the dalai lama in vancouver

last week i had the pleasure again to see the dalai lama. the topic of the talk was women and peacebuilding. i’d like to share with you my notes, taken down as closely as possible in his delightful language. this is the third time i’ve seen the dalai lama. one of the things that i… Continue reading the dalai lama in vancouver

invisible

invisible illnesses are, by definition, not seen. there are two parts to this: the (un)seen, and the (non)seer. i’m not sure that invisible illnesses are in fact invisible. the man with chronic pain sits on his bed at 3:00 am, a gun in his mouth, ready to pull the trigger. he makes sure his wife… Continue reading invisible

buddhist carnival – september 2009 edition

welcome to the september edition of the buddhist carnival, where we showcase treasures from the buddhasphere. today we have compassion and helping hands, cockcroaches, sleep, returning to the centre and a bunch of (no)selves. as always, let’s start off with a poem: we dance around in a ring and suppose; but the secret sits in… Continue reading buddhist carnival – september 2009 edition

march 2009 buddhist carnival – in reverse

roses are blooming on the rosebush. there is nothing strange. the flower blooms silently and falls quietly without sound, never again to return to its branch. her total existence is expressed in that one moment. one place on the branch. that is the voice of the flower, the truth of the single flower on the… Continue reading march 2009 buddhist carnival – in reverse

last minute, long-lasting christmas gifts

if you’ve read this blog for a while, you’ll know that i’m generally not a big fan of prayers sent along via emails, or similar material (see my rant against the email with the prayer of saint theresa, for example). but once in a while something comes along in my inbox that really touches me.… Continue reading last minute, long-lasting christmas gifts

therapy and creativity

this is a guest post by sarah luczaj, a british therapist and writer, living in poland. she runs an online therapy practice  at mytherapist.com and has a poetry chapbook, “an urgent request” coming soon from fortunate daughter press.  sarah and i met through the counselling resource blog at counsellingresource.com. i never quite manage to concentrate… Continue reading therapy and creativity

a buddhist carnival – 7th edition, part 1

welcome to the may 2008 edition of a buddhist carnival. this time around, we got another really good selection of articles. i don’t want to throw too much information at you – that wouldn’t be very buddhist, would it? – so i’ll present the carnival in two parts again. part 2 will arrive some time… Continue reading a buddhist carnival – 7th edition, part 1

a buddhist carnival – february 2008 (part 2)

good morning! here is part 2 of the february 2008 edition of a buddhist carnival. enlightenment two people speak on this topic. matthew spears presents an interesting contemplation on the nature of enlightenment. among others, he compares three concepts of enlightenment. he argues that enlightenment is a perception and “because it is a perception, from… Continue reading a buddhist carnival – february 2008 (part 2)

loving kindness for our unknown neighbours

our meditation meetup meeting on wednesday was at the buddhist peace fellowship here in vancouver. a great big thanks to my friend jennifer for arranging this! at the end, we did a bit of metta practice. metta is a buddhist loving kindness practice directed literally at everyone in this world, starting with oneself. i was… Continue reading loving kindness for our unknown neighbours

a gallery of compassion

you may remember that a little while ago, i participated in the compassion project put together by the three monks. we were all asked about presenting our unique thoughts, definitions and views of compassion. i wrote about compassion and social media. this group writing project has come to an end. i’d like to present to… Continue reading a gallery of compassion