I’ve been a lay practitioner at the Columbia, South Carolina Zen Priory for eight months now. Recently, Reverend Master Rokuzan invited the sangha to write an article for the OBC Journal. I have benefitted greatly from the Journal’s articles …Continue reading →
This is an extract from a novel called The Buddhist CEO which was published in 2022 and written by a member of the lay Sangha, Thane Lawrie. The main character Hamish, is a deeply committed Buddhist; the story details the …Continue reading →
This is a transcript of a Dharma talk given following the Festival of Great Master Dōgen at Throssel in October. To celebrate Eihei Dōgen today, the talk is going to be about morality… That probably sounds terribly dry for a …Continue reading →
This is an edited transcript of a talk given at Shasta Abbey in June 2023. I would like to start with a story about an animal that I grew up with in the Midwest, the buffalo. Actually what I …Continue reading →
I found myself standing once again amidst an overflow of cardboard moving boxes and possessions, when the lay Sangha blog Dew On The Grass’s new monthly theme caught my attention: ‘The Map To Where I Live’1. I was nearly …Continue reading →
A transcription of a talk given at Shasta Abbey on Oct 18 2020. Homage to the Buddha Homage to the Dharma Homage to the Sangha Today I’m going to talk about something that is relevant to our current times which …Continue reading →
Last fall I attended a four-day silent retreat at Pine Mountain Temple. It was quite wonderful. The weather was perfect, the people attending were nice, and, of course, the food was good. I had been on retreats before and was …Continue reading →
This is a slightly revised version of a short talk given to Faithshare, an informal termly interfaith gathering of students, staff and religious representatives, at Lancaster University. A member from each faith tradition was invited to make a short contribution …Continue reading →
I was in my mid-forties when I became a monk. I had been married for some years previously and later had two other relationships. Without my especially thinking about it, my view of these relationships, especially my part in them, …Continue reading →
Recently at a meditation group meeting we had a discussion on the difficulties of caring for others. Several people in the group had been looking after elderly relatives, or were still doing so, and we looked at why