Buddhism & biodiversity: woods, meadows & ancient ways

Johnathan Robertson's Likes

April 2019

A RELIGIOUS PERSON A religious person is one who has faith in and tries to live a holy life. Conceptions of what kind of life might be holy vary somewhat, but we can distinguish some broad features: equanimity, compass… Discussion A RELIGIOUS PERSON 4 Likes

March 2019

ON NOT UNDERRATING THE DHARMA Buddhism is a mystical religion.It is noumenal. It does not fit within the common paradigm, but soars far beyond. Those who turn their hearts and attention to what is beyond this world are called my… Discussion ON NOT UNDERRATING THE DHARMA 7 Likes

January 2019

HOW THE WEST LIKES TO MISREAD BUDDHISM I have recently read an essay about Theravada meditation. Of its type it is an excellent essay. It decribes samatha (calm meditation) and vipassana (insight meditation) and the relations between them… Discussion HOW THE WEST LIKES TO MISREAD BUDDHISM 6 Likes

December 2018

CHRISTMAS MESSAGE We are once again at the festive mid-winter season. Throughout history and probably pre-history too, people have celebrated this time as the turning point of the year. The shortest day is just past.… Discussion CHRISTMAS MESSAGE 8 Likes

November 2018

TODAY'S SNOW COVERS YESTERDAY'S TRACKS Today's snow covers yesterdays tracks. Success or failure, triumph or wreck.The waning moon shall later wax.Time continues her endless trek. We who follow or go aheadmake war and peace, then rest and… Discussion TODAY'S SNOW COVERS YESTERDAY'S TRACKS 2 Likes

March 2018

GOLD, GOLD, GOLD So what, now, is the colour of your soulDoes it change? Will it flaunt a gaudy frock?Is it young, yet with a lining old as gold?Does it rhyme like the ticking of a clock? Do you ever wear a rainbow a… Discussion GOLD, GOLD, GOLD 2 Likes A QUIET LIFE Today I did not set eyes upon another human being all day. That is not an unusual occurrence here. Life as a hermit is quiet. Sometimes my mind become very quiet in the midst of ll this tranquility.… Discussion A QUIET LIFE 2 Likes TELL ME AGAIN HOW TO MEDITATE I am at Vajra’s. Here the day starts with meditation. I sit. How does one meditate? I have been doing it for decades. I must have sat thousands of hours now - but how really should one meditate? I fe… Discussion TELL ME AGAIN HOW TO MEDITATE 5 Likes

February 2018

EARLY BUDDHISM IN A NUTSHELL The following is my understanding of the main thrust of early Buddhism. If we start from the “three signs”, I read them as saying that all samskaras are impermanent and troublesome whereas all Dharma… Discussion EARLY BUDDHISM IN A NUTSHELL 3 Likes

December 2017

MILTON ERICKSON, ZEN MASTER On the final morning of the Evolution of Psychotherapy Conference I went to a workshop by Jeffrey Zeig called ‘Evocative Approaches to Change’. This experience went some way to redeeming the conferen… Discussion MILTON ERICKSON, ZEN MASTER 5 Likes SOMETHING HAS GONE WRONG WITH PSYCHOTHERAPY I am currently at the Evolution of Psychotherapy Conference in Anaheim, California. This conference is organised by the Milton Erickson association, though there seem to be few people here who really… Discussion SOMETHING HAS GONE WRONG WITH PSYCHOTHERAPY 6 Likes AFFINITY WITH INFINITY Commentary on the Summary of Faith and Practice, Part One Text: For those having a karmic affinity with Amitabha BuddhaThis is the first phrase of the Summary. It tells us for whom this text is writ… Discussion AFFINITY WITH INFINITY 4 Likes I'M TRAVELLING AGAIN Sometimes i think that I have been travelling all my life. This is somewhat true, both literally and metaphorically. The endless spiritual journey takes one to ever new domains of life-meaning, espec… Discussion I'M TRAVELLING AGAIN 4 Likes

November 2017

FROM MINDFULNESS TO HEARTFULNESS, Part 2 - S… In Part One we looked at mindfulness as punctuating the day with times of immediate, here and now, bare awareness, appreciating beauty. Thich Nhat Hanh equated mindfulness with “seeing deeply”, by wh… Discussion FROM MINDFULNESS TO HEARTFULNESS, Part 2 - S… 6 Likes

August 2017

WHAT CAN WE DO? What can we do in response to the terrors, violence and dangers that are all over the world these days? Of course, there is a limit to what the individual person can do by personal power or genius. E… Discussion WHAT CAN WE DO? 10 Likes

July 2017

THIS MORNING WE SHARED DREAMS

One of the best of things is good breakfast conversation and after long deep sleep what better to discuss than the dreams of the night before? Dreams are both mysterious and revealing and the many…

Blog THIS MORNING WE SHARED DREAMS 5 Likes

June 2017

A Special Weekend

I have spent the past weekend at meetings of the Amida Order in Malvern in UK. Apart from approving the advancement of a number of good people there was not a lot of "business" so we were able to…

Blog A Special Weekend 4 Likes IRREVERSIBILITY & DETERMINISM ~ An old Buddh… The Problem Throughout the history of Buddhism there have been controversies about the ideas of irreversibility and of determinism.These are to do with the inevitability (or not) of future arrival at… Discussion IRREVERSIBILITY & DETERMINISM ~ An old Buddh… 8 Likes

May 2017

RISING CRIES FOR IMPEACHMENT: The Punch & Ju… These days we hear a good deal about something called impeachment, often coupled with references to Richard Nixon, though Nixon was not impeached, he resigned. Different countries go about things in… Discussion RISING CRIES FOR IMPEACHMENT: The Punch & Ju… 3 Likes

March 2017

A FEW PICTURES FROM AROUND THE PLACE TODAY Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Discussion A FEW PICTURES FROM AROUND THE PLACE TODAY 9 Likes SHAN TAO'S DREAM TEXT: Saving grace, as was made clear by Shan Tao's dream and advice to Tao Cho, only comes through the sange-mon. COMMENTARY: Sange means confession or contrition. The sange mon is, literally, the “… Discussion SHAN TAO'S DREAM 7 Likes