Malvern Sangha

Selflessness and Ego

noreply@blogger.com (Kaspa Thompson) — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 09:20:00 +0000

This is the talk from last nights Buddhist service, about the relationship between selfless love and Ego, inspired by a wedding I went to in which the Minister spoke profoundly about selfless love in one breath, and railed against gay marriage in the next....

"In one breath we can be inspired by selfless love. In the next breath we can say something that excludes someone, or hurts someone, speaking from the Ego instead of from selfless love."

download mp3 (10mb)

~Kaspa

Being in touch with eternity - The Larger Pureland Sutra

noreply@blogger.com (Kaspa Thompson) — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 09:02:00 +0000

Download mp3 (12mb)

The opening of the Larger Pureland Sutra, with a few comments from Kaspalita.

A member of our local group suggested that we add a study session to our evening service once a month, I thought it was a great idea. We're going to be studying the Larger Pureland Sutra. We are using the Amida School version of the Sutra, which is a composite of various translations complied by Dharmavidya David Brazier for use by our Order.

Last night I read the first couple of pages of the Sutra (in which Ananda notices how radiant the Buddha is looking) and made a few opening remarks. This is what's been recorded. I stopped the tape before the discussion began as I didn't want to inhibit any of the conversation.

The reason for recording it is so that if anyone who usually comes to these sessions misses one they can catch up, although I hope that others will find something of interest here too.

Namo Amida Bu!

Listen to the audio: Download mp3 (12mb)

Discussion on Friends of Amida here: One: In touch with eternity

Chanting... and more chanting

noreply@blogger.com (Kaspa Thompson) — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 10:19:00 +0000

Yesterday Satya and I chanted Namo Amida Bu for seven hours continuously. Throughout the day we were joined by various Sangha members and friends who braved the snow. At nine o clock yesterday morning, after sliding on icy roads to the venue, I wondered if it might just be the two of us there, but nine other people came through the doors. There was probably only half an hour in the whole day when it was just Satya and me chanting.

At the final sharing, after the crescendo of nembutsu at the end of the day, one of the people said, "My first thought [when I heard what you were doing] was 'why?'"

For me, the answer comes in the experience of the practice. My first experience of continuous chanting was back in 2006. I moved into the Buddhist House community mid-November and two weeks later was the Bodhi retreat, including a twenty-four hour chanting day.

I was up for the challenge of staying awake all night, and was full of fresh enthusiasm for this new practice, and my new way of life. At 3am I had forgotten the words we were supposed to be chanting. At 4am I was drumming, hitting the mokugyo, but I couldn't keep the rhythm. I was keeling over with tiredness, jerking awake, hitting the mokugyo, and falling asleep again. The bell master took pity on me, and rang the bell to signal the change from sitting to walking early. We stood up and marched around chanting. Staying awake.

What the continuous practice gave me then, and still gives me, is a deeper relationship with the practice of chanting the Buddha's name, and a deeper relationship with the Buddha. In the continuous practice you are turning yourself to the Buddha over and over again. Sometimes this happens consciously, but for me it's mostly unconscious. My thoughts wander far and wide but my voice keeps calling to the Buddha - and something sinks in. Something happens at the core of my being - I am pointed towards the light.

Sometimes this is blissful, sometimes it is painful (the light shows me how aching small and flawed I am), and sometimes I don't notice at all.

Towards the end of last week I was feeling very low. I was recovering from the flu, and had low energy, and low emotions. Feeling guilty about having missed a work of work, and goodness knows what else. Yesterday's chanting was an antidote to that. As soon as I settled onto my zafu, even before the chanting started, something began to lift.

Even before the chanting started. Because all those hours of chanting in previous years have given my relationship with the Buddha decent foundations, and yesterday just sitting in the shrine room was enough to remind me of that relationship, to plug me to the Buddha's energy.

This is what the continuous chanting gives me - decent foundations - so that when I say Namo Amida Bu a single time, every now and again, it connects with that well of experience in me. With that sense of knowing that there is something that accepts me (and you) just as we are.

This is why I ask others to join me, because my experience of a single nembutsu changed, deepened, when I put myself in a place of continuous recitation for decent lengths of time.

