stillpoint

Opinion: What’s Up with Buddhists and the Disabled?

Reproduced with permission of the author.

Mary Anne Lewis of the Dharma Access Project asks able-bodied Buddhists to remember the sightless and disabled.

“May all beings abide in equanimity, free from attachment and anger, which holds some close and others distant,” it says in the Four Immeasurables. So I ask you, what’s up with Buddhists and the disabled?

Not long ago, I rounded the corner to the dharma center in my wheelchair, my excitement growing as I anticipated the next Lam Rim class. When I got up to the door, I was greeted by a sign that read: CLASS CANCELED. I rang the bell and the volunteer cheerily answered and explained that there was a last-minute change. “Oh well, that’s samsara,” she said. I asked if I could use the phone to call someone with a ramp on their van who could drive me back home. She said she wasn't sure she could do that since the center didn't have insurance, and what if something were to happen to me while I was in there? So I asked if I could just have a look at the books in their lending library. She wasn't sure that was a good idea, since she'd just vacuumed and didn't want my wheelchair to leave marks in the new carpeting.

“May all beings have happiness and the causes for happiness.” Now, about causes for happiness: where are able-bodied Buddhists with that?

My friend Shirley has been blind since her early thirties, when an explosion in a lab where she was working changed her karma in an instant. Her interest in Buddhism intensified and she began looking for Buddhist works in Braille. Guess what: there weren't any. Islam is in Braille in every language, so is Christianity, but not Buddhism. When she inquired at a local Buddhist center about materials in Braille, the monk told her, “We don’t get people like that here.”

A friend referred her to the The Dharma Access Project, a free service that encourages dharma centers, family members, and friends of the blind to provide Brailled versions of at least the Four Immeasurables, the Prayer of Shantideva, and the Heart Sutra. (DAP) mails them free to anyone who requests them. But DAP has yet to receive any donations, even though their bound prayer books have been sent to places as remote as Mongolia. They even have the Tibetan alphabet in Braille, but who’s to notice, huh? Books on tape are great, but when studying the dharma, there’s nothing like a book. When my friend Shirley did get to a Buddhist study group, she was asked to leave because some members of the group might be allergic to her guide dog, Cricket. And, what if Cricket bit someone? They didn’t have insurance for that-even though Shirley has insurance and Cricket has yet to bite anything but her food. Shirley doesn’t bite either.

“May all beings be free from suffering and the causes for suffering." Let’s think about that, shall we? “May all beings never be separated from the happiness that knows no suffering." Just what is that?

Can the able-bodied Buddhist community-to whom I am greatly indebted-please remember to remember the sightless and disabled sangha? Wouldn’t it be great if there were Brailled materials at every event where His Holiness the Dalai Lama was speaking? It’s terrific that there are American Sign interpreters at these events-so now, think about creating the imprints for perfect health, perfect vision, and a clear mind to attend to the dharma by providing access to these treasures beyond words. Just because you may not have ever seen a blind or disabled person in dharma class does not mean the interest is not there.

Just like in the movie Field of Dreams: build it, they will come, and we will all be better for it.

First published in BuddhaDharma magazine, summer 2005.

Access & Support Guidelines

As this is quite a long article, you may wish to cut and paste into a Word (or similar) document and print it out.

Introduction

One aim of Stillpoint is to look at the needs of Buddhists and meditators isolated by illness, and especially how to maintain a connection to spiritual community and teachings. The needs of individuals cover a broad range. Some are house- or bed-bound, others can get out but struggle with mobility, pain, low energy. For some, illness, an accident, or the increasing infirmity of old age now place them on the outside of sanghas they were previously active within. At the other extreme are novices keen to learn meditation to help cope with a health crisis but struggling to reach a teacher. The aim here is to present examples of good practice where spiritual community becomes more accessible to such individuals.

