“Sometimes you get to see just how little you’re actually in charge of."
~ Anne Lamott
Modern mankind, particularly urban dwellers, can be under the illusion that they have cheated or transcended nature and have power over the elements. In our well
Read more…Here are another two poems by Saigyo. During his lifetime, the political situation gradually deteriorated until the most awful civil war broke out between the Taira and the Minamoto factions. Saigyo had himself been a warrior in his youth and had bec
Read more…This is out of context, but it contains some points that others might find interesting or might like to comment further upon thus enriching the conversation.
Correspondent: I never asked myself the question why fundamentalism exists. You are right,
Read more…Thank-you Dharmavidya. That is such an important truth for me.I would love to share that with my Shin Sangha.
Read more…Today, like a huge number of people, I am reeling from the result of the referendum whereby the UK will leave the EU. This will have huge repercussions far beyond the shores of the island on which I live. Millions of people will be affected, includin
Read more…This morning I gave a talk at Oasis. I spoke about Shantideva and his famous text on the Way of the Bodhisattva. In particular, the text, like most Mahayana texts, begins with a homage to the Buddhas and bodhisattvas. It is possible that many western
Read more…Dear Dharmavidya, thank-you deeply for your commentary series on the Summary of Faith and Practice.it's bringing it much more broadly alive for me.the Summary has become my daily reading before my period of formal Nembutsu practice and prayer. Namo A
Read more…Continuing on the theme of gratitude and the kindness and care taking we receive from others, I am reflecting further on how much we depend upon these for our very survival, even though so much that is done for our benefit is taken for granted, barel
Read more…1. Buddhism only values 'self-awareness' insofar as it cultivates humility and compassion.
2. It is not necessary to create a 'self' before you abandon it.
3. It is not true that believing that all people are part of one another will necessarily make
Read more…DEAD OR ALIVE
The Buddha strongly recommended four foundations of mindfulness. This means that we establish mindfulness as a fourfold foundation of our existence. Mindfulness means to have your heart or mind full of Dharma - which is to say, love, co
Read more…This is the first of a weekly series of teachings about the chants that have guided my path over the last twenty years and which still sustain me as I work amongst organisations in London. Most of the chants are in the Amida “Nien Fo” collection of c
Read more…The Amida Order has adopted the practice of celebrating the memory of three founding ancestors at this time of year. The persons so honoured are
Sensei Gisho Saiko, Reverend Gyomay Kubose, and Reverend Amrita Dhammika. See more information at the foo
Read more…Dharmavidya's Teaching at Oasis de Longue Vie
27 May 2016
recorded & transcribed by Annette
Dharmavidya: I was reading a passage of Dogen - Dogen Zenji, the great Zen master. It says when you are enlightened, you are getting more enlightened all th
Read more…Dharmavidya's teaching at Oasis de Longue Vie
Friday, 20th may 2016
recorded & transcribed by Annette
Sometimes, we say Buddhism is shila, samadhi and prajna.
Shila is the moral precepts, behaviour, right behaviour. Samadhi is meditation and prajn
Read more…Elements of the Retreat
Meditation: When we think of a Buddhist retreat we immediately think of meditation. In this retreat there will be meditations and meditative exercises that help us to reflect more deeply upon our life both in itself and in rel
Q: How is Amida-Shu different from typical Western Buddhism?
A: In many ways. The emphasis on other power, on the bombu paradigm, and on the Pure Land all come immediately to mind. Our perception of Buddhism as religion and willingness to deal with q
In the morning service at Amida Shu temples and gatherings there is a passage that begins “Your radiant face, like a mountain peak catching the first burst of morning light, has awesome and unequalled majesty.” It is the first verse of a short text c
Read more…Innumerable are sentient beings: I have harmed them all;
Uncountable are the holy precepts: I have broken them all;
Unfathomable are the Dharma teachings: I have offended them all;
Immeasurable are deluded passions: I have indulged them all;
Uncondit
Meditation is a very important part of my religious life. It is the path through which I was able to move from religious belief to experiential religious knowledge. This is what drew me to Buddhism. I was deeply religious, but needed a practical path
Read more…When Siddhartha Gotama became enlightened and so became Shakyamuni Buddha what he realised was dependent origination, pratitya samutpada. Consequently, the precise meaning of dependent origination has been a subject of debate throughout Buddhist hist
Read more…