News and upcoming meetings

Online Meetings 2023

All times are Central European Time (CET)
 
Tue 24 January at 8pm: Topic: connection to nature

Wed 22 February at 8pm: Topic: Pilgrimage

In-person meeting 2023 in Brussels

End of September

In-person meeting 2022 in Paris

25 - 28 September at Fo Guang Shan Hokwa Zen Temple, Paris

The theme is Buddhist Engagement in Society

Online Meetings 2022

All times are Central European Time (CET)
 
Tue 18 January at 8pm

Wed 16 February at 8pm

Tue 15 March at 8pm

Wed 20 April at 8pm

Tue 10 Mai at 8pm

Wed 15 June at 8pm

Tue 25 October at 7PM 

Fri 25 November at 6PM 

Tue 13 December at 6PM

Meetings 2021

26th October

24th November 

30 December

August 2021

Meeting in Italy or Zoom Meeting in September?

We hope you are well and having a wonderful summer. Before we know it, the summer will be over and the EBU/BTE meetings will be taking place in beautiful Pomaia, Italy. We are scheduled to meet from the 27-29 September, however, we are still experiencing high infection rates in some European countries and though the vaccination programme seems to be effective at preventing one from getting seriously ill, it is not creating herd immunity as the scientists were hoping it would. 
We can still get the virus and pass it on to others still.

This leaves us in a difficult (but not problematic) space of not knowing whether you would like to meet in person or meet online.

Therefore we would like to know:  

Do you intend to participate in a BTE-Meeting in Pomaia, Italy this year?

O Almost certainly

O May well be

O Rather not

Do you prefer a zoom-meeting on the days in question. (Sept. 27-28, MO+TU)?

Please email itzitherapy@gmail.com with your answers.

Many thanks in advance,

Susthama

June 2021

Next scheduled meeting Jun 16, 2021 08:00 PM Amsterdam, Berlin time

Dear Friends,
We started talking about the effect of the pandemic and lockdowns on our
identities as Buddhist teachers, retreat leaders etc. So many changes, both
good and bad have happened in the last year and a bit, and we agreed to
carry on with this theme.

Hogen has kindly agreed to open the next session with a short talk on how
practice has helped him through the pandemic to get us warmed up.

Metta,
Five, Kurt, and Susthama

May 2021

Thank you for an interesting meeting last month. Plenty of things to say
about the current state of affairs in the world.

We are aware that some days of the week work for some and some not and so
we have decided to change the day of the week for our meetings to give as
many options as possible.

We will continue a discussion that started a couple of months
ago. It was triggered by comparing Buddhist practice with Christian ones,
like prayer and mass. Questions such as, 'What is it that Buddhists do and
what is the experience?' 'How much do Christian language and terms help
Buddhists in the West and how much do they hinder?' and more.

We will be meeting this Wednesday at 8pm for those who would like to join
and share their ideas and experiences on this topic.

Time: May 19, 2021 08:00 PM Paris

Metta,
Five, Kurt, and Susthama

Zoom details you receive via our BTE planning e-mail list. Please contact the webmaster bte(at)buddhistteachers(dot)org

April 2021

Online Meeting with talk by Bhante Bodhidhamma

Topic:
The Politics, the Dhamma Teacher and the Students

Sharing our Understandings and Practices reminder of the Buddha’s own involvement in the political situations of his day, of Sangha involvement in Burma and Sri
Lanka and enumerate the causes of the growing storm that threatens to
engulf the world.

March 2021

Online meeting with talk by Kurt

Topic:
Religious Buddhism

Thank you Kurt for illuminating some of the different ways of looking at
Buddhism. We would like to talk more about some of the different practices
and rituals and whether they can be seen and understood from a religious
perspective or not and so we have planned to continue this dialogue in May.
---
Dear Friends,
We had an excellent meeting on teacher's ethics.  Many thanks to Munisha, who raised some interesting points. It certainly opened up some very complex issues for many of us.

The next meeting will be on Thursday 25 March from 8-9.30pm (Rom, Paris time) and we will be looking at what it means to be a religious person or faithful Buddhist. We have looked at the topic of secular Buddhism many times but never what it means for Buddhism to be a religion in Europe so Kurt has agreed to give a talk on 'religious Buddhism'.

February 2021

Online meeting with talk by Munisha

Topic:
Teacher's ethics.  

Many thanks to Munisha who raised some interesting points. It certainly opened up some very complex issues for many of us.

Jan 2021

Dear Friends,
Our monthly Zoom meetings continue, with the next one on Monday 25th January at 8pm Central European Time.
We look forward to seeing you soon.
With metta,

Five, Kurt, and Susthama