I wasn't getting as much done as I intended to or 'needed' to in my previous mode of moving between lots of different activities, so I decided to devote one day a week to a particular activity, and this week I'm doing a Buddhism day. I've finally managed to get started on Vow 22, then I did some online research and catching up with mostly Buddhist emails, then I wrote a dharma talk. I plan to do a service run-through later. It's certainly easier for me to get things done this way. Namo Amida…

Wrong

I am about to do, or have already done, something wrong,

Which will cause me to be responsible for something terrible.

How can I prevent this from happening, or undo what is already done?

I even feel responsible for others' atrocities I don't even know.

Lamb

There are accidents,

There are mistakes,

And there is deliberately doing wrong.

Why do I feel responsible for others'…

As I walked up and down the Strand,

I glimpsed Saint Thomas White

On the other side of the street.

Shamefully, I glanced at him.

He smiled.

In shame, I looked away and walked on.

A second time I saw him,

And found my eyes drawn to him-

So pretty, so slight, so masculine.

He winked at me.

In shame I looked away

And walked on.

A third time I saw him.

My eyes moved to…

I've sent this hymn to a person who has been fairly central in the recent storms in my life. It's something of an ending, I hope:

Foolish Beings

I do not blame you for being you;

I do not blame me for being me;

To Amida, we are both foolish beings,

But we can entrust ourselves to Him

And let him transform

Our foolish, vulnerable selves into Gold.

You carefully appreciate what you…

Here is the hymn I wrote which helped me resign from a job which I have been struggling with for many years:

Two Trees

A culture of bullying is like a tree:

If bullying is in the trunk,

It spreads through every branch and twig,

Until we all become bullies or colluders.

Amitabha reaches out to rescue me;

I stretch out my arm, and take His hand.

He is the trunk of a different…

I came back from my retreat at Amida Mandala in Malvern, knowing that I would have to face my problems at work which are a mirror and continuation of problems I have faced since age five (and probably had karmic forbears as well). I am writing hymns which reflect this but I try to use the Nembutsu to turn the feelings around and come up with new responses, rather than old, counterproductive ones. Here's a hymn:

Say No

I have been…