Experiencing darkness is part of my life. Most of the time I am not able to recognize the specific reason for this darkness. Nonetheless it often appeared to me as something very real in the past. When in the midst … Continue reading →
Segaki enables a tenderness for life to emerge and this talk is about opening our hearts. Segaki is a time when we can call to mind and honour all who have died, particularly those who have died in difficult circumstances—and … Continue reading →
There are 11, long narrow red cloth banners, that are hung in a straight line, behind and above, the Segaki, (also known as The Feeding of the Hungry Ghosts) Altar. The names on the banners are written vertically, in black. … Continue reading →
Generosity, compassion, love, and merit—all aspects of the Bodhisattva Mind-Heart—are the distinctive attributes, or seals, of the Feeding of the Hungry Ghosts Ceremony (Segaki). I want to explore here the many ways these qualities are expressed in the ceremony: first, … Continue reading →
Today is our Festival of Avalokiteshwara Bodhisattva and when we look around the hall, we find ourselves surrounded by all these lovely images of this Bodhisattva and encompassed by inspiring music and invocations. So I’d like to talk a bit … Continue reading →
I recently went to buy a new rug for my flat. This flat is the home that I shared with Jan, my wife of thirty-five years, until her recent death after a long illness. As part of the process of … Continue reading →
Throughout the ages Buddhism has been practised, taught and passed on by one person to another. Every scripture, statue and example came from a person who, through training, gave their individual life back to its Source, enabling the Truth to … Continue reading →
It is so helpful for our spiritual path to recognise the heart of Buddha in other human beings. When I was a young man, there was a deep longing in me that I could not have put into words then. … Continue reading →
The Dharma Path is simple and straightforward and in the instant before us, and yet calls us to great depths. A wellspring emerges to the surface joyfully, and yet its waters come from deep within, making their way upwards through … Continue reading →
In the early 1970s my wife Linda and I were fortunate to attend a weekend retreat near Eugene, Oregon, conducted by Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett. Not long thereafter, Linda and I were founding members of the newly opened Eugene Buddhist Priory; … Continue reading →