These pictures of the front field/lawn at Amida France are especially intended for the interest of those who took part in the July sesshin and participated in the hay making. Namo Amida Bu.



North view, mid-July

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North view, late-August…

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Hello,

Just a note to appologise for my lack of checking up on Amida in the last few months. Had a bit of a busy summer and a bit of time without internet moving into my new house. Look forward to making new friends on the groups i have joined. Hope all is well and in good spirits.

Amo Amida Bu

Simonx

We had three new people for Sunday service this afternoon, which was lovely, and three old friends, plus Sudhana and myself. I was, a little unexpectedly, taking the service so I hadn't really prepared anything. And one of the new people had expressed some fears about not knowing what to expect in the service, and the other couple looked a little nervous as well - so I tried to explain all the different bits as we went along. What those funny words are that we are chanting, what they actually… Continue

Time to dig out my woolly hat, I think - there's a chill in the air tonight, it really feels like the beginning of autumn here in The Buddhist House.



Prasada and I arrived back from France a couple of days ago, we came on the evening ferry across the channel, from beautiful clear sky above northern France, and towards a shroud of cloud hanging over the UK.



Now, a few days later, I feel back in to the swing of life here. It's been good to catch up with old friends, and… Continue

(Erie Steam Road Roller scanned by Andy Dingley from the "New Catechism of the Steam Engine.")

“Steamroller” is probably the most busy piece of poligrafic music…

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In our nei quan exercise we review what we have received: we count our blessings. Blessings may be physical, such as food, clothing, transport and so on, social, as in the support that we receive from the presence and goodwill of friends, or spiritual in that we have the Dharma and the example and assistance of the spiritual ancestors. The spiritual help is what can carry us through times when other circumstances are adverse. If one has the buddhas in mind (nembutsu) then one can cope even if… Continue

Hello Amida friends.......



I have a feeling we have a potential issue (fraud, scam or something else here) with one of our members...

http://amidatrust.ning.com/profile/lucy?xg_source=activity



If you look, you will see she has sent virtually the same email request to several members, me included. This "Lucy" seems to only want to correspond to us via private email (lucydavid40@yahoo.com). Anyway, I think personally think it's a SCAM of some sort so you may wish to… Continue

("Between the waves" by Ivan Aivazovsky)

The seventh chapter of "The Dam" is entitled "Flow" and presents our protagonist/narrator having passed the test, overcome the obstacle, levelled the dam, and…

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(Pocket Stereoscope by Joaquim Alves Gaspar )

“Stereoscopy” is the definitive title of a song which I used to refer to as “Point Of View.” I changed my mind about the title while writing and singing the melodies, thinking that the word doesn’t get the chance to be…

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("Introspection" by Alberto Baumann)

"Introspection I" is the third part, and first vocal section, of "The Chrome Lake," which itself constitutes the core middle chapter of the "Entering The Stream" trilogy.

The title of the whole suite was inspired by Voivod's…

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(Daniel-Johnson's Manic 5 dam in Quebec, Canada - photo by Pierre cb)

Part 4 of The Dam is entitled simply “Dam.” In the storyline, this is when the obstacle is recognized and the necessity of dealing with it is…

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The following is a draft contribution to a chapter on Buddhism and Psychotherapy for a book to be publishede in Polish. Since I gather the final version has been very cut down from the original word limit, I am putting my original here so others can read it. I may eventually publish elsewhere so if you want to quote me please check out the reference. Ning strips out foot notes (of which there are 68 in the original) so if you want the references for this piece, do email me for a word… Continue

("The Winged Man" by Odilon Redon)

"The Winged Life" takes its name from the following verse by William Blake :

He who binds himself to a joy

Does the winged life…

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BHUJ IS A SMALLL CITY.BUT THIS CITY IS BEAUTYFUL CITY. THIS COMES IN GUJARAT STATE AND INDIA. THERE ARE SO MANY PLACE TO VISIT. THERE IS PRAG MAHAL,MUSIUM,LAKHOTA TALAV, KHENGARJI PARK, ALFRED HIGH SCHOOL,R.R.LALAN COLLEGE, AIRPORT, SOME OF BEAUTYFUL TEMPLE.IN CITY THERE IS SO MANY EVENT TO CELEBRATION. IN SRAVAN MONTH JANAMASTHAMI,GANISH UTSAV,SARAD PUNAM,NAVRATRI, DIWALI, HOLE AND OTHER.

Clocking in at 22 minutes “The Dam” is my longest composition thus far. The piece uses the metaphor of water flowing from source to ocean to illustrate this mysterious process that we usually refer to as life. It comprises eight distinct movements, identified as follows :

• 1. Source
• 2. River
• 3. Rapids
• 4. Dam
• 5. Immersion
• 6.…

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North, East, South, West,
Wonder which bit is best,
Never Eat Shredded Wheat,
Marching to the compass beat.

North, South, East, West,
Which path is easiest,
Naughty elephants squirt water,
Keep your dog on a halter.

North, East, south, west,
Compass points the line of test,
Never Eat Shredded Wheat,
sitting in the midday heat.

(Globe of Integration by Eugen Hofbauer, Herbert Kalleitner, and Susi Müller. Photo by Manfred Kielnhofer)

“The Chrome Lake” is the core middle part of “Entering The Stream,” the trilogy which begins with "Into The Ashram" and is completed by "Leaving The…

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Dear friends,



We are happy to tell you that yesterday, on Friday 31 July 2009 (beginning at 15:00 in the afternoon), we conducted a full (2 hours long) Pureland Service. As far as we know, this one has been the first Amida- Shu service to have taken place here in Israel.

Six women attended the service, so together we were 8. Orna was the bell master and Yaakov was the celebrant.

The preparations took us a long time, selecting and translating materials from the Nien Fo book… Continue

I, little human, am angry on God. He would have done it better, his creation of the world, full of suffering (beneath joy, grow and wisdom). Why all this suffering, by destroing powers in nature and in men? Can you tell me from your heart, without theories as excuse?



Silence practice brightening



Amida is not God! He did not create this world. He lived in the world like a human being on path. He went on, despite disappointment and failure, i guess. He accepted and… Continue