NOTE - Audio Section Down

I was intending to upload the latest talk in the Rodney Smith series on the Noble Eightfold Path but our hosting site is down for scheduled maintenance and upgrades. As a result none of our audio talks are currently available - I'll let you know when they are.................

NOW O.K. (12:30 BST)

Note - Vishvapani on Wesak and Munch's "The Scream"

In his latest talk, Vishvapani contrasts the image of Edvard Munch's "The Scream", which recently sold for £74 million, with images of the Buddha and his enlightenment.

This was broadcast on Saturday, the night of which marked Wesak. It can be heard at the "Thought for the Day" page of our Audio Section.

Note - New "Thought for the Day"

Vishvapani Discusses Cameron's Meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi.

Note - New "Thought for the Day" Talk by Vishvapani

I've just posted the latest "Thought for the Day" Talk by Vishvapani onto our Audio Section.

In this talk he warns of applying labels and how becoming a Buddhist reinforced his belief that we’re all human beings first, and fundamentally the same, whatever our culture.

Note - New Dharma Talk

Following on from our previous post A "Local" Poem that I Like where we made the connection between the Buddhist concept of Impermanence and Tennyson's poem, "All Things will Die" the latest talk shared with the Newport Soto Zen group was Rebecca Bradshaw's talk on Anicca, Impermanence in which she discusses how a deep understanding of impermanence is a pathway into freedom.

Note: Latest Audio Talk

Our latest audio talk to be shared with the Newport Soto Zen group is "Understanding Sankhara" by Tempel Smith.

Tempel Smith teaches Mindfulness, Insight and Metta meditation with an emphasis on Buddhist psychology and mind-body awareness. He spent a year as a monk in Burma with Sayadaw U Pandita and Pa Auk Sayadaw, and he has completed the four year teacher-training program run by Spirit Rock and Insight Meditation Society.

Note

I have posted a fascinating edition of "In Our Time" with Melvin Bragg which discusses the relationship of Shintoism and Buddhism. You can find it on the Miscellaneous page of our Audio Section.

Note

The latest Dharma talk taken to the Newport Zen group, Awaken Your Unborn Buddha Mind by Edward Espe Brown, has been uploaded to our Audio Section.

Vishvapani's Latest Thought for the Day

Vishvapani delivered the "Thought for the Day" yesterday, Wednesday. His theme was the Eight Worldly Winds, how success turns to "failure" and loss and how the Buddha taught us how to transcend this.

THE EIGHT WORLDLY DHARMAS

The 8 worldly Dharmas are also known as 8 worldly concerns or 8 worldly concerns. Avoiding these 8 mental states is considered quite important in Buddhist practice. They describe the ceaseless activities we develop towards short-term pleasures, which often not even result in pleasure...

Vishvapani on Aung San Suu Kyi

Listen to Vishvapani on Aung San Suu Kyi on our Audio page.

Related articles

• Aung San Suu Kyi calls for unity (topinews.com)

New Talk & New Video

In our Audio Section I've just put up the latest talk in our series of "Thursday Talks"; MP3 talks that I have taken along to the Newport Soto Zen group. It's entitled "Dogen's Instructions To The Cook" and is by Larry Rosenberg. While cross referencing it I came across a fascinating little video on how to deal with ones food and bowls in a Zen monastery or when one is on retreat. I've posted it on our Video Section, it is called "Ōryōki (Zen Style Three Bowl Cuisine)."

A History of the World in 100 Objects

The BBC have been running a fascinating series on Radio 4 entitled "A History of the World in 100 Objects". A History of the World is a partnership between the BBC and the British Museum that focuses on world history, involving collaborations between teams across the BBC, and schools, museums and audiences across the UK. The project focuses on the things we have made, from flint to mobile phone.

100 programmes, written and narrated by Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, focus on 100 objects from the British Museum’s collection. Several of these have a Buddhist connection and we are posting those up on our Audio Section. The first two are about an early Buddha statue from Gandhara and, with the aid of a piece from one of his famous pillars, how the Indian ruler Ashoka turned his back on violence and plunder to promote the ethical codes inspired by Buddhism.... enjoy.