Dharma Library

It is with sadness that we announce the death of Ken Jones at his home in Aberystwyth on Sunday August 2nd 2015

Ken was a superb teacher and a good friend to many of us. He was a founder member of the WCF and supported Chan Master John Crook in establishing the WCF in its early years. Ken led many retreats at the Maenllwyd. His main focus for teaching was to bring the practice of Zen into…

I must have met David Fontana at a psychological conference where several of us decided to form a small discussion group to have a look at the then growing interest in Meditation and Zen. We worked closely together to set up an international conference on “Psychology: East and West” in Cardiff and David and I edited and contributed to the book that followed “ Space in Mind” (Element Press, 1990).…

When I arrived in Hong Kong (1953) on my National Service during the Korean War, I soon set about trying to meet Chinese people. I wanted to follow up my reading of Buddhism carried out during the several weeks' voyage on the troop ship from Southampton. Through contacts with the HK university I met Professor Ma Meng who introduced me to a Mr Yen Shi liang, a Buddhist merchant with an embroidery…

Last year Bruce Stevenson took himself off to Japan for a period of practice in a Zen monastery. This was not Bruce's first such expedition but it is the first he has written about for us. Let us continue this issue then with a further account of experiences in the distant East. Bruce tells us Sogenji is, as far as he knows, the only monastery in Japan full of Westerners - well this includes a…

Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?

T.S. Eliot - The Rock

The open door of the shabby little Hotel de la Gare. The municipal street washer has just clattered over the cobbles, freshening the air before the sun gets up. On their way to work, the locals drop in for a  petit noir or a shot of something stronger. Hands are briefly shaken…

This short extract introduces you to Sue Blackmore's new book in which she puzzles her way into certain serious Zen questions. You must read it to decide whether she has solved them or not but her discussion is characteristically lively and interesting; further more it is based in retreats at Maenllwyd. We place it here for your interest and information. Eds.

The idea for "Ten Zen Questions" 1…

I was privileged to be with Iris on two occasions during her final days, when she had gone over to palliative care and was, with cheerful equanimity, waiting to move on... A long dedicated Follower of the Way, Iris had admirably completed the Work, and recently had had two out-of-body experiences -- a preliminary reconnaissance perhaps? I was hugely impressed and not a little envious!

Iris was…

I heard of Iris' death today with great sadness. Even though I knew Iris had suffered long and with great courage, I feel her passing to be a very personal loss and know her many friends will be feeling the same way.

I deeply regret not being with you here today; especially because I know she would have liked me to be here. I send these words as a small contribution as we remember her life…

Two experiences come to mind from the retreat:

One morning as I walked outside the Chan hall, I observed 15 to 20 birds darting in and out of trees in unison as they flew up the hill. I felt a sudden jolt, like someone had thrust a knife into my heart. "Huh!" I gasped. But, it was not pain that I felt, it was pure, intense joy. I'm not exactly sure what happened but, in a way, I became those…

During my last visit to Dharma Drum Retreat Centre in Pine Bush, New York, I was introduced to Dena Miriam the head of the Global Peace Initiative of Women based in Manhattan. We discussed the world crisis and I promised her a copy of my new book, World Crisis and Buddhist Humanism, as soon as it appeared. In due course I sent a copy to her and received an invitation to attend the Conference of…