My office desk overlooks a street on which people in the neighbourhood walk their dogs every day. In the past ten years I’ve noticed a trend that saddens me. Instead of taking their dogs for a walk as they used to, these days many people are more likely to be hunched over their phones while...
The first book I wrote about Buddhism was called Buddhism for Busy People. That was back in 2004, when there weren’t many books providing an introduction to the key concepts in Tibetan Buddhism. Buddhism for Busy People is also a very personal account, relating my own encounter with Buddha’s teachings (the Dharma), why they resonated...
I am often struck by what I think is one of life’s greatest paradoxes: even though our entire experience of reality depends on our mind, most people have no idea what mind actually is. Everything we perceive, think and feel arises only with mind’s participation. That being the case, wouldn’t it be useful to have...
Like most people who spend time around cats, the superior attitude of some of my feline friends has often made me wonder who they were in a previous lifetime. Princess Wussik, the inspiration for The Dalai Lama’s Cat, frequently reminded us where we stood in the overall scheme of things. Delighted to find a new...
Dear Blog Readers: I first published the blog below over two years ago. It immediately became the best read blog I had ever written. I realised there is a hunger for information and practical advice about the death process as it applies to pets, from a Tibetan Buddhist perspective. In a very direct way, this...
Many factors that affect the ageing process. But a growing body of scientific research shows how the very gentle practice of meditation can have a powerful impact. A few highlights: Biological age 12 years less than chronological age One of the earliest studies was conducted by Dr Robert Keith Wallace, whose findings were published in...
One of the most stress-inducing ideas, when we’re crazy busy, is the one that we just don’t have time to relax. We’d love to push back for a while. In fact, we’re desperate for it. But we put the idea out of our mind because we’ve still got a pile of work to get...
Buddhism is a non-theistic tradition, meaning that it does not involve a belief in God. The focus of Buddhism is on the nature of mind. What concerns Buddhists is an understanding of how consciousness works, not only in theory but more importantly in practise. Our goal is to take charge of our own mental continuum,...
Late last year there was quite a stir when it was reported that Pope Francis had told a young boy that animals have souls which go to heaven. The story grabbed the headlines because it was the opposite of the previous Papal position. Within 24 hours the story had been repeated so often that it...
Book titles can be challenging for an author. In a noisy world where everyone is competing for people’s attention, how do you distill the essence of a 300 page book into a title and strapline of just a few words? And do so in a way that makes a reader want to pick the book...
