tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40863616491127310382024-03-05T22:40:49.520-08:00Faith Awareness LeicesterTHE INTER-FAITH PROGRAMME OF CHRISTIANS AWAREAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17455644680102431584noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086361649112731038.post-62295089714782801112013-06-17T22:00:00.000-07:002013-06-23T02:16:53.219-07:00SUMMER VISITS: NEVE SHALOM LPJC SYNAGOGUE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The <a href="http://www.christiansaware.co.uk/Faith_Awareness_Overview.html"><span style="color: #073763; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Faith Awareness</span></a> series of summer visits to places of worship and other faith-related sites in Leicester continues this evening at Neve Shalom, the synagogue of <a href="http://beehive.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/default.asp?WCI=SiteHome&ID=9667">Leicester Progressive Jewish Congregation</a>. As well being contracted to work 20 hours a week for Leicester Council of Faiths, I now do a day and a half a week with Faith Awareness, the inter-faith programme of <a href="http://www.christiansaware.co.uk/"><span style="color: #073763; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Christians Aware</span></a>.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Neve Shalom means "Oasis of Peace" (Isaiah 32:18). The Synagogue is named after a village near Jerusalem known as <a href="http://www.nswas.com/">Neve Shalom / Wahat al Salam</a>, where Jews, Christians and Muslims live and work together for the common good. The village is an inspiration to Jewish people, in Leicester and farther afield. The distinctive building, designed by celebrated Leicester architect <a href="http://gimson.leicester.gov.uk/" target="_blank">Ernest Gimson</a>, has an interesting history of its own. This is hinted at in an article by Olwen Hughes, published in the Leicester Mercury in January 2013 and <a href="http://equalitydiversityofficer.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/building-by-gimson-is-now-used-as.html" target="_blank">reproduced in my blog</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I've made half a dozen visits to the LPJC Synagogue since my <a href="http://equalitydiversityofficer.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/neve-shalom-first-visit-to-oasis-of.html" target="_blank">first time in July 2011</a>, and have always enjoyed the hospitality of the community there. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />We're keeping up good numbers on these Monday evening visits. We've brought along a dozen people this evening (half of them newbies) and we're matched one-to-one by members of the LPJC.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The original theme for this series of visits was "food and festivals". Our hosts this evening have stuck to that theme. Dov Stekel gives a short talk about the theory of kosher food and its place in the life of the community. That's followed up by a practical demonstration, with a delightful spread of food and drink linked to different occasions in the Jewish calendar.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is the fifth of six Faith Awareness visits planned for Monday evenings in May and June, the others being</span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.jaincentreleicester.com/"><span style="color: #073763; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Jain Centre</span></a>, Oxford Street (<a href="http://equalitydiversityofficer.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/faith-awareness-summer-visits-jain.html"><span style="color: #073763; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">13 May</span></a>)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.leicester.anglican.org/news/details/a-new-church-is-born"><span style="color: #073763; text-decoration: none;">All Saints Church</span></a>, Kerrysdale Avenue (<a href="http://faithawareness.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/summer-visits-all-saints-church.html" target="_blank">20 May</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://mandir.org/leicester/"><span style="color: #073763; text-decoration: none;">BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir</span></a>, Gipsy Lane (<a href="http://faithawareness.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/summer-visits-all-saints-church.html" target="_blank">3 June</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.islaminfocentre.org.uk/" target="_blank">Islam Information Centre</a>, Highfield Street (<a href="http://equalitydiversityofficer.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/faith-awareness-summer-visits-islam.html"><span style="color: blue;">10 June</span></a>)</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2361706"><span style="color: #073763; text-decoration: none;">Guru Amar Das Gurdwara</span></a>, Clarendon Park Road (24 June)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I may not be able to attend every visit personally, but I hope to arrange for a blog post on each of them. Watch this space!</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17455644680102431584noreply@blogger.com1Leicester LE2 3EA, UK52.6163798 -1.112725100000034252.6151748 -1.1152466000000343 52.617584799999996 -1.1102036000000342tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086361649112731038.post-8296492404923693582013-06-15T22:00:00.000-07:002013-06-17T05:06:04.231-07:00BUDDHIST HOUSE BBQ<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnfQzHDcB9A6xgZBONsQrJAqb18zdyVirs-Uwo5GGl-m0ps7mjRcQtvds0gvQBD5mMy7PjLWnhUQHuV8xUgpn8WoNLl7fUywQHQ2h66UaSRty37AsNyclWXh6fCGOW_ptLGzMKyvriRlPT/s320/buddhist_house.jpg" width="320" /></span></span></div>
