Having had an interval from it I went back to editing the draft book manuscript about Dogen's text Genjo Koan. Satya has kindly done some copy editing and it is good to gradually work through her very useful comments. We also spent some time comparin
Read more…This morning, as often on Fridays, we visited Oasis and gave a morning service there. I gave a Dharma talk based on the work of the great Japanese poet Saigyo. The name saigyo means "westward journey" and refers to the journey to the Pure Land, and,
Read more…Life without Wifi
We have had nearly a week without internet here at La Ville au Roi (Eleusis). Although we missed being able to communicate with all our friends in the usual way, it has been rather nice to have this little retreat. Initially we thou
Read more…Today
- workmen came and cleaned one of our roofs.
- I tinkered with the final chapter of my Dogen book. I am not happy with it yet. More thought required.
- wrote an answer in Questions in the Sand about Secondary Faculties. Not a gripping title, bu
Read more…The last couple of days have followed what has become my regular rhythm of writing in the morning and doing woodwork in the barn in the afternoon. In addition, Adam and I have sung the praises of the Buddhas in the hall and I have started reading to
Read more…A Big Family
This morning we visited Oasis to see Annette who is not very well. It was a lovely visit and we had some good discussion and many laughs together. Annette wanted to know how it was for Adam and I living together at La Ville au Roi since
Read more…Jan sent us this account of her journey from La Ville au Roi (Eleusis) to Hawai'i
Would I sound deluded if I say I feel that I have a new take on time and space? Maybe it comes from having two places with strong connections. As I journeyed back to Ha
Read more…Today I helped a neighbour take a trailer load of rubbish to the tip and, in return, borrowed the trailer for a few hours in order to go into town and pick up some timber I had ordered. It is nice to have such mutual cooperation locally. It also gave
Read more…After Breakfast we went to Oasis for our morning service with Annette. It was lovely. A kind of ecumenical service, a Pureland service in a Tibetan shrine hall. After the service David gave a talk and one of the things he said was that the Gods will
Read more…Doing morning service in our open-to-the-elements hall is sometimes chilly but can also be magic. This morning a shaft of light was exactly illuminating the Quan Yin shrine as the sun was gradually rising. We all read the Smaller Sutra together and i
Read more…Visiting
Yesterday we had a very pleasant morning at the Oasis community. It is a great thing to have another small Buddhist group so close. I led a morning service and gave a Dharma talk explaining our Ju-nen practice. Then we had coffee and treats o
Another bright chilly day. In the morning we went to two street markets in different local villages. We did not stay long at either because of the cold. After an unusually mild winter we are having an unusually chilly spring. The first market was dev
Read more…Spring Clean
Slowly, Eleusis is getting ready to receive more visitors as the weather improves. Today, while I have been busy writing, the others have all been busy reorganising the house. Elja and i have moved fully back into my rooms in the old ecur
Apart from some short stays for Amida Order events it is nine years since I lived here in Eleusis for any length of time. Nearly a week has gone of my month here and I am “at home”. Everything changes and nothing much changes. My heart is happy amon
Read more…It was a sunny day today, chilly and bright. The four of us visited the market in Sancoins We pottered around, talked and laughed a lot. We enjoyed the French atmosphere at the marketplace, the colours and smells and the crowds of people. We bought s
Read more…It rained all day and continues to be cold for the time of year. I expect it will brighten up soon.We had a lazy day. I spent most of my time reading and writing and some simply doing nothing, watching the rain. Very pleasant to have such a day from
Read more…This morning Elja caught a train north. She is going to see a doctor at a hospital in Netherlands and is hoping that he will agree to operate on her hip. If she can get onto his waiting list that will be a big step forward. I saw her off at the stati
Read more…A flax flower meadow
Cowslips all over the place.
And the borage that my mother planted years ago has spread all round.
Through Many Offices
I don't think any of us like dealing with bureaucracy, but it does make for funny stories sometimes.
This morning we went to see the French equivalent of social security to see if it was possible to reclaim some of my medical exp
Read more…