DOCSLIB.ORG

The Centre for Ethics Newsletter

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Centre for Ethics Newsletter The Centre for Ethics Newsletter Volume 85 - Term 2, 2017 ENCOMM Older people with interesting stories Agelink Theatre As participants in the Environment and The residents at Riversea certainly enjoy Agelink’s Managing Director is Jenny Davis Community (ENCOMM) program at Christ seeing the boys each week and the who founded the company in 1993. Church, our Year 10 boys are involved in a students gain much from their contact Agelink Theatre’s aims include affirming wide variety of service learning activity. with the older people, almost all of whom the value of seniors. This means Some assist with wetland restoration. have dementia. As Pele Reeve points out, acknowledging their wisdom, experience, Others help out at Food Rescue. As well, the conversations our students have body of knowledge and their contribution students visit several aged-care centres with these men and women allow the to society. Agelink also seeks to bring in the local area. One of the centres we boys to discover that the residents have together the various generations so that visit on Friday afternoons is Riversea in interesting backgrounds and experiences the stories of older men and women may Mosman Park. to share. Hearing their stories provides enrich the young. As a theatre company, an invaluable lesson, especially in the they produce main stage and touring Intergenerational activities light of the considerable stigma attached productions which inspire, entertain and These days, more and more organisations to dementia. It is too easy to discount inform. which provide support for dementia the possibility and importance of social patients, including those with adult day interaction for those who have this Elevating mood programs, have implemented formal condition. Another of their aims is to engage with intergenerational activities. The results communities through an imaginative have been very positive. The isolation of dementia process aimed at elevating mood, Many people with dementia face an combatting depression, passing on new Pele Reeve unnecessary isolation which leads to skills and increasing mental alertness. We have been delighted to work with Pele loneliness and boredom. A partnership They produce shows based on seniors’ Reeve, the Facility Manager at Riversea. between Bethanie, Curtin Care and memories which are retrieved in interviews Pele says that “Riversea has changed Agelink Theatre, has resulted in a creative and reminiscence workshops. These significantly over the last five years collaboration which provides a way of shows are filled with stories, music, to reflect the changing needs of our countering this through the use of theatre song and laughter; shows that travel into population. What was traditionally a low and music. A recent example combining the community and can be performed care hostel, is now a specialised high care these has been a public performance anywhere including libraries, schools, dementia specific facility. The expectation entitled Some Enchanted Evening. senior centres, even in the corner of a of the students who visit to spend time Residents from Riversea participated room. These performances are aimed at with our residents has changed. The alongside professional actors and mainstream audiences and they pay tribute students have risen to the challenge and musicians to produce a lively and very to the human spirit. represent CCGS in a way that should make enthusiastically received performance the School and their families very proud. which delighted those on stage as well as Reminiscence Box When they visit us, they have the privilege their families. In preparation of specialised interactive of spending time with our residents who and musical performances for audiences have lived rich and full lives and have Magic Moments with dementia, Agelink travel to much to share. We teach the students We are pleased that the next of these residential or day care facilities with their the value of engaging and connecting shows will be held in our School Chapel ‘Reminiscence Box’ so as to stimulate with people, regardless of their diagnosis, and that a number of Year 10 students memories and conversation. The box background or the reality in which they live will not only assist with the production contains nostalgic objects related to the in during any moment. This may be through but join in the performance alongside the five senses: fabrics such as fur, velvet conversations, shared experiences men and women they have come to know and kid leather; smells such as floor polish, such as music or looking at pictures, or at Riversea. The show will be called Magic 4711, perfume, rosemary and lavender. activities such as games and art.” Moments and once more, Agelink Theatre will be involved. This newsletter is produced by the Centre for Ethics at Christ Church Grammar School. It is a quarterly publication informing the community of forthcoming speakers and events. The Centre for Ethics Newsletter “When they visit us, they “Dementia care is a challenging have the privilege of concept as people often spending time with our have pre-conceived ideas residents who have lived rich about dementia and how and full lives and have much this restricts those with the to share.” condition from being part of amazing experiences.” Songs