Buddhism & biodiversity: woods, meadows & ancient ways

Robert McCarthy's Likes

August 2020

Amida Shu Podcast 05, 14 April 2020, Post Pa… This morning I saw a report about how the citizens of Kathmandu can now see the Himalayas from their homes for the first time in 30 years. This is because the smog has cleared... and that view of the… Discussion Amida Shu Podcast 05, 14 April 2020, Post Pa… 1 Like

October 2019

AWARENESS OF STATES Buddhism praises awareness, especially awareness of presently arisen states. There is a value in being aware of what is arising, being aware of what is persisting, what is fading away. Thus I might… Discussion AWARENESS OF STATES 3 Likes

August 2019

DOOM AND SMALL HOPE I may be wrong. I am not an economist and even the experts cannot predict with certainty. However, as I have said before, I think we are on the brink of an economic crash. What is different about th… Discussion DOOM AND SMALL HOPE 6 Likes AGAINST RACISM Buddha came from a “yellow” race, Jesus and Mahommet from a “brown” one. Nobody who claims to follow in the footsteps of these great teachers should be making decisions based on a hierarchy of skin c… Discussion AGAINST RACISM 2 Likes ON NOT BEING IN CONTROL BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY On the one hand, Buddhism is a broad church or umbrella under which many diverse ideas and methods can cluster. Currently there are many popular methods that have some Buddhist co… Discussion ON NOT BEING IN CONTROL 4 Likes DHYANA: WHAT IS REAL MEDITATION? SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS IS NOT MEDITATIONWe should ask ourselves, what is meditation, really? Meditation is surely not sitting still and silent while one’s mind wanders all over, even if, from time to tim… Discussion DHYANA: WHAT IS REAL MEDITATION? 4 Likes

April 2019

KARMA 2: BIJA AND ALAYA A common way of explaining karma is by using the idea of bija. A bija is a “karmic seed”. We can think of karmic seeds as planted in the ground of the mind. A seed can stay in the ground for a long t… Discussion KARMA 2: BIJA AND ALAYA 5 Likes

March 2019

Some thoughts on Liberation as an Ethic A person is inherently free, even though constrained by conditions. In other words, whatever the conditions may be, a person always has freedom in how to respond to them. Such responsiveness may, how… Discussion Some thoughts on Liberation as an Ethic 2 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

November 2018

EUROPEAN ARMY? President Macron has said now that Europe needs its own military in order to protect itself against Russia, China and even the USA. <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46162052">https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46162052</a> . I have been predic… Discussion EUROPEAN ARMY? 1 Like DHARMA AND RESISTANCE TO SOCIAL INJUSTICE In the arena of socially engaged Buddhism there are certain problems that have generally not been thought through with sufficient care. There has been a tendency to import into Buddhism ideas that a… Discussion DHARMA AND RESISTANCE TO SOCIAL INJUSTICE 3 Likes DHARMA IN THE AGE OF DARKNESS Alternating Ages of Greed and Hate: A Little Bit of Buddhist Psychology In Buddhist psychology we talk of delusion having a double valency. It either turns to greed or to hate. Greed is attractive an… Discussion DHARMA IN THE AGE OF DARKNESS 5 Likes

July 2018

BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT The first beatitude of Jesus was "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." We might say, "theirs is the Pure Land of Buddha". But in the modern world, is being "poor of s… Discussion BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT 3 Likes

March 2018

Negativity: the importance of secondary thou… Negative thoughts and feelings are a bane of human life. They are the downside of the great gift of imagination. A person insults one in some way and one finds oneself riling with unwanted emotions.… Discussion Negativity: the importance of secondary thou… 5 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 Do Numbers Matter? Crazy Logic. There is a strong tradition in Buddhism of reciting large numbers of mantras or other holy texts and invocations. These accumulate quantities of merit. Thus, some members of the Amida Shu undertake t… Discussion Do Numbers Matter? Crazy Logic. 5 Likes

September 2017

EVEN IF THEY HAVE TO EAT GRASS THEY WILL NOT… It is such a turn around from when I was young - now it is the leader of Russia who speaks common sense while America goes in for calculated hysteria. What has the world come to? CNN report on speec… Discussion EVEN IF THEY HAVE TO EAT GRASS THEY WILL NOT… 2 Likes THERAPY AS SPIRITUAL PRACTICE I have recently returned from a visit to S Korea where I led a teaching programme in Buddhist psychology and its therapeutic application. This was my first major trip since my illness and I was somew… Discussion THERAPY AS SPIRITUAL PRACTICE 7 Likes

August 2017

KIM-TRUMP PUNCH & JUDY SHOW With all the idiocy going on around N Korea it is emotionally difficult even to read the news at the moment. The real possibility of nuclear or even conventional war breaking out is just too horrible… Discussion KIM-TRUMP PUNCH & JUDY SHOW 1 Like

July 2017

THE ECONOMICS OF BREXIT Economic effects rarely happen suddenly. Usually it takes time for things to work through the system. Talk of a “cliff” is emotive, but in reality it all takes time. The Pound & ImmigrationTwo ma… Discussion THE ECONOMICS OF BREXIT 2 Likes

June 2017

QATAR The war in the Middle East is extremely difficult to unravel or understand. Basically the region has three Muslim power centres: Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia. In addition, there is Israel which also… Discussion QATAR 4 Likes