Regular Activities
The centre is always open in the daytime between 9am-5pm for you to walk around the grounds and to use the Main Hall or shrine rooms for meditation or contemplation.
MONDAY – OPEN DAY
| 10.00am – 2.00 pm | A volunteer is here to assist with memberships and other general enquiries |
| 2:00pm – 3:00pm | Guided Meditation by an experienced lay teacher. Classes are held in the Main Hall |
THURSDAY
| 9.00am – 3.00pm | Eight Precepts Day – held on the Thursday following the full moon. The lay community practice walking and sitting meditation together, listen to a recorded Dhamma talk and keep the 8 Precepts. |
FRIDAY
| 6:00pm – 7:30pm | Library Open |
| 7:00pm – 7:20pm | Recorded Chanting |
| 7:30pm – 8:00pm | Guided Meditation by a senior monk or nun OR by a guest speaker during Rains Retreat |
| 8:00pm – 9:00pm | Dhamma Talk by a senior monk or nun OR by a guest speaker during Rains Retreat |
| 9:00pm – 9:30pm | Library Open (Excluding during Rains Retreat) |
SATURDAY
| 10:30am | Morning Chanting then Dana – offering of food to the monks or nuns, then a shared lunch for all in the Community Hall (Not held during Rains Retreat) |
| 1:45pm – 2:30pm | Book Club – Discussion led by a monastic. Books change each month, check the Events Page for details. Held once a month. (Not held during Rains Retreat) |
| 2:00pm – 3:00pm | Library Open (2:30pm – 3:00pm during Rains Retreat) |
| 3:00pm – 4:15pm | Ongoing Guided Meditation Class with a senior monk or nun (Recording of guided meditation during Rains Retreat) |
| 3:00pm – 4:15pm | 4 Week Beginner’s Meditation Class – starts on the 1st Saturday of the month. Visit https://bswa.org/practices/introduction-to-meditation/ |
| 4:00pm – 5:00pm | Library Open (4:00pm – 4:30pm during Rains Retreat) |
| 5:00pm – 6:00pm | Be Quiet (BQ) – Young Meditators Group (18-35) and Kalayana Friendship Community (KFC) – All ages group. Check updates to schedule after Rains.
During Rains: combined BQ/KFC special Events, first Saturday of each month. |
SUNDAY
| 9:00am – 11:00am | Children’s Dhamma Classes (ages 3-17). Details here: Children’s Dhamma School |
| 9:00am – 2:00pm | Library Open when Dhamma School is running (9:00am – 11:30am during Rains Retreat) |
| 10:30am | Morning Chanting then Dana – offering of food to the monks or nuns, then a shared lunch for all in the Community Hall (Not held during Rains Retreat) |
| 3:00pm – 4:15pm | Sutta Class in the Main Hall every 2nd & 4th Sundays of the month (Not held during Rains Retreat) |
*******
Weekend Dana (Sangha Food Offering)
(Not held during Rains Retreat)
10:00 – 10:30am: Guests arrive and drop off food. Please prepare and cook food before arrival.
10:30 – 11:00am: First chanting and offering of the Five Precepts and Three Refuges. Then alms-round (Pindapata): rice offering to the monks or nuns. Next offering of requisites to the monks or nuns. Lastly Sangha Blessing: after the offerings, a traditional pāli blessing is chanted by the monks or nuns to share the merits of the gifts given.
11:00am – Noon: Shared lunch for all. After the meal, the monks or nuns are available to speak informally with the visitors.
Location and dates: every weekend Saturday and Sunday, except during Rains Retreat in the Community Hall at Dhammaloka