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</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; color: black; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This evening I'm at </span><a href="http://buddhistpsychology.typepad.com/tariki/local-events-in-narborough.html" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; color: black; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Buddhist House</span></a><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; color: black; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, Narborough, for a vegetarian barbecue and garden evening. It's been raining quite heavily, off and on, for most of the day, and there's quite a downpour on the way here (hailstones in the middle of June, for goodness sake). But it stops and the sky clears around 1830, so enjoyment of the evening isn't dampened.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; color: black; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Buddhist House is home to the </span><a href="http://buddhistpsychology.typepad.com/tariki/" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; color: black; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Tariki Trust</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="color: black;">, <span style="line-height: 19px;">a community of people who believe that Buddhism is something to be lived, not merely a practice to be fitted in during a busy day. </span><span style="line-height: 19px;">The name Tariki means "other-power" in Japanese, a fundamental concept in Pureland Buddhism. It's the basis for Other-Centred Approach, the model of psychology underpinning the psychotherapy taught on Tariki courses, which are offered at The Buddhist House.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It's a fine, rambling house of character and distinction, dating from around 1900, with a garden to match. There's a Buddha statue nestled under a lime tree.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; color: black; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I get the chance to chat with some interesting people, each of them with different manners of association with The Buddhist House or for being here this evening. I also discuss briefly with </span><a href="http://buddhisttherapist.ning.com/profile/carolinebrazier" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; color: black; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Carolyn Brazier</span></a><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; color: black; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> tentative plans to start an informal collective group bringing together the many and varied groups of Buddhists in Leicester and Leicester. I've been asked to help get that going as an "honest broker" working with and between most of these groups.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; color: black; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I also propose that The Buddhist House be fitted into next year's programme of Faith Awareness summer visits to places of worship and faith-related sites in and around Leicester. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I'm sure we could fill a minibus for an evening visit here</span>.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Verdana;"></span><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This is my first visit to The Buddhist House, though it's not for want of being asked. </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I honestly can't think why I haven't made the short trip out here before. I mean, the Arriva number 50 bus from Leicester city centre comes straight to the door, for goodness sake! So I have no excuse for not coming again.</span></span></span></span> </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17455644680102431584noreply@blogger.com0 The Buddhist House, 16 Coventry Road, Narborough, Leicestershire LE19 2GR, UK52.5715985 -1.206217700000024752.570392 -1.2087392000000248 52.572805 -1.2036962000000246tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086361649112731038.post-31631398191610899622013-06-10T22:30:00.000-07:002013-06-17T02:44:26.889-07:00SUMMER VISITS: ISLAM INFORMATION CENTRE<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyXbF6UZQUCSOUiD1J6OOxGmrR-dgTMgBfx3WgZvkhzjc8jfXPhhTX7sNcPrnOuww4fRsCOwAsNZG8VpJIa9lhyphenhyphenADMX5Co1vDEkdj7kyb1gP90CVyb3FTe5zNQ14qKfABIQBTvItnIazIr/s1600/IMG_3230.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyXbF6UZQUCSOUiD1J6OOxGmrR-dgTMgBfx3WgZvkhzjc8jfXPhhTX7sNcPrnOuww4fRsCOwAsNZG8VpJIa9lhyphenhyphenADMX5Co1vDEkdj7kyb1gP90CVyb3FTe5zNQ14qKfABIQBTvItnIazIr/s400/IMG_3230.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Some of the group at the Islam Information Centre this evening</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The </span><a href="http://www.christiansaware.co.uk/Faith_Awareness_Overview.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Faith Awareness</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> series of summer visits to places of worship and other faith-related sites in Leicester continues this evening at the </span><a href="http://www.islaminfocentre.org.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Islam Information Centre</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, Highfield Street.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I was </span><a href="http://equalitydiversityofficer.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/sandfield-close-primary-pupils-visit_1967.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">last here less than a week ago</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, helping out with a group of Year 5 pupils from </span><a href="http://www.sandfieldclose.leicester.sch.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Sandfield Close Primary</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> on a visit arranged in association with </span><a href="http://www.themightycreatives.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Mighty Creatives</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">. The children had cameras, digital voice recorders and all kinds of art materials, to capture their experiences and impressions visiting not only here, but also the </span><a href="http://equalitydiversityofficer.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/sandfield-close-primary-pupils-visit.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Jain Centre</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, </span><a href="http://equalitydiversityofficer.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/sandfield-primary-pupils-visit.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Leicester Cathedral</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> and </span><a href="http://equalitydiversityofficer.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/sandfield-close-primary-pupils-visit_4.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">. Back in the classroom they'll be producing material for a display entitled "Faith in Neighbours" that will be on show in </span><a href="http://www.curveonline.co.uk/curve.php?view=viewpage.php&page_id=40" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Curve</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> during </span><a href="http://www.indiansummer.org.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">An Indian Summer</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> later this month.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I'm glad to say that we have the biggest turnout so far for these Monday evening visits, with an even dozen of us at the start. Had any more arrived, the group would have had to be renamed "Christians Galore"!