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
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
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…What is Buddhist ‘training’? I have written on the dangers of misunderstanding this term before. Here I would like to try to say a little more, since this is an important issue for all of us and especially for those who have made a full time commitme
Read more…QUESTION: Most weeks I visit a local temple in my town, where Theravada monks have a brief service before spending about 45 minutes meditating. This then makes me feel that maybe I should have made the effort to travel to the temple of my own form of
Read more…A very common idea about Buddhism is the notion that what is required is for one to come to see things as they truly are. We all know that different people see things differently. I have recently read a couple of novels by Iris Murdoch. One of the pa
Read more…SHUTTLEDORE
Well, I’ll be dying soon but you don’t need to cry,
I will soon be passing and we all know why,
We all know we all know we all have to die,
But that’s not a reason and that’s why we cry.
The body is a-failing and the ailing’s long,
The n
FRIEND AT THE WINDOW
So many leaves turning
from green to brown,
or still part and part -
walnut tree in autumn
caressing my bedroom window
how you have grown this year
through spring deluge and summer drought
now to emerge
through autumnal mist,
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