Honen said it was important to make time and space for chanting retreats, and I have to agree, it's good to do.

Namo Amida Bu. Namo Amida Bu. Namo Amida Bu. Namo Amida Bu.

I could have written an equally long post about the importance, and joy, of chanting with others, and I am grateful to every person that came through the doors yesterday, and everyone chanting all over the world.

Deeply selfish - deeply loved

noreply@blogger.com (Kaspa Thompson) — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 10:42:00 +0000

Do you know the story of the hedgehog and the fox? It's based on a scrap of Greek text: "The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing"

The British philosopher Isiah Berlin used this to divide thinkers into two types, those who just had one big idea (how to roll in to a spiky ball when danger approaches) vs those who use lots of different ideas, like a cunning fox.

I used to think that if I knew one thing really well, if I was the absolute best I could be at that one thing, then I would be worth something. I used to think if I knew that one thing really well, it would excuse all the other areas of my life that I was dysfunctional in.

That didn't really work.

Then I heard about this quote, and Berlin's essay. I thought I should learn lots of different things. Perhaps this was the route to feeling valued in the world?

I built each of these ways of being into an impossible ideal and then failed at both of them. I'm not a very good hedgehog, and I'm not a very good fox.

Occasionally I get a glimpse of something beyond both of these. I realise my own ordinariness. I realise just how many of my actions are motivated by illusionary beliefs - that I need to be 'the best' in some way, to be worth anything at all, for example.

When I see this I also get a glimpse of something else. That I am okay just as I am. That I am valued (by the Buddhas) just as I am.

Master Dogen said, "Every being covers the ground it stands upon completely."

I don't need to be a hedgehog, or a fox. Being Kaspa is just fine.

This is one of the most profound and difficult things for me. I know myself and see how entrenchedly selfish I can be - to feel accepted at the same time is a deeply moving experience - and is at the heart of Pureland Buddhism.

image by dirtbikeDBA: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dirtbikedba/

What is the harvest of spiritual practice?

noreply@blogger.com (Kaspa Thompson) — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 08:49:00 +0000

Happy Lammas everyone.

I'd like to say a few words about this festival, and then I've an important announcement later, as well as a few dates for your diary.

Lammas is the old first-harvest festival traditionally celebrated on the 1st of August. This is when bread would be baked from the first wheat harvest of the year - a time for celebration.

When sowing wheat, we make sure the conditions are right for a good crop. We can influence some of these conditions, helping the soil become better, taking out the weeds and so on. But some of these conditions are outside our control. The weather, the history of the seeds and goodness knows what else.

Throughout the year we take care of the wheat as best we can, and providing all the conditions are right, we get a good crop and celebrate with a wonderful loaf of bread to share with our friends and neighbours.

Spiritual practice is like this too. There are some conditions we can control, (or at least, have the illusion of controlling) going to services, practicing at home, reflecting on our life and so on. There are some things outside our control, our karmic history, the dukkha that we will inevitably meet and even exactly when grace comes to us.

If we take care of our life as best we can, we will be able to collect the fruits of our harvest. We feel touched by grace, or celebrate our practice in particular ways.

This harvest is important. The loaves of bread give sustenance to the farmers and allows them to keep sowing new seeds, to keep taking care of the earth, to practice in the best way they can. From a spiritual point of view, it's good to celebrate the loaf of bread, but what's really important is how we are in the world right now. How we face the conditions in our life today.

If we do this properly, it may or may not lead to a fantastic loaf of bread (although it probably will, someday) but we will discover the real rewards of the spiritual life are in the practice itself, right now.

Refuge Ceremony

Taking refuge is both a taking care of the conditions, and a fruit of practice at the same time. It is a celebration of ones confidence in the Buddhist path and a commitment to that path. It is the culmination os a set of conditions, and of past practice, and it is the foundation for going forwards.

On Wednesday 8th August Dawn Griffiths will be taking refuge in the five Pureland jewels. This will be part of our evening service at 7.30pm at The Wheel of Life.

It would be great to see you there.

Buddhist Study Morning

On 26th August we'll host a dharma study morning at our house, do reply to this email for more details or see our facebook event.

