A practical exploration of the core teachings of the Buddha. Topics covered will include:
—The life of the Buddha —The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path —Ethics —Meditation —Buddhist visions of Reality
The course runs for four consecutive Thursdays, the 6th through the 27th August, 7-9 pm. Suitable for all levels of experience. By donation — $80-$40 suggested for the four weeks.
After the lovely morning shrine room poem by Norman MacCaig, beautifully read by Steph, a full day’s immersion in poetry to close out our first convention of Triratna writers…
We’ll bring you soon Dhivan’s brilliant talk on Ted Hughes, and hopefully too the poetry reading from Vishvantara, Ananda & Manjusura. We also had time to install some “poem-flags” in the Sangharakshita Library - detailed pictures to follow!
Into the last day of the writers’ gathering proper and we hear how it started - with a beautiful, typically understated piece by Norman MacCaig read by Steph, a writer herself and one of the young women who has just finished a five-month intensive Dharma course at Adhisthana…
Another wabi sabi scan, this time of Friday morning’s poignant meditation poem. A great choice by Varasahaya which prompted some tears as the eight young women prepare to leave Adhisthana today after their 5 month Dharma course…
Running parallel to the Writers’ Convention - and coming to an end at the same time - was a young women’s extended Dharma course, with women from around the world taking part. Here we meet Shraddhavajri and Vidyadharini from India who, along with their fellow long-term retreatants, have been using writing as another way to explore spiritual life and the meaning of the Buddha’s teaching in their own lives…
“Meditation and and the effects of mindfulness on body and mind are now accepted in our society. Meditation enables us to create the conditions for the most profound changes in body, mind and emotions.
Most of us have little self knowledge because we tend to be so externally focussed on objects, events or situations. We’ve been able to walk on the moon, but not find peace in our hearts, because we don’t know how to work creatively with our thoughts and feelings.
Our morning meditation poem on Thursday was Summer Farm by Norman MacCaig. I’ll definitely be buying this volume of Selected Poems. It’s wonderful!
In our sessions we’ve re-instituted ‘the listening chair’ we used to have for Manjusvara - and I snapped some occupants (interesting body language!) We were exploring themes from Ananda’s talk the other night about William Stafford, especially around the relationship with the Muse and receptivity.
There was a spirited discussion about the pros and...
This Dhamma is for one who is reclusive, not for one who is entangled.’ Thus was it said. With reference to what was it said? There is the case where a person, when living in seclusion, is visited by persons, nuns, lay men, lay women, kings, royal ministers, sectarians & their disciples. With their mind bent on seclusion, tending toward seclusion, inclined toward seclusion, aiming at seclusion, relishing renunciation, they converse with them only as much as is necessary
After our weekend break, Satyalila is back with the latest installment from the Triratna Writers Conference. It’s unusual perhaps for a Buddhist community to place such an emphasis on the Arts as a route to spiritual inquiry - but it’s a real pleasure to listen to it happening ‘as live’!
This conversation with Satyadaka takes place in the brand new Sangharakshita library and we hear much about one of “Bhante’s” literary heroes, Dr. Johnson, as well as the...
