|
NEWSLETTER Editor - David Brazier
number 191 - 28st February 2024
|
All times in this Newsletter are Rome time zone
|
|
Buddhism is now coming to the West at a time of crisis in the world order. Furthermore, partial globalisation has made this crisis critical for the whole human race, not merely for one country or empire, as was the case in parallel crises in history. When the civilisation of the Mayans collapsed due to ecological damage and civil war, there were several other centres of culture even within the Americas that could take over. However, in our "global village" much has become homogenised and interconnected so that a collapse in any of the great centres will affect everybody deeply. What does the Dharma have to offer in this situation? We tend to think of Buddhism as an individual practice - a kind of yoga - and there is certainly here a wonderful tradition, faith and practice for the solitary yogin. However, the Buddha also gave teachings upon the right ordering of community in which he prescribed respect for tradition and for wise members of society, care for the truly vulnerable, assistance for the young to help them become productive contributors, merciful governance, and avoidance of accrimony. He taught restraint. In premodern times, the Buddhist societies of Asia were rice exporters because they kept their population within the bounds of their resources, whereas the non-Buddhist countries were rice importers because they didn't. This simple example points out how individual morality and social well-being generally go hand in glove. If we are patient, caring, and willing to face reality in wise ways, then we can surmount our difficulties. If people naturally care for one another, you need few laws. As long as our social and political decisions are based on greed and hatred, culture will decline. As ecological pressures increase and we fail to cooperate in the face of it and continue to regard the human race as somehow above nature, economic competition will go on becoming more intense and the rivalries that lead to war become more bitter. Surely only a spirit of global sangha can save us.
Enjoy the Newsletter Namo Amida Bu - David
3rd March 13:00 NAIKAN WITH KIMIKO
The next one hour Naikan Session. Naikan, literally "inward reflection" is a Japanese approach to life review and Dharma practice. It leads to a sense of gratitude and a healing and enhancing of relationships. Naikan is both a spiritual practice and a personal therapy. Naikan developed out of a Pureland Buddhist retreat practice in which one reflected upon one's life and its destiny. The modern practice can be performed in intensive five or seven day retreats or on a daily basis or from time to time. In Global Sangha we often combine Naikan with Chi Quan, a practice of tranquil abiding in which one offers the fruits of one's introspection to the Buddhas in the spirit of "this is not me, this is not mine, this is not myself" and receives in response the grace and peace bestowed by the tathagata. Join zoom meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88992070497?pwd=M3pDRG9LT3BpMnFwR1BSY0I3Vi9QUT09ID: 889 9207 0497 -:- passcode: 999175
Every Sunday 10:00 SUNDAY PUJA
Dharmavidya, Liz, Sujatin & friends gather for a service on Sunday mornings, normally at 10:00. There is usually a short period of sharing and commonly a theme emerges. this past weekend the theme was the importance of true refuge as against a purely intellectual approach to the Dharma. If you would like to join this group, please come along to a meeting. This is a good way to practise together. There are two zoom links given below as travel arrangements sometimes cause some difficulties. When the first does not work, try the second. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84734198325?pwd=eDU5Z0dBUmVuVmFyZktab3dIeHNmQT09Meeting ID: 847 3419 8325 -:- Passcode: 536609 Meeting ID: 447 192 6002 -:- Passcode: 153670) Mar 5, 2024 19;00 TREE OF LIFE SANGHA OPEN MEETING There is an open meeting of the Tree of Life Sangha on Tuesday 5th March, including puja and readings led by Sujatin
Meeting ID: 447 192 6002 -:- Passcode: 004138 Mondays 09:15
QI GONG WITH ANGELA
Angela is offering Qi Gong on Mondays at 9.15 am Rome time. If you are interested, please contact her via Jisshas < jisshas@googlegroups.com>
Comment by an attender: "I just want to say thank you for the lovely and warm welcoming to your morning Qi Gong experience. I feel very grateful for it. A new way to start the week." NO PODCAST
I'm afraid there is no new podcast this week. We shall continue to dig into the Anthill as soon as I get back to France. KO-FI
Do visit The Feeling Buddha Ko-Fi site at
|
|