Retreat Day in Malvern

This will be on Saturday 8th September, a day of reflection and practice. Do reply to this email or see ourfacebook page.

Dharma videos

Before I sign off, I wanted to point you to the Amida Trust Youtube page. There's a video of a recent talk by my teacher, Dharmavida here, as well as Susthama chanting the four tone nembutsu.

Thank for reading, and Namo Amida Bu

Can love change people?

noreply@blogger.com (Kaspa Thompson) — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 10:37:00 +0000

By Dharmavidya David Brazier

Can love change people?

Certainly. Love is simple, so when people come close to love they give up things less important.

Do you mean pure love? Some love is conditional whereas some...

All love is conditional.

All love is conditional?

In this world, yes. Unconditional love, you can say, belongs to heaven, to God's world, not to this one.

Why is it conditional?

Everything here is conditional, but the pure essence of love is inherent even in conditional love.

But conditional love creates conflicts.

Exactly. At the root of conflicts is love. People fight for what they love.

So at the root of all hate is love?

Yes. Love is not the elimination of conflict, but love can be more or less skilful.

So love is at the root of everything we do.

Yes, including the most stupid things.

But sometimes people are only aware of the hate.

The converse is also possible.

How so?

A soldier is aware, perhaps, of loving his country, but hardly sees the destruction he is inflicting. He is just doing a job.

But in other situations?

Similarly. In couples or in communities, for instance. Each fights for what they believe is right - what they love - but it does not co-incide with what the other thinks. The conflict then gets entrenched through self-righteousness. Fundamentally, each side of the conflcit is growing from a seed of love, but that does not prevent it becoming bitter. But this started with you asking about change...

Yes, how does one change such bitterness?

By, on the one hand, seeing the love in its simplicity and, on the other, seeing one's own propensity toward folly and realising how universal it is. The latter enables us to see that we are in a conditional world, the former to realise that in this very place we are blessed.

But to change one has to be willing.

Not necessarily. Not even commonly. People are changing all the time, mostly unconsciously.

So the fact that I want to change does not necessarily mean that I will?

Quite. We change when the conditions change. Also, mostly, we are not clear what we really want. People often think they want to change but do not want to change the conditions that keep them the way they are. When the conditions change in spite of themseves they change.

Not always for the better.

Correct.

But love changes...?

Because it is simple and fundamental. It is at the root of everything. It is like dying.

Like dying?

Yes, in love and death one gives up everything. Love and death together are enlightenment. Can you truly love at the point of death? Can you die in the midst of your love?

What does this mean?

To die in the midst of your love is to love more completely.

But still conditionally?

We are in the midst of conditions - there is nothing we can do about that - but to be aware of love is still liberating.

So some changes are due to change of conditions and some are due to love?

Yes, love, in its great simplicity, allows conditions to fall away. 'Let go of body and mind' the sages say. 'Return to the source'. Love is 'the spirit of the valley', like water naturally finding the lowest place. Where that place is depends on the conditions, but the water is always the same.

So understanding love and understanding our own conditioned nature will free us?

Yes, but not in the way that we initially expect. Initially we are like a person trying to make a bicycle stand up-right by using our own will. The bicycle does not stay up-right by our will. When the bicycle is in motion, we find we have a different kind of control. In the same way, understanding the human situation - love and our conditioned being - gives us a kind of balance that we did not expect but does not mean that we control things in the manner that we initially thought was essential yet so difficult.

So how can we gain this understanding of love?

Have the faith to love simply in your heart; do what needs doing in a loving way; notice one's own folly; smile at the human situation. We are all weak. we are all human. If we were not, love would be unnecessary. In effect, we change when we realise our weakness without losing sight of the love that enfolds us.

by David Brazier

image by nyoin

Introducing zazen to our evening service

noreply@blogger.com (Kaspa Thompson) — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 15:54:00 +0000

I'm going to be introducing a more rigorous meditation practice into the regular evening service. In the space where we sit quietly I'll be leading Zazen, in the Soto-Zen style. In this kind of meditation we see the body/mind treated as a single thing, not two separate things. Zazen is a meditation of posture as much as it is about the mind. When the body is still and balanced the mind becomes still and balanced.