Some Friends of Stillpoint have asked, ‘how can we include your users more?’ Here we compile examples of good practice in making spiritual community inclusive and accessible. The suggestions come from a) our own experience with a range of methods typical of the voluntary self-help sector, especially for connecting members who don’t physically meet; and b) users anecdotal reports of positive experiences within centres and communities.

The needs of those being cared for will vary greatly, from needing a lift to an event, to home visits for the housebound. We can transform the experience of people excluded from ‘normal’ social activity, as well as embrace care and service as intrinsic to socially engaged spiritual practice. In the process, we enrich the lives of everyone in the community. It’s worth noting that some practitioners will also be carers, whose support needs are also important. They can benefit indirectly from a more widespread awareness of the real implications of birth, old age, sickness and death on all our daily lives.

A note about resources.

We recognise that groups often operate on a shoestring and members are often busy people, without much spare time and energy. Often measures below have been carried out informally, by individuals in that community. Our hope is to offer ideas for such individuals who are keen to embrace care as part of their role in a sangha, but also to assist communities/centres who wish to introduce access & support measures more formally. Our users feedback suggests that the smallest gestures, such as being made to feel that its OK to ask for help, or certain needs being pre-empted by fellow practitioners in a group, can have enormous impact on our experience of shared practice.

One point should be stressed in this age of multimedia technology: just because it can be done using new technology, doesn’t mean it will actually be the best way. The ‘technology poor’ obviously include those unable to work, or prevented by disability from internet use, although carers can sometimes act as intermediaries. So some of the more ‘old fashioned’ methods are the most inclusive; however, they tend to also be the most energy- and cost- intensive. The list below starts with the measures that are most realistic for the average centre’s resources, and goes on examples of systems for those with more resources to put into outreach. If there are concerns about demand, ensure that limits are regularly re-assessed and communicated in advance, eg explaining if calls/visits can only be made for a specified duration (eg an hour) or frequency (eg monthly) and adhering to that arrangement.

Four types of help for users

1. Access & support within your centre
2. Providing clear information
3. Outreach support
4. Support & contact networks

1. Access and Support within your centre

The environmental conditions affecting accessibility, and organising care for centre users

1. Appoint a support contact or ‘carers group’ who can assist those with special needs. The most common difficulty reported is not knowing who to ask, and the energy and confidence required to keep asking for help. If the awareness of access and care issues is built into the organisational culture and responsible individuals appointed, this makes a huge difference. In the case of residential centres a carers’ team might operate in turns to ensure some back up support for visitors who require assistance. An example might be offering to collect meal trays for less mobile participants at the canteen, to avoid standing for long periods.
2. Help with transport. Share transport or offer lifts to meetings for those with mobility problems, or aid those who require it to arrange lifts or taxis to and from a venue.
3. Flexible opening hours/access. People with fluctuating energy levels may not manage evening meetings or take part in all day/residential events. Arranging out-of-hours access and/or wheelchair assistance could be their only chance to visit a shrine room or obtain advice.
4. Practical assistance. Individuals attending meetings who are infirm may be sensitive to cold or other environmental factors, unable to kneel or sit upright to meditate, or need to leave the room/ take breaks, so the offer of physical assistance may be welcome. At larger, residential or all-day events, the ideal would be providing a separate area for quiet/rest, and wheelchair hire and assistance.
5. Exemptions and timetable flexibility. Helpful examples reported include: a clearly stated exemption from housekeeping chores for those with illness; rest periods or flexibility regarding participation in timetabled activity; a clear written statement at a canteen that elderly or infirm participants need to ‘jump the queue’, at one retreat.
6. Flexibility regarding special dietary needs. It is increasingly common now for caterers to incorporate wheat and dairy free alternatives, but it is often not possible to cater for every individual need. Access to a kitchen to prepare special food outside normal meal times is helpful. Users have particularly commented on difficulty making arrangements to eat fish or meat, due to lack of awareness that vegetarians can find they need to resume fish or meat eating, or raise their protein levels, during chronic illness.

