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

how to practise

A gift from Dharmavidya:

 

Open publication - Free publishing - More amida

after the first taste of pureland practice

Jnanamati writes:

This is a poem penned by someone who has been here all week for the practice intensive. He is new to Pureland practice and asked me not to add his name, but perhaps will join the network at some point in the future.

In this space where

An eternity can be momentary

And a moment can be eternal

We aspire to be

Forest within the jungle

And oaks between the creepers.

Buddha bless this

North London Pureland

Wgere you can offer as gifts

Thoughts, senses and emotions

To the lucid One

Of pure light

Through Quan Yin

May the practices be

For the benefit of all

And inspire us to be

Better ambassadors

Of love.

Namo Amida Bu

Namo Amida Bu, Jnanamati

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whispers from the bamboo grove - amida newsletter number 6

News from Dharmavidya [David Brazier],
Head of the Amida Order
Dharmavidya will be in Korea for the whole of August as guest of the Korean Association for Buddhism and Psychotherapy giving courses in Buddhist psychology.
 
Dharmavidya was the lead speaker at the University d'Ete, a persona centred conference in the south of France, 1-4 July
 
In September Dharmavidya will be visiting Japan and giving events in Kyushu, Hiroshima, Tokyo and Nagoya.
***
Rev Prajnatara's
  vows as an Amida minister have been confirmed
Watch the ceremony here
***
Fiona and Kaspalita went to Buddhafield
Fiona writes:
Kaspa & I attended the Buddhafield festival  in place of Modgala this year. She was a hard act to follow! Many people asked after her and wanted us to pass on love.

amida, amitabha

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Amitabha Buddha, who is also called Amita or Amida Buddha, probably is the best known of the Dhyani Buddhas. In particular, devotion to Amitabha is at the center of Pure Land Buddhism, one of the largest schools of Mahayana Buddhism in Asia.

Long-ago , Amitabha was a king who renounced his kingdom to become a monk. Called Dharmakara Bodhisattva, the monk practiced diligently for five eons and rea...lized enlightenment and became a buddha.

Amitabha Buddha reigns over Sukhavati, the western paradise, also called the Pure Land. Those reborn in the Pure Land experience the joy of hearing Amitabha teach the dharma until they are ready to enter Nirvana.

Amitabha symbolizes mercy and wisdom. He is associated with the third skandha, that of perception. He is sometimes pictured in between the bodhisattvas Avalokiteshvara and Mahasthamaprapta.

In this image, Amitabha's hands are in a meditation mudra. His symbol is the lotus, representing gentleness and purity.