Autumn has arrived. It is grey, wet and windy outside, but still rather warm, a bit strange...
So we are having a homely day.
Outside it is grey, but inside the house it is quite colourful. The laundry has taken over the kitchen....
David is very
Read more…We have had very wet windy weather here the last couple of days. A time for indoor activities.
Read more…We had a day mostly devoted to Aphrodite. We took our new statue to be blessed in the Buddha hall and chanted a lot of nembutsu...
After a snack we went out to Aphrodite's sacred field, enjoying the warm sunshine and did some clearing toward th
Read more…The most interesting thing that I did today was to read an article called The Healing Response at Lourdes written collectively by Sarah Goldingay, who works in the Department of Drama at the University of Exeter, Paul Dieppe who is a medical speciali
Read more…Still in Den Haag. Amazing to find a statue of Quan Yin in the middle of all the gaity and commercialism of Christmas...
One of Those Mornings
Today I decided to make mulch to put around the roses that were planted the other day in order to give them some frost protection. In the morning i shredded all the blackthorn and rose cuttings that had been lying in a heap in t
This morning I was able to have a talk with the doctor from which I was able to ascertain that he thinks it will be six months before my lungs are completely clear of blood clots. During that time they will keep me on blood thinners. He says that I c
Read more…I travelled to Oud Turnhout and stayed with La Ville au Roi (Eleusis) member Katrien. As usual we had some wonderful discussions about Buddhism, relationships, solitude and the stages of life.
Read more…So here I am, in hospital. It is not so different from being in a monastery. There is a routine, even ascetic practices, like regularly having needles stuck in one in a variety of places, plus the odd unexpected extra one to test one's equanimity. F
Read more…At the moment we are staying at the Amida Mandela Buddhist Temple in Malvern in Worcestershire in England.
It is quite special to be here. The temple is beautiful and this small town of Malvern is very pretty.
It is the first time that I met so man
Read more…Outside it is like spring.
After visiting the ‘Buddha chapel’ in the woods, we did some outside jobs.
Cutting blackthorn without wearing a coat. Lay down in the grass enjoying the warmth and the sunlight. Is it really December?
Yes it is… Back in the
Read more…We spent much of the day in a hospital in Germany. Elja had interviews and X-rays and made plans for her hip replacement operation which will now take place in the same hospital in February. She has been researching the pros and cons of different met
Read more…Little things... little things that make you happy.
There where a lot of these little things today.
Stay in bed a little bit longer.
Breakfast table ready when I came into the kitchen.
Having breakfast with David and Adam.
Stay at Eleusis all day.
Me
Read more…I know you are not supposed to plant roses in December,
but this is no ordinary December. It feels more like September. Anyway, it was good to get out in the fresh air and exercise some muscles and get some more of the flower bed turned over. I had
It is after midnight. I just returned from the emergency department in hospital. David will spent the night in hospital. This morning a nurse came to do some blood test. At the end of the day our friend Annette came with the message that we had to g
Read more…EMOTIONS
It has been quite a day. Not easy to convey. We had a discussion in the early hours of the morning - one of those where you are not entirely sure what you are talking about but you know it is important. The past few days there has been someth
This morning I started the day outside in the garden again, cutting blackthorn and bramble. This part of the field is more difficult to cut then the part I did yesterday. Bramble bush can be quite a challenge to cut. The long bits seems to attack you
Read more…Seven Factors of Enlightenment
In the morning after breakfast we did a lesson on the Seven Factors of Enlightenment in relation to the opening of Summary of Faith and Practice, especially the phrase "letting go of sophistication and all forms of cleve
We got a day ahead of our usual routine by doing the washing this morning. After arriving home to a freezing cold house yesterday we were pleasantly greeted by sunshine this morning. Having been travelling we had quite an accumulation of washing to d
Read more…Illness
Today I really had to admit that something is definitely wrong. I have lost my strength. Climbing a short flight of steps leaves me exhausted and faint. I do not seem to have any other major symptoms. It seems to have come on rather suddenly.