My new café?? Get involved: it is time to book for 23rd-27th October 2024 4th ITZI CONFERENCE "COLLOQUIUM ON BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY" Ten presenters already lined up - how about you? You don't have to be a presenter in order to attend, but we hope that as many people as possible will share their ideas, whether they take a 90 minute, 45 minute or 15 minute slot, alone or jointly with a colleague. Experiential workshops & led discussions will be just as welcome as learned papers. We are aiming to bring together fifty people with an interest in Buddhist psychology, its nature, development, application and relevance to the contemporary world. I bought one of the first tickets. Come and join me, attend, participate & present your work & ideas. It will be a residential colloquium held in northern Spain in an excellent venue, secluded in the mountains, that we have used before and know well. This is a good place for a colloquium. Previous conferences in this series have been very enjoyable gatherings and have included a wide variety of presentations on aspects of Buddhist psychology and its applications in various forms of therapy, personal development, spiritual practice and social life & organisation. The event will be limited to fifty places, so early booking is advisable. The cost for early booking is 320€ fully residential. Information: Sonia via 2024itzi@googlegroups.com, Book now: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/globalsangha/1067240#
26-28 April. Northern Spain DEEPENING BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY Path and Encounter David Brazier & Iris Dotan Katz Buddhist psychology is not really concerned with making one into something that one is not, but rather with reaching deeper into what one already is. The Dharma is the fundamental source of our being. We spontaneously recognise it as love, compassion, joy and peace. This recognition is something we already have. It is an unconditional gift. Some call it Buddha nature, but we should not get carried away by the idea that we are all buddhas. The source is not a personal possession. A certain humility is necessary. When we are in touch with the unconditioned, we encounter one another in a new spirit and creative things happen. This is the basis of therapy, of spiritual accompaniment, of deep encounter. It is what is lost in the maelstrom of materialism, superficiality and self-centredness that dominates the contemporary world. This is a workshop to support our practice, restore our recognition of what really matters and meet one another in the safety of the Dharma. Enquiries & booking: Oscar via Jisshas < jisshas@googlegroups.com> 22-26 July BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY SUMMER SCHOOL Please note the dates of this year's summer school in France. Numbers are quite limited so it pays to book early. The Summer School is particularly relevant to present or intending students of the two year BP training programme. The event is led by Iris Dotan Katz & myself and takes place at my home in central France. This is a simple small farmhouse set in an area of woodland. We can accommodate a few people in the house, but many participants bring tents or camper vans.
The suggested donation for full board is 40€ per day, 250€ per week. Enquiries & bookings via Jisshas < jisshas@googlegroups.com>
|
|
Full moon over the Mediterranean 26-28 Abril RETIRO ABRIL Iparralde, Francia Un lugar de silencio, de encuentro, de autoindagación, de compartires, de naturaleza, de baños, de asombro, de fuerza interior, de paseos, de atención plena, de comprensión. Mas información: info@hara.eus Monday to Friday 06:30 DAILY NEMBUTSU Geeta Chari: Let’s do some Nembutsu every weekday morning at 6:30 am Rome time. We begin to chant straightaway, without social talk, for 20 minutes, in chain-style. There is a bell rung at the end. People who wish to stay and talk afterwards are welcome to do so. Saturdays and Sundays are rest days. Namo Amida Bu Every Thursday there is a half-hour reading and discussion of the Summary of Faith and Practice from 06:00 to 06:30, followed by Nembutsu as usual. ESPAÑOL Practicamos Nembutsu todas las mañanas (excepto fines de semana) a las 6:30 hora de Roma. La práctica consiste en recitar el nembutsu en cadena durante veinte minutos. Al finalizar se escuchará el sonido de la campana, y posteriormente, los que lo deseen podrán conversar. Namo Amida Bu Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/84997972011?pwd=NFVGZDhBTy95NTJlalJYWHZaYVJtUT09WhatsAppThere is now a WhatsApp group for those who would like to attend Daily Nembutsu. Please contact jisshas@googlegroups.com to be added. RIGHT EDUCATION Last night I had a conversation with friends and the subject turned to education. We all have experience of how education has changed over the years. It seems that the formal education systems have all become exactly that - systems. Systems for training students to pass tests. Systems for controlling teachers and making sure that they show little or no creativity, but only achieve fixed objectives in terms of numbers of pupils who pass the tests. Control. Bureaucracy. Numbers. This is very sad.
