SANGHARAKSHITA: A LIFE IN VERSE

The Poetry Interviews

Throughout 2016, Urgyen Sangharakshita and Dharmacharini Saddhanandi met regularly to record a series of ten interviews about a topic close to Sangharakshita’s heart – the expression of his spiritual life through poetry. These intimate and reflective conversations, which took place at Sangharakshita’s home at Adhisthana, reveal new facets of his written work and shed light on aspects of his life and practice.

Touching on topics as diverse as his family, environmentalism, his time in Kalimpong, the power of giving, and much more, these exploration of verse offer rich insight into the experiences of Triratna’s founder.

Meditation

Here perpetual incense burns;

The heart to meditation turns,

And all delights and passions spurns.

 

A thousand brilliant hues arise,

More lovely than the evening skies,

And pictures paint before our eyes.

 

All the spirit’s storm and stress

Is stilled into a nothingness,

And healing powers descend and bless.

 

Refreshed, we rise and turn again

To mingle with this world of pain,

As on roses falls the rain.

Sangharakshita on “Meditation”

Listen to the whole interview. Or to individual tracks below.

The first in a series of ten intimate interviews between Sangharakshita and Saddhanandi, reflecting on Sangharakshita’s own selections from his extensive body of poetry. In this segment they discuss the poem “Meditation”.

Track 1: Reading of the full poem “Meditation”

Track 2: Sangharakshita’s inspiration in writing “Meditation”

Track 3: “Here, perpetual incense burns”

Track 4: “A thousand brilliant hues arise”

Track 5: “All the spirit’s storm and stress is stilled into a nothingness”

Track 6: The dynamics of withdrawal and engagement

Track 7: How important is meditation in the spiritual life?

Track 8: Reflecting on extracts from Sangharakshita’s diary

Track 9: Clear vision as a process, developing over time

Track 10: Meditation and Devotion

Track 11: Using meditation to inform one’s active life

Track 12: Final thoughts on “Meditation”