Why Mindfulness?The Buddha first introduced the concept of mindfulness 2500 years ago as part of the Eightfold Path, or Middle Way. In the Satipatthana Sutta he states that:“This is the direct path for the purification of beings, For the surmounting of sorrow, For the disappearance of pain and grief, For the attainment of the true way, For the realisation of
Gratitude
In our culture, and at this time of year, we are actively encouraged to feel attraction, desire and excitement. Because this time of year is so frantic, it is perhaps easier to perceive the tension and suffering in these states, even the addiction, the keeping ourselves busy, the needing of new things to amuse us and the being rarely satisfied
ISA Journal article by Head Teacher, Clare Eddison
Please take a second to read my article from the ISA Journal.Mental Health and Wellbeing, ‘Playing the Long Game’.By Clare Eddison, Head of the Dharma School.The Dharma Primary School is the only school in Europe with a Buddhist ethos. (I hasten to add that, globally, there are other ‘Buddhist’ schools or schools with a Buddhist ethos – in the USA,
The Learning Power Approach at the Dharma School
It gives me great pleasure to write this Head’s Up for our community. The Learning Power Approach (LPA), developed out of the foundations of Building Learning Power, both of which have been developed by Guy Claxton, emeritus Professor of the Learning Sciences at the University of Winchester. Our school has a strong connection with Guy, see http://dharmaschool.co.uk/community/friends-and-patrons-of-the-school. It is
Future-proofing body and mind; playing the long game.
‘There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning.’ Krishnamurti Children spend most of their childhood at school, (from nursery, primary, through to secondary and beyond) and all
REFLECTIONS ON THE MIDDLE WAY AND RENUNCIATION AT THIS TIME OF YEAR
I would like to wish all of you good wishes and enjoyment in all the traditional and contemporary celebrations and events that you may be engaging in. These include Christmas, Yule and New Year, and you may (or may not) celebrate them in different ways; they are an opportunity for some families and friends to get together, sing and eat,
Love
One of the four heavenly abodes in Buddhism is ‘loving kindness’ or metta in Pali, (the others are compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity). Metta is sometimes translated as ‘compassion’, though in this formulation, it is distinctly ‘loving-kindness’. This is because karuna is used to describe ‘compassion’. The Pali language makes this distinction between metta and karuna: Karuna connotes active sympathy and gentle affection, and a
Let their spirit shine through
Several years ago, at a meeting with a group of Western teachers, the Dalai Lama expressed astonishment at the degree of self-aversion and feelings of unworthiness reported by Western students. In fact, when asked about self-hatred (by Sharon Salzberg, a senior teacher in the Insight tradition), he did not know what it was, and needed it explaining. There is a
New Year’s Resolutions
Happy New Year to all! May you have a healthy year, full of peace and love. I always enjoy the inexorable change of the seasons, in a bodily way; it is a true reminder of my animal self. We are already past the longest night, moving towards Imbolc and thence to Spring. Imbolc (1st February) is a traditional Gaelic or
Talking to children about interbeing this Christmas…and beyond
It’s Christmas time, the weather is cold and there has even been some snow! Christmas is a time to give gifts and to have fun, but in all the excitement it is also important for our children to have moments of peaceful reflection, and to consider others who may be less fortunate. This year I have really enjoyed having a