2. Disabled access: providing clear information

1. Disabled people and those with chronic illness are not a single group with uniform needs. This does present challenges in terms of the need to be thorough, flexible, and available for enquiries regarding the environmental conditions of the centre and events. Users with extra needs will be less likely to visit if they cannot obtain clear information in advance, either from written information, or by telephone. It is not enough to simply state that an event or location is ‘disabled accessible’ if it has not been investigated, with a range of needs and disabilities in mind.
2. Consult with members of your community with disabilities, those who have experienced chronic illness and carers, and invite them to play an active role in making decisions about the centre’s management, and the environmental conditions or timetabling of events.
3. Don’t be afraid to ask new enquirers the ways in which their illness or disability affects them or what their needs are. Be prepared to explain over the phone the precise details of the terrain, location, wheelchair access, seating availability, stairs, hearing aid loop, approximate distances to walk from car park/street, etc. If you don’t know, see it as an opportunity to learn and improve the written information your centre currently provides.
4. A contact person or central information point where notes are made will enable more consistency in answering questions on access. Set down in writing the areas where improvement can be made. Evaluate feedback from previous events or courses, respond to previous problems that have arisen and issues that prevent some users from attending.

3. Outreach support

1. Appoint a support contact responsible for ensuring those members who are unable to attend meetings remain connected to the sangha.
2. Teachings and print/audio resources. Provide flexible means of access to your group/centre tape library or book shop, eg. delivery by hand or by post for those unable to visit in person.
3. Postal or email correspondence. Send an occasional note or card to show those who have become unable to attend meetings and are socially isolated that they are not forgotten.
4. Date of Birth records, if kept alongside members’ contact details when joining your group, provide an opportunity to send birthday cards to those who are housebound. Isolated members are often profoundly affected by being remembered by such gestures. A step further - postal celebratory cards for other events on the calendar, Buddhist (Wesak or Chinese/Tibetan new year) or otherwise (New year, Christmas).
5. Home visits. Face to face contact is extremely valuable to the housebound especially if living alone. This can involve anything from an occasional 'social' visit, to discussion, spiritual guidance, or sitting meditation in the home.
6. Telephone support. Contact by telephone can be a valuable way to make someone feel included when they have not attended meetings or meditated with others for a long time. With some fatigue related conditions, talking at length is difficult and exhausting. A few moments’ silence can also be shared on the telephone, though we often forget this!
7. ‘Virtual’ shared meditation - set a time or remember the isolated members during a meeting, and invite them to meditate where they are at the specified time slot, light a candle, etc
8. Email announcement lists mean those who cannot come to physical meeting place can feel included in a community. Advantages and disadvantages. Reach a wider audience, combine all members into one, yet a the same time you divide again technology poor.

4. Support groups

The following methods are the most time-intensive and require a committed administrator, but are extremely effective in bringing together individuals who are totally confined to their homes, and creating communities that, although they do not physically meet, offer motivation and support that is usually lost with the loss of social contact.

• Contact network. This helps friendships develop among isolated community members. A few lines about each person are gathered on a form and listed with their contact and chosen form of communication - phone, email or mail. A coordinator needs to type the details or, easier still if submitted via email they are pasted onto the document, edited if necessary. Guidelines can be given for security/ confidentiality. If data protection or safety is a concern, some systems allow for complete confidentiality, eg a central person storing the actual data, circulating names and interests, and members simply sending an SAE to be matched with like-minded people.
• Round robin cassettes are a simple way for very isolated and ill people to ‘talk’ to each other and get to know each other without having to use the phone or leave the house. Themes can be relating to meditation or spiritual practice, updating on events attended by other members, or more general chat. This has been successful in ME networks where users find telephoning difficult due to unpredictable energy or their ‘good’ phases failing to coincide with ‘normal’ telephoning hours. Here’s how it works: one person collects addresses and buys two cassettes, and starts it off, posting it in a padded envelope with a list of addresses, so that each individual who receives it listens to the taped message, adds their own and sends it on to the next person. The geographical distance in this case is not an issue.

