Listen for the silence; Find the stillness; Wait until it arrives; Profound and all permeating; It was always there; Behind the noise; Behind the movement; Just waiting to be found; The true perspective. Continue reading The True Perspective
This morning’s neigong: The self doesn’t want to die; But if you wait long enough it will; It will use fear and anxiety; Distraction and apathy; Anything to prevent truth. But the truth is that it is an illusion; There is no self; When you wait long enough; It falls away; The veil of illusion drops. The universe is joined up; There is no separation; All eyes have the same energy looking out; When you realise this; You will never feel lonely or isolated again. Continue reading Lose Yourself
This morning’s neigong: Don’t look for it…. It cannot be seen; Don’t try to find that deep state: Don’t think, instead just be present. Feelings don’t require words; Let them come and go; Just watch whatever comes; Thoughts, feelings – nothing stays. Let go, let go, let go… Just ‘be’; Be yin, be yang, be neutral; Be totally in the present. Nature’s wordless speech; Can be experienced in this state; On this late summer overcast day; Natures freshness has begun turning in on itself. Soon enough it will hibernate to heal; The earth, wind, rain and sun nourish us … Continue reading Nature’s Way
Fasting Diet & Buddhism Meditation in the bath in the mornings, rather than listening to a ‘lifestyle guru’ I like to play a ‘Dhamma Talk’ by one of the Buddhist Ajahn’s from the informative website of Amaravati Monastery. This morning it was Ajahn Metta and just labelled ‘Dhamma Talk’. Her voice was very quiet and was difficult to hear above my abolutery splashing sounds, but I laid still to listen to see whether to change it – and am I glad that I didn’t! She was discussing fasting and diet and how the ‘switch off’ for religous fasting was easier … Continue reading Fasting Diet & Buddhism
Doorstep Zen This is my Dojo (place of learning the ‘way’) doorstep, as you enter you bow, as you bow you look down and this is what you see. ‘Shi’ means ‘warrior’ but more in the sense of ‘cultivated person’. ‘Kon’ means ‘spirit/heart’. ‘Budo’ means ‘to stop the spear’ or peacemaker. ‘Kan’ means ‘place/clubhouse’. So, ‘the place of the peacemaker with a warrior spirit’…. As you enter the Dojo the doorstep reminds you to leave the past and and future behind and become fully immersed and engaged in the present. The bow is an act of mental cleansing, reminding you … Continue reading Doorstep Zen
I teach that for mindfulness, meditation and Martial Arts, the mind needs to be aware, focused, sensitive and intense. The right kind of intensity is a key factor and often misunderstood. You cannot be half hearted. The enemies of the mind are apathy and distraction, to avoid them the mind must be intensely focused and that requires the right kind of effort. To me, after posture and breathing are correct, it’s like getting into an elevator and dropping instantly 100 floors down. This is both my meditation and fighting mind, it cannot be disrupted. Sometimes it feels like I’m … Continue reading Intensity In Meditation
Translation by me…. Buddha was a proper geezer. As a youngster he was a great martial artist. Despite being a prince he became (in current slang parlance) ‘woke’. The word ‘Buddha’ means ‘one who is awake’. He left his wife and child (making sure they were cared for) and went ‘walkabout’ to find himself. Buddha is not a god. He is not a son of god. He is not immortal. He was not a prophet. He became a master of logic. He was (in slang terms) a ‘proper geezer’. When he found himself he put it in simple logical terms. … Continue reading Buddha Was A Proper Geezer
2 Triples For Happiness Anicca – Dukka – Anatta Today wisdom and happiness comes in 2 triples, the first is Anicca, Dukka, and Anatta, the triple gem of existence. Impermanence We all know this, but much of our suffering comes from not accepting it. Everything rises and falls without cease, therefore we need to be able to fully engage, to love, enjoy and then at the right time let go. To be able to do this we need to remind ourselves in daily meditation that all things will pass and just knowing this will broaden our perspective enough to give … Continue reading 2 Triples For Happiness
Why ‘positive thinking’ doesn’t work. That happy mask, the fixed inane grin, the stupid idea that ‘anything’s possible’ if you think positive hard enough, usually comes from someone desperately unhappy or someone with their hand in your pocket. Let me be honest. At least 50% of life is shit. It ranges from dissatisfaction to ‘please kill me now’ suffering. If you learn to deal with with it by becoming durable, it ‘enobles’ you. It means you’ve been hurt so bad for so long, nothing or no one can hurt you as much as you’ve been hurt already. It gives you … Continue reading Why ‘Positive Thinking’ Doesn’t Work…
Dedicated to my good friend the late Graham Wednes. If I die tonight will the universe stop? If I return to the Tao it will be like a wave returning to the sea; No more ‘being human’ and only ‘sensing’ the infinite; From whence I came, I will return and be it once more. My ‘place of refuge’ becomes my home again. In the infinite, all time exists all of the time, the theatre of life exists because the pot is stirred; When stirred, one plays off against the other in a binary fashion, simple appears complicated as the picture … Continue reading If I die tonight
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