Here I am, sitting on a train travelling back from London on a Friday afternoon, writing direct to computer. I’m thinking about some of the things that have pre-occupied me this week. There is so much chaos around for me at the moment. As an antidote to all the upheaval I am meditating regularly.
I have created a small “shrine” in the corner of a room. It is nothing sacred or special in the traditional sense. I used an upside down cardboard box covered with some really nice blue material. Then I placed a Tibetan singing bowl and a small oil burner on the top. It didn’t feel quite right, until I had the inspiration to place some cards on the top with pictures of Tibetan Buddhas (Vajrasattva, Medicine Buddha and Buddha Shakyamuni) on them.
I am sitting for about 20 minutes each day, and am contemplating a range of topics:
• Fear of death
• Fear of loneliness
• Fear of success
• Beauty
• Creativity
• Tranquillity
• Power
• Peace
Sometimes I just concentrate on the out breath and try to still the mind. These seem like two very different types of meditation, each with their own place. It’s curious, almost like a neurone realignment takes place after meditating. I feel like a different person.
Tags: Buddhism, Personal Development
As the years go by I get closer to calling myself a Buddhist. It is something which I aspire to, and something which I am not entirely confident that I am yet. That is because I do not have such a thing as a daily practise.
But I do use the principles of Buddhism to guide my thinking and my actions. I find the principles both illuminating and supportive. I also think that my training in philosophy has left me feeling that Buddhism is the best fit with a rational mind.
Atheism seems to be a scientific principle without a psychological understanding. It’s too easy. Too simplistic. There must be more than just random acts of atoms. When I look for Jungian synchronicities I find them – I find these links and ‘coincidences’ that lead me to believe that there are forces, unifying characteristics that make no sense without the ghost in the machine.
There needs to be a link between us all, a reincarnation, and a collective unconscious for everything to fit together and be coherent. And the moral principles of Buddhism help us to live a life that has the happiness that makes for a fulfilled life. Without this we enter a nihilistic version of living that makes one wonder what it heads towards.
Earlier posts:
Part Three
Part Two
Part One
Tags: Buddhism
As I passed through adolescence and my curiosity grew, I became more interested in psychology and philosophy. I was given ‘Memories, Dreams and Reflections’ by C G Jung as a present by a good friend. This was Jung’s autobiography. In it I discovered that Jung had explored the religions of the world in his quest for understanding. He ended his life a very spiritual man, and whilst it is not clear what particular religious perspective he favoured, he was clearly very focused on Buddhism for large parts of his life. He wrote the introduction to a number of Buddhist books. In particular, he wrote the foreword to D T Suzuki’s ‘An Introduction to Zen Buddhism’ – this foreword was a thirty page commentary on the book itself. I hunted the book down and read it – understood very little (I was still a teenager) but felt really excited by the power of the aphorism. The idea that a short phrase could cause so much tension in the mind and pull apart existing concepts was amazing. There are many examples of these phrases or koans – perhaps the most famous being:
”Two hands clap and there is a sound; what is the sound of one hand?”
This phrase resonated with me for years, and versions of it appear in many of my poems, particularly in the collection ‘Zen Words’ (2003).
At this age I was also listening to an increasingly diverse spread of music. Psychedelic music was introducing me to the idea of meditation, as was ambient music. In particular, I explored the music of Gong and Daevid Allen. Beyond the references to drugs and drug-induced altered states, and the obsession with pixies and silly worlds, there was a playfulness of words that drew my attention. It was clear to me that much of the thinking about alternative worlds and altered states borrowed heavily from ideas in Buddhism.
Ambient music was also bringing me closer to the ideas of mindfulness – states of mind where it is possible to shift to different planes of consciousness. Rightly or wrongly, I thought that the route to all of this was probably through exploring Buddhism in more depth.
See the first two parts of this series on Buddhism here:
Part One – an introduction
Part Two – the early spiritual journey
Tags: Buddhism
MICRO REVIEW
This is a beautiful book about Mahayana Buddhism. Like all of the books I have read by Thich Nhat Hanh, it is written in a stunningly clear and lucid prose. He deals with very complex issues in a deceptively simple way. As a Vietnamese monk living in the South of France, he captures issues of the human condition with great precision. His story about his first love is poignant and thought-provoking.
If you are interested in Buddhism and have not read anything by this author I would urge you to try a book by him. This is a good place to start.
