Persimmon
When I first moved to Santa Barbara my neighbor gave me my first persimmon. I had not eaten one before. The first one I tried was bitterly astringent. I learned to wait for the fruit to ripen fully. I became … Continue reading →
Buddhist doctrines
A Prayer of Silent Illumination
A prayer of silent illumination: we start with the pure intent of the heart. It is a wondrous mystery that this pure heart and intent exists within us and all beings. It exists at this very moment—not in some far-off … Continue reading →
Going Beyond Self and Other
Perhaps we could be forgiven for assuming that a defining characteristic of the human race is its ability to generate conflict around notions of group identity. The other day, I read about experiments using everything from ethnic, political, religious and … Continue reading →
Trust
This is an edited transcript of a talk given during an online weekend retreat in July, 2021. It has been adapted for the Journal. Today I want to highlight the presence of trust in a practice of Buddhism. It develops; … Continue reading →
The Tarmac Lorry and the Badly Parked Car
This is the story of a seemingly ordinary day in my life in February 2022. My sister had driven us to our weekly Sōtō Zen meditation class. We had not been able to find parking so we had to drive … Continue reading →
You Don’t Accept
This article was published on the Dragon Bell Temple website, February 2022. In trying to become an accepting person, we get in our own way and smother the possibility of real acceptance. At best we make a clumsy imitation of … Continue reading →
Fear and Fearlessness
This article originally appeared in the Portobello Buddhist Priory Newsletter, September—December 2019. Fear is something that most people experience to a greater or lesser extent, and it can sometimes feel like an obstacle in training. The various words used to … Continue reading →
Unconditional Love
This was taken from a talk in the December issue of the Dharma Reflections series. Over the Christmas period, a few people sent me cards with pictures of their children on them. As I was sitting here, reflecting one afternoon, … Continue reading →
Sange – Recognising Our Mistakes and Learning From Them
This is a transcript of a lecture given at the Jukai retreat at Throssel in September 2021 when, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the usual Sange Ceremony did not take place. Already during this retreat, at each ceremony, we … Continue reading →
“This I Offer…”
Based on a talk given to the Sandpoint Meditation Group on November 6, 2021. At the memorial for Rev. Master Jiyu that preceded this talk we recited the Sandōkai and The Most Excellent Mirror–Samādhi. Oftentimes during a retreat, through … Continue reading →