Sitting Groups

A balanced practice can help meditators to integrate their practice into their everyday life, helping them to find more peace and happiness in their lives.

In order to create conducive conditions for continuing to grow in beneficial qualities, Steve & Rosemary encourage old students to support each other in "Sitting groups". "Sitting Group" is a term generally used to describe a group of meditators who wish to practice together on a regular basis.

In the Buddhist scriptures, the Buddha strongly recommended having good, kind, wise spiritual friends, and conversation that helps support our inner growth.

After participating in their first retreat, people often return to their normal life to find that many others in our societies do not understand the meditation practice that they are trying to develop and/or their inner changes.

By joining with other meditators who are trying to grow in similar ways, for formal meditation and discussion, it gives them all an extremely beneficial support system. This group support helps create conditions that greatly aid the growth of compassion, forgiveness, mindfulness, wisdom and all other valuable qualities, helping everyone find more peace and balance in their lives.

Over the years, many of Rosemary & Steve's long time old students or past assistants have organized Sitting Groups to offer this support, regularly joining together for meditation and discussion.

Periodically Rosemary & Steve join the groups via Skype for a Questions and Answers session. These sitting groups welcome new meditators who have an interest in the Buddhist meditation as it is taught by Steve & Rosemary.

Berlin

Berlin Sitting Group
"Rosemary & Steve Meditation Group - Berlin" began in 1994. Stephan Pinnow organizes the meetings. Stephan did his first retreat with Steve & Rosemary in 1992, and was one of the first to volunteer for the Work Retreat assistant program. The Berlin group meets on Wednesday evenings at alternating homes of the members. The meeting usually begins at 8 p.m. with a short walking, standing or sitting meditation. This is followed by a recorded guided meditation by Rosemary or Steve concerning certain aspects of the practice. The evening ends with a discussion about the teachings (Dhamma) and its application in every day life. A longer Sunday meeting usually takes place on the last Sunday of each month. Starting at 3 p.m. with a sitting meditation, then walking meditation, followed by drinking tea mindfully and in silence. Then there is a prepared Dhamma-discussion about a set topic that aims at integrating the teaching into every day life. After another sitting meditation, the meeting ends at 6 p.m. For more information, please contact .

Munich

Munich Sitting Group
"Rosemary & Steve Meditation Group - Munich" began in 1998. Wolfgang & Brigitte Smith organize the meetings. Wolfgang did his first retreat with Steve & Rosemary in 1996. Brigitte did her first in 1998 and translated Steve's children's book into German. They also teach meditation & yoga in Munich. The Munich group meets regularly twice a month on Wednesday evenings, around 7 pm in a private home. A typical evening could start with the formal meditation practice, followed by a short recorded guided Compassion/Lovingkindness Meditation from Rosemary or Steve and some more silence. After about 20 minutes of standing or walking meditation, they listen to an evening talk from Steve & Rosemary's normal retreat, continuing each evening approximately 30 minutes. They then usually discuss a question from the "Rosemary & Steve's Knowledgebase". The formal part ends at about 9 pm, followed by some informal time with refreshments. For more information, please contact .

Netherlands

Netherlands Sitting Group
"Rosemary & Steve Meditation Group - Netherlands" began in 2010. Bart Kiers coordinates the meetings. Bart did his first retreat with Steve & Rosemary in 1992. He also translated their main teaching book and Steve's children's book into Dutch. The Netherlands group meets once every two weeks on Monday from 19.30-21.15. Normally they start by a bit of social tea and generally talking about life. Then more specifically, they talk about a Dhamma theme. To stimulate the discussion, they use Rosemary & Steve's teachings: their books, audios and knowledgebase. Then a talk of Steve or Rosemary is played, followed by more discussion. They end the evening with a guided meditation from Rosemary or Steve, on e.g. Compassion/Lovingkindness or Sympathetic Joy. For more information, please contact .

Switzerland

Zurich Sitting Group
"Rosemary & Steve Meditation Group - Switzerland" began in 2012. Oliver DeCaro is the coordinator. He has meditated with Steve & Rosemary for over 15 years and has done both 9 and 18 day retreats with them. The group meets on the first Sunday of the month from 3 p.m. to approximatively 6 p.m. The meeting usually starts with 30 minutes sitting meditation followed by 30 minutes walking meditation. After a 30-60 minutes recorded talk or guided meditation by Rosemary or Steve, the silence period ends and the group can share thoughts and discuss the Dhamma topic of the day. For more information, please contact

Vienna

Vienna Sitting Group
"Rosemary & Steve Meditation Group - Vienna" began in 2013. Michael Friedmann organizes the meetings. Michael did his first retreat with Steve & Rosemary in 2003, and was an assistant with them in Thailand for 2 seasons. Generally the Vienna group meets twice a month on Sundays at 6 pm. The meetings take place at a small Thai monastery. They start with 30 minutes sitting meditation followed by 15 minutes standing. Then they discuss a Dhamma topic for about an hour. Participation through skype is possible and done by some members living far from Vienna. For more information, please contact .

Cologne/Bonn

Cologne/Bonn Sitting Group
"Rosemary & Steve Meditation Group - Cologne/Bonn" began in 2014. Guido Meurer organizes the meetings. Guido did his first retreat with Steve & Rosemary in 1995, and was an assistant with them in Thailand for a season. The Cologne/Bonn Group meets once a month on a Sunday. On Wednesdays, they also meet with the Berlin Group through Skype. Generally the meetings start at 7:30 pm. After 20 minutes of standing or walking meditation, they listen to a recorded guided meditation or talk of Rosemary or Steve regarding different aspects of the teaching, followed by a period of sitting or standing in silence (together 45 minutes). The evening usually ends with a discussion about the practice or current circumstances. For more information, please contact .

Denmark

Denmark Sitting Group
"Rosemary & Steve Meditation Group - Denmark" began in 2014. Christian Bachler organizes the meetings. Christian did his first retreat with Rosemary and Steve in 2011 and has done both 9 and 18 day retreats with them. The Danish group meets regularly in Copenhagen on the first Sunday each month at 6 pm. Members living far from Copenhagen often join the meetings through Skype. A typical evening starts with a short meditation in silence followed by a discussion of a topic suggested at the last meeting by one of the group members. The discussion includes relevant questions and answers from Rosemary and Steve's knowledgebase and listening to part of a talk from Rosemary and Steve. The evening usually ends with 20 minutes of meditation, finishing at 8 pm. For more information, please contact .