What is a day really for? I’ve seen four clips these past few days that illustrate the need to think about this if I want my life to have a deeper meaning. The first, and simplest, clip is just a stick person getting up each morning, going to work, coming home, going to sleep, getting up again, etc, in an endless loop. The endless to-do list The second is a…
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Fairly dicey times here on Planet Earth. What direction are we headed in? In the introduction to Prayers for World Peace, which Geshe Kelsang gave us way back in 2001, he says: World peace is very important;…
If we get into the habit of making mandala offerings, we swiftly purify our mind and start to see the world in a purer way. For example, we may notice that we can still love people even…
A very handsome man, to my eyes, just walked into this London café on what looked to be a date with a woman sitting here. “Lucky her,” I was half-thinking; but in the time it took for…
Lately I’ve had no time to develop a full blown article from up my sleeve, so I thought I’d share some gentle musings instead. Gratitude Simon from Eritrea told me he is in a good mood because…
Guest appearance by the author of this popular article: Chronic pain & fatigue and the quiet power of Dharma. Rushing to hospital recently with severe pain and other never-before-experienced symptoms, I was admitted for same-day emergency surgery.…
True humility comes from exchanging self with others, which is a blend of compassion and wisdom. As the great mind-training practitioner Geshe Langri Tangpa describes it: Whenever I associate with others May I view myself as the…
We can all have experiences that are transcendent, which, according to the dictionary, means “beyond ordinary or common experience”. I don’t mind admitting that I…
9.5 mins read. Setting some time aside for a relaxing meditation session every day, even 10 or 15 minutes, is likely the quickest and most…
We all need to be able to let go of our unhappiness. This, to put it mildly, is a Very Useful Skill – unless of…
Premise: If we don’t remember death each day, we are bound to neglect what is actually important in life, our perspective will be skewwhiff. True…
An old friend of mine, a naturopath, has had a lot of success in healing people simply by telling them — confidently – to drop…
This is the fifth in a series of articles on overcoming discouragement. It can be hard to dig ourselves out of the hole we’ve dug…
For many years now, when things go wrong in my life –…
A guest article by a modern Buddhist and full-time worker who aspires to become an…
Strolling on Hampstead Heath recently, an old schoolfriend was telling me how he and his…
We can start the meditation on the mind, as mentioned here, just by watching the…
What is criticism? According to Buddha’s teachings on karma, pointing out a truth motivated by kindness and skill is a positive action that leads to…
It might be tempting when faced with the day’s headlines — suffering, and more suffering — to go to the extremes of either freaking out…
I just had my flu shot. (I know, I know, some of you will disapprove, I do a bit myself). But it reminded me of…
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Society
A guest article. I’m a white Australian/American and the video of George…
Impermanence
First, a little anecdote I wrote this about a dog and me…
Self Confidence
My Uber driver, Mohammed, aged mid-fifties at a guess, has been working…
Buddha nature
On the last day of the recent Kadampa Summer Festival, the life story of…