Editorials

Many Roads for Bodhicharya Review

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As this will be our last article of 2022, we have the opportunity to review some of the best articles from the past.   Enjoy.

Please take care over the new year and Christmas celebrations and we wish you all a great start to 2023.

Elizabeth Matis-Namgyel considers depression and how it can be a “… catalyst for tremendous learning and spiritual insight if we can bring it into the light of spiritual practice.”  She avoids the question of clinical depression and instead looks deeply at her own experience of taking a meditative approach to the problem.
Click for the article.

Monica Wilde describes herself as a “forager, research herbalist and ethnobotanist”.  She lives in a wooden house and holds foraging courses over many areas.  Her article, The Birth of a New World is a meditative account of her take on life and the hope it engenders.
Click for the article.

Shunryu Suzuki was a Soto zen monk who founded the first zen monastery in San Francisco.  His book, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, has become one of the most popular books on zen Buddhism in the west.  This short piece, Nirvana, The Waterfall, is an incisive observation by which we are led into the world of his thought.
Click for the article.

Hello from Goa is a tongue-in-cheek account of a visit to India during the moneterising woes of the population trying to acclimatize to the rapid disappearance of the one thousand rupees banknotes in exchange for a new two thousand rupee note. This segues into the tale of dealing with Indian bureaucracy and the state of marriage.
Click for the article

War and Peace is a personal account of her observations of nature in the wild and compares these meditative accounts to the cruel nature of war and the actions of humans.  [Should you have access to Facebook, here is a link to a group, Flowers for Peace, where you can post photographs of flowers at any time of year supporting peace in the world.]
Click for the article.

In Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s poem the world is a beautiful place to be born into from his collection A Coney Island Of The Mind, he observes life’s positives and negatives, the ironies, the subtle and the hard truth of death.
Click for the poem.

Morning Song by Bernie Hartley is a powerful plea for the healing powers of nature.  The song is inspired by a dream.  The first performance was at a summer camp in France in 2011.   Bernie is a consummate musician on both flute and guitar.  Listen to his version of Finore.  [See Uploads on youtube for more songs.]
Click here for Morning Song.

Lastly, here is a collection of photographs from my recent trip to Nepal.  Being a member of a photographic group, I have accustomed myself to considering technicalities like exposure, aperture settings, composition, etc.  But the inexorable flood of photographs now taken with ever-more-sophisticated cameras on mobile phones has now equaled and sometimes surpassed the skill of the photographer.  So here is a short collection of moments during A Sojourn in Nepal.
Click for photos.

The meaning of the Three Bodhicharya Symbols in the logo is explained by Ringu Tulku Rinpoche.  First published in 2014.  Of course, work in the centre in Germany has developed since then.  The History of the progress can be viewed in How Berlin Bodhicharya Began.
Click here for the video.

Personal stories, reviews, poetry, videos, photos, etc are welcome.
Send to:

manyroads@bodhicharya.org

Wishing everyone peace and happiness over the festive season.
Albert Harris, Ed.

 

 

 

 

The Noble Sūtra Teaching the Eleven Perceptions, from the Words of the Buddha

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Today we have a very relevant and wise offering from Tsering Paldron. of the Eleven Perceptions from the words of the Buddha
Tsering says about her offering of the Eleven Perceptions below,
“I feel that this teaching is absolutely crucial – so simple and yet so profound on how to die with grace and wisdom, but also how to live and take every breath.”

Here is the offering with the link at the end for LOTSAWA HOUSE TRANSLATION

Wishing you every blessing , a joyful mind and good health,
Margaret Richardson

The Sutra of the Eleven Perceptions

In the language of India: Āryasaṃjñānaikādaśanirdeśasūtra
In the language of Tibet: Pakpa düshé chuchik tenpé do (‘phags pa ‘du shes bcu gcig bstan pa’i mdo)
[In the English language: The Noble Sūtra Teaching the Eleven Perceptions]

Homage to the Three Jewels!

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling in the dwelling in the Grove of Twin Sāl-Trees in the vicinity of the Malla town of Kuśinagara. As the time came for his mahāparinirvāṇa, he addressed the monks:

“O monks, at the time of death, a monk should engender the eleven perceptions. What are these eleven? They are:

  1. The perception of non-attachment to this life
  2. The perception of love for all beings
  3. The perception of relinquishing all grudges
  4. The perception of confessing all debauched discipline
  5. The perception of genuinely taking all the vows of discipline
  6. The perception of lightness towards even major wrongdoing
  7. The perception of greatness towards even minor roots of virtue
  8. The perception of fearlessness towards the next world
  9. The perception of impermanence towards all conditioned things
  10. The perception of selflessness toward all phenomena
  11. The perception of understanding nirvāṇa to be peace

As soon as the Blessed One had said this, all the monks rejoiced and praised the words of the Blessed One. This completes Teaching the Eleven Perceptions, the final testament of the Blessed One.