These guidelines were compiled by Joelle Marlow, and are copyright of Stillpoint; but may be freely copied for the purposes for which it was created: to improve access and support for isolated Buddhists and meditators.

Library (UK only)

Contact david{dot}meanwell{at}virgin{dot}net for information

Social Networking

If you are on Facebook - look for the groups:

YES! M.E IS A GENUINE CONDITION! UNITE TO BUILD AWARENESS!

and, of course, Stillpoint, which was set up by David Meanwell

Join Friends of Amida, a spiritual network with 600+ members, and look for various special interest groups including:

Health and Wellbeing

Amidist Poetry

Photography

Varieties of Spiritual Practice

Members' Books

Liturgy (videos of services)

Amida Kitchen (food and cooking, including growing food, sharing recipes, food ethics, seasonal food)

The Feeling Buddha

and many more, including the new stillpoint group!

Monday Metta

by Antoinette, Jane and Joelle

‘Every time one of us truly rests, the world rests a little, so intimately connected are we with one another.’ Dolores Leckey

The 'Monday metta' practice is what connects the Stillpoint virtual community.

We’re all living with chronic illness that fluctuates, so you never know if you'll be able to practice or not on any particular day. Monday metta is for everyone who is prevented by ill health from physically attending a meditation group, especially those who feel isolated.

Every Monday at no specific time, some of us are at some stage during the day dedicating our meditation to other Stillpoint users. Depending on our state of health at the time - it could take the form of anything from a meditation to just lighting a candle - we are in each other’s minds and hearts. We hope that it will be a comfort for everyone to know that they are not alone and that powerful loving light is being sent, bringing courage, strength and peace of mind. So if you're feeling isolated or low or just want to feel connected and feel up to sending and receiving love and positive thoughts, please join our virtual meditation group on Mondays.

Light a candle at any time on a Monday and know you are not alone

Whether or not we can meditate - even if we are lying in bed - we can send loving-kindness to ourselves, and to everyone in our community. “The spirit of metta is unconditional: open and unobstructed. Like water poured from one vessel to another, metta flows freely, taking the shape of each situation without changing its essence.” Sharon Salzberg. Loving-Kindness: the Revolutionary art of Happiness. Shambhala, 1995.

What is Metta?

The Pali word 'Metta' ('Maitri' in Sanskrit) is commonly translated in English as 'loving-kindness.' Metta signifies friendship and non-violence as well as "a strong wish for the happiness of others."  More on metta from Prairie Sangha

Read an outline of the loving kindness practice, as described by Jack Kornfeld: ‘With a loving heart as the background, all that we attempt, all that we encounter, will open and flow more easily. The power of loving-kindness… will calm your life and keep you connected to your heart.'

How it began:

Antoinette sent an email saying,

“I have been able to meditate a bit just lately I am going to dedicate every Monday session to everyone who uses Stillpoint. If I can't get to meditate I'll definitely be lighting a candle and saying prayers for everyone, wishing you courage, equanimity, faith and love. If anyone would like to join me it would be really good to know that someone else is doing the same thing.”

Update: Here is a very short practice you can add, as you light your candle

Please print this page off if you know someone who is bedbound /housebound without a computer, who would like to share our virtual meditation community.

Participants say:

“I have enjoyed 'doing' metta as a way to feel connected to everyone. It's lovely to know that you are being thought of, when you are going through a bad patch or feeling lonely.” Nicola, Northants

“Thank you for bringing people together, sharing makes us stronger.” Rosie, Edinburgh

“It feels much better knowing I am not meditating alone.” John, Essex

Ferocious Blessing

A wonoderful photo exhibition by Stillpoint member Penny, who is bedbound but still managed to take these beautiful and moving photos that reveals a wonderous inner universe.

Severe M.E. has left me bedridden for more than a decade. Most of that time has been spent alone, in the dark, overwhelmed by pain and exhaustion, and feeling too fatigued for any activities. One day, after a slight improvement, I picked up my mother's digital camera. I didn't have energy to investigate how to use it, just pointed and clicked. My arms were weak and the result was blurry but there was tremendous satisfaction from producing something colourful – and it had only required a couple of seconds of precious energy.

