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TUESDAY 8 DEC: Enlightenment Day

The first day of our Bodhi Retreat here at Amida Mandala Buddhist Temple in the beautiful town of Malvern in Worcestershire in England. In Far Eastern Buddhism, December 8th is taken as the anniversary day of the enlightenment of Shakyamuni Buddha an

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DIFFERENT LANGUAGES?

Picking up a snippet from another thread, do men and women speak different languages? I had some experience years ago of running groups for couples. One of the exercases that we would do would be to use the "fishbowl" technique wherein half the group

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THE AMIDIST NEMBUTSU - IS IT DIFFERENT?

QUESTION: What is specific to the Amidist approach to the nembutsu that might distinguish it from the approach of other similar schools?

SHORT ANSWER: Nothing

LONG ANSWER: Nembutsu is refuge. Taking refuge is the core mystical act that defines Buddhi

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GENETIC DIFFERENCE

1148752831?profile=RESIZE_320x320The genetic difference between a man and a woman is greater than that between a man and a male chimpanzee or that between a woman and a female chimpanzee...

Latest Research Into X Chromosome
Brings Startling Discoveries

By Robert Lee Hotz
The Scotsm

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SUNDAY 6 DEC

We had a quiet day. Did some shopping for garden tools and found a nice local shop. Bought a small statue of Aphrodite too. Nice encounters around the temple. Nothing special to report.

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SATURDAY 5 DEC 2015: A charmed day

1148752797?profile=RESIZE_320x320Christmas Shopping: Today we took the opportunity to do some Christmas shopping. I had several people to buy for and, of course, there were some I knew what I wanted to buy and some for whom I hadn't a clue. However, the gods were with us. The first

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FAITH & THE EIGHTFOLD PATH

QUESTION: If everyone is equal in the assuredness of their place in Pureland, does this not discourage people from efforts to behave nobly (e.g. following the Noble Eightfold Path)? How does this relate to the Buddha’s teaching of the Four Noble Trut

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SELF-CARE

QUESTION:
1.  How do we differentiate between self-care, self-help and self-power?
a.  Isn't it important to do our best to look after our health to respect the gift of life and to prevent the burden of our care falling to others?
b.  If learning s

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TABOO SUBJECT?

1148752665?profile=originalI am wondering if, with the advent of "political correctness", discussing relations between the sexes in a realistic way is still possible. It feels like a minefield in which no matter what one says there will be those who, whether they agree or not,

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Modes of Growth and Healing

Massimo wrote...... This Serapis space is very interesting. I was wandering if it would be possible to dedicate a corner of it to group practices that are not explicitly "therapeutic" but have very much to do with curing and healing as they help peop

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Some Thoughts on Spirit and Psychology

Earlier this week I was giving a seminar called "Beyond Carl Rogers". Rogers was a humanistic psychotherapist who had been inspired in some way by exposure to Eastern ideas. Western psychotherapy all the way back to William James, has benefitted by s

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THURSDAY 3 DEC 2015

It was a delight to join in with sangha in morning devotions at the Amida Mandala Temple. Then, after breakfast, we headed off to the Midlands for the day. I had some business to attend to in Narborough and then we went to the house of my daughter in

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