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This week - getting the word out - Buddhism at Amida Newcastle, Newcastle and Northumbria Universities

Organising more Buddhist Chaplain's drop-ins at Castle Leazes Hall of Residence, NCL Uni, starting this Wednesday. emailing my contact lists about a drop-in today at Henderson Hall, Newcastle University,… Continue

Added by Sujatin on November 9, 2009 at 11:11am — 3 Comments

Sahishnu's new temple!

Yesterday we went to Ambedkar Colony, where we taught a class of about 20 kids, at Mudan Mohan's, with a few adults floating around in the background. We had a very active class, with lots of songs and jumping about, backed up with worksheets. The whole experience was made much easier thanks to Shiv Lal (our rikshaw driver) and, when we started the Buddhist studies, he rushed in to join us, and even the grandpa joined in and had a go on the singing bowl. After class had ended, Mudan reappeared,… Continue

Added by Pikey Dan on November 9, 2009 at 6:37am — 1 Comment

Temple in Ambedkar Colony

what a wonderful life this is teaching in Delhi. Yesterday we started teaching at Amberkar Colony. Mudan Mohan the community leader in whose house we were teaching was unable to be with us as he had to attend a wedding in.When we had finished teaching he reappeared and took us of to the reception to be royally fed. Everyone kept smiling secret smiles and nodding at me. When we had eaten a deputation said they wanted to show me the new temple they had built, round the corner we went and I admired… Continue

Added by Sahishnu Joy Marston on November 9, 2009 at 6:08am — 2 Comments

Hello again. as Dan said we had our first teaching session today at Laxmi gardens.Preparing was diff…

Hello again. as Dan said we had our first teaching session today at Laxmi gardens.Preparing was difficult. I needed to scan and copy, print material for the class and of course the thing would not work. Prakashes friend Yogesh a former student of ours came and fixed it for free. The problem was that while we were away a mouse had found it to be a fine home and its droppings had siezed the carriage. All fixed now.The monk Vinasiel has a new novice at his temple who was quite bemused by us. We had… Continue

Added by Sahishnu Joy Marston on November 6, 2009 at 6:09pm — 1 Comment

Our first day teaching!

Today we had our first day teaching, at Lakshmi Gardens. It was absolutely brilliant! I loved every minute of it, and was so impressed that the kids were so interested and responsive...it really goes to show that kids are eager to learn and that Sahishnu's teaching techniques are incredible (she later told me that they'd only started learning any English last year...and they've had 6 months off since then!). Poor Sahishnu had to walk a long way today, but we've got our transport sorted out with… Continue

Added by Pikey Dan on November 6, 2009 at 5:32pm — 1 Comment

Blood, Sweat and Takeaways

I have just watched a bbc programme- blood, sweat and takeaways. A group of fit, young English people are left to live as labourers in Thailand- paid Thai rates of pay and left to fend for themselves. This is very powerful stuff, to experience living in hardship through eyes that know the privilege that we take for granted. The work in rice fields and factories was more than they could deal with, the money barely paid for the most basic accommodation, lucky to have enough left over for a bowl of… Continue

Added by Robert McCarthy on November 6, 2009 at 1:32am — 12 Comments

How to understand Amida and his Vow?

What do I feel about Amida and his Vow? Is it something real or is it metaphor? I think it is both. Metaphor in as much as it is (to me) doubtful whether an actual Pureland (apart from this place) exists. Yet is is real in as much as it symbolises all that is most life affirming in the human heart. The Pureland in fact is here, as is the Kingdom of Heaven. In as much as I lose touch with what is sublime in myself, I lose touch with Amida's Vow - which embraces all of us - even me, with all my a… Continue

Added by richard meyers on November 5, 2009 at 5:30pm — 7 Comments

Touched down in Delhi (Volunteering in India)

We've arrived safe and sound in India and are finally getting things sorted out. Everything seems to be coming together nicely and thanks to the help and advice I've been given, both here and in the UK, I think I'm coping with everything pretty well. I may have been here less than a week, but I'm already starting to appreciate how much I've always taken for granted, vis-a-vis electricity, hot and cold running water, and other services we would never consider a luxury in the West. India has amaze… Continue

Added by Pikey Dan on November 3, 2009 at 2:22pm — 2 Comments

Greetings from India.

Well hear I am again ensconced in our flat in Delhi, busy working my way through, things to do, while being duly visited by old friends and Sanga members.As you can see the internet is now reconnected and I now have a new Indian sim for my phone. Everything seems to stop working while I'm in England and this year water was the main problem. We in the west take for granted a continuous supplyand the only tap that was working was supplied by the tank on the roof and the water only fit for washing… Continue

Added by Sahishnu Joy Marston on November 3, 2009 at 1:49pm — 3 Comments

Self-reflection, Gratitude and Power Steering

You and I woke up this morning. Congratulations to both of us! A lot had to happen to get us through the night. Our mitochondria were on duty, our cell walls held up, our hearts kept the beat all night long and countless other precise and complex processes occurred while “we” slept. We were also protected from the elements and from both human and animal intruders. How many people helped to create this shelter that we slept in? For many of us this is the Thanksgiving season and, if you’re readin… Continue

Added by Gregg Krech on November 2, 2009 at 8:34pm — No Comments

If we could live just as a prisma?

