lotusinthemud

new book from my buddhist teacher

'Not Everything Is Impermanent'

Welcome to Amida Newsletter #11

This edition features 'Not Everything is Impermanent', the latest book from Dharmavidya, writing as David Brazier.

'Not Everything Is Impermanent' explores what it means to be a fallible human being in an imperfect world. It shows us how we can live a joyful and meaningful life supported by faith, compassion and wisdom.

“…a book by a true Bodhisattva - an awake awakening being - who brings his compassion and insight to those with troubled hearts everywhere.”
~ Rev. Saigyo Terrance Keenan, author of 'St. Nadie in Winter: Zen Encounters with Loneliness'

“…the hitch-hiker’s guide to no-bullshit Buddhism.”
~ Alastair McIntosh, author of 'Soil and Soul'

“A fine dharma book. Rich in anecdote, it guides the reader on a radical path of awakening.”
~ Roshi Joan Halifax,  Founder and Abbot of Upaya Zen Center

David Brazier points to the mystical core of Buddhism by bringing together the devotional heart teachings of Pureland and the paradoxical wisdom of  Zen. His writings are grounded in a sound understanding of Buddhist doctrine, decades of spiritual practice and experience, and an ease in speaking to ordinary people about the problems we all encounter in our everyday lives.

This is a book for the person swimming through the ocean of samsara, calling out for light and assistance. It encourages us to look deeply and fearlessly beyond our immediate concerns and to aspire towards becoming true Bodhisattvas.

The author is not afraid of controversy. Along the way he presents a critique of mindfulness and reinterpretations of some classic Buddhist teachings. His arguments are presented robustly, and we are encouraged to enjoy the debate and to agree or disagree with equal passion.

Above all, this is a reassuring book. It doesn’t flinch from looking at the difficulties and pain we encounter in life, but it shows us how even when alone we are connected, even in the midst of change we can rely upon our deepest intuition that transcends impermanence. This settled faith empowers us to reach outwards with compassion into the world, just as it is, just as we are. As he says, “At the core of all is love.”

"Many people are allergic to the idea of religion because they associate it with restriction and the imposition of a sense of guilt. In my view that is the corruption of true religion. True religion would be a re-linking to the source of spirit. It is actually the secular world that makes unreasonable demands upon us and drives us to distraction. It is the place of true religion to provide a refuge where our natural energy may be restored, rekindled, and ultimately resublimated into what is truly sublime, or, at least, into the best approximation that we are capable of at whatever level of spiritual development we happen to be at the time.

This way of cultivation is for people like you and I. All systems of spirituality are made by people, for people and they have the same limitations and faults that people have, but they can indicate a life oriented to something beyond these limitations, not so much as a goal to be attained, as a dimension of reality to be appreciated and related to through all the vicissitudes of real life, as a reliable refuge."

 

Pre-order a paperback copy - due to be published on May 1st in the UK: http://tinyurl.com/ctta7uq


Download your Kindle copy here - available now - UK: http://tinyurl.com/d8jemy2

 

US: http://tinyurl.com/cpno2be

It can also be read on iPhone and iPad by using the Kindle app.

Find more of his books - 'The Feeling Buddha', 'Love and its Disappointment: The Meaning of Life, Therapy and Art', 'Zen Therapy', 'Who Loves Dies Well: On the Brink of Buddha's Pure Land', 'The New Buddhism', 'Beyond Carl Rogers' and 'Her Mother's Eyes: And Other Poems' - here (US) http://tinyurl.com/czcuwbs and
(UK) http://tinyurl.com/cj3fsyy

****
The Spring Edition of Running Tide.
is now available.
You can read it or download it from this page on the Friends of Amida network: http://tinyurl.com/d3dy6pz

Namo Amida Bu

Read previous Whispers from the Bamboo Grove newsletters here

do not just passively wait

"Life is fragile, like a dewdrop poised on the tip of a blade of grass, ready to be carried away by the first breath of morning breeze. It is not enough just to have a sincere desire to practice the Dharma and the intention to begin soon. Do not just passively wait for the wind of death to carry away your plans before you have gotten around to them. As soon as the idea of practicing comes to you, do it without hesitation."

~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Whispers from the Bamboo Grove - Amida Newsletter number 10: April 2013

Dharmavidya's Pastoral Letter
March 31st, 2013
We have just completed the Mondo Sesshin. This was attended by a dozen people including five nationalities, a diversity that is not uncommon on Amida events. Mondo is about encounter and encounter is about meeting one another in faith rather than in a state of clashing egos. How fragile, brittle or bristling we can sometimes be! However, coming together in faith we can help one another to pass beyond fear and enter into an experience of deep confidence and entrustment.

I feel considerable satisfaction in the fact that we have, as a sangha, evolved a style of practice that demonstrates our faith in a rather robust manner such that those who came newly in our midst on this occasion certainly felt that they were encountering "the real thing". There is always a temptation in what some might call the contemporary spiritual marketplace to water down the message so as to cater for a wider public. I do feel that it is important to have some access points for people who are of a more generic spiritual persuasion or, alternatively, for those of a more secular turn of mind, but it is essential that we retain also occasions when the undiluted faith and practice are manifest and shared amongst us and this was one such occasion.

