Category: Features

  • News Update on fundraising for car/ambulance for Dr. Chuga

    Latest news on the fundraising campaign to get a car/ambulance for Dr. Chuga. Just £3,000 needed to reach the target! Great news! We have now raised about £7,000 (still £3,000 to go) for the vehicle thanks to the many very generous donations given so far. If you are still considering donating to this very worthy…

  • Fermented Wild Garlic

    The bright green shoots of wild garlic are one of the most heart-lifting aspects of an early Spring. I eat it fresh, in salads, in cooked dishes, as pesto, or soup. By the summer, it is gone again. I love having wild garlic later in the year but I can’t dry it like most other…

  • Renewable Energy

    The plan to build a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point in Devon, in the light of the recent developments of power sources in the world, seems to be an anomaly.  While many countries in Europe are turning to renewable energy in order to cut emissions, the UK seems to be determined to build this…

  • Mushroom Curry च्याउको कढी

    Mushroom or chyau, Agaricus conpestris, family Solanaceae, is a summer vegetable grown in Nepal, especially in the high mountains. Ingredients 1 cup of mushrooms 4 teaspoons of mustard oil 1 medium onion 2 garlic cloves 2.5 cm of ginger 1/2 teaspoon of chilli (optional) 1/2 teaspoon turmeric 1 teaspoon of fenugreek seeds salt to taste. Process (The following…

  • Depression

    Question: My question is about practice & how, when doing one’s ngondro for example, many difficult things can come up. Recently I remembered your description of being on retreat, and not being able to move because of depression (how something was expressing itself at the time). How possible is it to lead a daily life…

  • Nut Roast

    This is a warming recipe for the winter season. Ingredients 1 tbsp olive oil 15g butter 1 large onion, finely chopped 2 sticks celery, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 200g chestnut mushrooms, finely chopped 1 red pepper, halved, deseeded and finely diced 1 large carrot, grated 1 tsp dried oregano 1 tsp smoked…

  • The Sangha: Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel

    Looking for a Spiritual Community Jun 7th 2014 Elizabeth responds to a friend who is looking for a practice community or “sangha.” She suggests that searching for a spiritual community is similar to looking for romance: you can’t avoid the challenges, and yet there has to be chemistry too.   Question: Dear Elizabeth, I have…

  • Bodhicharya Publications becomes a CIC

      After many years in formation and development, we are happy to announce that Bodhicharya Publications has this year registered as a Community Interest Company, in the UK. A CIC means we have the aim to benefit the community, and this is not just a Buddhist community, but anyone generally – helping people deal with…

  • Egg Curry-फूल्को तर्कारी

        Ingredients 4 hard-boiled eggs 3 medium-sized potatoes 4 medium-sized tomatoes 1 medium onion (chopped) 1/2 teaspoon turmeric 1/2 teaspoon ginger 4 cloves garlic 3/4 teaspoon salt bread crumbs oil for frying chopped coriander leaves Process Cut the eggs into two halves and wrap them in breadcrumbs.  Heat the oil and shallow fry them,…

  • DHARMA IN THE WEST by Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel

    WHY DO BUDDHISTS PRAY? When we recognize how lost we get in the habitual momentum of our thoughts and emotions, we realize how little strength we have to move in the direction of sanity. This can inspire us to understand and appreciate the power of prayer. Prayer cuts through the wild and discursiveness activity of…

  • Meadow Woundwort in the Field!

    Posted on August 16, 2015 by Monica Wilde Recently I got bitten yet again. Not by horseflies this time, but some mosquitoes. Sadly I reacted in just the same way. About 27 years ago, I was bitten by a large centipede while living in the West Indies – the joke shop kind, huge and shiny…

  • CHAU MEIN भाजेको चाउ चाउ

    Ingredients 1/2 standard packet of noodles 1 cup of chopped vegetables (carrot, cabbage, onions, tomato, coriander, etc) 1/2 teaspoon of spices (garam masala) 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder 1/4 teaspoon paprika powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 – 2 eggs beaten 1 1/2 tablespoons of ghiu (clarified butter) for frying Process Boil the noodles in water for…

  • Bodhicharya Summer Camp Community Ngöndro

    Vila Verde, Portugal A number of years ago while teaching on the 9th Karmapa Wangchuk Dorje’s shorter mahamudra text named ‘Pointing Out the Dharmakaya’, Ringu Tulku sowed the seeds for this year’s summer-camp topic, when he introduced the idea of group practice for accumulating merit.  He explained that one hundred people reciting the Vajrasattva mantra…

  • KABULI CHANA (Chick Peas ) काबुली चना

      Cooking time: 40 minutes 1 cup chick peas (washed and soaked in 4 cups of water) OR 800g tin 2 large tomatoes (chopped into 16 pieces) 1 ½ teaspoons of coriander powder ¼ teaspoon of turmeric ¼ teaspoon of crushed chili 1 ¼ teaspoons of salt  2 – 3 tablespoons of lemon juice ¼ cup of…

  • Are We Really Practicing? by Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel

        Are We Really Meditating? Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel examines common misconceptions about Buddhist practice that can derail even the most seasoned practitioners. What is meditation practice? When are we genuinely practicing and when are we just going through the motions, caught in unexamined assumptions about practice? I often ask myself these questions so I don’t…

  • GRASPING THE NETTLE by Monica Wilde

    You can get a cheery mood and energy boost from nettle leaf and particularly from raw dried nettle seed (technically fruits and seeds), rubbed through a sieve to remove the irritating hairs. The ‘feel-good’ factor from eating raw dried nettle fruits/seeds is caused by the neurotransmitters acetylcholine nd serotonin, with choline and histamine also found…

  • Approaching the middle of a wood

    There is something unnerving about approaching the middle of a book – when you are writing it that is.  A bit like approaching the middle of a dark wood, partly because you are not sure if you have reached the middle and partly because you don’t know what you might find there. Will your heroine…