We have a lot of forest paths at La Ville au Roi. Keeping them open can be a big job.
The forest is at different stages of growth in different areas of the terrain
Sometimes there is a complete canopy giving the path the feel of a tunnel
Sometimes it
Today Adam and I were once again working in the Aphrodite Field clearing thorn bushes while the three women were all working together in the kitchen making chutneys. Thus we had an old fashioned gender role system in action. When one lives in a place
Read more…Lama Wangmo, Cedric and their daughter came to visit us at Eleusis. It was nice to show them round and then all to meet for a sumptuous dinner. A good deal of work has been done since Cedric's last visit and this was Lama Wangmo's first time to see a
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…This morning we went to Oasis. Normally, on Sundays, we have a service here at La Ville au Roi (Eleusis) and sometimes people from Oasis come here, but today we went there as they were having a special day. Lama Wangmo gave a Dharma talk in the hall.
Read more…Adam and I spent much of today mowing half of the Aphrodite Field. It is a beautiful spot and something of a suntrap. The weather recently has been hot so the usually lush grass has all turned yellow. There is a perennial problem in this field of inv
Read more…This morning we went to Oasis and it was a very nice gathering with four people from Oasis and four from Eleusis and, between us, French, British, Russian, Dutch and Hawaiian. As usual we had a service and then sat outside drinking coffee, chatting a
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…In the practice of spirituality, there is always an interesting tension between form and spontaneity. Too much form can easily become empty hypocrisy whereas too much spontaneity can easily become self-indulgence and dilettantism. The sage Kuya once
Read more…
I’d like to write a poem
but the muse has deserted
without asking my permission.
It seems rather careless to wander off like that
leaving blank pages
gaps between words
muddled concepts and broken images
scattered around -
not even enough to make a
Working
Yesterday we collected Jan from the train so there are noe four of us here and already it feels like a well integrated community as though she had been here for months. We have all been out working today, weeding the strawberry patch, shreddi
Read more…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 we had a service. For the past two weeks I have been bellmaster. Adam explained it all to me. I have quite a few texts to learn by heart. I am enjoying it very much. It gives me a much stronger sense of involvement in the rituals. The be
We laid paving and erected an 18 sq metre wooden storage shed.
We created lawn all around the main buildings where previously there had been bramble and stinging nettles. The lawn has gone yellow in the current very hot weather but it will come ba
Read more…Indoors
I always like it when I come across and interesting new word. I was reading about Aristotle and the author used this word ‘zetetic’. I mentioned it to Elja and she looked it up in her on-line dictionary and got a message to the effect of ‘you
Read more…Speaking very broadly, it is possible, I think, to discern periods when popular concern is focussed on inner matters, like personal happiness and reduction of stress, and other periods when concern is focussed on outer questions - political, economic
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…Now that the Republican Party has chosen its candidate and the Democratic Party is on the verge of doing so, I am creating a space here for discussion. The USA is the most powerful country in the world militarily and economically, so we are all affec
Read more…It is a considerable satisfaction to see progress in our projects here. The fact that we now have more space and flexibility in the use of the buildings affords a considerable improvement. I find myself continuing to marvel at what has already been a
Read more…QUESTION: How do I proceed to live your Amidist take on the 4 Noble Truths and Eightfold Path?
SHORT ANSWER: Live wholeheartedly
LONGER ANSWER: In my understanding, the eightfold path is an outcome. You can try to mimic it if you like, but one is bou
Read more…