:: continue reading here

namo amida bu

Amida Buddha with Quan Shi Yin and Tai Shi Chi

ecourse - introduction to pureland buddhism - begins in march 2013

This course of 16 lessons, written by Dharmavidya, the Dharma Teacher of the Amida Order, guides you from Basic Buddhism to a deeper understanding of the Pureland Tradition. 

As a member of the study group, you will receive the lessons as email newsletters and will have access to an on-line discussions forum. Lessons will be sent out at a rate of one every 2-3 weeks and will take a maximum of 3 hours to complete, including engaging in discussion. The course will start during the first week of March.

Sujatin, a senior teacher with the Order, is tutor on the course, which she has taught on-line and face to face for over 7 years.

To sign up and pay for the course look here. A concessionary rate is available for people on benefits/pension etc

Previous participants have said:

"A thorough grounding in Pureland Buddhism, which doesn't just transmit the facts but also the warm heart and reassuringly human face of this school of Buddhism. I'd recommend this illuminating course to anyone who wants to find out more about Buddhist philosophy and practice." ~ Satyavani

"This course which introduces us to Pureland Buddhism became for me an intense personal journey into the spirit that Shakyamuni Buddha found and shared.  The interactive nature of the teachings and discussions is a most wonderful medium for reflection, both personally and within group process.........the discussion questions are good and part of this reason is that they confront our- selves....... to sit with a discussion question or a comment made by other participants, or by myself, for hours or sometimes days, weeks - this is such a gift of reflective space which is unavailable in the real time of a workshop or talk." ~ Rob

"I have found that the Introduction to Pureland Buddhism course has been interesting and also at times challenging. The course has given me the opportunity to be able to 'deepen my practice'. Along with having the forum to be able to share a few of my life experiences through these winter months, although this has felt challenging, it also has been cathartic. Gratitude to the other group members for given me the space to open my heart. Much gratitude to Sujatin for her support and spiritual guidance throughout. Namo Amida Bu." ~ Colin.

::link

what you do right now

Here's one to live by:

Don’t get caught up in hopes of what you’ll achieve and how good your situation will be some day in the future. What you do right now is what matters.

~ Pema Chödrön

m.e. disability scale

M.E. Disability Scale

This is an adaptation of the National Health Service Disability Scale, of which is used throughout the medical profession.

(*What is M.E.? See bottom of this post)

You may have seen this scale ‘the other way around’ with 0% referring to severe symptoms, and 100% as fit and well. However this scale is shown in Living with M.E.: The Chronic, Post-viral Fatigue Syndrome By Dr. Charles Shepherd ISBN: 0091816793.

 

O% - FIT AND WELL FOR AT LEAST THE PAST THREE MONTHS.

No symptoms at rest or following activity. Capable of full-time employment.

10% - GENERALLY WELL.

No symptoms at rest. Occasionally mild symptoms may follow activity. Capable of most forms of full-time employment.

20% - OCCASIONAL MILD SYMPTOMS AT REST.

More noticeable symptoms following activity. Some restriction of capabilities which require physical exertion. Able to work full-time but difficulty with work that requires physical exertion.

30% - MILD SYMPTOMS AT REST.

Limited ability to carry out some tasks which require physical exertion. May be able to work full-time.

40% - MILD OR MODERATE SYMPTOMS AT REST.

Variable ability to carry out tasks associated with normal daily activity. Unable to work part-time in a job involving frequent physical exertion. May be able to work part-time in other types of employment.

50% - MILD TO MODERATE SYMPTOMS AT REST.

Moderate to more severe exacerbation of symptoms following physical and/ or mental exertion. Unable to carry out any strenuous physical tasks. Able to perform light duties or deskwork for several hours a day provided adequate rest periods are provided.

smallstone 16

head bent low

he trails behind her

at full extent of lead

as if to make the walk eight feet shorter

his gait resigned

 he places black paws

with reluctance on the grey and glassy ice

#smallstone 16

#smallstone 12

a lone photographer
rests carbon-fibre tripod
on ancient carboniferous wall

#smallstone 12

#smallstone 11

we sweep round the bend to see
blood red
sun sinking
behind highest western peaks
sprinkled with snow
and topped with towers of cloud

#smallstone 11

#smallstone 10

flotilla of swans
upended
searching out squirming
sustenance
in lake bed mirk

#smallstone 10

#smallstone 15

tentative on untouched snow
crack or crunch, no, more like distant gunfire
we, the elderly or wobbly
share our rueful smiles
then eyes swiftly downward
to assess the next footstep

#smallstone 15

#smallstone 9

sun sinks on the city skyline

up here I watch Earl Grey

atop his pedestal

he suggests

'time for tea'

 

#smallstone 9

he deigns to accept worship

change of routine
I sup alone
he knows the buddhists are coming
he bounds before me up the stairs
where, adoration expressed
obeisances made
he'll stalk to the door
flag tail aloft

#smallstone 8

#smallstone 7

there's a village - there - over there -
across the valley
where, at night, lights,
strung like necklace

today, in mist,
homes, hillside
do not exist
save in my memory

#smallstone 7