Meditation classes in Kathmandu
Sit, breathe and come back to yourself.
Meditation is the practice of training attention, usually by sitting still and coming back, again and again, to something simple: the breath, a sound, a phrase or the body. Classes may be secular mindfulness, Buddhist, mantra-based or fully guided. Nobody expects your mind to go blank.
No classes scheduled in the next two weeks.
What Meditation does for you
You get a stretch of time where nothing is asked of you except to notice. Many people leave feeling calmer, a little more spacious, or simply more aware of what they are thinking and feeling. Sitting with others makes it much easier to actually do it than alone at home. Over time, the habit of coming back to the breath tends to follow you into the rest of the day.
It suits you if
- your head is busy and you want a way to be with that
- you want a practice you can take anywhere
- you like quiet
- you are curious about Buddhist or mindfulness traditions
Read the full guide to MeditationWhat a class is like, your first time, history and the words you will hear
What a class is like
Classes run anywhere from 20 to 90 minutes, often with blocks of 10 to 30 minutes of sitting. You sit on a cushion, bench or chair, back upright but not stiff, eyes closed or lowered. The facilitator usually gives a short introduction and guides the first minutes, then lets silence do the rest, though some classes are guided from start to finish. Buddhist-based classes may include chanting, a bell, walking meditation or a short talk, and many end with time for questions. You won't sweat, and you will probably notice your knees.
Your first time
- Wear loose, warm clothes, since you cool down when you sit still.
- Arrive five to ten minutes early to choose a cushion or chair and settle in; late arrivals are very audible in silence.
- Sitting on a chair is completely fine.
- If your mind wanders a hundred times, you did it right: noticing and coming back is the practice.
Good to know
- Long silences can feel uncomfortable at first, and sitting with your thoughts sometimes brings up difficult feelings; if it gets to be too much, open your eyes, take a break and let the facilitator know.
- Some classes include chanting, bowing or Buddhist teachings while others are fully secular; check the description if that matters to you.
Where it comes from
Meditation is old and shared by many traditions. The earliest written references to dhyana, Sanskrit for meditation or absorption, appear in the Upanishads of ancient India, and it is central to Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism. Chinese Daoist texts describe breath-based inner cultivation, and Christian, Jewish and Islamic traditions have their own forms of contemplative prayer.
Buddhism carried meditation across Asia, reaching China around the 2nd century CE and Japan by the 6th, where it later grew into Zen and its seated practice, zazen. Theravada traditions in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia kept two complementary practices: samatha (calm) and vipassana (insight).
The West took wider notice from the late 19th century, with the 1893 World's Parliament of Religions in Chicago as a turning point. Zen, Transcendental Meditation and the Vipassana movement spread widely from the 1960s. In 1979 Jon Kabat-Zinn founded a clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center and developed Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, an eight-week secular course that made mindfulness mainstream.
Berlin has a long history here. A Sri Lankan-style Buddhist temple in Frohnau, completed in 1924, is often described as the oldest Theravada Buddhist center in Europe. Today the city has Buddhist centers of many traditions alongside secular mindfulness courses, guided drop-ins and evening sits in yoga studios, in German and in English.
Words you will hear
- Dhyana
- Sanskrit for meditation or absorption.
- Samatha
- Pali for calm abiding: settling the mind on one object, often the breath.
- Vipassana
- Pali for insight: watching sensations and thoughts arise and pass.
- Metta
- Pali for loving-kindness: silently wishing well to yourself and others.
- Zafu
- Japanese name for the round, firm cushion you sit on.