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Dhammalata

One thing .....

Mon, 5 Aug, 2019 - 01:30

One thing .....

Mon, 5 Aug, 2019 - 01:30

One thing ….

One thing I’ve learnt is that humility leaves room for other possibilities … And I think this holds true in our formal practice of meditation and in the wider context of life. 

The humility to say ‘I’m not sure what I’m doing or if I’m doing what I’m doing the right way’ means there’s openness to other possibilities. It means we can try things and explore and experiment and if we hold this...

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Dhammalata

The Vedana of Vedana

Tue, 30 Jul, 2019 - 00:24

The Vedana of Vedana

Tue, 30 Jul, 2019 - 00:24

The Vedana of Vedana
 
In ‘Buddha-speak’ vedana is the term for any feeling state we can experience. Vedana can be pleasant, painful or neutral. Pleasant and painful vedana generally sets up craving and aversion, which is the basis of all suffering we experience. So to free oneself of this craving and aversion is to end our suffering and establish contentment, even bliss and finally freedom.
 
There it is …. Buddhism in a nutshell …....

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Tibet: Trail of Lighy

Tue, 23 Jul, 2019 - 02:43

Tibet: Trail of Lighy

Tue, 23 Jul, 2019 - 02:43


Hope you’re doing well

This Saturday night I am going to show a one hour film at the Croquet Club.

Tibet: The Trail of Light

Itinerant Tibetan nun Ani Rigsang leaves Lhasa with a thirst for freedom from monastic tradition and Chinese surveillance, embarking on a journey across the rural landscape of eastern Tibet in search of initiation into secret tantric practices. At a hidden nunnery she finds an esoteric tradition kept alive through...

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Dhammalata

Cleaning Windows

Mon, 15 Jul, 2019 - 06:38

Cleaning Windows

Mon, 15 Jul, 2019 - 06:38

Window Cleaning

I had a cataract operation this week. Amazing! Under a local anaesthetic they do a micro incision to your eye, break up your old foggy lens, suck it out and replace it. Eye patch on and out you walk.

The following day the surgeon takes off the eye patch and hey presto - bright, clear vision through a new windscreen and the colours and clarity almost surreal ……..

Gratitude to modern medicine...

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Dhammalata

When I sit down ,,,,

Tue, 9 Jul, 2019 - 05:10

When I sit down ,,,,

Tue, 9 Jul, 2019 - 05:10

As I settled down to sit this morning aware that I would be doing metta practice, I reflected that I was commencing another round of training. 

To do metta is to train our mind to be kind.

The longer I do the practice the more I come to an understanding that whatever one does in the practice that wakes one up to the value of kindness is valid. It may be gently turning over the traditional...

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Dhammalata

Special Guest

Fri, 28 Jun, 2019 - 03:16

Special Guest

Fri, 28 Jun, 2019 - 03:16


YOU ARE INVITED TO A VERY SPECIAL VISITOR TO OUR COOGEE MEDITATION EVENING TO MEDITATE WITH AND HEAR AN INSPIRING TALK ABOUT OUR ORDER IN INDIA

Tarahridaya , a very experienced Indian Order member - will share a deeply a personal take on the transformative nature of the work of the...

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Dhammalata

Adjusting Oneself

Fri, 21 Jun, 2019 - 06:05

Adjusting Oneself

Fri, 21 Jun, 2019 - 06:05

Adjusting Oneself 
 
This is a subtle one so I hope I do it justice.
 
Sometimes when I’m sitting in the meditation room at Jayakula, our Buddhist community house in Coogee and someone enters or leaves the space I adjust my posture. And I adjust it because I want to be seen having a good meditation posture. I want to be taken seriously as a practitioner.
 
I’m aware that they may look...

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Full-time or Part-time

Fri, 14 Jun, 2019 - 05:19

Full-time or Part-time

Fri, 14 Jun, 2019 - 05:19

Full-time or Part-time?
 
There’s been a bit of an evolution in the way I think about metta practice. It started when I was at a drinks evening in an inner-city pub with Gina and a few of her theatre friends.
 
I was critiquing my behaviour after the evening and wondering if I’d been friendly and generous enough in the way I’d engaged with the group and it led me to think ‘Well next time...

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Life Support System

Mon, 31 Dec, 2018 - 23:21

Life Support System

Mon, 31 Dec, 2018 - 23:21

And so another year has rolled around …… If you’re like me you will have a resolution or two batting around in your psyche: some behaviours we’d like to minimise or strengthen as we move into 2019.

The wonderful and gently powerful thing about meditation is that it supports our intentions in this regard. It helps us see more clearly and kindly what we are doing and gradually allows us to bring about the changes the deeper and...

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Dhammalata

Film Night

Thu, 15 Nov, 2018 - 23:16

Film Night

Thu, 15 Nov, 2018 - 23:16

This Saturday November 17th at 7 pm at the Croquet Club we are going to show a film made in 2016 about The Dalai Lama.

All Welcome - bring snacks to share

Here’s the blurb and trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5v_Rpg_36ig

In Mickey Lemle’s new award-winning documentary, The Last Dalai Lama?, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, takes a look at his legacy as he enters the ninth decade of his life. Rather than presenting a linear story, the film offers...