Tags: Books and Reading, Buddhism, Micro-reviews
I like to buy magazines that I wouldn’t normally buy every now and then. It is a great way to nurture creativity and to get the brain thinking in ways that are different.
Recently I bought an issue of ‘BBC Focus’ magazine, which is a science and technology magazine here in the UK, produced by the Public Broadcaster. It is full of fascinating facts.
There is a whole section on atoms, which includes this which I thought was really mind-warping:
“Atoms are 99.9% empty space. If all the space was sucked out of the atoms in your body, you’d shrink to the size of a grain of salt. If you did the same thing to the entire human race then all six billion of us would fit inside a single apple.”
I’m doing a series on Buddhism on this blog at the moment. This fact about atoms conjures all sorts of ideas about us being full of emptiness, and the idea that we can all fit inside an apple is a beautiful way of looking at the connectivity of us all.
Tags: Buddhism, Fascinating Facts, Things I found
[from a new poetry sequence which I am developing]
I watched the little specs of dust as they floated
In shafts of light through the church
A voice was working its way through a sermon
But my mind was engaged in this little world
Where the dust bits fall then spin and whirl
Some micro universe where I can imagine
A whole world flowing out and away
I imagine being a deity myself
A young Buddha watching worlds collide
Wanting to ease suffering, push aside
Left beneath the senses
Once it was all flickered into my inner world
Where the imagination can withstand anything outside
Crash of life-form to the real meaning of all things.
Tags: Buddhism, Memories, Poetry
[To read the other parts of this series on Buddhism, click here.]
It was in my middle teenage years that I first became interested in Buddhism. I had grown up in a traditionally Christian family. My parents were both regular attenders of the village church. My older brother and I were both in the choir, and we were also altar boys. In fact, my older brother went on to be ordained into the church and is a practising minister still.
I remember from a young age, sitting in church on Sunday evenings and feeling a sense of spiritual presence, but being in awe and fear of the overwhelmingly paternal perspective of the protestant church. In fact, the ramble of the sermon was usually lost to me as I drifted off in my imagination. I would sit and watch motes of dust as they drifted through the light beams that shone from the stained glass windows, and imagine whole worlds within those specks of dust.
In my teenage years, I drifted away from regular church going and began to explore ideas of philosophy.
Then my reading brought me to an awareness of Buddhism. Schools are more inclined to look at the religions of the world today than they were in the 1970s. There was no mention of other religions in either Religious Studies, History or Geography lessons. It was my explorations in poetry, philosophy, fiction and psychology that opened up the world of Buddhism.
Probably one of the earliest influences would have been ‘Siddhartha’ by Herman Hesse. I had read ‘Steppenwolf’ first – curious to follow the link back to the book from the Canadian rock band who produced the hit ‘Born to be Wild’. I enjoyed the novel so much that I went on to read many of his others, and came across ‘Siddhartha’. This allegorical novel tells the spiritual journey of an Indian man called Siddhartha during the time of Buddha. The story follows him as he goes through a series of changes and realizations to achieve his goal of enlightenment. It is a beautifully written novel and charmed me into wanting to find out more about Buddhism.
Tags: Buddhism, Psychology
I have begun to write a series of posts for this blog about my interest in Buddhism. The posts will cover my early experiences of religion and spirituality growing up in the 60s and 70s through to my growing interest in recent years. I will look at Tibetan Buddhism and Zen Buddhism – describing my experiences with these two strands of the religion and philosophy.
Buddhism is followed by some 350 million people in the world today. Being brought up as a Christian it has taken me a long time to feel comfortable with the idea of describing myself as a Buddhist. In recent months I realised that I had reached that point. And I came to the understanding that being a Buddhist doesn’t require formal practise at a shrine a daily routines. That just isn’t me anyway!
So, now I have the acceptance it is time to trace the journey. Further episodes follow over the coming weeks. You can track the whole series by clicking on the ‘Buddhism’ label in the right-hand column of the blog.
Tags: Buddhism
What’s he building in there?
Apologies for the prolonged break in transmission. There is an immutable law in this process which says that the longer you leave it before posting, the harder it is to get back to. This is because the expectation I place on myself that the return post should be fantastic increases the pressure. So the gap grows and the expectation rises.
Sometimes the best thing to do is to just get on with it. So here I am. What have I been building? Well, I have been putting a lot of time and effort into the world of work, the world of music, and the world of Buddhism and Reiki. Although the last pair in that list would benefit from a lot more focus than I have given of late.