evoking memories Vice-Patron of the Midnite Youth Theatre Good news stories In creating the production Some enchanted Company and a friend and mentor to many The work of Jenny Davis and Agelink afternoon, Jenny Davis has performers who have participated in its productions Theatre is a good news story. Further working from skeleton scripts. Songs from over the years, including Tim Minchin who good news is that the percentage of older musicals are played and then sung. My Fair says that Miss Honey in Matilda is based US adults with dementia declined from Lady, The Sound of Music and Oklahoma on Jenny. There is a fabulous photograph 11.6 percent in 2000 to 8.8 percent in are favourites. Jenny then interviewed of Tim, his wife Sarah and his parents 2012. But for individuals and their families the performers, asking them to recall along with Jenny who was his guest at the dealing with it, Agelink provides the sort memories which arise from hearing and opening of the show on the West End. of response which reminds us that every singing these songs. At weekly rehearsals person counts. that lead up to the production, Jenny 2016 Juniper Champion for Seniors elicited past stories from most of the In November 2016, Jenny Davis was The next generation participants, incorporating them into the named as the ‘Juniper Champion for As Pele Reeves points out, “Dementia show and usually connecting the memories Seniors’ at the WA Seniors Awards. It was care is a challenging concept as people to the words of one of the songs. For a tribute to her years of service in seeking often have pre-conceived ideas about example, if there is a memory about rain, to improve the wellbeing of older people dementia and how this restricts those with the group might join in Singing in the Rain. throughout the community. In presenting the condition from being part of amazing There is a creative process that has its the award, Juniper Chief Executive Vaughan experiences. This simply isn’t true, and own energy. Harding noted that “Since 1993, Jenny through partnerships like ours with CCGS, has brought entertaining and emotionally we can educate the next generation, and Jenny Davis OAM moving works to the community and in hopefully inspire young people to want Jenny Davis OAM is a much loved and doing so has helped enrich the lives of all to make a difference in this critical field highly respected figure within the Perth involved.” He spoke of Jenny “brightening in the future. At the very least they will theatrical community. She writes and the lives of people across the State”. be knowledgeable and compassionate, directs many shows for Agelink. One and be able to relate to those with production, Here to Stay, was constructed WA Women’s Hall of Fame 2017 dementia, which is incredibly valuable in our out of interviews with senior migrants who It was hardly a surprise that on communities.” had lived in camps for displaced persons in International Women’s Day in March this Europe after World War II. Dear Heart was year Jenny was inducted into the WA written in 1995 for the 50th anniversary Women’s Hall of Fame. Jenny saw it as of the end of World War II. This was based an affirmation of the place of the arts in on her aunt’s letters to her P.O.W husband our society. She also noted that women and on interviews with survivors from face particular challenges entering Japanese prisoner of war camps. She was various artistic fields and then receiving commissioned in 1998 to write Dear Heart recognition. as a novel, published by Allen and Unwin. Year 10 classes Vice-Patron of Midnite Apart from holding this next production of In 2001, Jenny received a Centenary Medal Agelink Theatre in the chapel, we will have Frank Sheehan for services to West Australian theatre. Jenny Davis speaking to some of our Year School Chaplain Apart from writing plays, she both acts and 10 classes about the work of the company Director of the Centre for Ethics directs for the Perth Theatre Company and and the ways in which new patterns of Frank Sheehan relationship between different generations was for many years director of the West School Chaplain Australian Youth Theatre. For 10 years may be imagined, experienced and enjoyed Director of the Centre for Ethics Jenny was a writer for ABC Radio. She is a to the benefit of all. The Centre for Ethics Newsletter Facilitating Creative Spaces Zainab Syed Zainab Syed graduated from Brown University in May 2014 with a degree in Political Science.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Buddhist Revivalist Movements Comparing Zen Buddhism and the Thai Forest Movement Buddhist Revivalist Movements Alan Robert Lopez Buddhist Revivalist Movements
    Alan Robert Lopez Buddhist Revivalist Movements Comparing Zen Buddhism and the Thai Forest Movement Buddhist Revivalist Movements Alan Robert Lopez Buddhist Revivalist Movements Comparing Zen Buddhism and the Thai Forest Movement Alan Robert Lopez Chiang Mai , Thailand ISBN 978-1-137-54349-3 ISBN 978-1-137-54086-7 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-54086-7 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016956808 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2016 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfi lms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Cover image © Nickolay Khoroshkov / Alamy Stock Photo Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Nature America Inc.
