The question
It is a basic human desire to seek happiness and satisfaction in our lives. The question we all face in life is how do we find this happiness and satisfaction? The way we answer that question is the way we … Continue reading →
Introductory articles
Dealing with Addictions
A friend I’ve known for some time has alcohol addiction problems. He is very concerned about the world’s suffering and has strongly held views about the cause of this, and how to change things for the better. The trouble is, … Continue reading →
Enhancing our lives
Not long before his death, the Buddha taught his followers: “Be an island unto yourself; be your own refuge.” In this teaching, the Buddha invites us to take charge of our lives and not to depend on anyone else to … Continue reading →
Cherry Blossom
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 →
Our True Home
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 →
Working meditation
The next thing on the retreat schedule is working meditation, and I’ve been asked to give you a talk as an introduction to this, why we do it, why it’s important, how to do it… With practice we can bring … Continue reading →
Buddhism is not self-improvement
Most of us come to Buddhist practice with some idea or hope of finding a better way of living than that which we currently have, know or experience. Some of us are completely dissatisfied with the state of our lives … Continue reading →
King’s Day
It was somewhere towards the end of the afternoon of King’s Day. We were in Amsterdam selling old clothes on the street market to get some extra money for our plan of traveling the world… The boy next to us … Continue reading →
Confusion: cures and causes
When I was the Prior at the Eugene Buddhist Priory several people asked me about a sense of confusion regarding their meditation practice. These are some thoughts I had at the time, revised slightly for inclusion in this issue of … Continue reading →
A Bodhisattva’s perspective on social relations
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 →