Our Programmes
01
Free Drop-in Meditation
Perhaps you’ve always wanted to learn meditation but never got around to it. Perhaps you want to switch off from the busyness of daily life and feel the calm within. Or, perhaps you are just curious about how meditation makes one relaxed and peaceful. Our Drop-in Guided Meditation session can help, no matter where you are.
This is an hour-long guided meditation session based on the Buddha’s teachings, usually divided into two segments. Each session ends with a Q&A round where you can ask questions and clear your doubts about the meditation topic. Currently, we are doing a series on Mindfulness Meditation.
Here you’ll find a community of people who meditate together, and you can slowly build a meditation practice for yourself with their support.
We gather online and in-person (hybrid mode) once a week, on Saturday evenings.
Guided meditations are also held on some special occasions, such as Buddha Purnima and New Year’s Eve. The Drop-in Meditation is bilingual — the instructions are given in English and Bengali. It is free of cost and anyone can join.
02
Study Programme
The Study Programme is for those who want to dive deeper into the Buddha’s teachings and learn the many methods he taught to develop a happy mind.
A selection of texts on Buddhist psychology and philosophy are studied and discussed in the Study Programme, under the guidance of our teacher, Dr Anindya Chatterjee. The mode of instruction is English.
Each two-hour session has two parts — teaching and commentary on a text by the teacher, followed by a presentation and discussion by the members. In the traditional method, the teacher, who has received the transmission of a text from their teachers and has personal experience from their practice, reads the text and provides essential commentary on its meaning. This is followed by guided meditation and Q&A.
Members are expected to read up the text and commentaries, reflect on it and connect it with their experience. The group discussions help in clearing doubts, correcting misconceptions and strengthening one’s understanding of the topic.
The Study Programme session is held once a week, on Sunday afternoon, in hybrid mode.
03
Experience Sharing Session
This is an online session for the Study Programme members, but those attending the Drop-in Guided Meditation regularly are welcome too. It’s a space where you can share what’s resonating with you (or not), and how you are applying the teachings in your day-to-day life.
You can also think aloud about the challenges you are facing with setting up a meditation practice or in understanding a certain concept. There will be many fellow practitioners who will listen in and also share their own experiences.
The Experience Sharing Session is held once every month, on a Friday evening.
04
Meditation Retreats
Meditation retreats are held at regular intervals all through a calendar year. These stretch from a couple of days to 10 days, and are held in-person in Kolkata or at a faraway site.
Some retreats are held over the weekends in Kolkata and are open to all. A few others — like the weeklong annual retreats, usually held at a Buddhist pilgrimage site with a specific text as the topic — are meant for more committed practitioners and members.
Retreats are essential in deepening our personal experience of meditation and gaining insights about ourselves. It’s a wonderful opportunity to shut out the hustle and bustle of everyday life, turn our attention inward and relax. We can work on getting over our laziness of attachment to all the things that keep us distracted, and improve our concentration and motivation to benefit from Buddha’s teachings. Look at it as a ‘spiritual holiday’!
05
Prayers
Atish Dipankar Dhyan Kendra regularly organises group prayers. These are held both online and in-person at our meditation centre in Kolkata. The recited prayers help rid one’s mind of distractions and one feels energised by receiving blessings. Taking part in the prayers is an important aspect of building up a successful meditation practice.
Our group prayers are offered for free, and everyone is welcome.
06
General Programmes
Since 2024, Atish Dipankar Dhyan Kendra has been holding programmes with various groups at various institutions. Among these events were:
- A two-day workshop on mindfulness-based practices and their application in therapy and personal well-being, held at West Bengal State University in Barasat, organised in association with WBSU’s Department of Psychology and IQAC.
- A talk on mindfulness and mental health for the undergraduate and postgraduate students of the Department of Psychology, St. Xavier’s University, Kolkata.
- Teaching a postgraduate module on ‘Peace and non-violence in Buddhist psychology and philosophy’ at the Department of Psychology, West Bengal State University, Barasat.
- A panel discussion on ‘Inner peace and world peace’ attended by Dr Anindya Chatterjee alongside practitioners of different spiritual traditions, conducted by the Heartfulness meditation centre in Kolkata as part of the Ministry of Culture’s Global Spirituality Mahotsav in June.