What we’re about
Hi - welcome to our Little Bangkok Sangha.
When I came to Bangkok in 2001 there was no dharma in English to be found. The temples are all happy to compete for the tourist dollar, but there was no explanations, no sangha, no friends on the path.
So I started the ball rolling. That was 2007. Now we organize lots of events, and bring people together from all kinds of meditation backgrounds.
There are regular dhamma talks, workshops, discussion events, lunches and sometimes retreats. It depends on visiting teachers schedules.
Since we have no permanent venue of our own (yet) we have few costs. Pretty much everything we do is without cost - except for retreats of course - but even those are as low cost as we can make it.
I hope you can join in. If you are new it takes a while for your face and name to be remembered, but you should find an interesting mix of people. (plus a few real oddballs!)
The full website is at www.littlebang.org - the calendars there feature all events, arranged by us and other groups. Here on Meetup we only feature our own events - that's already a ton of emails that Meetup sends out!!
Hope to meet you.
Pandit Bhikkhu
Upcoming events
1
Tong Leng Practice Part two, with Dr Andy Lowe
มูลนิธิบ้านอารีย์ (Baan Aree Foundation), 1 Soi Ari 1, Khet Phaya Thai, Kr, THFor our first Monday evening session of 2026 we are delighted to welcome back our friend Dr. Andy Lowe for an evening of sharing and reflection on 12 January 2026 at Baan Aree, the beautiful location so generously made available to us by the Baan Aree Foundation.
Tonglen - “giving and taking”.
This is a skillful form of meditation practice that allows us to cut through our habitual tendency of closing down both our hearts and minds to pain and suffering. This applies equally to our own pain and suffering as well as to other people’s pain and suffering. Instead of trying to block out pain, it is embraced and transformed into loving kindness and helps us to cultivate our own relative Bodhicitta. Tonglen achieves this by using suffering to crush our own ego which potentially enables us to release our true Buddha nature. There are four types of Tonglen practice. Self Tonglen, Tonglen for our family and friends, Tonglen for our enemies and Tonglen for the dying. It is a very powerful practice that requires guidance either from accomplished practitioners or from practitioners who have had comprehensive instruction from realised Tonglen practitioners. All Tonglen practice must always be preceded by heart felt motivation, then actual practice and concluded with the dedication prayers. Our motivation comes from the understanding that all of us all want the same thing. To be free from pain and suffering and be happy. It is our own ignorance and ego which is the cause of all our suffering. In order to fully engage with an appropriate motivation our minds must be inclusive, loving and joyous. Tonglen has the potential to destroy the harmful aspects of our ego and at the same time can reveal our true Buddha nature. This means, counter intuitively, that the greater the pain and suffering we can take on, the greater the benefit will be for all.
Everyone is welcome, from beginners to experienced meditators. We meet to support and encourage each other in our practice.
Programme:
6:00 pm Baan Aree opens
6:30 pm Brief guided meditation
6:40 pm Tonglen - “giving and taking”.
7:30 pm Q&A and open discussion
7:50 pm Session ends
8:00 pm Baan Aree closes
Baan Aree is a Thai Buddhist Center, please wear something that is comfortable to sit in, and avoid tight-fitting clothes, shorts, sleeveless tops, and short skirts. As Thailand is mourning the passing of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit the Queen Mother, the Thai government asked people to cooperate in wearing black or non-vibrant tones for a period of 90 days, if possible. There may not be sufficient drinking water on site, therefore you may bring your own water in a closed container. No other food/drinks are allowed in the main room.
As is usual with Buddhist teachings, there is no charge for this event. However, the Little Bangkok Sangha follows the Buddhist custom of Dana (generosity). The teachings and the venue are offered as an act of generosity, and those receiving them can, if they wish, reciprocate by making donations. These go towards the teacher’s and venue’s costs. Boxes for Dana will be provided.
About the Speaker:
Dr Andy Lowe is a student of Ringu Tulku Rinpoche and a sangha member of Bodhicharya UK based in Rochester Kent. His first contact with Tibetan Buddhism was in 1985 after meeting Ringu Tulku Rinpoche. From 1990 to 2020 he ran a Tibetan Buddhist centre for Akong Rinpoche in Glasgow Scotland. He is currently the chair of the UK registered charity called Rigul Trust [www.rigultrust.org.uk] which provides food, health care and education for Tibetans in a remote part of Tibet where Ringu Tulku Rinpoche was born.
He is now 79 years young and his career path was unorthodox because he only went to university to study when he was 45. He has a post graduate masters degree in International Business at Aston University Business School UK and a PhD from Glasgow University in social sciences. He worked as a management accountant in the UK and as an
international marketing manager with an USA software company. His latest book “The art of theory building” will be published by Macmillan Publishers International in April 2026. If you want to contact him please do so by email globalnomad999@gmail.com
We plan a live broadcast of this talk on our Facebook group and the Baan Aree YouTube channel:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/littlebangkoksangha
https://www.youtube.com/@Baanaree2020/streams
It is also recorded for later viewing.
Please see this map for directions:
https://goo.gl/maps/1FuCuvCtNdPMAL4F910 attendees
Past events
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