When we have been training for some time and we find that we are still contending with a condition like depression, we may feel a sense of failure or inadequacy and doubts may arise, either about the practice or our … Continue reading →
Here I address training with depression from a point of view of pure meditation (serene reflection meditation). Depression can appear to be the supreme obstacle to meditation practice and Buddhist training. Serious depression distorts our perceptions, confuses our thinking, and … Continue reading →
I have recently moved to an idyllic house in France and although the winter has been very cold, the spring has come like a fanfare. My garden is full of blossom on the many fruit trees and the woodlands around … Continue reading →
Two words about which we are often confused and thereby cause suffering for ourselves and others, are ‘real’ and ‘true’. We often don’t notice that we take them to be synonymous; what is real is true. But is this conclusion … Continue reading →
This has been a turbulent period in our history and there have been extraordinary changes in 2016 and 2017. We are all affected in how we engage or don’t engage in the society in which we live. Our interactions with … Continue reading →
It’s sobering to observe the workings of critical mind, to feel its painful effects and see how this goes against my true wish. It is easy to turn away, to not look, but eventually we do see. To turn towards … Continue reading →
These past 32 years of recovery from drug/alcohol addiction, combined with 16 years of Buddhist training at Shasta Abbey have provided opportunities for insight into ways of offering myself compassion for particular karmic conditions. Recently I resolved a perceived conflict … Continue reading →
I work as a community occupational therapist. The word therapist comes from an ancient root, dhr, meaning ‘to uphold/maintain’, which also gives us Dharma. Discovering this connection has brought something into focus for me about the inseparableness of my daily … Continue reading →
This was originally written in 2012 for someone who came to the Abbey to interview the community on environmentally sustainable practices in the monastery. A vital aspect of Buddhism, and in particular, training in the Serene Reflection Meditation tradition, is … Continue reading →
“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide … Continue reading →