(« The Winged Man » by Odilon Redon)

« The Winged Life » takes its name from William Blake's poem « Eternity » :

He who binds himself to a joy

Does the winged life…

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We go to the lake in the evening to swim. The day has been hot and even though the sun is now low in the sky, it is still warm on our bare skin as we change into our swimming costumes on the little sandy beach beneath the pine trees. This place is one which we have been using all summer. We make ourselves at home here on the shore. We are swimming outside the designated swimming area, and there is a frisson of disobedience. As with many French lakes, there are areas for swimming, for…

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Just added two blog posts to the Amida France web site. One is tonight's wild recipe http://amidatrust.typepad.com/france/food-recipes/

 

Today's meal was Nettle and peanut roulade with Jack-in-the-hedge sauce and wild salad.

and…

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We're really pleased that Clark agreed to answer some questions about creativity for our Writing Our Way Home site - he has some very wise things to say - click here to read the interview. Thank you Clark!

And on an unrelated note if you want to hear me & Kaspa speaking about our writing project in our garden,…

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• Hon. Shyam Tagade felicitated by Dr. Ambedkar International Award 2011 at Nagpur (India)…

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It's a really tired job to build a house here in India u have to  remove all your stuff, hire ppl to do the job.It took me over 4 days to remove stuff from my house to another house.But i am happy that we have done it and building work started on wednesday 20 th of April.I do not know how  long does it takes but we have to do it and have to work very hard so.

 

Namo Amida Bu

 

Today's menu at Amida France: nettle and chick pea penne with wildside salad.

Nettle & Chick Pea Penne:

Pick one large bowl of nettle tops. Take only the very top leaves as these will be tenderest. Lets face it, nettles are not in short supply. Put other leaves from nettle plant in a black plastic…

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20 April 2011

We arrive late at night. The drive has gone quickly as Jnanamati shares with me some of his experiences in India and we unpick possibilities and deconstruct dilemmas. As we turn off the main road at Bessais the village is quiet, shutters closed against the night air and respectable inhabitants in their beds – it is after all half past ten at night. I have felt buoyant all the journey, but suddenly as we take the little road to the house a strange residue of emotion…

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I want to bring this campaign to your attention, because the cause is close to my heart, and I know you have a good heart. We want bring a Smile to those helpless children. It is possible to bring a giant smile to dozens of children faces if you spread this appeal words of http://bit.ly/fRSRww to others as if they can do something for orphanage children or help.



We need you kindness help. If you are interested to do something please directly contact… Continue

Dear All Dharma Friends and Philanthropist,



I want to bring this campaign to your attention, because the cause is close to my heart, and I know you have a good heart. We want bring a Smile to those helpless children. It is possible to bring a giant smile to dozens of children faces if you spread this appeal words of http://bit.ly/fRSRww to others as if they can do something for orphanage children or help.



We need you kindness help. If you… Continue

Fiona and I have been using the front room at home as our shrine room. It's a small room and a couple of weeks ago we realised that if all of our regular group members all came at once, we'd end up sitting on top of one another.

 

One of the members suggested a center called The Wheel of Life might…

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Report on



International Conference on Buddhism:

Traditional Practices Pluralistic innovation



Jointly organized in Kathmandu by

Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), New Delhi in collaboration with

CNAS, Tribhuvan University and Embassy of India, Kathmandu

On March 27-29, 2011.



An International Conference on “Buddhism: Traditional Practices and Pluralistic Innovations” was organized in Kathmandu by Indian Council for Cultural Relations… Continue

I've been updatinging websites - layout in all cases and template and content in some - four of the Amida ones (and a private one I use for Amida Ministry training purposes):

Amida Newcastle…

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Dependent on ignorance arise volitional activities  (moral and immoral) 

Dependent on volitional activities arises consciousness 

Dependent on consciousness arise mind and matter 

Dependent on mind and matter arise the six spheres of sense 

Dependent on six spheres of sense arises contact 

Dependent on contact arises sensation 

Dependent on sensation arises craving 

Dependent on craving arises grasping 

Dependent on grasping arises…

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This evening at 8.00 I will be leaving North Lakhimpur, the beginning of my journey back to the UK. The first leg is by overnight bus to Guwahati, the capital of Assam. I shall then have a day and overnight stay before the short trip (20km) to Gopinath Bordoloi Airport and flight to Delhi at 2.25 p.m. on Monday 4th April. The reason for going a day early to Guwahati is that the region is about to hold elections and there is no transport available from the 3rd to the 4th, the latter date…

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I just had the opportunity to speak to the full student body and staff at a college preparatory High School in Waimea.  There were 380 people in attendance...and it took place in a wonderful rustic Chapel.  It was part of their on-going Chapel series entitled "Awakenings." It is a school where there are about 100 students from Asia attending. I was more nervous than usual...having never spoken to a large group of people about Buddhism before. It went okay...can't say I have "acquired the… Continue