    [Show full text]
  • Newsletter, Fall 2009
    Fall 2009•2552 Volume 14, Number 3 The Right Angle Everyone Benefits, Nobody Loses Out By Luang Por Liam, translated by Ajahn Siripañño The entire world and everyone in it needs repay the debt is called kataveditā. the Dhamma as a protection. We all survive The ones who know what has been and find comfort in life with the support of done for them are called kataññu. And the knowledge and skills, mindfulness and those who return the favor gratefully are wisdom, of countless others. Without their called katavedi. help we would all perish as soon as we leave Kataññu-kataveditā: acknowledging our mother’s womb. We’d have no food to the debt we owe to others and paying it eat, clothes to wear or house to live in. Our back with acts of gratitude are spiritual parents, whose faces we have never even qualities which protect the world from seen before, give us life and all the things harm, help society to function, and lead we need to make us healthy and strong. to peace and happiness. People, however, For our clothes and living places, and all are less and less able to see that we all the various skills we learn, we are entirely have this mutual debt of gratitude which indebted to others. From the first moments must be repaid, and failing to under- in our mothers womb, all of us have a debt of stand this is the reason for the increase gratitude owed to innumerable other people in heated fighting and quarrelling. So, – no need to mention our parents and all our taking an interest in the qualities of teachers, to whom the sense of gratitude we kataññu-katavedi is something which is should feel is incalculable.
    [Show full text]
  • The Following Articles by Venerable Ajahn Brahmavamso Were Taken from the Website of the Buddhist Society of Western Australia
    The following articles by Venerable Ajahn Brahmavamso were taken from the website of the Buddhist Society of Western Australia. For more articles see www.bswa.org VINAYA Ownership and Administration of Monasteries Ajahn Brahmavamso Vinaya is the name for the body of monastic rules and traditions that are binding on every Buddhist monk and nun. The Vinaya was established by the Buddha himself and is now preserved in written form, both in the ancient Indian languages and in English translation. With so many new people having come into the Society in the last few years, many of our members and friends know very little about the rules of discipline of the monastic community. It is important for the lay community to have an understanding of these rules to ensure that we do not behave in any way which is offensive to the Sangha nor which could create difficulty for them. We have therefore decided to reprint a series of articles in this and forthcoming newsletters, which were written by Ajahn Brahm a number of years ago. Ownership and Administration of Monasteries: In the time of the Buddha, when a lay Buddhist offered lands of buildings, or money for such things, to establish a monastery, they would dedicate it to The Sangha of the Four Quarters Present and Yet to Come. The Sangha of the four quarters present and yet to come means ALL properly ordained monks and nuns. This would include all legitimate Buddhist monks and nuns, of all nationalities and sects. Today it would probably include most Chinese Mahayana monks and nuns (bhiksus and bhiksunis) but it would exclude some Tibetan lamas and most Zen roshis, the married ones at least! Thus the owners of the monastery are the worldwide and "timewide" community of monks and nuns.
    [Show full text]
  • Ajahn Brahm on Why He Was Excommunicated 7Th November, 2009 a Theravada Bhikkhuni Ordination Was Held in Perth on Thursday 22Nd October
    1 Buddhãloka Volume 14 No. 26 Summer 2010 / 2553 Ajahn Brahm on why he was excommunicated 7th November, 2009 A Theravada Bhikkhuni Ordination was held in Perth on Thursday 22nd October. The decision to proceed with the Bhikkhuni Ordination was finalised only on 20th September 2009, when the Committee of the Buddhist Society of Western Australia unanimously gave their support. We did realise this was a sensitive matter and resolved to keep it in-house for the next month as we finalised the preparations. On Wednesday 13th October, 24 days after the decision was finalised, I informed Ajahn Sumedho in Amaravati, as a matter of courtesy, during my brief visit to the UK to see my mother (who has severe dementia). The matter of Bhikkhuni Ordination had been discussed in Wat Pah Pong about two years ago and, as I recall, they resolved to follow the lead of the Mahatherasamakom (the supreme Monks’ Council of Thailand). I was and remain under the impression that the ordination of Bhikkhunis outside of Thailand was not contravening the rulings of the Mahatherasamakom. This is because I had consulted with the acting Sangharaja, Somdej Phra Pootajarn, well beforehand to ask him precisely his opinion on the ordination of Bhikkhunis outside of Thailand. His response, which I have circulated amongst the Western Sangha for a long time now, was “Thai Sangha law does not extend outside of Thailand”. He repeated this another two times to make his intention clear. Even though my ordination as a monk was in Thailand, I understood that my obligations were to the Dhamma and Vinaya, not to the Thai state.