 Lhasey Lotsawa Translations (trans. Lowell Cook, ed. Stefan Mang), 2020.

Link to Lotsawa house

Personal stories, reviews, poetry, videos, photos, etc are welcome.
Send to:

manyroads@bodhicharya.org

Wishing everyone peace and happiness
Albert Harris, Ed.

EDITORIAL

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Yeshe:  Centaurea Montana Perennial Cornflower

ALL THINGS MUST PASS:  EVEN WAR.

War is not the answer
A Buddhist peacemaker, Thich Nhat Hanh describes his own efforts to bring succour to villagers in Vietnam suffering from the war in spite of his opposition to the position of the government.  Hanh was a pioneer of Engaged Buddhism involving his activism in both inner and outer conflicts.
Click here for the article

Flowers for peace
Inspired by the present situation in the world, Dorje Lama has posted photos of flowers under the heading Flowers for Peace.  There is also a link should readers be inspired to post some of their own creations on Facebook.
Click here for the article.

Childhood
n contrast to a situation of turmoil and doubt, the Orcadian poet Edwin Muir portrays the peace and stillness of a child’s life in the islands of Scotland’s north.
Click here for the poem.

The Charcoal Seller
Translated by Arthur Waley, this poem is taken from a series of poems depicting the exploitation of a peasant.
Click here for the poem

Neurodiversity and Creativity
Dr Kai Syng Tan is an artist,  curator, researcher, and consultant who lectures at Manchester Metropolitan University.  She is known for her interdisciplinary/intercultural approach to making interventions in the world around her.

She was diagnosed with ADHD in 2015 and since then has become an advocate for the notion of neurodiversity.

She initiated a major arts/science collaboration to explore ‘mind wandering’
and co-founded the Neurodiversity in/And Creative Research Network.

Jane Clark talked to her in Manchester via Zoom.
The article appears in Beshara Magazine, Issue 21, 2022, Remarkable Lives
Click here for a link to the article

WELCOME TO OUR ONLINE BOOK SHOP

See the latest in The Heart Wisdom Series amongst other editions.

Subscription is FREE

Personal stories, reviews, poetry, videos, photos, etc are welcome.
Send to:

manyroads@bodhicharya.org

Wishing everyone peace and happiness 
Albert Harris, Ed.

 

 

 

MANY ROADS FOR BODHICHARYA EDITORIAL

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Because you are alive, everything is possible.
(Thich Nhat Hanh: 1926 – 2022)

Welcome to this edition of Many Roads for Bodhicharya

To start the New Year, Dónal Creedon held a week-long retreat on Zoom for more than 90 participants.  The title was Returning to Silence, an apt subject to transport us from a hectic 2021 to a new start for 2022.  Pat Little, a member of Bodhicharya Ireland the Dublin Kagyu Samye Dzong, has written a review on Dónal’s lead in the sessions which were structured around teaching and meditation.
Click here: The Review

From Ianthe Pickles we have another keen observation of the fox that regularly visits her allotment.
Click here:  Fox diary

A revisit to Ringu Tulku Rinpoche’s The Four Reminders in a video from the archives.
Click here:  The Four Reminders

Living and Dying in Peace has a varied collection of Contemplations, Question and Answers.
Click here: Living and Dying in Peace

The Egyptian film “L’ALTRA PAR”, which lasted only 2 minutes, won the award for the best short film at the Film Festival. The director is 20 years old.  The film describes how people isolate themselves in technology and forget one of the best things in life, Human Coexistence with Love and Brotherhood.
Click here:  L’ALTRA PAR

New Life in Thailand offers an insight into the centre in Chiang Rai, Thailand, where visitors can experience counseling, life coaching and therapy.  Julian, the manager, is from Belgium and feels he is the happiest man in the world.
Click here:  An Interview with Juien Grype

Finally, a collection of superb photos by Bill Grosart, Leader of the University of the Third Age Edinburgh Photographic Group.
Click here:  Bill Grosart

Subscription is FREE

manyroads@bodhicharya.org

Wishing everyone peace and happiness over the New Year
Albert Harris, Ed.

