Theravada

Welcome to the Hout Bay Theravada Buddhist Centre
Cape Town, South Africa

JOIN US TO CELEBRATE ASALA PUJA - DHAMMA DAY on 8 JULY 2009

See Calendar for events
For contact details on the yoga classes, see the contact link here

Buddhism offers you a way to deepen your life

If you are looking for a practice that strengthens your mind, increases your happiness, makes you more patient and a more pleasant person, you are most welcome to join us.

Buddhism is a philosophy and practice. It is also a faithful way of living that is practical and depending on how you make use of it, can substantially improve the quality of your life.

• We provide a space that is non-judgemental, friendly and supportive
• Each week we have informative and useful talks about Buddhism or to help us be mindful about the quality of our lives
• We support your meditation practices
• We are not all Buddhists - we have an open approach to learning and being a community
• Get involved, meet people interested in life and growing greater wisdom and mindfulness

Topics include:
*Learning to meditate, from beginners to advanced;
*Living life better - in work, with family, at school, in your neighbourhood, and mostly in your own skin;
*Understanding where our moods, feelings and happiness come from and how to grow positive, healthy feelings, rather than live with negative habits and frustrations;
*Dealing with the tougher things in life: drugs, depression, grief, loss, self-esteem

It starts with mindfulness ...

Buddhism is a philosophy, faith system and guide to living explained by Siddhârtha Gautama from Lumbini, North India in the early 5th century before the current era.

Born into a noble family, Siddhârta Gautama was not satisfied with his privileged life and went out into the world to understand it better. He eventually studied under many types of spiritual teachers and practiced some extreme forms of purification, worship and self-examination in an attempt to understand the true nature of the universe.

Finally, through the process of meditation and the watching of his own mind, he was able to awaken to a full and complete understanding of the nature of existence and the cycles of rebirth and suffering, and to the way to end suffering and experience eternal liberation - nibbana. He became the Buddha, meaning ‘the Awakened one’.

The Buddha taught that suffering is inherent in life. The primary cause of suffering is clinging and desire. If we develop our concentration, our ethics and our wisdom, following an eight fold path of mindfulness, we can overcome suffering and eventually reach a permanent state of enlightenment.

For a further introduction to the basics of Buddhism visit Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism.


Upcoming Event from the Theravada Calendar ...

	"Asala Puja - Dhamma Day" : 7 Jul

	Asala (Asalha) Puja Day: Asala Puja is the day on which the Lord Buddha delivered a discourse to 500 monks, the formal Sangha, and is also the start of the Rains Retreats for monks and nuns. It is sometimes referred to as Dhamma Day or Dhammaca... [ Read More ]

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Come and celebrate the Asala Puja with us on 8 July 2009.

Asala Puja or Dhammacakka Day is the festival of the 'Turning of the Wheel of the Law' is a Buddhist celebration of the First Proclamation by Gautama the Buddha in the Deer Park, near Benares. His Proclamation taught mankind about the Noble Eightfold Path and the Four Noble Truths.

Serene Buddha