Immoral behaviour is a physical manifestation of immoral psychological patterns operating in the mind, and its presence serves as a permanent ‘block’ to any advancement toward enlightenment.
George Blake: First Black Buddhist Monk
As far as I am aware, Mr George Blake is still alive and 94 years old. He fought in the Royal Air Force during WWII, and was probably the first ever ‘Black’ Buddhist monk.
Chinese Syncretism & Hakka Taiping Uprising (Email)
In the 19th century, the Hakka people rose-up against the Qing Dynasty (Taiping Uprising), combining Missionary Christianity, with Chinese Cosmology – with a ‘new’ Chinese ‘Son of God’.
Nyanatiloka: Playing with Emptiness
The Venerable Nyanatiloka Maha-Thera (1878-1957) was an eminent German-born Theravada Buddhist monk who entered the Sangha in Sri Lanka, and became renowned for exact and precise scholarly understanding of that school’s complex Dharma teaching. He possessed the ability to a) understand and contextualise often obscure Pali terms and concepts, and b) correctly transliterate and translate those terms into Western languages. His work regarding the Theravada School is reliable and insightful.
Buddhapadipa Temple – Wimbledon (1.9.2016)
May all beings be happy and free from suffering!
Upali: Attachment to ‘Sila’ is not Enlightenment
Occasionally, the Ch’an Records indicate that monastics on occasion learned from enlightened members of the lay community. Never take on airs and graces, because a vagrant living under a bridge might well be another Vimalakirti.
SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR) 