lotusinthemud

The Tree of Life Sangha

Since I and other members of my Amida Scotland sangha left the Amida Order and Shu, we have been nameless.

During our Zoom meeting on Tuesday evening, which was an opportunity for 'sharing', passing the stone and giving space for deep listening, I offered the friends gathered together the possibility of three new names.

The unanimous choice was 'The Tree of Life Sangha' - and so we have our new name!

 

:: the Tree of Life in Buddhism

:: the Tree of Life in Buddhism 2

everything changes, everything evolves...

News From Perth

09/12/2020: My personal news is that I left the Amida Order some 2 1/2 weeks ago - though that’s another story.

I may have, in doing so, put aside titles but they were attached to roles that were useful for work within the Order itself. However, I’m still a priest, an independent Pureland priest.  So I will continue sharing meetings from the shrine room here, overlooking the garden. My sangha will no longer be 'Amida Scotland'. There will be another name, in time.

Like much of the world, our sangha meetings have been held via zoom for a number of months, and I expect that this method of gathering will continue for some time to come. Although I miss seeing my sangha in person, one advantage is that I can be joined by friends in different parts of the country or even further afield, as I can join them, in turn. And even friends who live close are not deterred from sangha gatherings by feeling unwell or contending with Scottish winter weather and dark nights. So it may transpire that this may be a better way to continue at least some of our gatherings.

Connections with others felt particularly precious yesterday, Bodhi Day. Now, as with others who made the same decision, I ease into a time which will become ripe with new beginnings, as yet, not knowing what shoots will emerge from the dark earth and what those new shoots will flower into. This season of darkness is one of turning inward for us all. As a friend said a few days ago, all that we have received can be broken down into rich loamy compost, nothing ever wasted, to nourish what comes next.

As well as feeling a huge sense of grief and of loss, of course, at this parting of the ways after 22 years, the hint of a sense of that new life to come - that there are new buds on the trees, shoots under the earth - gives a feeling of hope. Not a time for the shoots to emerge, the buds to open yet but there’s a sense of a freedom from structure, hierarchy, expectations, constraints of role and form - the possibility of new types of gatherings, the forging of new friendships and new understanding, new directions - eco dharma, Therapeutic Shamanism, the insights and inspiration of Bill Plotkin - and more.

So, while I tussled with making my decision and in the days since, faith and friendship have been a great refuge and solace, as clouds obscured some of the light.

Taigh an t’Solais means ‘house of light’ in Scottish Gaelic
(as opposed to Taigh Solas, which means a lighthouse).

This house, on the side of Kinnoull Hill, across the Tay from the city of Perth, faces West and is flooded with light.

The light?

Both on days when I’m aware of it and on days when it feels covered by outer and inner clouds, the light is always there.

NAMO AMIDA BU

Sujatin

Amida Scotland Newsletter 18: 28 December 2016 ~ A message at the turning of the year

Amida in Scotland: Next meeting

Tuesday 17 January- see below

**

*Seasonal Message from Dharmavidya, the Head of the Amida Order

The years 2016 and 2017 may well be seen from the future as a turning point in world politics. There is certainly a sense that the current order is fragmenting in Europe and North America, and that the balance of power in the Far East is shifting. In the Middle East there is still no sight of the end of war, but we can pray that some new arrangement can be found that will bring the killing to an end and start what will be a long process of reconciliation. We can sense what may be passing, but it is not yet clear what is emerging.

How does all this bear upon our faith and practice as Amidists? Buddhism arose at a time when the world was changing. New political powers were rising and society was becoming more money oriented. Into this context Buddha brought the Dharma that gave people a higher vantage point, a perspective that was not dominated by personal needs nor by the quest for power and status. In an increasingly materialistic world he taught sharing, generosity, co-operation and minimalism. Our need for this message has not lessened. The tendencies that he led us away from have grown stronger in the time since he walked the earth and our need of faith in a simpler, purer way of life remains just as important.

Trees for Life rewilding project wins global conservation competition

 

Scotland’s only entry in a leading global conservation competition has won funding of more than £20,000 to address biodiversity loss and deforestation in the Highlands, including through the planting of 50,000 native trees and the creation of habitats that will offer a lifeline to endangered and rare wildlife.

Trees for Life’s Rewilding the Highlands initiative has won the Alpine category of the 2016 European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA) Conservation Vote, securing more than 7,000 votes and widespread social media support in a tightly contested international online vote that was held between 8-22 March.

The success will allow Trees for Life to establish one of the UK’s most inspiring examples of rewilding. This will involve ambitious habitat creation to support wildlife including pine marten, red squirrel, golden eagle and Scottish wildcat, the planting of 50,000 native trees, and also the annual growing of 10,000 rare montane tree species, at Trees for Life’s Dundreggan Conservation Estate in Glenmoriston to the west of Loch Ness.