Modern Buddhism to benefit you in your daily life.”

The day courses start at 10am and run until 2pm.

Session 1 is 10am till 11.30am – Session 2 is 12.30pm till 2pm

The course costs £10 per person

The teacher of this day course is Gen Kelsang Lhachog – Gen Lhachog is the resident teacher a Manchester KMC. She teaches through her experience of life which makes Buddha’s teachings so accessible to all.  With her warm approach and extensive knowledge of Buddhist teachings, as well as her clear and relaxed manner, she inspires us to practice in our daily lives.  .

Due to the current Corona virus lockdown this course will take place via live video stream.

Booking

The course will be streamed through Zoom.

To book please click on the link below

We are delighted to be able to open our doors to you again from Sunday 6th September 2020. We plan to do this in a way that ensures your safety and the safety of the residents who live at Odiyana KMC. In order to do this we ask people to read and adhere to the following guidelines.

All classes, chanted prayer sessions, day courses and retreats must be booked in advance. Unfortunately if people do not book they will be unable to attend the event in question.

We are offering the following classes

Evening meditation classes

We are able to offer a unique blend of online (Zoom) and in person classes starting with Solutions for Modern Problems – Monday 7th September – Tuesday 20th October 2020 7.30pm.

We will be running classes at our centre in Northwich on Monday and Tuesday evenings. The live stream from the Tuesday evening class will be available on demand for 3 days.

Our evening classes in other local areas outside of Northwich will unfortunately remain closed until January 2021.

Due to the current situation booking is required for all of our classes. You can book for in person or online streaming by following the link below – it is essential when you book that you specify either in person or online attendance.

Please note there are limited spaces available for in person attendance. You attendance in person will be confirmed only once you have received a booking reference email directly from Odiyana KMC.

Please book for the evening classes here BOOKING

Day time meditation classes

We will be running day time classes at our centre in Northwich on Wednesday and Friday lunch time – 12.30pm till 1.15pm.

Due to the current situation booking is required for all of our classes. You can book for classes by following the link below

Please note there are limited spaces available for in person attendance. You attendance in person will be confirmed only once you have received a booking reference email directly from Odiyana KMC.

Class date 2020

September – 9th, 11th, 16th, 18th, 23rd and 25th

October – 7th, 9th, 14th, 16th, 21st and 23rd

November – 11th, 13th, 18th, 20th, 25th and 27th

December – 2nd, 4th, 16th and 18th

Please book for the day time classes here BOOKING

Modern Buddhism Classes

We are delighted to be able to offer online (Zoom) classes starting from September. We will be running classes on Sunday evenings.

Due to the current situation booking is required for all of our classes. You can book for online streaming by following the link below.

CLASS DATES IN 2020

September – 6th, 20th and 27th

October – 11th and 18th

November – 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th

December – 6th

Please book for Modern Buddhism classes here BOOKING

We look forward to seeing you at one of our classes soon.

In recent years our knowledge of modern technology has increased considerably & as a result we have witnessed remarkable material progress but there has not been a corresponding increase in human happiness. There is no less suffering in the world today & there are no fewer problems. Indeed it might be said that there are now more problems than ever before.

Superficially it looks like our world is improving. We know so many things we didn’t know before & can do things we never even dreamt of but if we look a bit more deeply we will see that there are many problems that never existed before. Terrifying weapons have been invented, our environment is being poisoned & new diseases are appearing. The result of an unbridled pursuit of happiness is that our planet is being destroyed & our lives are becoming more complicated & dissatisfying. People are suffering more from stress, anxiety & low self-esteem. It is clear that something is deeply wrong & that manipulating external conditions will not help solve these modern problems.

The reason for this is the problems are internal problems & we can’t solve these with external solutions. Happiness is part of our mind, it is a feeling, so the real source of happiness must lie within our mind not in external conditions. If our mind is peaceful we will be happy all the time but if our mind is unpeaceful we will never be happy however much we try to change our external conditions. Odiyana Kadampa Meditation Centre is running a 7 week course entitled Meditations for Modern Problems.