I have been writing up entries in the other journal I keep – the one with a rubber band round it, which I carry most places with me, and which I keep private thoughts in. This is where I play and test out ideas. Some of them find their way onto this blog. Some don’t.
Well, the posting resumes – I am a few days away from a break, and with it will come an increase in posts to the blog…
The title of this post – “What’s he building in there?” – follow the link for the song it comes from.
Tags: Buddhism, Reiki
One of the key things about Gurdjieff (I posted about him a couple of days ago, here) is that at the core of his writings is esoteric knowledge. Is it any wonder then, that I should be sitting at breakfast the next morning reading, and came across an interesting fact? I was browsing through an article about Van Morrison in the latest issue of Uncut media magazine. It transpires that Van Morrison experimented with Christian Mysticism, Buddhism, Scientology, Hinduism and Gurdjieff. That would help to explain some of the mystical qualities of his music when he slips into the zone. So, I am aware of the influence of Gurdjieff on Keith Jarrett, Van Morrison, Robert Fripp and, I think, David Sylvian. Is it significant that most of these are prolifically creative?
Do you know of any other artists who are influenced by the work of Gurdjieff, Ouspensky and Bennett?
Tags: Books and Reading, Buddhism
Mahamudra Tantra
Mahamudra Tantra: The supreme heart jewel nectar
An Introduction to Meditation on Tantra
This is a new book written by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, who is the Spiritual Leader of the New Tradition of Kadampa Buddhism. He is based at the Manjushri Buddhist Centre in Ulverston, Cumbria UK. I attended a weekend meditation course there a few years ago, which was amazing. The centre is located on the shores of Morecambe Bay, and has a beautiful Buddhist Temple built in its grounds. It is well worth a visit. The books I have read by Kelsang Gyatso are beautifully written, in a clear prose and take you through the principles of buddhism in a succinct way. This new book, which I haven’t got hold of yet, looks at meditation on the tantra. From the website:
“This exciting book introduces a new world of meditation.
It explains how we can use our imagination as a powerful tool in our spiritual practice
Mahamudra is a Sanskrit word that means union of bliss and emptiness, the very essence of Buddhist Tantric meditation.
Mahamudra Tantra is a practical manual for gaining deep experience of meditation and discovering the peace and happiness that lies within.”
Tags: Books and Reading, Buddhism
I am relaxing, listening to an album of chants called ‘Om Sai Ram’ which creates a gentle state of tranquility. This is interrupted only by the occasional click of computer keypad, and the sighing of the cat. Sometimes peace is the right state of mind.
I have nearly finished reading ‘The Tipping Point’ by Malcolm Gladwell which is an absorbing book full of fascinating facts and theories. I’ll post a review of it in a couple of days.
Tags: Books and Reading, Buddhism
After a couple of months of frozen creativity, I am back. I have been struggling with writing three journals – this online one, a learning journal I keep for work, and a personal journal which fits in my pocket. I’m trying to think through ways of integrating these – so that the learning and imaginative thoughts can go hand in hand with the material I generate for this journal. Just needs a little more thought. In the meantime, I’m back to writing in here at least a couple of times a week.
What music have I been listening to whilst I’ve been away? Even that was a bit out on the edge – I’ve been listening to lots of obscure ambient and noise music, with a share of found sounds too. Then I have also been listening to plenty of Radiohead and the last few albums by jazz saxophonist Charles Lloyd.
My interest in Buddhism continues…and I am thinking of doing First Degree Reiki.
Oh, and my PhD thesis was submitted a couple of weeks ago – time to wait for the viva now…
Books – finished reading John O’Farrell’s “The Best a Man can get” which was both hysterically funny, and painfully uncomfortable. A great read.
Well, it just took a few minutes and I’m back on line. I wish the redesign of the website was as straightforward. Can someone explain to me where I will find a free idiot’s guide to Frontpage so that I don’t keep pressing the wrong buttons and ending up with completely dysfunctional web pages? Please email me if you can help.
Tags: Blogging, Buddhism, Reiki
Here I am, sitting on a train travelling back from London on a Friday afternoon, writing direct to computer. I’m thinking about some of the things that have pre-occupied me this week. There is so much chaos around for me at the moment. As an antidote to all the upheaval I am meditating regularly.