 

Meeting with Jack Niland

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Our latest article is an account by Yumma Mudra of her meeting with Jack Niland and the profound effect it had on her life.   Her journey takes her from the streets of Paris in 1977, the influence of Trungpa Rinpoche and her establishment of the Danza Duende Network.  She speaks of her revelation:

“As I entered the mandala of the Master, my mind was immediately fully linked to the Dharma as if I had found the very reason I was on earth. Because, I thought all of humanity was “out of our mind”, my life made not much sense at the time. Dancing seemed to be the only space of sanity inside of me.”

Cick here for the article

Bert Scott writes about the musicians who have influenced him and his journey with his guitars through the years and his experience with various genres from Johnny Rae to the present.

Click here

Bodhicharya Caribbean Blog

Click here

Finally, Karma Changchub’s photos of the woods in East Ayrshire, Scotland, are a pictorial record of the Autumn sun.

Click here

Subcription is FREE

Wishing everyone peace and happiness over the coming month
Albert Harris, Ed.

manyroads@bodhicharya.org

Yeshe Dorje: Wild swimming in Portobello

Autumn Editorial

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Now that the Autumn equinox has passed, we are experiencing the darker afternoons and the late rising of the sun in the northern hemisphere.  Ianthe Pickles has brought us her recent memories of summer with her personal take on Summer Days on the Allotment: a mindful and relaxing observation of the animals, plants and the drama of nature in the raw.

Chico Dall’igna’s latest film, More Than One Life is being released.  Here, the trailer contains cameos of participants in the final film and the beginnings of the search for the rebirth of Akong Tulku Rinpoche.

Maeve O’Sullivan’s latest edition of haiku and senryu, Wasp on a Prayer Flag, takes into account her vivid and most importantly her humane take on the varied aspects of life both in Ireland and abroad.

Lastly, Ron Hirch’s new series of videos, The Practical Buddhist: Coming Home, is available on line.

Subscription to Many Roads for Bodhicharya is FREE.

Wishing everyone peace and happiness over the coming month
Albert Harris, Ed. manyroads@bodhicharya.org

Photo: Yeshe Dorje

Editorial

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Like as the waves make towards the pebbl’d shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end;
Each changing place with that which goes before,
In sequent toil all forwards do contend.
Sonnet 60

I am pleased to publish an extensive review by Vin Harris of Mindful Heroes-stories of journeys that changed lives. Vin states:  The book … makes the connection between the Hero’s Journey and the inner journeys of people who study and practice mindfulness. 

I’ve no wish to supercede Vin’s evaluation in my praise for this book, but rather let the readers enjoy an appreciation of his account of this unique edition.  The four stages of the hero’s journey are:

  1. DEPARTURE: leaving the normal world and entering strange new territory.
  2. DESCENT: encountering obstacles and receiving help.
  3. INITIATION: facing challenges and finding freedom.
  4. RETURN: coming home and being able to help others
    (cf A Conversation with David Brazier published in Many Roads in 2014.)

Also included in this month’s Many Roads is a short contemplative film by Sitar Rose, No Lockdown on the River Garry.  Sitar is an accomplished documentary fimmaker with a wide range of titles.  She says of herself:  I specialise in health education work and the arts and frequently work with sensitive and difficult issues.

Lastly, there is a series of photographs taken in and around Edinburgh from the u3a group.

Albert Harris, editor

 

 

 

Yeshe Dorje: River Braan, Hermitage Wood, Dunkeld, Scotland.

Subscription to Many Roads for Bodhicharya is FREE.

Wishing all a happy and relaxing time.

 

Spring Editorial

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Welcome to the Spring edition of Many Roads.

Having completed one year of pandemic lockdown and with the regeneration of nature outside the door, the atmosphere seems to have become more positive with more people on the streets and children playing in the parks.  Let’s hope that this augurs a recurrence of life as we knew it before the restrictions brought about by the spread of the virus.  

In the magazine there is a wide range of interesting articles.  A young man from Toronto, Gabriel Evans,  has examined the present situation regarding bullying and penned an incisive analysis of the current state of affairs  in Bullying:  A New Approach.

Monica Wilde, in her observations regarding the tragedy of losing someone, has pondered just what sort of world is now appearing post-pandemic in her article The Birth of a New World.

