WELCOME TO AMIDA NEWSLETTER #11
"THIS EDITION FEATURES NOT EVERYTHING IS IMPERMANENT, THE LATEST BOOK FROM DHARMAVIDYA, WRITING AS DAVID BRAZIER."
Not
Everything Is Impermanent explores what it means to be a fallible
human being in an imperfect world. It shows us how we can live a joyful and meaningful life supported by faith, compassion and wisdom.
"...a
book by a true Bodhisattva - an awake awakening being - who brings his compassion and insight to those with troubled hearts everywhere."
~ Rev. Saigyo Terrance Keenan, author of St. Nadie in Winter: Zen Encounters with Loneliness
"...the hitch-hiker's guide to no-bullshit Buddhism."
~ Alastair McIntosh, author of Soil and Soul
"A fine dharma book. Rich in anecdote, it guides the reader on a radical path of awakening."
~ Roshi Joan Halifax, Founder and Abbot of Upaya Zen Center
David Brazier points to the mystical core of Buddhism by bringing
together the devotional heart teachings of Pureland and the paradoxical wisdom of Zen. His writings are grounded in a sound understanding of Buddhist doctrine, decades of spiritual practice and experience, and an ease in speaking to ordinary people about the problems we all encounter in our everyday lives.
This is a book for the person swimming through the ocean of samsara, calling out for light and assistance. It encourages us to look deeply and fearlessly beyond our immediate concerns and to aspire towards
becoming true Bodhisattvas.
The author is not afraid of controversy. Along the way he presents a critique of mindfulness and reinterpretations of some classic Buddhist teachings. His arguments are presented robustly, and we are encouraged to enjoy the debate and to agree or disagree with equal passion.
Above all, this is a reassuring book. It doesn't flinch from looking at
the difficulties and pain we encounter in life, but it shows us how even when alone we are connected, even in the midst of change we can rely upon our deepest intuition that transcends impermanence. This
settled faith empowers us to reach outwards with compassion into the world, just as it is, just as we are. As he says, "At the core of all is
love."
"Many people are allergic to the idea of religion because they
associate it with restriction and the imposition of a sense of guilt. In
my view that is the corruption of true religion. True religion would be
a re-linking to the source of spirit. It is actually the secular world that makes unreasonable demands upon us and drives us to distraction. It
is the place of true religion to provide a refuge where our natural energy may be restored, rekindled, and ultimately resublimated into what
is truly sublime, or, at least, into the best approximation that we are
capable of at whatever level of spiritual development we happen to be at the time.
This way of cultivation is for people like you and I. All systems of spirituality are made by people, for people and they have the same
limitations and faults that people have, but they can indicate a life oriented to something beyond these limitations, not so much as a goal to
be attained, as a dimension of reality to be appreciated and related to
through all the vicissitudes of real life, as a reliable refuge."
PRE-ORDER A PAPERBACK COPY - due to be published on MAY 1ST in the UK: HTTP://TINYURL.COM/CTTA7UQ
DOWNLOAD YOUR KINDLE COPY here - available now - UK: HTTP://TINYURL.COM/D8JEMY2
US: HTTP://TINYURL.COM/CPNO2BE
It can also be read on iPhone and iPad by using the Kindle app.
Find more of his books -
The Feeling Buddha, Love and its Disappointment: The Meaning of
Life, Therapy and Art, Zen Therapy, Who Loves Dies Well: On the
Brink of Buddhas Pure Land, The New Buddhism, Beyond Carl Rogers
and Her Mothers Eyes: And Other Poems - here (US) HTTP://TINYURL.COM/CZCUWBS and
(UK) HTTP://TINYURL.COM/CJ3FSYY
THE SPRING EDITION OF RUNNING TIDE.
is now available.
You can read it or download it from this page on the Friends of Amida network: HTTP://TINYURL.COM/D3DY6PZ
NAMO AMIDA BU
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