In a recent article, written to mark the centenary of American writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin’s birth, Kenan Malik states that Baldwin: “…had to confront not just the fact of being black in an oppressively racist world, … Continue reading →
A transcript of a Dharma talk given during a meditation period at Throssel’s Segaki retreat in October 2024. In the chapter of Shōbōgenzō, “Shōji”, or “Birth and Death”, Dōgen says the following: This birth-and-death is the life of … Continue reading →
An edited transcript of teaching given during the lay trainees’ sesshin in August 2024. I’d like to look at what Dōgen means when he says, in Rules for Meditation: “The kōan appears naturally in daily life”.1 This is a clue … Continue reading →
A transcript of a Dharma talk given during meditation at Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey in 2019. I invite us please to listen to this talk by allowing ourselves to drop into Stillness as a stone drops to the bottom of … Continue reading →
Based on a conversation between the author and Rev Master Olwen Crookall-Greening in November 2023. I spent three months as a lay resident at Throssel Hole in the Autumn of 2023, and decided to write about the experience, in the … Continue reading →
The brief answer is: it depends on what you mean by ‘religious’. If we see ‘being religious’ as believing in a set of religious doctrines that define belonging to a particular religion, then I would say the answer is … Continue reading →
Practising willing acceptance is a gateway to trust and Right Understanding. In formal meditation we sit in willing acceptance by being here openly with everything that shows itself, without interfering with it, without judging it, without dividing it into … Continue reading →
This is a transcription of a talk given at Lions Gate Buddhist Priory in November 2021. Rev. Master Jiyu said, several times, some version of the following: “If you’re going to sit in front of a wall and practice … Continue reading →
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 →
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 →