I've been getting rather lax at keeping the web site up to date. I have become absorbed in doing practical tasks and rather avoided the internet as much as possible in the last ten days or so. Sometimes one needs a break from the screen.
The weather
Read more…The reason that we have social rules is to restrain those who create trouble. However, when we have Dharma, such rules are not needed. This was the basic message of the text called On Why Monks Do Not Bow Down Before Kings (沙門不敬王者論) written by Lu Sha
Read more…QUESTION: Is religion in conflict with reason?
SHORT ANSWER: This shibboleth has bogged our culture down unnecessarily.
ANSWER: As always, it depends what one means - in this case, what one understands by ‘religion’ and by ‘reason’. If you approach th
Here at Eleusis we have all been (separately) watching the film sequence Century of the Self. So far Adam has watched the whole thing, I have watched about two thirds and Elja is about a quarter of the way through. It is the kind of film that in some
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QUESTION: How can one achieve lasting happiness?
SHORT ANSWER: Happiness is neither the goal nor the means, it is a side show.
LONGER ANSWER: Happiness is a frequent, but not essential, side product of a wholesomely productive life, but one does not ac
I have recently read an interview with the Buddhist nun Tenzin Palmo who is well known in Buddhist circles for having spent more than twenty years in retreat in the Himalayas practising tantra, living in a cave house in a valley that is cut off for n
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QUESTION: It is said that awareness is the epitome of the Buddhist life. Do you agree?
SHORT ANSWER: Not the epitome, one element.
LONGER ANSWER: Awareness refers to alert consciousness. Alert conscious is one part of life and is valuable, but it
The Class on Summary of Faith & Practice
TEXT: “… how deficient we are by comparison”
The sense of 'deficiency' is an important basis for rigour in spiritual practice as well as being a foundation for faith in the saving grace. These two aspects of t
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QUESTION: Is there any value in being a hermit?
SHORT ANSWER: Yes, huge.
LONGER ANSWER: The hermit does not have the distraction of the deluded world. In nearly all the great religions there are hermits. In the theistic religions, being a hermit
Wintery weather is upon us. Today it is wet and windy. We went in to town and did some shopping and everybody is wrapped up in big coats.
My main project recently has been building a bathroom in the barn. At this time of your it is not much usable be
Read more…QUESTION: How can I attain the right state of mind?
SHORT ANSWER: There is no right state. The mind is a river.
LONGER ANSWER: Body is not reliable, mind is not reliable. Let body and mind ‘fall away’. So long as we are obsessively worrying about our b
Last night we had our first frost. The water in the bowl on our oputside washing up table was frozen and it was fun lifting the sheet of ice off. There will probably be another frost tonight. Consequently, I spent this afternoon transferring geranium
Read more…Here is a little piece that I wrote in March 2006
This item uses the example of Iraq to explore the contrast between civic and tribal society
The Example of Iraq
A couple of nights ago we watched the Panorama programme reviewing the British part in t
Read more…If we let go of the dogmatic principles of Liberalism and Conservatism, we can consider some real-politique aspects of the state of America. Is it possible that...
The increased agalitarianism of US culture that has admitted women, blacks, gays, Lat
Read more…We can talk about gradual cultivation and sudden enlightenment in terms of practice and experience, but we can also use these categories to understand the different ways in which the Dharma is presented. Way back in Tibetan history, for instance, the
Read more…Fourteen months ago I had a debate with Zen Master Jeok Myeong in Korea. It illustrates different ways of seeing and teaching the Dharma...
I spent the afternoon with Master Jeok Myeong who is the Seon master of Bongam Sa. He is 78 years old and has
Read more…It is the beginning of the Jewish new year. It begins with a month of repentance. This is rather like the Buddhist idea of always beginning anew. Beginnings are dedicated to Vajrasattva who is the bodhisattva of purity. It is a common idea that thin
Read more…When one looks back on history - and I am now old enough to look back upon a snippet of it - one sees that there are periods of vibrancy and periods of dullness. Unless I am missing something, we are currently in a dull period. There are also dark pe
Read more…Well, almost a week has gone by since the last Daily. Life goes on in its wonderful wandering way.
Storm
This past week has seen a marked change in the weather. The early part of the week was hot, then it became overcast though still warm and then, l
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