Rupert Gethin: Buddhist Local Faith Contact

Rupert Gethin first became interested in Buddhism when he was studying

for a Degree in Comparative Religion at the University of Manchester in

the late 1970s. He subsequently became involved in Buddhist practice

through the activities of the Samatha Trust (www.samatha.org), an

organization which has its roots in the meditation practice of

'mindfulness of breathing' as taught by Nai Boonman, a former Theravadin

Buddhist monk from Thailand. Rupert has led a class in this tradition of

'samatha' or 'calm' meditation in Bristol since the mid 1990s; the

class meets in the Multifaith Chaplaincy on Thursday evenings at 7.00

pm during term. In his professional life Rupert is Professor of Buddhist

Studies in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the

University of Bristol. While his academic interests lie mainly in early

Indian Buddhism and the Pali texts, and his personal involvement with

Buddhism has largely been with the Theravada tradition, he maintains a

broad interest in Buddhism and is happy to talk to anyone involved or

interested in Buddhism and point them towards the various Buddhist

groups and activities in Bristol, whether Theravada, Tibetan, Chan,

Nichiren, etc.