Dharma Library

Standing in the yard,
my face turned up to the sky;
soft blessings of rain.

Shimmering orange
of the tree’s pyrotechnics;
the dark bracken rests.

Backlit by a flame
I see my projection,
watchfully waiting.

I look down to see
two old hands resting on my lap;
winter is coming.

I was thinking of
the purity of lotus blossoms,
and slipped in the mud.

Quiet Mind

When the quiet mind comes
I am moving up steadily
Hold after hold
Rock is under my hands
Under my feet
Sky above
Earth below 

When the quiet mind comes
I am in the midst of music
Note following note
Hands, steel and timber
All one
As each song unfolds 

When the quiet mind comes
I am ocean floating
On a glassy board
Waiting for the only wave
That will carry me
To shore

When the quiet mind comes
I am…

Over the last five years, I have been offering workshops that blend a range of mindfulness-based practices with running and explore what it means to bring a mind orientated towards present moment awareness into physical activity.

My work in this area in fact began in 2017 when I co-created and supported a five-day WCF retreat led by Jake Lyne, which we called Zen Meditation and Running. Based at…

The Diamond Sutra is one of the most well-known of the Prajnaparamita sutras (perfection of wisdom texts) of Mahayana Buddhism and takes the form of a discourse between the Buddha and one of his elder disciples, Subhuti, before a large assembly of monks. In this encounter, the Buddha strips away one by one his disciple’s misconceptions and doubts, each time refining the questions posed. Throughout…

Look up!
Soot grey snowflakes
dancing, whirling, falling, landing –
white side up.

A Guide to the Buddhist Method of No-Method

This book feels familiar, like a homecoming, with its frequent references to Masters Sheng Yen, John Crook and Simon Child – Rebecca Li’s three teachers to whom she dedicates it. It is also simultaneously very challenging.

Rebecca’s background, born in Hong Kong and then studying in America while being the regular translator for Master Sheng Yen over…

Silence…
What is there?
What IS there?

Chestnut bud in a vase
Feels pain in her green petals forcibly opened
By a greedy glance

Achoo!!!
The whole universe
Broke into pieces 

This mouthful of tea
Never drunk before
Nor ever again

An old monk
Slowly walking step by step
Through a violent storm

Frost
Winter may come any day now
Where has the last one gone? 

The stream
Flowing all the time
Never tired

Sprin…

This morning I went for a swim in a local lake. It is early December, the weather has just turned colder, and the water at 8 degrees is so cold it stings my skin. As I approach the water and feel the first touch of the cold on my feet and ankles, I find myself remembering holidays in the Mediterranean years before, getting into much warmer pools while the sun beat down on the back of my head. It…

In the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, Mara reminds the Buddha, now approaching death, of his earlier words: ‘I shall not come to my final passing away, Evil One, until my bhikkhus and bhikkhunis, laymen and laywomen, have come to be true disciples – wise, well disciplined, apt and learned, preservers of the Dhamma …’ ¹ The role of each element of this Fourfold Assembly in preserving and propagating the…

When I was asked several years ago to write a personal perspective on my career as a doctor in relation to right livelihood, I thought it would be easy. It is a huge privilege to work as a doctor with a livelihood dedicated to alleviating the effects of illness – we try and help people when they are vulnerable and are often admitted to their most private life events. The most useful advice I…