New Forums
Thursday April 24, 2008
The estimable Loden Jinpa from Down Under has just got in touch to say that he has set up a new forum for Buddhist discussion, with a sub-forum on “fusion philosophy” – a term that comes from Mark Siderits – which may be of interest to visitors to thinkBuddha.
There’s a link here.
The Pragmatic Buddhist
Thursday April 3, 2008
It has been a busy couple of weeks, with a few days away in Derbyshire for Easter, three days up at Keele University for the immensely enjoyable conference of the British Society for Literature and Science where I was talking about Don DeLillo’s The Body Artist
So in the absence of anything particularly compelling to say – at least for the next couple of days – over here in these parts, I would like to direct you to the website of The Pragmatic Buddhist, an estimable publication from the folks at the Center for Pragmatic Buddhism which combines Buddhism, science, philosophy, pragmatism, reflections on meditative practice and a pinch of Taoism, to make a fine and heady brew.
Right! Happy reading. I’m off to pack my bags again…
thinking Bloggers
Wednesday April 4, 2007
There’s a bit of a buzz going around about the thinking Blogger awards, and I’m very grateful for those who have nominated me for one (CafePhilos, Yang-May’s excellent Fusion View and old-hand Nacho at the Woodmoor Village Zendo).
The thinking Blogger awards work as a web-based meme, in a fashion somewhat akin to the way that pyramid selling and chain letters work. Each person nominated (or ‘tagged’) is strongly encouraged to nominate (or ‘tag’) five more people. And so it doesn’t take long for the number of thinking blogger nominees to skyrocket (and, incidentally, for the currency to become debased).
So I’m going to pass on passing this one on, although I appreciate being nominated by these fine fellow-bloggers of mine; but if you want some good, intelligent reading, there are some places you can find it on my link-list.
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Saffron Spam Scam?
Friday January 12, 2007
This morning I opened my email to find a courteous e-mail from two Sri Lankan Buddhist monks. They were interested, they said, in visiting my Buddhist centre (my Buddhist centre?!!!), where they hoped to spend a few fraternal days learning my traditions. Humble fellows that they were, these two pious men said they were willing to sleep on “any floor”, and would partake only of vegetarian meals, to be eaten before noon.
I am not entirely sure what traditions the two so-called monks were referring to – perhaps the daily ritual of arguing with the cat about when his dinner is due, which goes something like this:
Bod [entering the room]: Meow.
Me: Not now, Bod, it’s only four o’clock.
Bod: Purr, purr, meow, meow.
Me: Why don’t you go and do something nice for an hour and come back when it is the right time?
Bod [Leaping on the desk and walking all over whatever I’m working on]. Purr, purr. Meow. Purr.
Me: Push off you oaf!
Bod: Meow…
etc. etc. for the next hour.
Anyway, as I continued to read the email, I inevitably discovered that these reverend visitors needed a little assistance in getting here. In fact, they were keen to stress that they required my full assistance, adding that they “expected that I’d never refuse their request”.
Sorry, gents. Not this time. According to the Network of Buddhist Organisations’s notices page, these saffron-tinged spam e-mails have been in circulation since at least 2004, and are a part of a visa scam. Spam, eh? And I thought they said they were vegetarian.
If you get any such e-mails, the solution is very easy: just click delete.
Image: Cobalt123 on Flickr
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Social Bookmarking
Tuesday December 19, 2006
I’ve just made a couple of tweaks to thinkBuddha, including the addition of some little social bookmarking icons.
With anything to do with either computers or filling in tax forms, a good – although not infallible – rule of thumb is that if you don’t understand something it probably doesn’t concern and so can be safely ignored. So if you have no idea what I’m talking about, don’t worry. It doesn’t matter. But if you are a social bookmarking fan, then I’m sure you’ll find the little link icons useful.
Composing our Lives
Tuesday December 5, 2006
I was struck today by a typically thought-provoking post written by the indefatigable Nacho, who has been blogging away at Woodmoor Village since before thinkBuddha was even a twinkle in my eye. Nacho’s post was written for Thanksgiving and mentions, almost in passing, the idea of blogging as a process of composing our lives with others. This is a striking and resonant phrase, not least because it can be read on so many levels. After visiting Woodmoor Village, I went on over to Chambers dictionary to look up “compose”. Chambers gave me the following:
compose verb (composed, composing) 1 tr & intr to create (music). 2 to write (a poem, letter, article, etc). 3 to make up or constitute something. 4 to arrange as a balanced, artistic whole 5 to calm (oneself); to bring (thoughts, etc) under control. 6 to settle (differences between people in dispute). 7 printing to arrange (type) or set (a page, etc) in type ready for printing.
What I like about this is that it brings together so much of what I aim to do through blogging: a process of creation, of writing, of constituting something new, of arranging thoughts in a balanced whole, of bringing all these unruly thoughts that assail me under control, a process of calming and settling, arranged upon the page (or the screen) for others to read.
Of course, our lives are not works of art that are composed once and for all. The painter Bonnard was notorious for reworking his paintings throughout his life, even taking them off the gallery wall to apply a bit more paint here, to make a small modification there. This may or may not be reprehensible in a painter (surely there is a time when we should let the work stand as it is), but it is necessary in terms of our own lives. The task is one without any clear ending, a process of continual recomposition in the company of others.
Once, several years ago, when I was talking to a Buddhist friend about what I really wanted from life, I surprised myself by saying that what I wanted above all else, was to have interesting conversations. This is not as trivial as it sounds: it is about a certain quality both of reflection and of relationship with others. This sense of deep conversation, of a reflective and shared approach to the questions that life presents us with, seems important only not for its own sake (although surely it is important for its own sake), but also so that when it comes to our acting in the world, it might be possible to act with at least a modicum of wisdom. Blogging, for me, is a part of this on-going conversation. And both online and off, I am grateful for such good company along the way.
Sitting Around
Wednesday November 22, 2006
Time for a quick plug here at thinkBuddha. Whilst I was down at Gaia House in the early autumn at a weekend for organisers of local meditation groups, we talked about setting up a website that could act as a meeting place for practitioners who are involved in the meditative traditions associated with the retreat centre. The idea was to have a place where meditators and members of sitting groups affiliated to Gaia House across the country (or, indeed, further afield), could make contact.
So after my return to Birmingham, I set up SittingAround.org. The site has been awaiting a few tweaks, but is now properly up and running, and so if you sit with a Gaia House group, or have been to Gaia House and want to keep in touch with other practitioners, then pay a visit to the site, sign yourself up with an account, and get involved. There’s already a forum, an events calendar, and the opportunity to submit news to the site to tell the world about local events, retreats and activities. And if things pick up speed over there, then there may be a few more bells and whistles as well.
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