The reason I'm warning you in advance is because you might want to bring your own cushion (see below).

I know we briefly talked about posture a few months ago, after one of our services, but I'm writing to mention it again. The ideal posture for this kind of meditation is full or half-lotus. You can also sit in what is called Burmese posture.

The aim of these three postures is to create a balanced tripod to rest the trunk of your body on. If you are sitting in one of these postures you may need a firm cushion to raise your bottom about six-inches off the floor. I use a couple of yoga blocks at the wheel of life, but there are not many there. If you have a yoga block or firm cushion, please do bring it with you. Or do what I have just done and order a zafu (mediation cushion).

You can also use a meditation bench, in a kneeling posture, which some people find very comfortable and produces the same balanced effect. You can also sit on a chair, some people use a wedge shaped cushion to help create the right balanced position on a chair.

That's my introduction, I wanted to leave you with a few words from Dogen, who created the Soto school in medieval Japan and introduced this kind of sitting to Japan:

"At your sitting place, spread out a thick mat and put a cushion on it. Sit either in the full-lotus or half-lotus position. In the full-lotus position, first place your right foot on your left thigh, then your left foot on your right thigh. In the half-lotus, simply place your left foot on your right thigh. Tie your robes loosely and arrange them neatly. Then place your right hand on your left leg and your left hand on your right palm, thumb-tips lightly touching. Straighten your body and sit upright, leaning neither left nor right, neither forward nor backward. Align your ears with your shoulders and your nose with your navel. Rest the tip of your tongue against the front of the roof of your mouth, with teeth together and lips shut. Always keep your eyes open, and breathe softly through your nose.

"Once you have adjusted your posture, take a breath and exhale fully, rock your body right and left, and settle into steady, immovable sitting. Think of not thinking. Not thinking. What kind of thinking is that? Nonthinking. This is the essential art of zazen.

"The zazen I speak of is not meditation practice. It is simply the dharma gate of joyful ease, the practice-realization of totally culminated enlightenment. It is the koan realized; traps and snares can never reach it. If you grasp the point, you are like a dragon gaining the water, like a tiger taking to the mountains. For you must know that the true dharma appears of itself, so that from the start dullness and distraction are struck aside."

You can read the whole text here: Fukanzazengi

Hope to see you all soon, although I know some of you will already be at Buddhafield on Wednesday, if you are going, I'll see you at the weekend!

With love, Namo Amida Bu

Your life right now: finding the wisdom you need

noreply@blogger.com (Kaspa Thompson) — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 12:08:00 +0000

For the past week my desk has been hidden behind an obstacle course of chimney liners, fire-board and power tools. Despite having wiped everything down, I can still feel a faint trace of brick and plaster dust between my fingers and the keyboard.

We moved into our new house twelve days ago. For the past week we have had heating engineers pulling down the pastel-brick fire surround and the old gas fire and installing our beautiful new wood burner. Those particular moments of chaos have passed. Since they left yesterday afternoon I have been watching the edges of the damp plaster drying out. Its colour changing from a deep burnt umber to a pale baby pink.

I am enjoying this pause between moments of chaos. The silhouettes of leaves cast onto other leaves as the desk lamp shines though the plant next to me. The dark cat purring at my feet. Even the warmth of the light on the textured wallpaper we inherited from the last inhabitants.

This is all the stuff of life. I was going to write something about my hectic work schedule. How I had to take on an extra shift at my part time job and how little time I had to write to you all, what with seeing clients and running Buddhist services and unpacking boxes... It all seems less important in this mid-day pause.

Both are true, of course. The tightness in my shoulders as I think about the emails I've not replied to, and the beauty of this strange tree-like plant that I don't know the name of, with its kitten-chewed leaf.

Dogen wrote about the genjo-koan. The universal truth that is to be found in this very moment right now. Whatever your life is, that is your practice. Learning how to live this life in the best possible way. Appreciating that it is reality itself. What our heart is searching for is right here.

A train rushes past at the end of our garden and the noise reminds me of the fireworks that kept me awake last night (even though they sound nothing at all alike). This is life - learning how to be with sleepless nights, and too-full schedules.

