This last few days I’ve been reading blogs from soldiers fighting in Iraq. I’ve also been reading the comments on those blogs, and some related materials from people around the world. The recurring theme throughout those comments has been how polarised people seem to be in their views. They are either ‘for’ or ‘against’ the […]
Always Taking Sides Read Post »
Driving in to work this morning, it really struck me how close to death we all are. Flying along the road, I was continually inches away from crashing into another car. One momentary misjudgement, on anyone of a hundred different drivers part, and the result would have been dramatic. More than that …. how many
It has really struck me over the weekend how much the continuity of meditation is facilitated by a daily practice. For many years when I started on the Dharmic path, I was fiercely concerned that I should meditate every day, following my teachers advice. Like many things in those days, there was a sense of
Hmm … that was a real tough weekend! So many challenges to rise to, so much energy expended keeping everything going and everything together … I’m now ready for a rest when I get back to work! Buying into the headline of the story But lying there reflecting on the weekend last night, it really
Generalisations Obscure the Truth Read Post »
When you read some of the amazing Kagyu texts and books in print in English today, I can’t help but be awed and grateful for our good karma in having these clear and lucid teachings available in undiluted form at this time … and so easily available too … without having to climb mountains or
Direct from the Source Read Post »
….. my two old boy, sitting on my lap, clasped to me with his little hug, whilst I gently chant and meditate. Moments before, he was mid-tantrum, screaming and kicking … lost in his pain. How beautiful to share those precious moments with him, 5 minutes together, with peace in our hearts. …. how beautifully
I have been thinking a lot this last few days about how pretty much any statement you make about approaches to Dharma can be contradicted. I was reflecting on Al’s post the other day: Seated meditation is the arena in which the meditator practices his own fundamental skills. The game the meditator is playing is
Never Absolutely So … Read Post »
That’s what I would do …. I would wait. One of my strongest memories of Hermann Hesse’s novel Siddhartha, is of a part where the character Siddhartha is asked what can he do … what skills does he have. And Siddhartha’s reply was: I can fast, I can think, and I can wait. SiddharthaHermann Hesse
What do you do when your future disappears like a mirage, and all your plans lie broken ? Years of work, moving forward, step by step, … then gone. The road ahead disappears … but will another take its place? Imagined future gone … but did it ever exist? All that’s left is ‘don’t know’
When Dreams Lie Broken Read Post »
Driving in my car, with Aram Khachaturian’s ‘Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia’ playing on the radio. Just as the music swelled into the almost orgasmic crescendo, I rounded the bend in the road, and in a moment the dark clouds separated, great shafts of golden sunlight pierced the sky, and a tremendous effulgence engulfed one
Spartacus, Sunshine and Epiphany Read Post »
