Open to the Wider Community

Tuesdays, 5:15- 6pm on the 2nd floor of the Meetinghouse at 152 Pearl Street

Join us for a 45-minute session each Tuesday at 5:15. Open to all meditative, silent-leaning approaches, informed by Buddhist meditation practices, this group is for beginning meditators, as well as seasoned practitioners. Leadership of each Tuesday’s session will be shared among a rotating group of established meditators, each bringing their own style of leading to those gathered. Feel free to drop in to check it out or to come every week. You do not need to be a congregant of First Unitarian Universalist Society Burlington to participate.

Our purpose and hope is 

• to provide an opportunity for those who are interested in deepening their already established meditation practice or in exploring meditation as a new spiritual practice for themselves.

• to create and sustain a community of meditators (what, in Buddhist circles, is called sangha)

What To Expect

• Enter the building through the side door with the ramp.

• There will be chairs and cushions (zafu/zabuton) and a few benches; you are welcome to bring your own as well.

• You are welcome to arrive as early as 5pm to settle in before the 5:15 start, including chatting with others if you are so inclined.

• Please remove your shoes before entering the space on the 2nd floor.

• 5:15 starts the meditation session as well as the silence. If you arrive after 5:15, please enter in silence and find a place towards the back to settle in.

• Depending on the day and the leader, the breath-based sitting meditation practice will last between 20 -30 minutes.

• All leaders will provide a basic orientation to sitting meditation. Some leaders may choose more silence while others may offer more verbal guidance.

• With leaders verbally guiding the group at the start and end of the session, a single chime will mark the formal beginning of silent meditation and three chimes will mark its conclusion.

• Our focus will be on sitting meditation in the posture that is comfortable and possible for your body. We recognize that for even the most seasoned meditators, the need to move may arise during a session – we encourage you to do so gently and mindfully.

• We hope that meditators will stay until the end of the session at 6pm; however, we know that sometimes that doesn’t work. If you know you will have to leave a session earlier than the planned ending time, please sit near the door to minimize distraction for others.

• If you are so inclined, the Community Meditation group accepts voluntary donations (dana) that will go towards meditation activities at FUUSB.

• At the end of the session, we welcome help putting away the chairs, benches, and cushions.

History & Wider Context

For several decades, FUUSB has hosted a weekly Zen meditation group. Recognizing there was a need for a shift of energies, a group of people came together to re-envision the meditation group. We’re thankful to the many individuals over the years who sustained that group, including the two original founders, the late Rev. Robert Senghas and Richard Swanson.

Unitarian Universalism holds Pluralism as one of its essential values – we honor the religious and spiritual practices of world religions, recognizing there is wisdom available when engaged responsibly.  While you may be surprised to hear there is a meditation group at First UU, we aren’t – many UUs and many congregants at First UU identify as following Buddhist practices, as does our Senior Minister, Rev. Karen G. Johnston.

Many UU congregations have meditation groups or Buddhist sanghas (communities) associated with them or as part of their congregational life.  There is the Unitarian Universalist Buddhist Fellowship, a national organization that hosts a bi-annual Convocation welcoming UUs from any Buddhist and Buddhist-adjacent lineage to come together.  Learn more about UUBF at their website. (The FUUSB Community Meditation Group is not currently affiliated with UUBF.)