David Russell has looked back on his life and the life of his father in Byken Matsukawa.  He relates the circumstances surrounding the internment of his Japanese father on the Isle of Man during the Second World War.

Lawrence Ferlinghetti, poet, artist and activist, died aged 101 and lived according to his conviction that “small is beautiful”:  the last of the beat generation, his poem The World is a Beautiful Place takes into account the good and the  bad that we are destined to experience in life.

Please read and enjoy the many other articles in this edition.

If you would like to contribute your articles to the magazine, please email to:
manyroads@bodhicharya.org

Wishing everyone a long and healthy life in the coming year.

FEATURES
THE TEACHINGS OF THE BUDDHA:  Sutta
BULLYING: A NEW APPROACH:  Gabriel Evans
POSITIVE NEWS:  Gavin Haines
THE BIRTH OF A NEW WORLD:  Monica Wilde
NEVER GIVE UP:  Living and Dying in Peace

PERSONAL STORY
BYKEN MATSUKAWA:  David Russell

BOOK REVIEWS
NIRVANA:  THE WATERFALL:  Shunryu Suzuki
THE DALAI LAMA’S CAT:  Pat Little
ON LINE BOOKSHOP:  Bodhicharya Bookshop.

RECIPES
CREAMY CARROT SOUP:   Charmaine Solomon

POETRY
THE WHITE MAN’S BURDEN:  Ron Hirsch
THE WORLD IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE:  Ferlinghetti
CHINESE POEMS: Po Chü-i
ST DAVID’S DAY:  Ianthe Pickles

VIDEO
THE LIGHT ON THE SHORE:  Karine Polwort
LATIN FINGER STYLE:  Stephanie Jones

PHOTOGRAPHY
u3a PHOTOGRAPHS:  Various Photographers
WHY I LOVE GLASGOW/LONDON:  Hilary and Robbie

 

EDITORIAL

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Photo: Yeshe Dorje

“You are what you eat.” 

In this issue there are several articles about food including two recipes from Joys of Nepalese Cooking by Indra Majapuria.  The recipes in her book are authentic, Nepalese fare:  there are sections on soups, rice, pulses, noodles and vegetables.  Multifarious meat and fish dishes are also covered.

Monica Wilde
has a Masters degree in herbal medicine from the University of Central Lancashire.  She also runs foraging courses as well as creating recipes published on her site, including Nettle Cheese, Cooking with Seaweed, Clover Crispbreads and other unusual delicacies.  In this issue we feature Monica’s  Gratitude for Plants, sharing her interest in the spontaneous occurrence of plants … “just when you need them,” following the Cherokee creation belief that “each tree, shrub and herb, down to the grasses… shall appear to help man when he calls upon me in his need.”

Gavin Haines‘ article on the efficacy of honey in the relief of colds and coughs as an alternative to over-the-counter drugs makes for interesting reading.  Many of his articles can be sourced in Positive News, “A magazine for good journalism about the things that are happening.”

Take care and wishing everyone a safe journey through the current times.

If anyone is interested in helping to edit Many Roads, please let me know.  Some tasks may include page layout, checking sources and permissions, and contents input.  You can email at:

Contact

Albert Harris, Editor.


FEATURES
IN SEARCH OF MEDICINE.  BEYOND THE CLOUDS:  Kate Roddick
THE UNIVERSAL WAY OF AVALOKITESVAR:  Brian Chung
HONEY MORE EFFECTIVE … :  Gavin Haines.
HOW CAN WE HELP A DYING ANIMAL?  Rinpoches
GRATITUDE FOR THE PLANTS:  Monica Wilde

RECIPES
SPINACH PAKODA:  Indra Majapuria
MUSHROOMS:  Indra Majapuria

POETRY
CONTEMPLATIONS:  Thich Nhat Hanh
THE WAY OF THESE TIMES:  Helen Brown
TIMES OF TRIBULATION:  Ianthe Pickles
MULTIPLE MORBIDITIES:  Angus Ogilvie

VIDEO
WHERE THAT THUNDER RINGS:  Bernie Hartley
THE GOAL OF BUDDHISM:  Ron Hirsch

PHOTOGRAPHY
BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHS:  Yeshe Dorje

Spring Editorial

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Life holds but one commonplace mystery … time.  Calendars and clocks exist to measure time, but that signifies little because we all know that an hour can seem an eternity or pass in a flash, according to how we spend it.
(From Momo, Michael Ende, Puffin Books, later made into the film … The Never Ending Story

♥

Now that the world is in lockdown, we have the opportunity to look at ourselves in relation to how we spend our time.

