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October 2009 Blog Posts (21)

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… Continue

Added by Katrien Sercu on October 23, 2009 at 12:13 — 1 Comment

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… Continue

Added by caroline brazier on October 21, 2009 at 13:42 — 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… Continue

Added by Dharmavidya on October 20, 2009 at 19:06 — 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… Continue

Added by Tara on October 19, 2009 at 22:20 — 15 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 the group commented, I feel like I've only let 1% of the learning from the past nine days soak into me so far. But it's been… Continue

Added by Satyavani Robyn on October 19, 2009 at 9:55 — 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… Continue

Added by richard meyers on October 18, 2009 at 7:30 — 44 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… Continue

Added by Dharmavidya on October 15, 2009 at 17:44 — 5 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… Continue

Added by Dharmavidya on October 12, 2009 at 21:54 — 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… Continue

Added by Robert McCarthy on October 12, 2009 at 14:22 — 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… Continue

Added by caroline brazier on October 11, 2009 at 19:08 — No Comments

Autumn course block

As the afternoon wears on and the sun dips lower in the sky it gets distinctly chilly. Not so good for our overseas students! The autumn course block always comes at that time of year when things are on the turn and sunny golden September days have faded into damp October. Nevertheless this lunchtime the sun came out and we enjoyed lunch in the garden.

It looks to be the start of a good year. New students have swelled our numbers so we had 22 participants in the room this morning,… Continue

Added by caroline brazier on October 10, 2009 at 17:10 — No Comments

No distance in Dharma

Members of the Amida communion are scattered all around the world, but we are all part of one family. There is a bond of love here even between people who have never met face to face. This is something quite remarkable. Each member and each group contributes in a unique manner. Each shows their faith and love by whatever means they can. We are not just local groupings. We are all part of something that is growing simultaneously in many places with a common energy that is somehow organic. This… Continue

Added by Dharmavidya on October 9, 2009 at 15:34 — 1 Comment

Ganko-sha

I am reposting this piece because we have had some further discussion and thoughts, especially around the inclusion of the term ko.

The term ganko-sha means 'person of the vow light'. "Gan" means a vow or prayer or deep aspiration as in the key phrase from Tan Butsu Ge "Gan ga sa butsu" = "my prayer [is that I] become buddha". "Ko" means light. "Sha" means person. So the term ganko-sha has a double meaning. On the one side it means a person who lives in the light of Amida's vow - and… Continue

Added by Dharmavidya on October 9, 2009 at 12:50 — 1 Comment

The Five Orders (or Laws) of the Universe

The five orders (niyama) are:

utu-niyama: the inanimate domain

bija-niyama: the vegetative life domain

chitta-niyama: the involuntary mental domain

karma-niyama: the domain of intentional action

dharma-niyama: the spiritual domain

We can think of these in an objectivist manner or in a spiritual way. The former suggests the different domains of human knowledge (physics/cosmology, botany/biology, sociology/anthropology, psychology, metaphysics) and the… Continue

Added by Dharmavidya on October 8, 2009 at 19:37 — 1 Comment

Garden Blessing

Sumaya and I travelled to Cambridge to bless Joan Court's garden. Joan, aged ninety, is an Amida-shu member and a patron of Amida Trust. Her work and writings are an inspiration. She lives with six cats and they and some of her friendly neighbours joined us for the ceremony. The garden is also the resting place of the bodies of several other cats who have passed on over the years that Joan has lived here. The small garden has a lovely… Continue

Added by Dharmavidya on October 6, 2009 at 7:34 — 1 Comment

On appreciation

As a bombu Buddhist, I have attained nothing that will get me closer to supreme awakening. How can I? I am an ordinary earthly being, proud of so many things and pathetic in so many other ways that compound karmic consequences exponentially. What does all this mean anyway? Where would I be now if I had entered the stream and had a modicum of spiritual accomplishment?

To appreciate and value others is what I've learned from other members of my sangha. Sometimes, it can be hard for… Continue

Added by Susthama on October 5, 2009 at 9:30 — 6 Comments

Enthousiasm and loving gratefulness, as a way to join ning.

I want to join ning now by this blog, to express how happy and grateful i am for more input from people. All seems interesting and inspiring. I can not reply despite i want to, because i can not understand all and i have not enough english and other words. So i just say hello to all people and i enjoy this ningsangha. I give my heart and love to it, even i'm unable to share discussions. With love and warmth.

Added by Katrien Sercu on October 3, 2009 at 20:13 — 2 Comments

Order Meeting

A group of ten of us raise our joined palms and sing, drawing back in a graceful dance, hearts opening with the gentle harmonies. The Order meeting comes to an end. Four intense days in which we have all shared moments of joy and struggle, in which new forms have emerged and our resolution has strengthened reach conclusion.

It is hard to believe that the Order is now eleven years old and maturing. Many of us have taken this path together seeing so many twists and turns along the way.… Continue

Added by caroline brazier on October 3, 2009 at 17:20 — 2 Comments

Other-Centred Therapy now available

This week, during the Order meeting, copies of Other-Centred Therapy: Buddhist Psychology in Action arrived. We now have copies for sale at The Buddhist House, or you can order through amazon (UK or US sites)

This book will be a core text for the psychotherapy course offering a guide to methodology, including examples and… Continue

Added by caroline brazier on October 3, 2009 at 17:00 — No Comments

Metaphyical Memes

The idea of memes is an interesting one. It is an extension of genes, but whereas genes are substantive entities of encoded information that are chemicals incapable of 'selfishness' or other anthropomorphic attributes, memes are a purely speculative concept. That does not mean that it is not a useful concept - the idea that ideas have life of their own and use us as vehicles is an intriguing way of thinking about things. My philosopher friend, Mary Midgley hates the whole idea because it is… Continue

Added by Dharmavidya on October 3, 2009 at 8:25 — No Comments