Every human choice bows like a slave in submission to the absolute's creative will, yet this does not deprive us of freedom, or of taking responsibility for what we choose. ~ Rumi ~ (Translated by Coleman Barks in, "The Soul of Rumi.") Hearing the news of the Christchurch mosque shootings, I sit stunned with sadness … Continue reading We Are In This Together
A philosophy of contemplative science can easily become a dense entanglement of language and concepts whereas a poetry of contemplative science can invite fresh ways of seeing. In this prose/verse I try to illumine some of my thinking about cognition and knowing. May the timbre of these thoughts quicken the edges and membranes we share. … Continue reading Edges, Membranes and Mystery
Science developed from the human compulsion to explain things, either to another or to oneself. Perhaps this could be seen as the early stirrings of wisdom, prājña – an inherent inquisitiveness and curiosity of one's own mind (one's own field of knowing) that is both precise and playful at the same time. The compulsion to … Continue reading Dancing Stillness and The Poetry of Science
In the immeasurable expanse of nature in process, In faith and trust and wonderment we give ourselves to this suchness, This seamless mystery of birthing and dying. A few months back, I received an e-mail from people in Brazil who are translating some of my writings into Portuguese. They were having difficulty with the word … Continue reading Translating Suchness
Click here to view the fully formatted article in PDF An object can always have a name. This designated thing sits in its space; sometimes a geographic space of physical linkage and relationship, sometimes an emotional or conceptual space; and we, from the perspective of our own place, can then name it. But what if … Continue reading Naming the Unnameable
Changing the way we speak can encourage new dimensions of understanding. In the light of this, I'd like to invite some fresh thinking about what we mean when we use the words 'body' and 'mind'. Instead of treating them as nouns that describe seemingly familiar pre-existing objects, one being physical and the other non-physical, we … Continue reading Body/Brain/Mind/Community
Hovering, on the cusp of a new year, or should I say wobbling; It feels a bit yin-yang-ish, a bit black and whitish, though both black and white mutually embrace – a radically inclusive, utterly seamless whole. On one side, a card game where some bad dudes seem to hold all the trumps, – ecosystems … Continue reading New Look for Green Dharma Treasury
The key to meaningful living is mindfulness. The heart of mindfulness, a simultaneous blending of love with clear-seeing-enquiry, arises out of the multi-levelled life and living that we are. 1 This is the music of the universe and it resounds in everything. Listen! You can hear the singing in your bones, your feelings, your perceptions … Continue reading Meaningful Living: a modern expression of the gradual path of awakening
(This short piece was initially drafted Aug. 10, 201717, at Foz Iquasu, Brazil, and finished in Orgyen Hermitage, New Zealand.) We were recently in Brazil for 5 weeks, exploring dharmas of natural awakening, contemplative science and mahamudra with a large number of people in Sao Paulo, and Botucatu. After three very full weeks of teaching, … Continue reading Brazil, Wholeness and Gratitude
Bodhicitta is an important concept in Mahayana Buddhism that hints at an immense mystery. Literally, the heart or mind (citta) of awakening (bodhi). It is the ground of our being, and the path we walk in learning to live well and meaningfully. It is the fruition of a life illumined with profound understanding. At the … Continue reading With Love and Good Wishes