Almost immediately I felt I wanted to take atmospheric photographs documenting the 'spirit' of one who had been ill, disabled and shut away from society for so long. I was the only model available for this and despite being very camera shy, I submitted myself to the scrutiny of the camera.

When I became tired of photographing tiredness, I turned the camera on the darkened room that I have been incarcerated in for eleven years. I discovered it contains a parallel universe of vibrancy (perhaps the so called invalid and her kind do too!).

Penny M (contact details at oneweb.org.uk).

Copyright. All photographs in the exhibition are © copyright Penny M. If you would like permission to use a photo on a website or in other media, please email your request via the contact details at oneweb.org.uk).

Breathing Space virtual newsletter

A gentle, positive virtual newsletter looking at the theme of stillness for those affected by chronic illness. We share quotations on mindfulness, meditation and Buddhist (and other spiritual, especially Eastern) teachings.

Only moderators may post, but members may email personal stories, quotations, inspiration, comments to be edited centrally. We especially invite personal experiences and excerpts from writings/teachings on the relationship between spiritual practice and ill health.

Sign up for the Yahoo! Group Breathing Space.

The Buddha on caring for the sick

Now a certain bhikku was once sick with dysentery, and he lay fouled in his own urine and excrement. As the Blessed One was going the round of the lodgings with the venerable Ananda as his attendant monk he came to that bhikkhu’s dwelling.

When he saw him lying where he was, he went up to him and said: ‘What is your sickness, bhikkhu?’
‘It is dysentery, Blessed One’.
‘But bhikkhu, have you no attendant?’
‘No, Blessed One’.
‘Why do they not look after you bhikkhu?’
‘I am no use to the bhikkhus Lord; that is why they do not look after me’.
Then the Blessed one said to the venerable Ananda: ‘Ananda go and fetch some water. Let us wash this bhikkhu’.
‘Even so, Lord’ the venerable Ananda replied, and he brought some water. The Blessed One poured out the water and the venerable Ananda washed the bhikkhu. Then the Blessed One took him by the head and the venerable Ananda took him by the feet, and they raised him up and put him on a bed.
With this as the occasion and this as the reason the Blessed One summoned the bhikkhus and asked them: ‘Bhikkhus, is there a bhikkhu sick in a certain dwelling?’
‘There is, Blessed One’
‘What is that bhikkhu’s illness?’
‘He has dysentery, Lord’.
‘Has he anyone to look after him?’
‘No, Blessed One’.
‘Why do the bhikkhus not look after him?’
‘Lord, that bhikkhu is of no use to the bhikkhus; that is why they do not look after him.’

‘Bhikkhus, you have neither mother nor father to look after you. If you do not look after each other, who will look after you? Let him who would look after me look after one who is sick. If he has a preceptor, his preceptor should as long as he lives look after him until his recovery. His teacher, if he has one, should do likewise. Or his co-resident, or his pupil, or one who has the same preceptor, or one who has the same teacher. If he has none of these, the Community should look after him. Not to do so is an offence of wrongdoing.
When a sick man has five qualities, he is hard to look after: he does what is unsuitable; he does not know the measure of what is suitable; he does not take medicine; he does not disclose his illness to his sick-nurse who seeks his welfare, or tell him that it is better when it is so, or worse when it is so, or the same when it is so; he is of a type unable to endure arisen bodily feelings that are painful, harsh, racking, piercing, disagreeable, unwelcome and menacing to life. When a sick man has the five opposite qualities he is easy to look after.

Vinaya. MV. Kh. 8

3. Correspondence courses on Buddhism

Note that you may need email & regular internet use to get the best out of some courses listed. Courses of this kind vary widely in approach and content, but can be relatively demanding on the grey matter! If you’re unsure whether you can commit due to energy or concentration levels, disability or other factors, its worth discussing this with the organizers, who may offer flexible study module options or send a sample of course content.

