Yes, vegan doughnuts. Good, and good for you. The son of the family with whom I stayed here displays the doughnuts he had made early in the day. That’s a whale on his tee shirt.
In the past days I’ve met several people who have been working on their family history with a view to publishing either on the Internet or in book form. What a great legacy to leave behind for their future generations. One person has a journal written by a relative telling the story of his long walk up through California post gold rush. To have access to primary source material such as this is a real boon. Now with the Internet generations to come will be viewing relatives dancing with fire on You Tubes, and the modern doughnut and its maker here on ‘Jade’.
There is something here about the importance of ‘rootedness’. Of being part of a human clan from which to grow, mature and blossom.
This piece is for the doughnut maker and all that he will do and become. Have a good life.
Tomorrow we celebrate the Birth and Enlightenment of the Buddha termed Wesak and the monastery is suitably dressed for celebration. Each year during Wesak week-end parents, together with their off spring, are welcomed into the monastery to mingle and to play. The atmosphere is informal, creative and very active. There was football on the lawn at 4.00 pm, a music workshop all afternoon in the library and a picnic to round off the day. Earlier a crowd did some dry stone walling while others did map making.
Meet Miles, veteran reader and comment sender. He and his partner and 8 month old son were here today. It was a great joy to meet them all together.
Go anywhere in Britain and sooner rather than later you will bump into the bizarre. We seem to thrive on it. I’ve included the three silver birch tree trunks as my own contribution. I’ve title that legs hundred and eleven If you have never played bingo you wouldn’t understand.
One man and his sheep.
Legs hundred and eleven.
Don’t ask!
These pictures were taken on Friday in the grounds of an old Abbey close to Nottingham. This afternoon a small group of us visited Kirkstall Abbey a Cistercian house close to Leeds built by the monks from Fountains Abbey.
For reasons that make no sense somebody had the idea to route the main road into Leeds right up the length of the nave of the abbey church. Those on foot, with time on their hands, carved their names in the pillars for posterity. Normal then, rather bizarre now.
Former Muslim radical Shiraz Maher spent his student days campaigning for an Islamic caliphate in which execution for renouncing Islam would be written into the constitution. Now Shiraz is calling for moderation and greater Muslim integration into British life, a stance which has meant he himself is now labelled an apostate by some Muslim radicals, for which the penalty is death. He asks whether such an extreme punishment is really justified by the Qu’ran and the example of the Prophet Muhammad. ‘Could I Stop Being a Muslim?’, BBC Radio 4 FM
Listen on-line or to the repeat Sunday 27th at 5.00 pm GMT
This programme explores the issue of apostasy the formal renunciation of ones religion thus becoming an apostate.
Contrary to Abrahamic dogmas, there is no concept of an apostate in Hinduism or Buddhism, as everyone is accepted as one and the same. Converts to other religions from Hinduism or Buddhism are accepted in these communities, as there is no Hindu or Buddhist procedure that defines apostasy.
– Wikipedia.
Thank you to my monastic walking companion for bringing the concept of apostasy to my attention. This is a new word for me but not a new concept, thankfully not one we have in Buddhism. I’ll listen to the recording of the above programme when I return to the monastery tomorrow.
A reader is relocating from Florida and needs to place her two cats before the end of the month. This is heart breaking for a devoted cat lover. She may need to drive West with them on the back seat…unless they find new homes.
Today I definitely got both cats up on the shelter website — if you want something done it’s necessary to do it oneself sometimes. There must have been a miscommunication last week, as I thought they were set to put Mitra up then. Anyway, now they’re both up here, under adoption.
Looking at the cat adoption site it’s clear oceans of merit is needed for them to find homes. Offering merit is just about all I can offer at this point.
Mitra Domestic Long Hair, Dilute Tortoiseshell Suzy, a green eyed ‘senior’.
Practice Within The Order of Buddhist Contemplatives
