A day or two after receiving my dana (donations) in a country overseas, I called in at the HSBC bank to change the money into sterling, the English currency. HSBC bank, it promotes itself as “your local bank,” offered a very, very poor rate of exchange. So I called in at another bank and received £100 more in the exchange of my dana. …
I have been engaged in reflection and reading on Right Livelihood. Generally speaking, we consider right livelihood in terms of its ethical significant – we work without causing suffering to others. We also need to consider work in terms of the relationship to intention, action and result. Many dharma friends are self-employed – yoga /dharma teachers, carpenters, therapists, mind/body workers, web designers, gardeners, plumbers, writers, electricians, masseurs and so on. …
Year by year, meditation gains more street credibility.
I noticed two examples of this in the last week. Nshorna, my daughter, who lives in nearby Torquay, suggested that I become a ‘named’ driver on her insurance policy. I had to fill out the usual details for the policy, name, address, age, any driving convictions and so on. (I renounced car ownership eight years ago). One of the questions asked my occupation. I typed on the screen “teacher.” …
Prama and Ranji kindly sent their driver to New Delhi airport to pick up Dominika and I upon our arrival in India. It is a very gentle way to land. The cooks, servants and Kaiser, their gentle Afghani dog, take great of us. The day after my arrival, I paid my annual visit to Dr. Sharma, the dentist of Prama and Ranji, for a check up. I first visited him four years ago. …
Thankfully, the flight touched down right on time at Brisbane Airport at around 6.30 am. My mother greeted me. “I need to go to the doctor and the hospital,” I told her.At the clinic, the doctor gave me an examination. “Without x-rays, I cannot be sure of what the problem is, he said. “ From my initial examination, it could be that you have a swollen liver.”
“A tumour?” I responded.
“That diagnosis is a long way down the line. Nothing can be ruled out.” I then gave a blood, stool and urine sample to go to the laboratory. The doctor arranged for me to have x-rays the following day. …
“Do you want the good news or the bad news first?Read More »