The Buddhist Society

An affordable introduction to the fundamentals of the Buddha’s teachings. For £25 (UK), £30 (Europe) you are sent a series booklets in instalments and offered written contact with a volunteer teacher (please note there may be a delay before you are assigned a tutor as there is a waiting list). Alternatively, similar information is available on cassette (4) for £15.60 inc p&p , and CD (4) £20 inc p&p, without a teacher. Contact: The Buddhist Society, 58 Eccleston Square, London, SW1V 1PH, UK. Tel 0207 834 5858.

The Awakened Heart Sangha correspondence course

Up to 2 years during which students have contact and personal guidance from Shenpen Hookham and regular discussions with a senior student. Students work at their own pace, requesting the next book when they need it. ‘Not an academic course’ but ‘comprehensive training in Buddhist study, reflection and meditation - a sound basis for a lifetime of deep spiritual practice... the teachers are Westerners who have studied for many years under distinguished Tibetan teachers in the Kagyu and Nyingma traditions and who have been authorised by them to teach the heart of Buddhism in fresh ways that respond directly to the needs of Western students.’ Costs £295 if paying in lump sum, or £25 per month for a year. Bursaries are also available by applying to the address below and explaining your circumstances. Contact: Awakened Heart Sangha, Bwthun Plas Bry Hir, Lon Ednyfed, Criccieth, Gwynedd, LL 52 OAR, UK. Tel:01766 523 110. Email.

Jamyang The Foundation of Buddhist Thought

A 2 year, 6 module course. Cost covers Course books, daily meditations, readings, homework, electronic info, CDs or MP3s of over 80 hours of teachings on the topics, an interactive tutor group with online tutor. Although the cost is about £420 per year, discounts available to Stillpoint members and Jamyang will attempt to tailor the course to member’s needs. Contact: Gordon McDougall telephone 0207 820 8787, email, or write to Gordon at The Foundation of Buddhist Thought, Jamyang Buddhist Centre, 43, Renfrew Road, London SE11 4NA, UK. See also the  Jamyang Buddhist Centre. 

The Sharpham Trust

Distance learning courses via written material or online download with access to a tutor by phone and/or email plus the opportunity for online discusssions. Courses start April 2005 with a Foundation Course in Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism (one module, 14 weekly units) and 3 courses/modules in October 2005 Introduction to Buddhist Psychology, Tibetan Buddhism and Indian Civilisation. From 2006 the Foundation Course will consist of two modules. Cost per module is £165. Contact Steve Palmer tel: 01803 732 708, email or write to Sharpham Trust, Sharpham House, Ashprington, Totnes, TQ9 7UT, UK.

2. Buddhist Book, Magazine & Audio suppliers

What follows is a necessarily selective list of publishers of books, audio and magazines on Buddhism. Priority has been given to a) contacts offering ordering by mail and phone and b) non affiliated organizations & suppliers. In the case of publishers linked to a particular Dharma tradition, as material will prioritise their own teachers & practice we give information about the parent organization and have attempted to represent the range of traditions found in the UK today.

Suppliers of general Buddhist material

Wisdom Books

Largest mail order supplier of books, audio material and videos on Buddhism in the UK. Unaffiliated business, stocks titles relating to all Buddhist traditions - Theravada, Tibetan, Zen/ Ch’an, Mahayana; also Tao and other schools. Catalogue includes short reviews for each title. Some print catalogues available but they advise use of the web site if possible due to stock changes. Contact: Wisdom Books, 25 Stanley Road, Ilford, Essex, IG1 1RW, UK. Tel: 0208 553 5020, email

Also provide the following non-affiliated Buddhist magazines:

• Tricycle is a quality Buddhist Journal published in the US with in depth, topical contributions from many of the best writers on Buddhism today. Published quarterly - approx. £6.50 per issue.
• Buddhadharma ‘the practitioners quarterly’ - quality magazine focussing on Dharma discussion and teachings. £6.25 per issue.