A few days ago I heard our friend Esther Morgan reading from her collection Grace at the Ledbury poetry festival. One of the themes of that collection is 'whilst life is happening elsewhere' - that sense that we are waiting for our lives to start. Waiting for something.

But this is it. We have to start from where we are right now - with all the chaos as well as the beauty. Learn to be with the plastic dust sheeting on the floor, and the too loud fireworks, in the same way as the flowering sage in the garden, and the splayed leaves of the young courgette plants. This is the stuff of life.

image: awakening by victor_nuno

Radical Other Power

noreply@blogger.com (Kaspa Thompson) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:46:00 +0000

I have been thinking a great deal about Other Power recently. Other Power is how we describe the Buddha working on us, liberation through taking refuge in the Buddha, rather than liberation by our own means.

What I've been thinking about is something I've begun to call Radical Other Power. This is an idea that is a step beyond how I usually frame my experience of the world.

I have usually thought of Other Power as something which calls to me, a guide if you like, rather than an active agent in this world. Other Power tells me I am okay, just as I am, that I am loved. Other Power tells me to love, but leaves me to figure out the best way to do that.

But recently I’ve been thinking that there is more to it than that. More mystery. Today my therapist picked on up how many of the things I have been talking about somehow fit into ‘happening at the right time.’

Suddenly, when I have the emotional space to start taking on therapy clients, two appear at once. The timing seems more than coincidence.

There have been other similar examples.

I am reminded of the Buddhist idea that when one lives by one’s vow all the Bodhisattvas comes to one’s aid.

I suppose that comes to mind because I am fighting to resist “Everything happens for a (good) reason”. There must be something one can do, the self-power part of me says. I wonder if that’s true anymore?

Perhaps everything is in the hands of Amida. Namo Amida Bu. Namo Amida Bu.

Part of me is trying to find a middle way between these two extremes. When I practice in the morning, chanting, prostrations and so on, I do feel differently during the day than if I don’t. And yet – surely it’s Amida that brings me to practice...

Someone has posted a quote from Ty Unno on the front page of Friends of Amida. I think it’s from a recent interview he did for Tricycle magazine. It encapsulates what I am trying to get to. Another coincidence?

...we can never surrender ourselves. Resistance comes from the deepest center of our karmic selves... [nonetheless] the surrender takes place by virtue of true compassion. This is “other-power” working through “self-power.” But this requires a tremendous struggle. As long as I think I can do it myself, it’s not going to work
~ Ty Unno

Podcast: Shinran - liberation by faith alone

noreply@blogger.com (Kaspa Thompson) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:38:00 +0000

Shinran Shonin (1173-1262)

Monday 16th February was the 750th anniversary of Shinran's death. Shinran was probably the most important of Honen's disciples and his teachings have led to the largest Pureland school - Jodo Shin Shu.

What is distinctive about Shinran's teaching is that he believed his liberation came as a gift from Amida Buddha. Shinran's practice of nembutsu was an expression of gratitude for that liberation, rather than an attempt to get liberation.

In our evening service last night I reflected on Shinran's life, and on some of these themes. Listen to the talk here:

download mp3

Podcast: Sange Mon - gate of contrition

noreply@blogger.com (Kaspa Thompson) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 10:06:00 +0000

image by Anguskirk

The new year is often a time for reflecting upon our own lives, not only looking forward with enthusiasm for the new year, but also taking responsibility for our actions in the past year. In our evening service this week we read the Sange Mon verse by Shan Tao, and then I reflected a little on what this means. Listen below.

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Podcast: Christmas thoughts: Sin is Behovely, but all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well

noreply@blogger.com (Kaspa Thompson) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 09:43:00 +0000

image by Yatharth

What can Julian of Norwich's spiritual experience tell us about our Buddhist practice as Pureland Buddhists?

This talk was recorded from our evening service the week before Christmas, and in it I think about how a Christian spiritual experience can shed light on our own spiritual experience.