    [Show full text]
  • Summer 2017 Electronic Edition CONTENTS
    T IMES Newsletter of the Buddhist Society of WA Summer 2017 Electronic Edition CONTENTS FeatureAnukampa Bhikkhuni Project ArticlesFrom the President cAjahnontents Brahm’s Corner SubmissionsBSWA: Past, Present & Future Do good to feel good InformationThree month commemoration Annual General Meeting Notices User Submissions Retreats 2 Programmes Useful Links 2 Credits Anukampa Bhikkhuni Project News from our English Bhikkhuni Ven Canda : Anukampa Bhikkhuni Project’s aim of establishing a monastery is set to become a reality! last year’s peaceful vassa in Perth, I returned to England, After glowing with revitalised happiness. The year had been busy, having taken long leave of my beloved community at Dhammasara at the end of 2015, to begin establishing a nuns monastery in England, as per Ajahn Brahm’s request. It was a little daunting to find myself back home, with no idea how things would unfold, so when Ajahn Brahm kindly agreed to come to England to teach in October 2016, I plunged into organising his trip with gusto! A new chapter in my spiritual life thus began. By the end of vassa, I was feeling rather excited about the upcoming tour. Ajahn explained that he was happy to come because he feels a sense of responsibility to his birthplace and the society that inculcated many values, such as fairness, in him. In England, Ajahn continued, Theravada Buddhist women are not treated fairly because they are not permitted to take full ordination, and this is unacceptable to him because of his upbringing. However, Ajahn would rather light a candle than complain about the darkness “so”, he said enthusiastically, “the next project is to try and get a nice start for the bhikkhuni sangha in the UK!” Ajahn Brahm clearly enjoyed being back in his homeland.
    [Show full text]
  • Out of the Shadows: Socially Engaged Buddhist Women
    University of San Diego Digital USD Theology and Religious Studies: Faculty Scholarship Department of Theology and Religious Studies 2019 Out of the Shadows: Socially Engaged Buddhist Women Karma Lekshe Tsomo PhD University of San Diego, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digital.sandiego.edu/thrs-faculty Part of the Buddhist Studies Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Digital USD Citation Tsomo, Karma Lekshe PhD, "Out of the Shadows: Socially Engaged Buddhist Women" (2019). Theology and Religious Studies: Faculty Scholarship. 25. https://digital.sandiego.edu/thrs-faculty/25 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at Digital USD. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theology and Religious Studies: Faculty Scholarship by an authorized administrator of Digital USD. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Section Titles Placed Here | I Out of the Shadows Socially Engaged Buddhist Women Edited by Karma Lekshe Tsomo SAKYADHITA | HONOLULU First Edition: Sri Satguru Publications 2006 Second Edition: Sakyadhita 2019 Copyright © 2019 Karma Lekshe Tsomo All rights reserved No part of this book may not be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, or by any information storage or retreival system, without the prior written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations. Cover design Copyright © 2006 Allen Wynar Sakyadhita Conference Poster
    [Show full text]
  • Newsletter, Summer 2008
    Summer 2008•2551/2552 Volume 13, Number 2 During the ceremony out at the Cool Oaks today, Bennett who, in recol- lecting Todd, was certainly missing his friend, was also remembering the good qualities of his generosity, curiosity, and humor. It is the quali- ties that we remember of each other as we think about our friends. It’s the qualities that are important, and those are the things that are actually carried on—various qualities. So, for ourselves as well, trying to recollect what kind of qualities to bring into our own lives. How do we want to associate with others? And how are we able to relate to each other in ways of friendship? In particular, in Buddhist teachings, the Buddha places a great importance on spiritual friendship or admirable friendship, Kaly€namitta. When we have noble friends or have Nathan, Steven, Sunny, Faith and Brandon, and Bennett good friends, those are the things that help support us in our own life and in our own aspiration for living skillfully. There is a very famous discourse Friendship or teaching where the Buddha was By Ajahn Pasanno. approached by his attendant, šnanda. A Saturday night talk, Abhayagiri Monastery, April 26, 2008 šnanda had spent the day in solitude. Today we have had a very special ceremony for Todd Tansuhaj, a young boy who When he was meditating during that died about two years ago and who was a novice here just prior to his hospitalization day, he had an insight and was really for an illness. His parents and friends have come for a memorial service.
