Buddhist Centre Features
Buddhist Centre Features

Maitreyabandhu - What Good Are the Arts? (with Book Launch)

By Free Buddhist Audio on Fri, 21 Aug, 2015 - 17:11

Maitreyabandhu has long been a champion of the Arts as a viable path of spiritual practice in the Buddhist context. And here is an unapologetic but nuanced - in many ways delightfully good humoured and cultured - look at why the Arts must be part of a wider perspective on life if they are to be any good to us. 

Drawing on sources as diverse as John Carey and Wagner via Elizabeth Bishop and Hello Kitty, Maitreyabandhu illustrates why the Arts detached...

Community Highlights
Community Highlights

Writers' Convention 2015 - Poem Flags (A Series)

By Candradasa on Mon, 27 Jul, 2015 - 18:13

Writers' Convention 2015 - Poem Flags (A Series)

By Candradasa on Mon, 27 Jul, 2015 - 18:13

A couple of weeks ago the first Triratna Writers Convention at Adhisthana took place, which was a great success. Here are the poetry flags the writers installed in the Sangharaskhita Library at the end of the Convention… 

Read and listen to posts...

Buddhist Centre Features
Buddhist Centre Features

Triratna Writers Convention 2015 - Be Here Now by Ananda

By Satyalila on Mon, 20 Jul, 2015 - 15:44

Satyalila and Ananda reflecting on the Writers Convention - both the nurturing and wildness aspects of it. And we get to hear Ananda give a wind-blown reading of his own poem, ‘Be Here Now’.

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Buddhist Centre Features
Buddhist Centre Features

Writers Convention 2015 - Day 4: A Full Day, Fully Lived

By Satyalila on Tue, 14 Jul, 2015 - 19:35

Writers Convention 2015 - Day 4: A Full Day, Fully Lived

By Satyalila on Tue, 14 Jul, 2015 - 19:35

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! 

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Buddhist Centre Features
Buddhist Centre Features

Writers Convention 2015 - Small Boy by Norman MacCaig

By Satyalila on Tue, 14 Jul, 2015 - 19:19

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

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Buddhist Centre Features
Buddhist Centre Features

Writers Convention 2015 - I Will Not Live An Unlived Life by Davina Markova

By Satyalila on Tue, 14 Jul, 2015 - 18:43

Writers Convention 2015 - I Will Not Live An Unlived Life by Davina Markova

By Satyalila on Tue, 14 Jul, 2015 - 18:43

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…

Buddhist Centre Features
Buddhist Centre Features

Triratna Writers Convention 2015 - Young Women Writing Their Way

By Satyalila on Tue, 14 Jul, 2015 - 13:12

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…

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Buddhist Centre Features
Buddhist Centre Features

Triratna Writers Convention 2015 - Day 3: In The Listening Chair...

By Satyalila on Mon, 13 Jul, 2015 - 21:49

Triratna Writers Convention 2015 - Day 3: In The Listening Chair...

By Satyalila on Mon, 13 Jul, 2015 - 21:49

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 cons...

Buddhist Centre Features
Buddhist Centre Features

Triratna Writers Convention 2015 - Satyadaka on Sangharakshita's library, Richard Holmes and Samuel Johnson

By Satyalila on Mon, 13 Jul, 2015 - 18:00

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...

Buddhist Centre Features
Buddhist Centre Features

Triratna Writers Convention 2015 - Two Old Codgers!

By Satyalila on Thu, 9 Jul, 2015 - 15:55

Satyalila manages to get two of the most venerable writers attending onto her podcast bench (no mean feat!)… Ananda fresh from his talk and Abhaya making the transition to poetry from painting…

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