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Wagesa (small robe)

noreply@blogger.com (Kaspa Thompson) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:46:00 +0000

Someone was asking about the wagesas we wear last night at our evening service. In the meantime Sujatin, one of my mentors, posted this description online:

The wagesa (輪袈裟), or what is called a stole, is a strip of cloth about two feet long and three inches wide.^-1- This cloth is symbolic of a monk’s robe and is intended to show one’s devotion to the Buddha and following his teachings.^-2- In fact, in older times, some temples had posters that said, “those without a rosary and a wagesa are not considered worshipers.” These wagesa are considered the “uniform for worship” and so by wearing one, one is dedicating one’s self to worship and religious ritual. The origins of the wagesa lie in the clothes of the historical Shakamuni.^-3- Stories hold that Shakamuni wore the same set of clothing for the six years he meditated and practiced before reaching Enlightenment. Thus, his clothes were full of holes and ragged. Monks take old, ratty clothes and repair them for usage in order to get closer to the heart of the Buddha. This robe, called a kesa (袈裟) was then abbreviated repeatedly until only the two-inch wide wagesa remained.^-4-

::link

Dharma discussion Zen and Pureland

noreply@blogger.com (Kaspa Thompson) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 12:23:00 +0000

On 28th January we'll be holding a Dharma discussion group. We're going to look at a paper on Zen and Pureland (which you can read online here: Zen and Pureland) by David Brazier, and use that as a jumping off point for discussion.

What can these different styles of Buddhism tell us about practice? What can they each offer us?

Find out more on our facebook event, or email me: kaspalita@amidatrust.com

Podcast: Dealing with difficult emotions

noreply@blogger.com (Kaspa Thompson) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 12:19:00 +0000

download mp3

This morning I'm talking about how we create stories (particularly around 'big life events') and unconsciously act on those stories, re-creating them over and over again. Why is it called dealing with difficult emotions? Because difficult emotions can be clues to when we are in the midst of a dysfunctional story....

Subscribe to the podcast rss.

Ten day continuous chanting. What's the point?

noreply@blogger.com (Satya Robyn) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 11:39:00 +0000

Fiona writes: Starting yesterday at midday, and finishing at Friday the 2nd of December at midday, eight of my Buddhist sangha will be taking turns to chant. All day and all night long. The chant is in two teams, and so the sound is continuous.

I completely failed to explain the reasons behind this to my mum. And so I may fail here as well. But it feels important to try.

Yesterday, Kaspa & I joined them for a mere six hours. The chant we use (as Pureland Buddhists) is 'Namo Amida Bu', which means 'I call out to Amida Buddha'.

Amida Buddha is the Buddha of infinite light and life, and by chanting we put ourselves in relationship with this 'ideal'. His sparkling golden qualities rub off on us, just as we become better people when we're in a relationship with anyone wise, ethical and loving.

But this theology, in some ways, is neither here nor there.

What's crucially important (and what feels impossibly difficult to explain) is that we are chanting to connect us to a kind of universal love. And we are chanting for the benefit of everyone.

We are reminding ourselves and other people that we are held by something much bigger and more complex than we can imagine. We are expressing our gratitude for this. We are putting aside our usual daily concerns - making a living, watching TV - and dedicating a decent period of time for intensive practice. We are making a point. We are individually renewing and strengthening our relationship with this 'something bigger'.

You could call this 'something bigger' spirit, or the ineffable. You could conceptualise it the spirit of humankind or Gaia. We call it Amida. It doesn't matter. We're chanting for everyone.

Yes, sometimes it's boring. We sit for twenty minutes and then walk for twenty - in six hours that's three hours of walking. Your hips ache. Your voice gives out, despite the fresh lemon and ginger tea and the throat sweets. Sometimes five minutes felt like four times that. Important things aren't always easy.

Sometimes, the hours flew past like birds.

The candle-light flickered around our big golden Amida Buddha on the shrine. I sat and chanted, and I walked and chanted. I watched Susthama stroking her glorious pregnant stomach and I imagined her little girl, already listening along. I listened the harmonies as our voices stirred together - sometimes jarring and flawed, sometimes as sweet as the angels. I looked around the room at dear old friends and at complete strangers, all of us working together to keep the chant going. Frequently, tears came - of gratitude and of belonging. To this funny old thing, the human race. I love them all. Namo Amida Bu.