    [Show full text]
  • When Does Human Life Begin in This Body? by Ajahn Brahm
    When Does Human Life Begin in This Body? By Ajahn Brahm 1. What Did the Buddha Say? 1a. “(Human life begins) when in the mother’s womb, the first citta (‘mind’ or ‘thought’) arises, when the first consciousness manifests”.1 1b. “Bhikkhus, the descent of the gabbha (misleadingly translated as embryo by Bhikkhu Bodhi) takes place through the union of 3 things – the union of mother and father, the mother is in season, and the gandhabba (stream of consciousness) is present.”2 1c. “If viññāṇa (consciousness) were not to descend into the mother’s womb, would nāma-rūpa take shape in the womb? Certainly not, Venerable Sir.”3 Nāma-rūpa = feeling (vedana) perception (saññā) contact (phasso) will (cetanā) attention (manasikāro) and material form (rūpa ). 1d. Nāma-rūpa and consciousness are like two sheaves of reeds standing leaning against each other. If one were to remove one of those sheaves of reeds, the other would fall. So, with the cessation of nāma-rūpa comes cessation of consciousness, and with the cessation of consciousness comes the cessation of nāma-rūpa. 4 2. What Did the Buddha Mean? 2a. Human life begins when the stream of consciousness (s.o.c.) enters the embryo-fetus and the first consciousness manifests therein. 2b. Such an arising of consciousness is caused by the combination of 3 conditions: parental union, fertility and an s.o.c. being available. 2c. The above causal link is not necessarily instantaneous. Buddhist causality includes results that appear a long time after their cause. A prime example is “when there is birth, there is old age, sickness and death.” It is a mistake to assume that the s.o.c.
    [Show full text]
  • Dhamma Talk: Ethical Leadership
    IOD Special Event 2/2016 Dhamma Talk: Ethical Leadership 13th June 2016, 09.00-12.30 hrs. at 3rd Floor, IOD (Northpark Project, Vibhavadi-Rangsit Rd.) Event Overview Ethical leadership is the root of a sustained business. Good governance begins with the people at the very top being dedicated to the happiness of employees and other stakeholders at no lesser magnitude than corporate financial return. British monk Ajahn Brahmavamso Mahathera, commonly known as Ajahn Brahm, will speak to business leaders on the significance of ethical leadership, its vital role in driving organizations toward better governance and sustainability, and how top executives can lead to achieve desirable results. Having been in monk's robes for 40 years, Ajahn Brahm is famous for applying scientific and logical thinking to complement his Buddhist teachings. Agenda About Speaker 09.00 – 09.30 Registration Ajahn Brahmavamso Mahathera 09.30 – 10.30 Dhamma Talk “Ethical Leadership” (known to most as Ajahn Brahm) by Ajahn Brahmvamso Mahathera, was born Peter Betts in London, The abbot of Bodhinyana Monastery, United Kingdom in August 7, 1951. in Serpentine – Western Australia After graduating from Cambridge 10.30 – 11.00 Q&A University, he taught in a school for 11.00 - 11.45 Offering food to the monks “Dana Food” one year before travelling to Thailand to become a monk and 11.45 – 12.30 Lunch train with the Venerable Ajahn Chah Bodhinyana Mahathera. Whilst still in his years as a junior monk, he was asked to Registration undertake the compilation of an English-language guide to You may register online at the Buddhist monastic code - the Vinaya - which later http://www.thai-iod.com/en/seminar-events-detail.asp?id=320 became the basis for monastic discipline in many within 9 June 2016 Theravadan monasteries in Western countries.