In this edition of Many Roads for Bodhicharya, we have some ideas expressed in personal reactions to our lives in isolation expressed in poetry, prose and media.

Dr Miriam Maisel has produced a  well-researched article, Are We Listening on the response of a world in disorder ; a world in which capital gains take precedence over  responsible  action to ameliorate the adverse results of climate change and the subsequent problems which arise.

In Maeve O’Sullivan’s Coronahaiku Sequence she has skilfully woven the theme of the virus into commonplace activities and images which evoke our sense of separation from each other and nature.

Then there is Fear:  this is expressed in Jaiya John’s haunting rendition of his poem; and in contrast to Mia’s two takes on greed and fear written when she was 11 and 14 years old respectively.

For a long read, there is Yummamudra’s Crazy Wisdom with ideas on time and dance in relation to her determination to overcome the mundane aspects of life on our planet.

And there’s more…

I’m sure you will find something in this edition to help you through this new episode in our lives.

♥

Take care of yourself and others and this time will pass.

Albert Harris, editor. manyroads@bodhicharya.org

 

FEATURES
ARE WE LISTENING:  Miriam Maisel
THE HEART SUTRA AND THE ATOM: Louis De Montera
DESPATCHES FROM THE HILL:  Mary Heneghan
SPINACH PAKODA: Indra Majapuria

POETRY
THREE POEMS:  Ianthe Pickles
CORONAHAIKU SEQUENCE :  Maeve O’Sullivan
CAMERA MACHETE: RWANDA 2006:  Helen Brown
FEAR:  Mia Evans
A PRAYER POEM FOR YOU:  Jaiya John

PERSONAL STORIES
BLACK FRIDAY:  Mia Evans
CRAZY WISDOM:  Yummamudra
NEW DAY:  Norman Evans
THE BUDDHA AND THE SCIENTIST:  William Hart

VIDEO
HERE’S THE THING ABOUT FEAR:  Jaiya John
A MESSAGE FROM TSERING PALDRON: From Living and Dying in Peace

PHOTOGRAPHY
PAST PHOTOGRAPHS:  Yeshe Dorje
THE CLOUD APPRECIATION SOCIETY:  Photographs of Clouds

WINTER EDITORIAL

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A guid New Year tae yin an aw, an monie may ye see.

Many Roads is an electronic magazine and subscription is easy and free.

Albert Harris, manyroads@bodhicharya.org

FEATURES
DESIDERATA:  Living and Dying in Peace
PANEER WITH PEAS:  Mridsu Shailaj Thanki
LAMENT FOR WILD FOOD:  Monica Wilde
R.T.R ARCHIVE MEMBERSHIP:  Ringu Tulku Rinpoche

POETRY
BETWEEN TWO UNKNOWNS:  Ianthe Pickles
MORNING PRACTICE:  Maeve O’Sullivan 

FICTION
THE TWO RINGS:  William Hart

PERSONAL STORIES
REMEMBERING LAMA TSERING PALJOR:  Albert Harris
TASHI DELEG HOUSE:  Yeshe Dorje
THESE FOUR WORDS:  Jaiya John

MUSIC
MORNING SONG:  Bernie Hartley
CLARE de LUNE:  Stevan Pesaro

VIDEO
INDIA TODAY:  Yuval Noah Harari

PHOTOGRAPHY
U3A PHOTOS:  Members
PAULA PROENCA:  Yeshe Dorje

 

SUMMER EDITORIAL

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Making positive choices about the environment is the theme in some magazine articles this summer.  Monica Wilde, who I consider to be an eco-warrier,  brings our attention to the reality that we can make life style choices which can have an effect on the environment and ultimately on ourselves.  The disconnect in life, she suggests, occurs when there is no personal and positive action about our immediate environment.

In her article, Now is the Time for Action, Monica brings to the fore the importance of individual involvement in the face of an increasing crisis in climate changes which is already inimical to the quality of life on earth, to all life.  She ends the article with the lucid reality that action is in your every waking moment as well as your dreams.

I am reminded of the shopkeepers and household residents in Indian towns and cities attentively sweeping the pavement outside their shops and houses and cleansing the air inside their rooms with smouldering pine leaves every morning before the start of their day.

Being mindful of our immediate environs is the beginning of a larger understanding of the state of our planet.

