Newcomers
Newcomers are always welcome to attend the Waltham Buddhist Meditation Group (WBMG). If possible, please plan to arrive by 6:45 p.m. to receive a brief orientation and meditation instruction. If you already have a meditation practice, you are welcome to join the group meditation at 7 p.m. which includes a brief walking meditation. We offer chairs or cushions for meditation. You can come just for the meditation section or just for the class if you wish.
Class beginning at 8 p.m. is led by one of the teachers or student teachers. We often select a book as the basis of our study. The classes are recorded and posted online under the Study tab for later listening. Newcomers can join the class at any point.
History
The Waltham Buddhist Meditation Group was started in 2012 by students of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, a Tibetan Buddhist meditation master, and interested members of First Parish in Waltham, a Unitarian Universalist church. In the beginning the group met for an hour of meditation every other week. In February 2014 the group began meeting every week with Buddhist teachings added in the second hour. The group began with three main teachers—Emily Weidman, Michael Levin and Michael Fagan—with Erika Wilton and Joseph Crane joining a few years later.
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At the Waltham Buddhist Meditation Group, we teach mindfulness meditation—a basic technique of working with the breath as a gateway to greater self-understanding. The study program is built on foundational Buddhist teachings mainly drawn from the Tibetan Buddhist lineage. All of our study topics are accessible to newcomers and more experienced students as well. We develop a curriculum by selecting books or audio files from a variety of Buddhist teachers.
Our Aim
Our aim is to introduce people to the practice of meditation and Buddhist teachings and to provide guidance on the path as students mature in their understanding. We do this by offering classes, individual meditation instruction, and through referring students to teachers and programs outside our group. See Resources for more information.
Meditation Instruction
The teachers in the WBMG are all trained meditation instructors. If you wish to receive individual guidance on your own meditation practice, you are welcome to meet with one of the meditation instructors. There is no charge for meditation instruction. To find out more, please speak with the Coordinator who can guide you further.
Coordinators
Members of the group act as coordinators, on a rotating basis. Currently, Roberta Trudeau is the coordinator. and Elisse Ghitleman is the liaison to First Parish.