I sit in nembutsu. The image comes of men as a prisma, just natural receiving the sunlight from one side and reflecting this light in all different colours and forms all around in the neighbourhood. The place and the form of the prisma influences the diversity in forms and colours, as the uniqueness of men gives all different colours and forms. Without sunlight the prisma is just a piece of glass; no colours, less shining. A prisma has not the illusion that it creates all this colours by own pow… Continue

Added by Katrien Sercu on October 23, 2009 at 12:13pm — 2 Comments

Psychotherapy: statutory regulation - latest twist

Press Release Psychotherapy Organisations Poised to Challenge Health Professions Council in the Courts 19 October 2009 Association for Group and Individual Psychotherapy, Association of Independent Psychotherapists, Centre for Freudian Analysis and Research, The College of Psychoanalysts-UK, The Guild of Psychotherapists, The Philadelphia Association The Government's plans to regulate counselling and psychotherapy under the Health Professions Council faces a further setback this week w… Continue

Added by caroline brazier on October 21, 2009 at 1:42pm — 1 Comment

Jesus and Amida

Amida's light of unconditional love enters this world through many channels. One of the brightest of these channels was the foremost of sages, Gotama, the Shakyamuni; another was surely the man Jesus, or Yeshua, from Nazareth. Just as the former spoke the language and culture of India, so Jesus framed the message appropriately for the Jewish culture of his time and place replacing the 'eye for an eye' justice approach of the Old Testament with the compassion centred 'love thy neighbour as thou l… Continue

Added by Dharmavidya on October 20, 2009 at 7:06pm — 2 Comments

When Death Comes

My friend's mother died today. My friend and I are in our early 30s. It's an age where we look and act like grown ups but we feel like children a good part of the time and we still feel a deep need for our parent's support, guidance and love. At any age, to lose a parent is devastating. To have them taken away when we still need them so much. Who cherishes us like our mother? Who sees us through such tender eyes? I am deeply struck by how the knowledge of impermanence penetrates through experie… Continue

Added by Tara on October 19, 2009 at 10:20pm — 17 Comments

Meeting others - a first visit to The Buddhist House

(re-posted from my blog Planting Words) I feel like I've just got back from several months on Mars. I've only spent nine days away on my Buddhist Psychotherapy Training at The Buddhist House, but - oh my - what a nine days. As someone else in th… Continue

Added by Fiona Robyn on October 19, 2009 at 9:55am — 6 Comments

On speaking from our own aspect of Amida

First of all, let me say that in sharing what is heart felt we must take responsibility for what we reveal of our deeper selves. Having said that, we should acknowledge speaking in this way makes us vulnerable and ought to be regarded as, in a sense 'holy ground' and at the very least, approached respectfully. It is important that instead of responding in a reactive way,we so to speak - hold onto that thought. At the very least, we should ask for clarification. We need to be mindfull and atten… Continue

Added by richard meyers on October 18, 2009 at 7:30am — 34 Comments

Three Minds

In the Contemplation Sutra it refers to the three minds. The three minds are # sincere mind # deep mind # longing mind These correspond, respectively, with the mind of nei quan, the mind of chih quan and the mind of nembutsu. Sincere mind means being free from hypocrisy. This is the mind that is willing to look at oneself as one actually is. It is the willingness to face and admit to one's bombu-nature. People with this first kind of mind are not too certain about themselves. This does n… Continue

Added by Dharmavidya on October 15, 2009 at 5:44pm — 3 Comments

Unconditional Love

Today I have been teaching on the Buddhist Psychology programme and this evening gave the Sutra Study Class at The Buddhist House. We are studying Shoshin Nembutsu Ge and have reached the passage about Amida's Light. Amida's light is love. It incorporates joy, faith, wisdom, tenderness and other sublime qualities. It is the epitome of love. Amida's Light is called immeasurable. This is because true love does not measure. It is called unbounded. This is because true love liberates and does not co… Continue

Added by Dharmavidya on October 12, 2009 at 9:54pm — 1 Comment

GLOBAL WARMING

Recently I have read two books on climate change. James Lovelock- the final warning and climate code red by David Spratt and Philip Sutton. The reports are shocking. My belief is that as engaged Buddhists, our starting point is to be aware that these reports may be the actual situation. James Lovelock, whose science has transformed our understanding of global ecology and whose theories resulted in the name Gaia being widely adopted for our planet believes we have already passed tipping points. H… Continue

Added by Robert McCarthy on October 12, 2009 at 2:22pm — No Comments

Stories and Rupas

Day two of the course block. Our student group is bigger than its been for a while, and lively discussion of the basic principles of other-centred work keeps us in serious engagement through large and small group sessions interspersed with demonstrations and counselling exercises. The principle that, since the mind is conditioned by the object of attention (basic Abhidharma principles), holding the client's attention on the objects in their world and encouraging a deeper, more respectful engagem… Continue

Added by caroline brazier on October 11, 2009 at 7:08pm — No Comments