Real education cannot be reduced to forms, numbers & judging students and teachers who are all in competition in institutions that are in competition with each other. What matters, it seems, is to get the best numbers, but what do these numbers prove? and who is growing and flourishing in these systems? Are they not just training people to be robots? Of course, the robots are gradually taking over.
In my idea of education, you try to create the conditions in which people can flourish, in which they can cooperate and communicate and learn from each other, and show some spontaneity and creativity; in which they can grow and bloom, each in their own way. This is divergent education. They will not all reach a pre-specified target - each will produce something special. They will think, feel, experiment and find out what it is right for them to find out which may not be exactly the same thing as the next student, and while they are doing so they will share, compare, stimulate and trust one another.
Perhaps I am out of step, but this is my idea of real education. This is Namo Amida education in which a deeper process is trusted. In my garden I do not want to produce square cabbages all in a line. Because of this, I cannot work within the system, but our students seem to thrive, and that is what matters.
|
|
|
The old city of Nicosia, inside the wall that was originally build by the Venetians, has many old houses and a shambles of little streets. Much of it is, these days, in disrepair, but it is a pleasant area to wander around, though to begin with it is easy to get lost in the jumble of alleyways. It must have been even more intriguing back in Ottoman times.
|
|
|
MAUGHAM I am reading a collection of the short stories of Somerset Maugham. It is an old book that belonged to my mother and has her signature on the fly leaf. Maugham is probably mostly considered to be passé since his writing, mostly set in the nineteen-twenties, has the British empire as its backdrop and contains many social assumptions that were, at the time taken for granted, that are now considered to be politically incorrect. However, he is a great writer. The characterisations make you really believe in the people he writes about. There is no way of distinguishing the parts of his writing that are a factual record of his travels from the parts that are pure fiction. In these stories things happen and people react and the reader can sense the full force of what is experienced by the people in the story - the glee, the anguish, the complacency, the idealism, the cynicism, the inconsistency. There is a wealth of good psychology here. Many of the "heroes" of these stories are people who failed or committed crimes or got their lives into a mess and sometimes suffered for it and sometimes didn't, but it is all very true to life. Here there are people who got away with murder, people who live happily in circumstances that others would not choose, people who, after a sparklingly promising beginning to life, died in squalor and people who lived boring lives contentedly. It shows how a single human being can be a hero and a villain all at once. He writes as an interested participant observer with little or no condemnation. The judgements he makes are generous and understanding. He confesses that after many decades of studying his fellow humans he can conclude that he knows little or nothing about them - in other words, that they are eternally surprising. Given that we seem to be increasingly in a world of conformity, compliance and mass communication, this is a valuable antidote and a reminder of what real humanity actually feels like. There are fifty stories in the 735 pages of the book and I have now read 48 of them. There were not any that I found boring. S Maugham. 1951. The World Over: The collected stories, volume 2. Published by the Reprint Society, London. ========================================================== TIME TO SIGN UP FOR
THE BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY COLLOQUIUM OCTOBER THIS YEAR IN SPAIN
To Register:Get a ticket at https://www.tickettailor.com/events/globalsangha? "2024 ITZI Conference" More details: see above, the first item in the Newsletter ==========================================================
|
|
|
|
|