    [Show full text]
  • La Tradition De La Forêt
    Page 1 sur 20 Version provisoire [Claude Le Ninan, septembre 2010] La tradition de la forêt Quelques repères [attente autre photo forêt Thaïlande] Photos Historique de la tradition de la forêt en Thaïlande et en occident Moines et nonnes de la tradition de la forêt Sources et liens Page 2 sur 20 Photos Anciennes Récentes [attente autres photos Thaïlande] Page 3 sur 20 Historique de la tradition de la forêt en Thaïlande et en occident Les coutumes des Etres Nobles Thanissaro Bhikkhu - 1999 - A travers son histoire, le bouddhisme a fonctionné comme une force civilisatrice. Par exemple, ses enseignements sur le karma - le principe selon lequel toutes les actions intentionnelles ont des conséquences - ont enseigné la moralité et la compassion à de nombreuses sociétés. Mais à un niveau plus profond, le bouddhisme a toujours chevauché la ligne de partage entre la civilisation et les étendues sauvages. Le Bouddha lui-même a réalisé l'Eveil dans une forêt, a donné son premier sermon dans une forêt, et est décédé dans une forêt. Les qualités d'esprit dont il avait besoin afin de survivre physiquement et mentalement alors qu'il allait, sans arme, dans les étendues sauvages jouèrent un rôle clé dans sa découverte du Dhamma. Elles incluaient la résistance, la détermination, être en attitude d'alerte ; l'honnêteté vis-à-vis de soi-même et la circonspection, la volonté indéfectible face à la solitude ; le courage et l'ingéniosité face aux dangers extérieurs ; la compassion et le respect pour les autres habitants de la forêt. Ces qualités ont formé la culture originelle du Dhamma.
    [Show full text]
  • Ajahn Brahmavamso on the Occasion of His 60Th Birthday for FREE DISTRIBUTION
    Emptiness and Stillness A tribute to Venerable Ajahn Brahmavamso on the occasion of his 60th birthday FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION This publication has been sponsored for free distribution. © 2011 The Buddhist Society of Western Australia (Inc.) www.bswa.org The Buddhist Society of Western Australia (Inc.) 18-20 Nanson Way Nollamara WA 6061 Australia www.bswa.org Permission to copy, reprint and distribute this publication is hereby given provided it is for free distribution and no changes are made to content or layout. Reproduction in any way for commercial gain is prohibited. This copyright notice should be read in conjunction with the acknowledgements on page 108. All commercial rights reserved. Printed in Australia by Daniels Printing Craftsmen, Western Australia. Design by Edwin Fong Integrity Graphic Design and Marketing Emptiness and Stillness Contents Editor’s Note .................................................................................... iv Happiness and Energy: The Life of Ajahn Brahm ................................1 Ajahn the Builder ....................................................................... 24 Decades of Friendship in the Dhamma ........................................ 30 Dhamma Teachings ......................................................................... 33 The Meaning of Life: Achieving Peace of Mind ............................ 34 The Simile of the Driverless Bus ................................................... 39 Bodhinyana Connections ...............................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Opening the Door of Your Heart
    OPENING THE DOOR OF YOUR HEART And other Buddhist tales of HAPPINESS jahn Brahm was born in London in 1951. He regarded himself as a Buddhist at the age of sixteen after Areading Buddhist books while still at school. His interest in Buddhism and meditation flourished while studying Theoretical Physics at Cambridge University. After completing his degree and teaching for a year, he travelled to Thailand to become a monk. He was ordained in Bangkok at the age of twenty-three by the Abbot of Wat Saket. He subsequently spent nine years studying and training in the forest meditation tradition under Venerable Ajahn Chah. In 1983, he was asked to assist in the establishment of a forest monastery near Perth, Western Australia. Ajahn Brahm is now the Abbot of Bodhinyana Monastery and the Spiritual Director of the Buddhist Society of Western Australia. To my teacher, Ajahn Chah, who lived at peace, To my fellow monks who remind me of the beauty of silence, And to my father who taught me kindness. Grant yourself a moment of peace, and you will understand how foolishly you have scurried about. Learn to be silent, and you will notice that you have talked too much. Be kind, and you will realise that your judgement of others was too severe. — Ancient Chinese Proverb OPENING THE DOOR OF YOUR HEART And other Buddhist tales of HAPPINESS Ajahn Brahm Buddhist Publication Society Kandy Sri lanka I wish to acknowledge Ron Storey for painstakingly typing up the first manuscript; my fellow monks for their guidance and help; and, lastly, my managing editor at Lothian Books, Magnolia Flora, for her advice and encouragement in this my first book.
    [Show full text]