Concerning plastic in our lives, this recent article in The Guardian brings home the fact that “humans have made 8.3 billion tons of plastic since 1950” presented in a captivating illustrated format. (The Unted States of Plastic.)

In terms of the personal well-being of individuals-the internal environment of the body-Dr Miriam Maisel, a certified lifestyle physician and family practitioner, states in her webpage:

The main message of lifestyle medicine is that healthy eating along with physical activity can bring about dramatic improvements in many medical conditions, and reduce the need for long medications and even surgery.

In her article, Health Independence, Miriam looks at alternative ways of living that are not dependent on conventional medicines and treatments.

(Also see The Cancer of Climate Change.)
Albert Harris (Ed)

Many Roads is an electronic magazine and subscription is easy and free.

FEATURES
RINGU TULKU RINPOCHE’S VISIT TO IRELAND:  Andy
NOW IS THE TIME FOR ACTION:  Monica Wilde
HEALTH INDEPENDENCE:  Dr Miriam Maisel
INSTALLATIONS OF OUTER SPACE:   Padolski and  Basandowskaby
STORIES OF REINCARNATION:  Professor Erlendur Haraldsson
BRINGING IT ALL BACK HOME:  Lama Jampa Thaye
MEDITATION:  Yeshe Dorje
HOW TO FIND INNER PEACE:  Ronald Hirsch
POHA POTATOES:  Madhur Jaffrey
POETRY
MEMORIES:  W. D. Cocker
DRINK YOUR TEA:  Thich Nhat Hahn
COMPASSION: Li Po
MORNING PRACTICE:  Maeve O’Sullivan
PERSONAL STORIES
KARMA SONAM RINCHEN:  KSR
LIVING AND DYING IN PEACE:  Margaret Richardson

FICTIONAL STORIES
WAR AND PEACE:  Ianthe Pickles
TRUANCY:  KSR
VIDEO
RINGU TULKU RINPOCHE’S FAVOURITE STORY
FRISBEE GIANT:  Malcolm Sutherland

BOOKS REVIEW
EBOOKS

 

JANUARY EDITORIAL

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The mind that is learning is an innocent mind, whereas the mind that is merely acquiring knowledge is old, stagnant, corrupted by the past. An innocent mind perceives instantly, it is learning all the time without accumulating, and such a mind alone is mature.
 J. Krishnamurti
Welcome to 2019 and the year of the earth pig.
Apparently, this will be a year of good fortune and luck.  Personally, I am a pig Chinese zodiac native and I’m advised to make a great deal of money by investing.  Lucky colours are those representing fire:  red, orange and pink.
Well, if that information inspires you to be positive in the coming year, then thanks to the curiously named website Karma Weather.
In this edition, I have pulled a few articles from the past which I think are worth another read:
The Enjoyment of Sound
Ode to Manchester
Ernie Buck: an Interview
Keep Swimming
Hello from Goa
All the best for the coming year.  Albert Harris
FEATURES
A LOVE CALCULUS:  Jaiya John
THE FINAL WORDS OF PADMASAMBHAVA: Erik Pema Kunsang
THE ENJOYMENT OF SOUND:  Dirk de Klerk
THE DANGERS OF DILUTED BUDDHISM:  Lama Jampa Thaye
LET’S DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT:  Elizabeth Mattis Namgyal
BULGAR WHEAT WITH SPRING ONIONS AND MUSHROOMS:  Madhur Jaffrey

 

POETRY
ODE TO MANCHESTER:  Ani Rinchen Khandro
ELSEWHERE:  Maeve O’Sullivan
TO A POET A THOUSAND YEARS HENCE:  James Elroy Flecker
PERSONAL STORIES
ERNIE BUCK: AN INTERVIEW:  Yeshe Dorje
KEEP SWIMMING:  Vicki Mckenzie
HELLO FROM GOA:  DM
FICTIONAL STORIES
FAIRYLAND:  Ianthe Pickles
MUST HAVE SEA VIEW:  Kate Durie
BOOKS
ONLINE BOOKSHOP
VIDEO
LAZY LAMA FILM:  Niko von Glasow
WINTER WALK:  Yeshe Dorje

We need your contributions for our next issue. Please send your articles, reviews, comments and creative outputs to:

manyroads@bodhicharya.org

 

Autumn Editorial

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Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
                                                                From The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

Welcome all to this edition of Many Roads for Bodhicharya.

