I was brought up in a church-going Presbyterian family, and during my formative years I developed a view of Jesus which remained pretty much constant. Until recently. It’s only late in life that I’ve come to discover how a number of important messages, which I took to be core to Christianity, may actually be much more a product of early...
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What vows do you take to be a Buddhist?
If you decide that Tibetan Buddhism is the path for you, and you wish to formalise your commitment, you may choose to take part in a ceremony called ‘Taking Refuge.’ (I have previously written about this concept in my blog: https://davidmichie.com/what-is-a-buddhist-a-definition/) The refuge ceremony is often short, and as well as taking refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, as...
How we went to “Meditate in the Mountains” at Penhalonga, Zimbabwe
In August 2018 I led a group of around 20 people to La Rochelle in Zimbabwe’s pristine Eastern Highlands. During the three day break we spent most of our time sitting in well-established botanical gardens among the most uniquely beautiful in the world; learning something about meditation and Buddhism; being led through some gentle yoga stretches and, most of all,...
Hurry Up and Meditate: Read the Introduction here!
INTRODUCTION I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestioned ability of a man to elevate his life by conscious endeavour. Henry David Thoreau Yes, it’s a deliberately provocative title. After all, being in a hurry is the opposite of meditating, isn’t it? If we have a lot going on in our lives, is it realistic trying to...
When did you last see yourself? A Buddhist question which takes us to unexpected places.
There’s a question Buddhist teachers like to ask, to tease their students towards a particular insight: when did you last see yourself? “A short while ago,” some of us reflexively reply. “I was washing my hands and I looked up and saw myself in the mirror.” “What you saw then was a reflection of your body,’ our teacher may reply. ...
The Santa Clause-like “me”
I am pleased to offer the following excerpt from my book ‘Enlightenment to Go: Shantideva and the Power of Compassion to Transform your Life’. As a young child I remember the great excitement I felt about Santa Claus. Every year, as Christmas approached, his name would be invoked as a way of making me behave myself. While my parents,...
Enlightenment to Go – read the introduction here!
INTRODUCTION ‘If I have any understanding of compassion and the practice of the bodhisattva path, it is entirely on the basis of this text that I possess it.’ The Dalai Lama speaking about Shantideva’s “Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life” Often when the Dalai Lama ends a public speech, a member of the audience will ask: ‘Can...
Was Dr Dolittle onto something?
When I was growing up, Dr Dolittle wasn’t so much my hero as my role model! Just like him, I could think of nothing better than to be able to talk to the animals, walk with the animals and chatter to a chimp in chimpanzee! Much later in life, my boyhood dreams well behind me, I learned to meditate. My...
Happiness, food and The Art of Purring
How important is willpower to your happiness? And does food have anything to do with it? Most of us would agree that it requires willpower to graduate from school, learn a skill, or practice anything till you get really good at it. Self-fulfilment is unlikely to just happen spontaneously. It is more likely to arise as a side effect...
Cutting off thoughts versus suppressing them: what’s the difference?
When practising meditation our first experiences of a mind free of all agitation or dullness are usually all too brief. A fleeting glimpse, like catching sight of a rare fish beneath the surface of a river – unmistakable but elusive. For a few precious moments we may enjoy the peaceful spaciousness of mind, perhaps begin to settle into the profound...
Be better
Every day when I go online I find myself facing a barrage of emails, Facebook messages and blogs, with many of them urging me to do something. No doubt you have the same experience. Whether it’s Amazon prompting you to buy a new book, a thought leadership coach urging you to monetize your ideas, or an investment adviser telling you...
A meditation for this precious New Year
Happy 2020! Isn’t it incredible to think that you and I are among the top 0.0000001% of the world’s population? How can I make such an extraordinary pronouncement? The population to which I refer is that of all sentient beings – not just humans. To be born as one of only seven billion humans on a planet of numberless billions of...