Solutions for Modern Problems – Monday 7th September – Tuesday 20th October 2020

We are delighted to be able to offer a unique blend of online (Zoom) and in person classes starting from September. We will be running classes at our centre in Northwich on Monday and Tuesday evenings. The live stream from the Tuesday evening class will be available on demand for 3 days.

Our evening classes in other local areas outside of Northwich will unfortunately remain closed until January 2021.

Due to the current situation booking is required for all of our classes. You can book for in person or online streaming by clicking on the link below – it is essential when you book that you specify either in person or online attendance.

Please note there are limited spaces available for in person attendance. You attendance in person will be confirmed only once you have received a booking reference email directly from Odiyana KMC.

FOR BOOKING PLEASE CLICK HERE

This weekend is offering us a chance to get away and visit the beautiful Madhyamaka Kadampa Meditation Centre (KMC). Madhyamaka is a special place of tranquility, rest and reflection located near Pocklington in the Yorkshire Wolds.

During this weekend you will have a chance to engage in a weekend of guided retreat. This is a great opportunity to get away from it all and give yourself the chance to unwind and develop a deep feeling of inner peace that can have long term beneficial effects on your health and wellbeing.

If you wish to attend this away retreat please contact the Education Programme Coordinator at epc@meditationincheshire.org

This retreat is a special opportunity to become familiar with Buddhist meditation and in particular the meditations on the stages of the path to enlightenment. These meditations, known as Lamrim, have the power to improve our good qualities (love, compassion and wisdom) and increase our inner peace and happiness.

By practicing Lamrim meditation we can transform our mind.

This retreat is an opportunity to experience the benefits of Lamrim meditation and learn how to integrate them into our life.

What to expect

Each session will be guided by Gen Kelsang Chokyong. He will give explanation on the particular meditation subject followed by a guided meditation. Each session lasts for an hour and a half and consists of chanted prayers, explanations and a period of silence for contemplation and meditation.

Sessions will be daily at 7am, 11am, 4pm and 7pm. You can attend any or all retreat sessions.

Until further notice we will be live streaming our evening classes & day courses as well as our study programmes.

Please click here for more information and to register for our live stream classes

If you would like to book for our Stop Worrying Start Living course in May please contact us on info@meditationincheshire.org

Odiyana Centre are delighted to be holding a 1 week guided Lamrim retreat from 17th to 23rd January 2021. This is open to everyone who wishes to take refuge from the busyness and stress of the modern world.

The meditation sessions will be easily accessible and suitable for beginners. They will focus on such things as love, the kindness of others and compassion. Each session will be guided step by step by Bruce Robinson

The sessions will be every day at 7am, 11am, 4pm and 7pm. On Monday and Tuesday the 7pm session will not run due to the evening meditation class.

You do not have to attend every session just those you are able to.

The retreat is completely free to attend. All places must be booked so to book yourself in to any session please email epc@meditationincheshire.org

All living beings have the same basic wish to be happy & to avoid suffering but very few people understand the real causes of happiness & suffering. The real source of happiness is inner peace. In our attempt to control the world we often suffer from stress, anger & unhappiness. By learning to let go we can develop a calm peaceful mind & experience a lasting happiness free from problems

On this day course we will learn how to let go and live our lives free from stress and unhappiness

The course will consist of 2 sessions 10-11.30am & 12-1.30pm

The teacher of this day course is Gen Kelsang Chokyong – Chokyong has been the resident teacher at Odiyana Kadampa Meditation Centre since 2001. He teaches with great humility and humour. He presents Buddha’s teachings in a practical and down to earth manner, making them accessible to everyone.

Due to the current Corona virus lockdown this course will take place via live video stream.

Booking

The course will be streamed through Zoom. To register and pay through Paypal – please click here

The cost is £10 per person.

If you have any technical problems relating to registering for or joining the course please contact us at livestream@meditationincheshire.org or call 07421 878559.