As I write, hurricane Florence is slowly moving across the Carolinas causing flooding and endangering lives in  unprecedented weather conditions.  The Mangkhut typhoon has reached Hong Kong with winds of 177 kph and with the death toll from landslides and floods still being assessed in the Philippines.

Of course, there are varied reactions to the change in climate.  That it is changing is accepted by most people:  Although the changes are beneficial for the English wine growers, the vintners in France are worried about wildfires and the effect on their vineyards.

Drought in Australia is affecting the farmers.  One sheep and cattle farmer has said, “We need to stick to the Paris agreement, we need to stop burning coal and we need to commit to more renewable energy,”  Meanwhile, in the USA, the revival of the coal industry is taking place.

NASA has published an uncompromising account of the evidence that global climate is changing for the worse.  An interesting publication takes us to solutions, Mitigation and Adaptation.

Individually, it is up to everyone to be aware of climate change and think how we can help in our proactive and small ways.

Below is an index of the recent articles sumbitted and procured.  All the best over the Autumn season and remember to send articles to manyroads@bodhicharya.org

PERSONAL STORIES
JEWS GRAVITATE TOWARDS BUDDHISM……ELLEN FRANKEL
BARDOS…….JAY RAO
EACH MORNING YOU AWAKE……JAIYA jOHN

FEATURES
PREPARING FOR DEATH…….RINGU TULKU RINPOCHE
GENERATING WATER FROM A BACKPACK…….GOOD NEWS
THE HEART SUTRA…….RONALD HIRSCH
AUTHENTIC GENDER EQUALITY…….KIM ROBERTS
TOFU SUSHI BOWL…….BBC RECIPE

POETRY
MORNING SILENCE…….MAEVE O’SULLIVAN
REMEMBER…….CHRISTINA ROSSETTI

BOOK REVIEW
A JOURNEY WITH BUDDHA’S DAUGHTERS….GWEN ENSTAM

HUMOUR
BUDDHIST HUMOUR…….VARIOUS CARTOONISTS

SHORT STORY
YOUR POLICY…….YESHE DORJE

VIDEO
TIGHT CONNECTION TO MY HEART…….SHIELA ANTIM
AUTUMN LEAVES…….YENNE LEE

We need your contributions for our next issue. Please send your articles, reviews, comments and creative outputs to:

manyroads@bodhicharya.org

 

 

Albert Harris:  editor

Summer Editorial

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War doesn’t determine who’s right – only who’s left.
                                                              Bertrand Russell

Finding peace of mind is  most important ; and in difficult times, when we pay attention, we are enveloped in a tidal wave of media and opinions that are almost certain to influence our way of thinking.  To what extent we allow this to happen depends on our own skill in differentiating between what is true and what is not;  what is relevant to our lives and others and what is not relevant.

Analysing commentary and discerning the truth of our world situation under these circumstances becomes difficult.  Yet above all, we can promote and maintain a moral obligation to give succour to the afflicted in time of war.  This is a paradox for the pacifist:  how to protect the vulnerable against aggression.

Personally, on an individual level, we can be activists for peace by doing  anything that is within our capacity to disseminate our views.  In this context, Many Roads plays a small part in allowing readers with an interest in inner as well as world peace to have an opinion about how we can move forward with a compassionate view to finding a solution to evolving events both locally and universally.

With this in mind, readers are invited to offer opinions on events from an apolitical perspective.  How would you act as an individual to bring about a more peaceful world?
Albert Harris

Opinions matter.  Let yours be heard in the next issue of Many Roads.

 

PERSONAL STORIES
FAITH AND REASON……….RONALD HIRSCH
CONVERSATION WITH ERNIE BUCK……….YESHE DORJE

 FEATURES
PACKAGING WITH PRINCIPLES……….KEVIN KAMALA
THREE REASONS……….KATHLEEN PRASAD
RINGU TULKU’S ARCHIVE……….BODHICHARYA
HONORING THE CHILD’S UNIQUE SONG……….JAIYA JOHN
RADISH ACHAR……….INDRA MAJAPURIA

EVENTS
RINGU TULKU’S TRAVEL SCHEDULE

POETRY
ZEN POETRY……….VARIOUS POETS
EXISTENCE……….THICH NHAT HANH
REASONS TO MEDITATE……….LIZ CULLEN
POEM………ALEN GINSBERG
PRAISE TO TARA……….HEIDI TRONDSEN
THE BUDDHIST MASTER PLAN..……..BRIAN CHUNG

BOOK REVIEW
LET GIRLS BE BOYS……….HM

 