Buddhist Publishing Group

Independent publisher of a range of CDs, Dharma talks and books from different Buddhist traditions; also Buddhist magazine Buddhism now; organize the annual Buddhist summer school and are also connected to the Golden Buddha project (see communities). Contact (subscriptions & orders): Buddhist Publishing Group, Orchard House, 9 Kerswill Road, Exeter, EX4 1NY, UK. Tel: 01392 679002. Fax: 01803 732037.  To join the mailing list, send this email.

• Buddhism Now journal covers the teachings of all schools of Buddhism: it is independent of any one tradition, organisation or teacher. Buddhism now ‘deals directly with living a Buddhist way of life, offering practical help for ordinary people.’ Email.

Gaia House

Centre for Meditation, Inquiry and Compassion, non-affiliated. Offers Insight (Vipassana) and Zen Retreats.

Available from bookshop: Insight Tapes (approx £5 each), based on lectures by resident and visiting teachers at Gaia House can be ordered online or write to Insight Tapes, Gaia House, West Ogwell, Newton Abbott, Devon TQ12 6EN. Brochure of their talks available on request.  Gaia House, West Ogwell, Newton Abbot, Devon TQ12 6EN, UK. Tel: 01626 333613. Email.

Suppliers linked to specific traditions

Community of Interbeing (COI)

UK organisation that supports the practice of Mindfulness as taught by Vietnamese Zen master and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Thich Nhat Hanh. ‘These teachings are based on conscious breathing and being fully aware of the present moment. Through the practice of meditation in everyday life and by showing compassion to all living beings, peace becomes possible within ourselves and extends to everyone we touch.’

• Bookshop supplies CDs, tapes and videos of Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings, and all of his books available in English. To obtain list of titles, send s.a.e. to: Teri West, Sloo Cottage, Horns Cross, Bideford, Devon EX39 5EA. Tel: 01237 451588. Publications will also be appearing on their web site soon, online ordering available second half of 2005.  See also Parallax Press(US); Community of Interbeing website; Plum Village retreat centre.
• The Mindfulness Bell Journal (3 issues a year), US published, “a journal of the Art of Mindful Living, including essays, stories, teachings, photos and artwork”. To subscribe in the UK write enclosing a cheque payable to Community of Interbeing, to: Community of Interbeing, 18a Hove Park Villas, Hove, BN3 6HG, UK. £12 /£10 (low income) per annum/ £4 for a sample issue.
• Free online manual for developing the practice of Mindfulness.

Friends of the Triratna Buddhist Order (FTBO), formerlyWestern Buddhist Order (FWBO)

Founded in 1967 by Sangarakshita, an Englishman who lived in India for 20 years where he was ordained into the three main traditions of Buddhism. The Sangha has 38 centres with several thousand members in the UK plus in many other countries. Centres often run beginners and drop- in classes in meditation. Contact: London Buddhist centre, 51 Roman Road, Bethnal Green, London E2 0QN. Tel: 020 8981 0091  FWBO

• Windhorse Publications - an extensive range of books, brochure sent out on request. Contact: Windhorse Publications, 11 Park Road, Mosely, Birmingham B13 8AB, UK. Tel: 0121 449 9191
• Dharmachakra audio publications - catalogue of lectures, talks and meditation courses.  Tel: 01223 868 625. Email, or write to PO Box 50, Cambridge, CB1 3BG

Soto Zen Tradition

Throssel Hole Abbey  is a training monastery and retreat centre in the Serene Reflection meditation or Soto Zen tradition. Men and women monastics have equal status and are ordained within the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives. Bookshop offers a selection of books, taped talks by Senior monks at the Abbey and videos including Serene Reflection Meditation for beginners. Contact: Throssel Hole Buddhist Bookshop, Carrshield, nr Hexham, Northumberland, NE47 8AL, UK. Tel: 01434 345204. A catalogue of books is on the web site but for those who are unable to access web due to illness or disability, a printout will be posted - email

