lotusinthemud

i'm very fortunate...

.. that I was in my forties when I developed M.E., although it may have been starting in my late thirties. At least I had plenty of living under my belt first.

But there are so many, like this young man, who develop it when they are much younger:

SEVEN years ago, Matthew Jesmontowicz-Hill was like any other
young man. He had a job he liked, good career prospects and
in his spare time played in a band.But all that changed with a
bout of glandular fever. Like thousands of other teenagers, he
was struck down by the virus at the age of 19.

Matthew didn't bounce back though – for months afterwards he
felt terrible. It was only after two years that he was finally
diagnosed with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis or ME. ::read more

smarter look for amida newcastle weblog

Today I've been smartening up the Amida Newcastle weblog. Giving it a front page and altering categories and layout, which I hope will make it easier to use. This followed a discussion with Dharmavidya over breakfast before he and Sally left for The Buddhist House.

a day of many parts

We started the day with Morning Service. How soft the heart feels to have Dharmavidya lead and Sally be Bellmaster and me a participant in my own shrine room. Then breakfast together with Peter. After this, fitting in two loads of washing, I walked down to Gosforth High Street to catch the bus to the University, where I attended a Welnet (Welfare Network) meeting. Home for 12:30 to make lunch for Sally and I. Sally had made soup for tonight. Dharmavidya was away, in Jesmond, meeting Mary Midgley. After lunch Sally and I rearranged and tidied the shrine room, so we can accommodate all the extra people who are coming tonight. Then we went to the supermarket to buy bread, biscuits, milk, pizzas, tea etc for tonight, and flowers for the new Quan Yin shrine we made earlier in the afternoon. I have had a half hour rest and am now about to go down to the kitchen to finish the soup and get the communal meal ready for 6pm. This will be followed by our meeting at 7:30pm

tired but happy

A wonderful day. Dharmavidya, Sally and I met up for breakfast - Peter had his early as he had a Bridge match - and left at 9:30 to drive through the Pennines to Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey. The place was full but quiet. The ceremony to mark the ten year anniversary of Rev Master Jiyu Kennett's death was beautiful and very moving. I will write more when I am less tired.

today - a pilgrimage

Today I have been on a 'People of God' pilgrimage organised by the Inter-Religious Commission for the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle. We visited the Newcastle Mosque and Islamic Centre, the Reform Synagogue and the Hindu Temple and, in each place were given a talk about their religion, followed by questions. We had lunch at a church in Fenham (near where I went to school) and finished with Vespers at St Mary's Cathedral - the Catholic Cathedral. I was invited because, although the group would have liked to visit my centre, I do not have space to accommodate fifty. So after lunch I was given a slot to explain Buddhism in ten minutes. Rather a tall order, but I was able to give an overview, bearing in mind some of the things I know about the Catholic faith and what we had been told by other faith leaders. Among other things, I talked about the Three bodies of the Buddha and about the Unborn, about the Gate of Contrition - the Sange Mon. So they could see that there are similarities in some of our concepts. It was a delightful and joyful day and I was so glad to have been invited and to have spent the day with this group of people. A number of them expressed interest in coming along to some of my 'Meditation for Relaxation' sessions.

And, when I arrived home, it was to find that Dharmavidya and Sally had arrived from Narborough to stay for a couple of days. Tomorrow we are going to Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey... more on this to follow.

faith and grace

In answer to a query:
For me faith has grown out of the feeling of confidence that the Buddha's teachings have truly been a source of refuge. They have made such a difference to my life, for which I am immeasurably grateful. And filled with awe, as what I receive I cannot in any way feel is due to my own deserving. So, for me, Pureland is the form of Buddhism that works particularly, although I appreciate all other schools.

I found myself in a room in NW UK one evening eight years ago, having followed a non-Buddhist path for 25 years, and having become seriously unstuck on my spiritual journey at the end of this time. And I found myself listening to Dharmavidya (David Brazier), my teacher. What I heard in that couple of hours turned my life around irrevocably. And my being there in that place at that time was not something I could have contrived or expected. So many coincidences and unexpected meetings had placed me there. So, in Pureland terms, I was there, listening and able to hear in a profound way by the grace of the Buddhas, by the grace of Amida. From this grace comes such gratitude that I feel my eyes filling as I write.

Faith is something that grows. It is not to do with thinking about Buddhism or thinking about faith. it is to do with the relationship between oneself and the Buddhas, the Unborn, the Immeasurable. For me, who felt unable to raise my eyes to look at Amida to begin with, it began with a relationship with Quan Shi Yin, whom I felt more approachable - although I was acceptable to Amida right from the start - it was to myself that I was unacceptable.

Relationship is a mystery and a precious gift and how it grows, even between people, cannot be fully grasped. We can only put ourselves in the company of the Buddhas, whatever that means to us individually. And to be willing and open hearted. What develops takes time and is not in our power to contrive.

it's in the post - sending out dharma talk cds

During the last week I've been copying CDs of the third of Dharmavidya's series of ten talks on the Larger Pureland Sutra that he gave this July at Amida France. I've also been getting to grips with learning to use a new software and applicator package for making and sticking labels onto the CDs, which looks much more professional. Most of them are ready in their padded envelopes. This morning I'll be finishing wrapping one copy of the whole series, which I've put in a red padded wallet to send to Modgala, who is out in France now and will be staying all winter, although she'll travel back to be with us for part of the Bodhi Retreat in December.

Time to get wrapping and to prepare for the three Buddhist meetings at the Uni - I can post this mail-out at the Post Office in the Students' Union Building before 'Meditation For Relaxation'.