tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5799319684830140352008-06-20T22:11:25.552+01:00paramihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06690065556904096547noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-579931968483014035.post-3602393343990866202008-05-10T14:56:00.003+01:002008-05-10T15:02:31.419+01:00

i am on the isle of mull, one of the inner hebrides off the west coast of scotland. it is beautiful and i've been incredibly lucky with the weather. where i'm staying is the ferry port for ferries to iona. spent a day there a few days ago and had a great time. walked a fair bit round the island (it's small) and then meditated in the nunnery which unlike the more famous nearby abbey is a ruin.

paramihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06690065556904096547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-579931968483014035.post-29288511065797711692008-04-30T21:31:00.003+01:002008-04-30T21:38:23.840+01:00

i have mentioned a couple of times that i was deeply moved in australia to witness the "sorry" speech made by kevin rudd in february. i have been meaning to post a link to some articles about it and haven't done so. so, here it is. click on the header to go to a page from the sydney morning herald. the first video link (the day we said sorry) is a 4 minute report and really captures the spirit

paramihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06690065556904096547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-579931968483014035.post-51201682621614773552008-04-18T14:47:00.003+01:002008-04-18T14:51:04.737+01:00

for anyone interested in my last post, take a look at the closing speech by rob hopkins of the transition town initiative. click on the header of this post to take you to the speech. i was especially interested in his references to santideva's bodhicaryavatara

paramihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06690065556904096547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-579931968483014035.post-44805105656340152622008-04-09T16:52:00.002+01:002008-04-09T17:01:33.582+01:00

last weekend i met some people involved in the "transition town" initiatives -- sometimes known as energy descent initiative- in totness, bath and bristol. i had heard the term before and knew it had something to do with peak oil but i hadn't heard much about it nor met anyone involved in one of these transition towns. i think i had put it in a box in my mind which goes : "could be interesting

paramihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06690065556904096547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-579931968483014035.post-29872827456524066472008-03-24T12:27:00.002Z2008-03-24T12:41:35.820Z

i wrote this last week for shabda (the order reporting in monthly) and just thought i could post it here too. i am back in the northern hemisphere. i almost said the frozen north but actually spring is just starting to show. there are daffodils in the garden here at taraloka and in the lanes around here and a few brave buds are trying to push through. i came back from australia on friday last

paramihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06690065556904096547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-579931968483014035.post-76890593511246755592008-03-09T23:53:00.002Z2008-03-10T00:23:40.256Z

still in the land of oz. haven't been in the mood for writing - or when i have been i haven't had time. main thing i want to mention now is the trip i took to uluru and kata tjuta national park in mid australia. click on the title to link to the govt official web page. i took few photos there. it was truly awesome in the real sense of the word.i just wanted to experience it. imagine desert,

paramihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06690065556904096547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-579931968483014035.post-66855299238248078732008-01-19T20:10:00.000Z2008-01-19T20:17:51.817Z

well of course it's only down under if you are up there, so to speak. am in auckland just now where it is, of course, high summer which is very nice indeed. i have just finished leading a retreat for the australasian dharmacharinis on the lojong training. the 7 point mind training to be precise.there were 30 of us and it went really well. before that i led a week called healing self, healing

paramihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06690065556904096547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-579931968483014035.post-49552909022828048542007-12-18T05:35:00.000Z2007-12-18T05:39:13.063Z

I am writing this in an internet cafe in Bankok on the last day of my holiday in Thailand. I am now a month into a round the world trip. Firstly, I spent two very inspiring weeks in India, mainly visiting TBMSG projects. It was a very short visit - and incidentally my first trip to India. I have written something about this already in my last post. I also visited many of our social projects

paramihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06690065556904096547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-579931968483014035.post-77045635700701969992007-12-09T13:15:00.000Z2007-12-13T03:27:27.599Z

hi all, i am in a very strange internet cafe in thailand. full of teenagers playing video games but hey, it's cheap. extremely cheap. so i had two weeks in india. not easy to get online while i was there so no blogging. internet connections were slow and frustrating and liable to cut out. i had a great time though demanading. in two weeks i gave 12 programmes (two more public, the rest

paramihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06690065556904096547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-579931968483014035.post-16449375904061799812007-11-19T07:12:00.000Z2007-11-19T17:10:15.355Z

tomorrow at the crack of dawn i set off to india - the first stage in a round world trip. in india i will be visiting tbmsg activities and meeting folk. that's from 20th noveber till the 4th dec. i am excited about that. after that i am having a two week holiday in thailand. from the 20th december till the 23rd jan i will be in auckland, new zealand. 23rd - 31st jan in wellington 31st

paramihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06690065556904096547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-579931968483014035.post-64383309292153627312007-11-17T15:22:00.000Z2007-11-19T07:09:31.002Z

at the end of september i went to a meeting of the bte (buddhist teachers of europe) with kamalasila and then i stayed on for the ebu (european buddhist union) agm. dhammarati reminded me the other day that i have to write something for him -- i went on his behalf. i haven't yet but it did remind me that i had put some photos on my web page so, click on the header to go to those. i really

paramihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06690065556904096547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-579931968483014035.post-50300588384953112192007-10-11T19:52:00.000+01:002007-10-11T19:55:52.475+01:00

i think this is a great idea - a global film day of documentaries and images that could change the world. the link (click on pangea day) will take you to a youTube clip which i found really moving. it needs half an hour of your time but it's well worth it. go look

paramihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06690065556904096547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-579931968483014035.post-25677605288810659172007-10-09T16:02:00.000+01:002007-10-09T16:06:06.892+01:00

this is interesting. participate in raising awareness round environmental issues. click on the look at this at the top of this entry and look at blog action day. and maybe join in!!

paramihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06690065556904096547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-579931968483014035.post-6722427006420742442007-09-30T23:52:00.000+01:002007-10-01T00:05:14.708+01:00

in october i will be leading a retreat at dhanakosa called inner peace, outer peace. follow the link by clicking on the header above to get to their web-page with blurb. there are still places if anyone is interested. i have just written something for their newsletter - based on some questions nayaka asked me. thought i's reproduce it here as it is not just about the retreat but says a bit more

paramihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06690065556904096547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-579931968483014035.post-20981542666583837312007-09-21T13:33:00.000+01:002007-09-21T13:51:34.565+01:00

we have had quite the social whirl here at taraloka recently. first of all we went to see a fantastic dance company called sampad performing a piece called motherland. (click the "hectic social whirl" header above to see their web page.) it was a really moving piece. according to their web: Vibrant dance, live music and lyrical poetry come together to create Motherland - a compelling story of

paramihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06690065556904096547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-579931968483014035.post-32836313649898654822007-09-07T10:05:00.000+01:002007-09-07T16:38:15.600+01:00

on my birthday i was in london and dhammadinna and i went to the vegan festival in kensington. i really enjoyed it and i treated myself to a pair of jinga shoes. they are great, really comfortable and totally ethical. from brazil and help projects there. (well, there are airmiles i know). anyway, have a look at their website by clicking on the header to this post. i love them also if you

paramihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06690065556904096547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-579931968483014035.post-76674658562783666362007-08-04T19:42:00.000+01:002007-08-04T20:06:11.523+01:00

last weekend i went down to london for vimalachitta and nagabodhi's wedding. i had a great time. on friday afternoon we had a little, intimate ceremony at the east london buddhist centre in bethnal green. i was pleased to be the celebrant and it was very simple and beautiful. afterwards we had cake and coffee in the wild cherry restaurant. then on saturday there was the civil wedding at hackney

paramihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06690065556904096547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-579931968483014035.post-46011653575894793592007-08-04T12:52:00.000+01:002007-08-04T13:16:58.025+01:00

when i was in nyc i spent a couple of hours at the site of the african burial ground in manhattan. here is a quote from a press release late 2005: Speaking to the crowd, GSA Administrator Stephen A. Perry commented: “Today we mark the ground where the African Burial Ground memorial will be built, and where it will stand forever as a monument to the 17th and 18th century enslaved Africans who

paramihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06690065556904096547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-579931968483014035.post-23007724442994243172007-07-25T18:18:00.000+01:002007-07-25T22:50:26.255+01:00

hi all i am back at taraloka for a few days. read the new harry potter on the flights back. well the first 500 pages between mexico city and newark then most of the rest on the flight from newark to manchester, uk. quite enjoyed it though the very last chapter was a bit naff i thought (don't worry no plot spoilers that's it for comments). lots i could write about mexico. as usual i am not

paramihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06690065556904096547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-579931968483014035.post-86616975957712721542007-07-13T21:38:00.000+01:002007-07-14T02:19:04.242+01:00

click the link above (the title) to connect to a new page in my web site with some photos of my trip to mexico

paramihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06690065556904096547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-579931968483014035.post-88300144322605306432007-07-01T17:26:00.000+01:002007-07-01T17:58:57.404+01:00

hi, last night i led a full moon puja at the centre here in mexico city. there were over a hundred people there and lots of them young which is pretty amazing considering it was a saturday night. there was a great atmosphere and although i stumbled a bit over one or two lines - the version here is different from the version we use in spain - there was a very strong feeling of devotion. i had

paramihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06690065556904096547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-579931968483014035.post-72129120813739778882007-06-29T15:26:00.000+01:002007-06-29T15:56:44.302+01:00

hi all, had a great time in NYC but unfortunately a kind of stressful departure. first of all i got lost in chinatown in over 90 degrees, great humidity and lots of traffic, both pedestrian and motor. then i found where i was looking for which was the stop for the newark express bus from chinatown to newark airport. anyway after standing there for about 15 minutes i noticed the small notice on

paramihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06690065556904096547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-579931968483014035.post-30721965952261597652007-06-26T21:45:00.000+01:002007-06-26T21:53:08.368+01:00

hi there i am in the apple store on fifth avenue, new york. it is, as they say here, awesome. i'm with candradasa which is an added bonus. have just been to aryaloka for the ordination of viriyagita which went well - very enjoyable. tonight i'll go the sangha night which vajramati has been running here very faithfully for years. i am impressed by how loyal a dharma teacher vajramati is. on

paramihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06690065556904096547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-579931968483014035.post-4361833234064366802007-06-16T11:40:00.000+01:002007-06-16T12:06:09.571+01:00

hi all, so over a month has gone by since i last blogged. it has been a busy month. highlights: - trip to london for an ordination; bhante at the sangha gathering here at taraloka; trip to valencia where i lead a day for the women who have asked for ordination and then AKASHAVANA and the first ordinations up there. so i will try to write something about all of that later today or tomorrow

paramihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06690065556904096547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-579931968483014035.post-37199220722816288972007-05-04T11:15:00.000+01:002007-05-04T11:20:57.562+01:00

Hi, for some photos from the post ordination retreat that i have just attended and also some photos of bluebell woods near tiratanaloka click on the header above - on post ordination retreat and bluebell woods. the retreat was great, will try to write about it soon

paramihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06690065556904096547noreply@blogger.com