If you have any way of getting to The Buddhist House in Narborough (just south of Leicester) before they finish on Friday the 2nd, I'd strongly suggest you pop in and experience it for yourself (call ahead 0116 2867476 if you need accommodation or just turn up if you're just going for the day (or if you can chant during the night)). You'd be extremely welcome, and our team can do with all the help they can get. Stay for an hour or three, or stay the night.

In the meantime, you can watch them live here.

The photo is a painting by one of our sangha, Maitrisimha Leo Kouwenhoven, called 'Nembutsu' (Namo Amida Bu) - it's a visual representation of the chanting.

noreply@blogger.com (Kaspa Thompson) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 13:11:00 +0000

At midday today the 10 day nembutsu chant started. It’s being broadcast online, and as I write this I am listening to friends and dharma companions chanting Namo Amida Bu, over and over again. Namo Amida Bu: I call out to/give thanks to/offer myself to the Buddha of infinite life and light.

Fiona and I are going up in person later today to join in, and will be there all day on Sunday. Do let us know if you are interested in coming, and do check out the chanting online.

I think this is the sixth continuous chanting retreat Amida have held. I attended my first five years ago, just a couple of weeks after moving into The Buddhist House as a trainee. Back then it was a a mere 24 hours long!

It’s a group practice, the idea is that the chant continuous for the whole time, even though people come and go throughout the retreat. That first year I stayed up all night chanting. It was hardest around 3am, after a long dark night. I was forgetting the words and falling asleep when I was supposed to be playing the mokujo (temple drum). Then dawn came and it was beautiful.

In those 24 hours I probably experienced the whole range of possible emotions, from despair to spiritual elation. I connected with my Sangha, and with the Buddha, on a deep heart level. It deepened my sense of what it means to say Namo Amida Bu.

The next year was different, and the year after that different again. Being at some of the retreats has given me the chance to explore my own personal issues, whilst in the presence of something sacred.

I can’t say what it might be like for anyone else, but I know that when you put yourself in the presence of the sacred, something you need will be offered, and even if you are just a little bit open, you can begin to accept whatever that is.

The other event coming up is my ordination (to a more senior level) on 8th December. You're very welcome to come and join me for that day too, and I imagine the ceremony will also be broacast online at the link above.

Looking forward to seeing you all soon.

Podcast: Making offerings - if you understand this, you understand the whole of Buddhism

noreply@blogger.com (Kaspa Thompson) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 10:16:00 +0000

download mp3

This is the talk from our evening service. We're still looking at the verse The Life of No Regret from The Larger Pureland Sutra. This week I'm inspired by these few words:

To Buddhas countless as sand grains
my offerings I make

What does it mean to make an offering, how does a Buddha make offerings, and how does a Buddha receive the offerings of our messy lives?

To read the whole text, click here. To see all the talks in this series, click here.

Subscribe to the podcast rss.

Dharma podcast: Get out of the way

noreply@blogger.com (Satya Robyn) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 11:00:00 +0000

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Fiona writes: We have a weekly meeting with our lovely local sangha, and usually Kaspa is celebrant (he leads the service). This involves making water offerings, leading walking and sitting meditation and chanting, and lots of bowing. There are lots of things to 'get right' (although it's not as complicated as being bell-master, which Caroline did beautifully last night). I'm still very much a learner.

Last night I decided I'd be celebrant a few minutes before the service started. My talk was about how it feels to go out of your comfort zone, and how often our egos get in the way.

A 'wagesa' (the thing I forgot to bring to the service) is a strip of coloured material we wear around our necks, as a 'membership badge' like a dog collar - the translation of the Japanese is 'small robe'. Namo Amida Bu is what Pureland Buddhists call the 'nembutsu' - a simple calling out to/remembrance of/praise of Amida Buddha. You can learn more if you're interested here.

After the service, Kaspa told me I'd got everything right, apart from the terrible faux pas of walking down the centre of the material in front of the shrine. This is reserved for EMPERORS ONLY. Talk about giving myself a promotion...

Namo Amida Bu.

