While giving a teaching in Germany, I saw a flask besides one of the meditators. I turned to the person to ask what the words say on the front of flask.
The words said OM FUCKING SHANTI. …
The Flask in the Dharma Hall had the words printed on it. OM FUCKING SHANTI. A Response.Read More »
I stood for Parliament for the Totnes constituency for the Green Party in 1986 and 1992. The following year, I started work on a book called The Green Buddha. I wrote a chapter titled Prince Charles and Prince Siddhartha. With some firm advice to Prince Charles, aged 42 at the time of writing. Below this section is the chapter in the book published in 1994. …
A retreatant participates in an Inquiry. She or he sits besides myself in the front of the Dharma hall. A retreatant can speak about any issue that she or he wishes. The participant or myself can say ‘thank you’ to bring the Inquiry to a close at any time. The Inquiry offers mindful/meditative listening for all of us. This Inquiry took place on the retreat in the Thai Monastery in Sarnath, India in February 2020. A few spots of editing to make clear when reading. Different initials used for person.
…
A few years ago, a social survey in the UK asked people: “What is your biggest fear?”
The majority answered “Public Speaking.”
Their second biggest fear was “Death.”
In other words, the British public regard public speaking as a fate worse than death. …
I remember listening to a senior Buddhist monk giving a talk. He spoke for about an hour. His talk seemed to lack focus and appeared disjointed. I gently told him later he could consider preparing his talk by writing notes to establish a theme. He said his tradition did not use notes. …
