Category: Features
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Mindful Heroes – stories of journeys that changed lives
Mindfulness is well recognised as an effective way to deal with the challenges of modern life. So many people have experienced for themselves the power of allowing things to get better by not making them worse. But hopefully the story doesn’t end there. Might the mindfulness journey also prove to be an expression of a…
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Bullying: A New Approach
In almost every school, there are posters and there are assemblies that address a problem that 20% of kids face every day, bullying. Kids who are bullied “are at increased risk for depression, anxiety, sleep difficulties, lower academic achievement, and dropping out of school.” (Pacer.org) It is these effects that make bullying an important issue…
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Positive News
Like many seaside towns in the UK, St Austell has suffered from changing holiday habits (even before the pandemic) and the decline of the fishing industry. A new arts project aims to reverse its fortunes – and that of the bee
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The Teachings of the Buddha
A double-edged question. The local ruler, called Abhaya, went to Nataputta, a monk who belonged to a community hostile to the Buddha. Nataputta said to Abhaya: ‘If you were to defeat Gautama, whom they call the Buddha, in public debate, your reputation would be hugely enhanced,’ Abhaya said: ‘How can I defeat Gautama in debate? …
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The Birth of a New World
How can I speak of hope when so many have died? The tragedy is that those who have passed are all the beloved of someone who lives to mourn them. Many innocent lives cut short. The sun continues to rise. As Francesca Melandri wrote, in A Letter from Italy, “We are witnessing the birth of…
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Prayer of Samantabhadra
Bodhicharya Winter Teaching 2020 – LIVE Teaching by WANGDU on NOVEMBER 26, 2020 in EVENTS, NEWS, RINGU TULKU, TEACHINGS. Prayer of Samantabhadra (Kunzang Mönlam) 14th – 21st December 2020 Daily at 2:30pm (GMT/UTC) Rinpoche has very kindly accepted our request to give a teaching on the ‘Prayer of Samantabhadra (Kunzang Mönlam)’. This direct and important text is not only an aspiration prayer, but also…
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THE UNIVERSAL WAY OF AVALOKITESVAR BODHISATTVA
AVALOKITESVAR SHRINE A Place to Pray to and Meditate on the Grace and Great Compassion of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva The Universal Way of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva- A Public Domain Translation of Chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra Preface The Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Chapter of the Lotus Sutra is perhaps one of the most efficacious Dharma Doors ever…
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IN SEARCH OF MEDICINE, BEYOND CLOUDS
In NATURAL MEDICINE by Kate Roddick I felt on top of the world, with my letter of introduction to the Dalai Lama, in my pocket, close to my heart, we tickeled tocked, tickeled tocked, into the train station at Patankot. The mist had fallen onto the paddy fields, and plains left to right of the old sleeper…
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HONEY MORE EFFECTIVE THAN OVER THE COUNTER MEDICINES…
The following extract concerning the increased use of antibiotics for the treatment of colds and associated ailments is from the magazine Positive News. Honey could offer more effective treatment for some respiratory infections than prescription medicines, according to a study The pharmaceutical industry has developed a host of treatments for sore throats, blocked noses and coughs,…
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GRATITUDE FOR THE PLANTS
The more I work with the plants, the more I become eternally grateful for what they give to us. They have an uncanny knack of being in exactly the right place and the right time when you need them. It’s hardly surprising that the Cherokee’s have this Creation belief: “Each tree, shrub and herb, down…
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The Buddha and the Scientist
The physical reality is changing constantly every moment. This is what the Buddha realized by examining himself. With his strongly concentrated mind, he penetrated deeply into his own nature and found that the entire material structure is composed of minute subatomic particles which are continuously arising and vanishing. In the snapping of a finger or…
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Are We Listening?
“Hear now this, O foolish people and without understanding, that have eyes and see not, that have ears and hear not”. Jeremiah 5:21 The year is 2019 and everyone is talking about the environment, especially in the wake of the school strike for climate change, started by the remarkable Scandinavian teenager Greta Thunberg. It seems…
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Scientific Perspectives: The Heart Sutra and the Atom
As His Holiness the 14th Dalaï-Lama says, Buddhism is scientific religion. In his first teaching the Buddha explained the universality of cause and effect: “All phenomena arise from causes”[1]. Moreover, he repeatedly asked his followers to make their own opinion, even about his own words. Buddhism considers science as a first step and also as…
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SPINACH PAKODA
Ingredients 2 cups leaves of spinach 1 cup of gram flour (besan) 2 green chilies chopped or 1/2 teaspoonful chili powder 1 big onion finely chopped 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder Pinch of asafoetida (hing) 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup of water or as required oil for deep frying Process Wash and clean spinach leaves well.…
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Despatches from The Hill
An experience of going through coronavirus I had originally been due to be away on retreat for most of March. It was cancelled as the first wave of international cancellations began. It was fortuitous, however, I found out, that I had been preparing for a significant retreat for many months. Because now we were indeed…