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You can meditate anywhere!

Time to de-stress

We all need to take time out to relax and un-wind from time to time. For some, a long walk or a hot bath do the trick, but there is also a growing number of people in Nottinghamshire who are turning to the Buddhist practice of meditation as their preferred way to de-stress.

Kelsang Namkhyen, resident Buddhist teacher at Nottingham's Akshobya Buddhist Centre, provides an insight into the teachings and beliefs of a Buddhist monk.

"Meditation is all about focusing the mind. The way to find peace is to slow down the mind by focusing on one object."

The New Kadampa Tradition is the one of the fastest growing Mahayana Buddhist traditions in the west. The Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche is responsible for bringing this form of Buddhism to Britain in 1977 and since then he has set up nearly 800 centres worldwide, one of these being in Nottingham.

"Training and patience is very important in meditation. When we begin meditating we find that our mind can drift to all sorts of other things. Through practice and patience we find that the mind starts to relax and we are able to experience an inner peace."

Kelsang Namkhyen

There are a number of different meditation techniques and they do vary in difficulty. A commonly recognised method is to count your breathing;

"One of the best known methods is to meditate on the breath. As you breath in and out, we focus on the sensation at our nostrils. We count our out breaths and so find relaxation in this repetitive action."

Kelsang Namkhyen believes that the benefits of meditation are life changing. Buddhism promotes peace and harmony and Geshe Kelsang advocates that if inner peace can be found by putting Buddha's teachings into practice, outer peace will be possible.

"Buddhism can change your life completely. One of our meditation techniques is to focus on positive states of mind such as love and compassion. By concentrating on these we will find it easier to bring these feelings into our every day life."

Being able to benefit from Buddhism is not restricted solely to Buddhists. The practice of meditation can be useful in the everyday lives of all people.

"To meditate on the breath is quite a neutral practice that everyone can try. To meditate on love and compassion is important and can be used by all people, religious or not, as it can help to enrich their daily lives and allow them to carry these feelings forward."

Kelsang Namkhyen has been a Buddhist for 10 years and was ordained as a teacher four years later. He was first drawn to the faith through meditation and then became interested in the teaching and spiritual aspect of the religion. Before becoming a Buddhist his given name was Ralph. His family are not Buddhists and he admits they were sceptical when he first took to the religion but now are very proud and respect the commitment he has made.

The Akshobya Buddhist Centre, based on Pelham Road in Sherwood Rise, has been open since 1993 and Namkhyen has been the resident teacher there since September 2005.

If you want to find out more about Buddhism and meditation classes in Nottingham...