From Portobello Buddhist Priory Newsletter, September – December 2019. It has been recommended that when we sit in Zazen, we bring to mind the question: What is this? Not as a mantra to continually repeat or as a question to … Continue reading →
Whilst we are on this earth, it is unlikely that we will find or create a sort of heaven realm for ourselves. As the young Shakyamuni realized, suffering exists inherently in this samsaric realm that we inhabit. The pains of … Continue reading →
This is a revised version of a talk given in February 2020 on a Retreat at Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey, which included an exploration of poetry and contemplative writing. The American poet and Zen practitioner Jane Hirshfield has described poetry … Continue reading →
Everyone has been deeply affected by the CV-19 outbreak. One of most difficult aspects of the situation has been that our natural wish to help others has been thwarted by the need for ‘social isolation’. For example one concerned person … Continue reading →
This article is taken from a talk of the same name that was part of the May issue of the Dharma Reflections From The Place of Peace, CD series. It is offered in gratitude for the life and training of … Continue reading →
In recent years I have spent much of my time in solitude and would like to offer some thoughts on loneliness, especially now when many of us are having to live in isolation. Most of the advice going around at … Continue reading →
Chapter Six from Rev. Master Seikai’s book Depth Spirituality, first printed in May 2017 and republished here with thanks. There are many very excellent books on the subject of meditation, so there is really no need for me to add … Continue reading →
A transcription of a talk given at the end of a retreat on 1st May 2011. Homage to the Buddha, Homage to the Dharma, Homage to the Sangha As most of you know we just finished up with our Meditation … Continue reading →
This is an edited version of a talk given on 26 July 2012, during a lay retreat at Shasta Abbey which focused on meditation practice. It also appeared in the Spring 2013 Journal and in Serene Reflection Meditation, a Shasta … Continue reading →
Often in our practice it is helpful to go back to basics, to see what it is we are doing in meditation. The aspect I’d like to draw out is ‘deliberate thought’. I imagine that these words will remind you … Continue reading →
