Chester Buddhist Centre

The North West Sanghas Retreat

Our big annual retreat



Fri 24th Apr - Mon 27th

Bookings for the North West Sanghas Retreat close on Wednesday 15th April, and places are filling up.

You’ll be joining over 50 sangha members who have already booked on, coming together for a weekend of practice, connection, and time away from the usual routines.

If you’ve been meaning to come, this is your moment to say yes.

We’d love to have you there.

https://manchesterbuddhistcentre.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=4f131e7adeeb0c3445f6832b7&id=083a63eaa1&e=160ff53571

Many people think that meditation requires a lot of effort and it’s something you have to gain. We plug into this idea that somehow it’s something we have to force ourselves to do and at the end of it we will succeed or fail. And I think it’s very important to realize it’s nothing to do with that at all. That’s just the ego wanting to be a meditator.

The whole secret of meditation is to learn just how to be present in the moment and in a state of complete openness and relaxation. It’s not a matter of gaining, it’s a matter of losing, of dropping—letting go, letting go, letting go. I think it’s really very important, especially in this age where we’re all programmed to want to get something that it’s not a matter of what you get, it’s a matter of what you lose.

~ JETSUNMA TENZIN PALMO

This an accurate description of the process of meditation.

"The purpose of meditation is not to concentrate on the breath, without interruption, forever.

That by itself would be a useless goal. The purpose of meditation is not to achieve a perfectly still and serene mind. Although a lovely state, it doesn't lead to liberation by itself. The purpose of meditation is to achieve uninterrupted mindfulness.

Mindfulness, and only mindfulness, produces Enlightenment.

Distractions come in all sizes, shapes and flavors. Buddhist philosophy has organized them into categories. One of them is the category of hindrances.

They are called hindrances because they block your development of both components of mediation, mindfulness and concentration. A bit of caution on this term: The word 'hindrances' carries a negative connotation, and indeed these are states of mind we want to eradicate. That does not mean, however, that they are to be repressed, avoided or condemned.

Let's use greed as an example. We wish to avoid prolonging any state of greed that arises, because a continuation of that state leads to bo***ge and sorrow. That does not mean we try to toss the thought out of the mind when it appears. We simply refuse to encourage it to stay.

We let it come, and we let it go. When greed is first observed with bare attention, no value judgements are made. We simply stand back and watch it arise. The whole dynamic of greed from start to finish is simply observed in this way. We don't help it, or hinder it, or interfere with it in the slightest. It stays as long as it stays. And we learn as much about it as we can while it is there. We watch what greed does. We watch how it troubles us, and how it burdens others. We notice how it keeps us perpetually unsatisfied, forever in a state of unfulfilled longing. From this first-hand experience, we ascertain at a gut level that greed is an unskillful way to run your life.

There is nothing theoretical about this realization."

Bhante Gunaratana
Mindfulness in Plain English, 20th Anniversary Ed
Wisdom Publications, p 119-20
https://www.wisdompubs.org/book/mindfulness-plain-english

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22 February 2026

This month we will be exploring the Satipatthana (The Buddhas Discourse on the four foundations of mindfulness).
The buddha described the establishment of mindfulness as the direct path to liberation. It is a systematic process of directing attention to specific aspects of subjective experience that allows awareness to naturally grow and develop. This development also naturally involves the arising of clarity, wisdom (insight) and compassion. Together these faculties lead to appreciating the causes of suffering and thereby the end of suffering.
Awareness (Right Mindfulness) is the primary wholesome mental state that allows all other wholesome states to emerge naturally from it.
This Wednesday 3rd Nov we will start by exploring the first foundation of awareness of the body, the most obvious and objective aspect of experience.
we will explore this through a short presentation of the main thrust of the discourse followed by several short meditations using the instructions from the sutta (discourse). This will involve a variety of practices including: The body Scan; walking meditation; and sitting meditation. The evening will be mainly practice with a short mindful tea break.
In the second half we will continue with meditation emphasising aspects of the Body foundation.

In the following weeks we will explore the foundations of "feeling" (the foundation that acts as a bridge between body and mind) and the foundation of "mental states". This foundation is the least obvious, ephemeral aspect of experience and is often too habitual to be seen clearly. It therefore relies upon the first two foundations to facilitate its full appreciation.
So if you are a regular or have been at some point join us for an evening of Dharma practice with like minded others.

Any unnoticed resistance to an
emotion will feed it and make it grow
stronger. So don't forget to check to see
whether you really accept an emotion,
or whether you are resisting it.