 

We need your contributions for our next issue. Please send your articles, reviews, comments and creative outputs to:

manyroads@bodhicharya.org

 

Editorial

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Autumn leaves, Toronto, Yeshe Dorje

We can use metaphors to help envision interconnectedness. . . . thinking of reality as a net.  We can also see it as a fabric that has been woven through causal relationships.  Like threads that run through a piece of fabric, the actions of one person serve as causes whose effects others must experience.  In other words, the consequences of our actions can harm or benefit others.  Responsibility is thus part of the fabric of reality.  It is not an optional accessory,  (Interconnectedness.  Embracing Life in our Global Society, The Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje.  Translated by Damchö Diana Finnegan)

Dear Readers, there are so many negative issues being discussed in the media nowadays.  Foremost, from a global perspective, is the importance given to President Trump’s latest tweets, the seemingly never-ending controversial issues coming out of the Middle East, and the unstable fluidity of the  relationships amongst the leaders of North Korea, Russia, China and the United States.  At home in the UK, there is also an almost  breathless schadenfreude around the woes concerning the Brexit negotiations.  But let’s not go there.

To paraphrase a comment by Ringu Tulku Rinpoche, “I used to read the news every morning and discovered that by not reading the news it made no difference.”

There are many positive issues discussed on the internet.  As an alternative to “bad news” often discussed in the media, I would like to recommend The GoodNewsNetwork.  

Take care over the festive season, and…

Wishing all the best for 2018

Albert Harris:  editor

FEATURES
CHOJE AKONG TULKU RINPOCHE:  Vin Harris
THE BENEFITS OF SAVING LIVES:  Chatral Rinpoche
CHILLI HOT KETCHUP:  Monica Wilde

POETRY
REMEMBER:  Christina Rossetti
HAIKU:  Chögyam Trungpa

FILM
THE PRACTICE OF COMPASSION:  Ringu Tulku Rinpoche

PERSONAL STORIES
THE EMPTINESS OF CURTAINS:  Annie Dibble
THROUGH THE GATEWAY OF THE SENSES:  Francesca Fremantle
WHEN NO PLACE FEELS LIKE HOME:  Cristina Luhmann
HARRIET TUBMAN:  Jaiya John

FICTIONAL STORIES
AN INDIAN PIECE:  Yeshe

REVIEWS
THE MAIN OF LIGHT:  Pat Little

We need your contributions for our next issue. Please send your articles, reviews, comments and creative outputs to:

manyroads@bodhicharya.org

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EDITORIAL

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An appreciation of the unity and sacredness of all life is integral to awakening to our own awareness.  (Lyse Lauren)

Welcome to the late summer edition of Many Roads for Bodhicharya.  

Wishing all well and hoping to hear from you soon.

Albert Harris

FEATURES
LIVING AND DYING IN PEACE:  Ringu Tulku Rinpoche
REACHING OUT TO ANIMALS & ALL CONSCIOUS LIFE:  Lyse Lauren
THE RINGU TULKU ARCHIVE:  Paul O’Conner
SUMMER CAMP PORTUGAL 2017:  Annie Dibble
PEAS AND PANIR CURRY:  Indra Mahapuria
MINT CHUTNEY:  Indra Mahapuria

POETRY
FLAGS:  Albert Harris
SIKKIM HAIKU SEQUENCE PART 2:  Maeve O’Sullivan
WHEN SNOW MOUNTAINS WEAR BLACK HATS:   J. Stanley D. R. Loy
ODE TO MANCHESTER:  Ani Rinchen Khandro
THE BRIG:  Angus Ogilvy

FILM
MINDFUL JUGGLING:  Andi Puddicombe
SOWING THE SEED:  Sitar Rose

PERSONAL STORIES
HELLO FROM GOA:  Dave MacDonald
SATURDAY MORNING:  Wendy Nash
JOURNEY TO ASSAM PART 1:  Yeshe
JOURNEY TO ASSAM.  GUWAHATI: PART 2:  Yeshe 
LIFE AND DEATH:  Wendy Nash
A RABBI ON HOLY ISLE:  Adam Klegfeld

REVIEWS
THE POWER OF AN OPEN QUESTION:  Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel
NEW LAZY LAMA BOOK – LOVING KINDNESS:  Wangdu

We need your contributions for our next issue. Please send your articles, reviews, comments and creative outputs to:

manyroads@bodhicharya.org

LIKE US ON