Podcast: Great peace for all the messy, ordinary, people

noreply@blogger.com (Kaspa Thompson) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 16:01:00 +0000

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This is the talk from our evening service. We're still looking at the verse The Life of No Regret from The Larger Pureland Sutra. This week I'm inspired by these few words:

To everyone I'll bring great peace

I talk about the how everyone really does include messy people like us, and what great peace means.

To read the whole text, click here. To see all the talks in this series, click here.

Subscribe to the podcast rss.

Podcast: Change comes from a change of heart

noreply@blogger.com (Kaspa Thompson) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 15:51:00 +0000

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This is the talk from our evening service. We're still looking at the verse The Life of No Regret from The Larger Pureland Sutra. This week I'm inspired by these few words:

The six paramitas to perfect
with Prajna at their head

I talk about the difference between practice by following a rule, and practice that comes from a change of heart.

To read the whole text, click here. To see all the talks in this series, click here.

Subscribe to the podcast rss.

Bodhi day, an ordination, a Christmas meal, and Coffee Cake and Dharma this Saturday

noreply@blogger.com (Kaspa Thompson) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:59:00 +0000

The seasons turn and we look towards the dark winter months. Many different religious traditions have a celebration mid-way through the cold part of the year. In our tradition of Buddhism we celebrate Bodhi day, the day of the Buddha's enlightenment, on December 8th.

This year, part of the celebrations on that day will include various ordination ceremonies. I'm delighted to have been asked to take the next level of ordination on that day. The ceremony includes a renewing of my vows, as well as receiving a new robe, and is a wonderful confirmation of the work I have been doing.

The ceremony will be at The Buddhist House in Leicestershire, I don't know the time yet, but it will happen at some point that day. I'd like to offer you an invitation to join me for that ceremony.

Let me know if you are interested in coming along.

Probably the biggest celebration in winter time is Christmas. As a Buddhist I'm happy to join the celebrations of other faiths. We'll be celebrating Christmas in our house, and I'd like to invite you all to join me for a Sangha Christmas meal on the 14th December.

I don't know where yet - we can have a chat in person and throw some ideas around, although I guess we’ll have to book soon - but pencil the date in your dairy. (We've kept in on a Wednesday, to keep things easy.)

Not so far away is the next Coffee, Cake and Dharma morning. On Saturday 29th October we'll be talking about 'Developing Faith'. I'll give a short talk at 10.30, followed by discussion and cake.

To find out more about any of these events, reply to this post or call 01684 572 444.

Podcast: Lead all beings to the Other Shore

noreply@blogger.com (Kaspa Thompson) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 09:04:00 +0000

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This is the talk from our evening service. We're still looking at the verse The Life of No Regret from The Larger Pureland Sutra. This week I'm inspired by these few words:

To lead all beings to the Other Shore

What does Other Shore mean? And how do we relate to this vow as Pureland Buddhists?.

To read the whole text, click here. To see all the talks in this series, click here.

Subscribe to the podcast rss.

Unconscious visions & silent promises

noreply@blogger.com (Kaspa Thompson) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 14:47:00 +0000

A while back Shambala Publications asked Dharma practioners under 35 to submit personal essays for a collection they are working on. I sent in a piece called Unconscious visions & silent promises:

Six years ago I was a small cog in the machine of a national department store. Five years ago I moved into a Buddhist community and ordained as a celibate monk. One year ago I left the community and moved in with my fiancée.
This is a story about changing the outward shape of my life, about changing the outward shape of my dream, and about having faith. This is a story about liberation.

Read the whole piece here, Unconscious visions & silent promises, then rate it at the bottom, and leave a comment ;)

Podcast: Life of No Regret - "A prayer I make a Buddha to become"

noreply@blogger.com (Kaspa Thompson) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 10:08:00 +0000

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This is the talk from our evening service. We're still looking at the verse The Life of No Regret from The Larger Pureland Sutra. This week I'm inspired by these few words:

A prayer I make a Buddha to become..

I look at the meaning of the word prayer, a translation of Gan. Gan is sometimes translated as vow, and both 'prayer' and 'vow' have something to offer our practice.

To read the whole text, click here. To see all the talks in this series, click here.

Subscribe to the podcast rss.