Theravada Tradition

Amaravati is ‘a monastery in the Theravada tradition of Buddhism and a centre of teaching and practice. Its heart is a resident community of monksandnuns, whose life of meditation and work is open for visitors to share, as a living example of the Buddhist path. Amaravati Publications have many books which have been sponsored for free distribution (except postage cost). To obtain please send SAE to "Books", c/o Amaravati Buddhist Monastery. ‘The weight and minimum size of envelope for each book is given as a guide for your requests. You may send one envelope with extra stamps for requests of more than one book.’ Forest Sangha Newsletter (also available free if postage costs covered) provides list of regional centres. For retreat information send SAE to Retreat Manager.

Contact: Amaravati Buddhist Monastery, Great Gaddesden, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire HP1 3BZ.

Tel: 01442 842455.  See also  forestSANGHA, download talks at Amaravati

Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism’s spread in the West has been inextricably linked to efforts to preserve what remains of Tibetan religion and culture since the Chinese occupation of Tibet, which destroyed many temples and monastic communities. There are five distinct lineages in Tibetan Buddhism. Beginners are advised to note that practitioners are expected to commit to one lineage.

• FPMT (Foundation for the preservation of the Mahayana tradition) set up by Lama Thubten Yeshe. Publications include Discovering Buddhism series DVD & videos from £50. UK centre Jamyang Buddhist Centre - see under courses. Publishes Mandala Magazine 6 issues a year. £2.70, back issues available  Contact: FPMT, PO Box 46744, London SW17 7WR UK, email (also available from Wisdom Books).
• RIGPA UK 330 Caledonian Road, London N1 1BB. For regional groups tel: 020 7700 0185, email. Run classes based on Sogyal Rinpoche’s teachings, found in the classic Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. RIPGA’s audio visual publisher is ZAM. Print brochure from RIGPA UK, or direct tel (France): 0033 4 6788 4632.
• Awakened Heart Sangha - see courses.

Mail order Mind Body suppliers 

Cygnus PO Box 15, Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, SA19 6YX, UK. Tel: 01550 777701 for bargain prices for current New Age titles as well as writers on Buddhism and meditation. Those on the mailing list receive a popular free inspirational magazine with reviews, listings and articles.

The following also sell high quality remaindered material (new age, holistic, meditation, Buddhist) at low prices:

• The Speaking Tree Bookshop, 5 High St. Glastonbury, BA6 9DP.  Tel: 01458 835974, email.
• Greensleeves family-run business also selling secondhand titles. PO Box 156 Chipping Norton DO, Oxford, OX7 3XT, UK. tel 01608 676140, Greensleeves.  email
• Tao of Books Tel 0845 3456222 - includes audio music range.
• The Inner Bookshop, 111 Magdalen Road, Oxford OX4 1RQ UK tel 01865 245301, have a huge selection of mind body material including both new and used books (including a Buddhism  section) as well as audio available online or by mail order (email or call for the catalogue).

Lending Libraries 

Some tips

• Your own local authority library may run a housebound delivery service, in which case you can specifically ask for books on Buddhism, meditation or related themes to be brought to you at home. Services vary from area to area - call your local library (in the phone book under the local council departments) for details. 
• Regional Buddhist groups & centres may have a collection of books and tapes to loan out to their members. If you’re not well enough to attend meetings, it’s worth telephoning and explaining your circumstances - they might post material out to you. Larger centres are more likely to offer a mailing service for library material

Contacts

• The Buddhist society operates a postal lending library. For details of membership and costs send SAE. Contact: Buddhist Society, 58 Eccleston Square, London, SW1V 1PH, UK. Tel 0207 834 5858 (afternoons). 
• Jamyang video library - extensive collection of material on Tibetan Buddhism including videos featuring HH Dalai Lama, available to borrow by post. Mention you're a Stillpoint user & ask for Gordon tel: 0207 820 8787