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Each of the three floors in the Centre has themed rooms. The ground floor and reception area is "Discover Islam". On the first floor are two rooms, "Status of Women" and "Islamic World of Science". In the last of these, we watch a short DVD feature, </span><a href="http://www.1001inventions.com/media/video/library" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Library of Secrets</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, starring </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_kingsley" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Sir Ben Kingsley</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, which reveals some of the contributions that Islam has made to some of the most essential aspects of the modern world. We're introduced to illustrious figures from the Golden Age of Muslim civilization (roughly coinciding with what is still called the Dark Ages in European history) who pushed back the frontiers of theory and practice in matters such as</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">astronomy (</span><a href="http://mosaicofmuslimwomen.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/then-mariam-al-astrolabiya-al-ijliya-scientist-inventor/" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Meriam al-Astrulabi</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, 10th century CE)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">mathematics (</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Kindi" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Al Kindi</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, c 801-873 CE)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">manned flight (</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbas_Ibn_Firnas" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Abbas Ibn Firnas</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, 810-887 CE)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">mechanics (</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Jazari" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Al-Jazari</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, 1136-1206 CE)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">optics (Ibn al-Haytham, AKA </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alhazen" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Alhazen</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, 965-1040 CE)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">surgery (</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Zahrawi" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> 956-1013 CE).</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This is very well made, <em>à la</em> Harry Potter: accessible, enjoyable and interesting for children and adults alike.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I remember when I first heard about characters such as these and their achievements, the glories of the Golden Age of Muslim civilization and how much that magnificent culture has bequeathed to our modern world. That was in 1979, when I was 19 years old. I was astonished at what I learned then and questioned why I hadn't known any of this before. How could I have gone through a liberal educational process, the finest that the Scottish system - long the envy of much of the rest of the world - had to offer, yet been taught nothing about this? Did my teachers even know about these things? Did those who had taught them? I felt like I uncovered these hidden truths, which are now gaining ground as common knowledge, through the writings of </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Sears_(Bah%C3%A1%27%C3%AD)" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">William Sears</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> and </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Townshend_(Bah%C3%A1%27%C3%AD)" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">George Townshend</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, little known apologists for what was a little known faith in my late teenage years. Sometimes it felt like being a detective or lifting the lid on a conspiracy theory as I found out more and more. It's good that institutions such as the Islam Information Centre exist today to redress the balance and close some of these yawning gaps in our knowledge.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT0zj8rRZyTOoZYDBP8gh-q8mc4Q3X1si55YKxSCGBeD5O7XQhiN1yYwUULKCgXE5qMPt61GcuRfSehMQZD1VlHqu07UogQ59UcloBUGlE-y6m2vp1kOAsZTwaKwtMJfqBv9hJfwRsYYtl/s1600/022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT0zj8rRZyTOoZYDBP8gh-q8mc4Q3X1si55YKxSCGBeD5O7XQhiN1yYwUULKCgXE5qMPt61GcuRfSehMQZD1VlHqu07UogQ59UcloBUGlE-y6m2vp1kOAsZTwaKwtMJfqBv9hJfwRsYYtl/s400/022.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Kamran Qayyuam & Abu Bakar</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Kamran Qayyum and Abu Bakar are our guides through the rooms. They're supported by Daud Sameja (Joint Coordinator of the Christian-Muslim Dialogue Group), who gives a short introductory talk and fields the Q&A at the end. In the photo above, Kamran and Abu are seen with a display of copies of the Qur’án in different languages. To the left of the picture are translations of the Qur’án in Albanian, Chinese, French and German; to the right, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Tamil and Urdu translations. This in "The Noble Qur’án" room, one of the two themed rooms on the top floor. The other is dedicated to a display on "The Prophets of God (Peace Be Upon Them)".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> After we've toured the themed rooms, we return to the reception area, where some food is laid on for us. We end with a relaxed Q&A and I present Kamran with a copy of <em><a href="http://www.christiansaware.co.uk/index.html" target="_blank">Meeting Muslims</a></em>, the latest in a series of books on encounters with people of different faiths published by Christians Aware. I checked beforehand that they didn't already have a copy of this. They didn't, surprisingly, since it was done with the help of several friends in Leicester (including Daud) and is published by an inter-faith organization based a mere stone's throw away. I'm glad to be able to rectify that omission this evening.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA29OI6bC9BbRQMnWOo6uxe23t2FWmgc25X7hnEymkmOscXk5h39afz-1sGdMQ0vGv9idJAv-PQjnnDa9NupWC_6Z2tWvuL4nUHdb5nr-FEECnDIkKD1KhZUSzCDwResreK69Q_6k-Eh4-/s1600/Meeting%2520Muslims%2520cover%2520reduced.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA29OI6bC9BbRQMnWOo6uxe23t2FWmgc25X7hnEymkmOscXk5h39afz-1sGdMQ0vGv9idJAv-PQjnnDa9NupWC_6Z2tWvuL4nUHdb5nr-FEECnDIkKD1KhZUSzCDwResreK69Q_6k-Eh4-/s400/Meeting%2520Muslims%2520cover%2520reduced.jpg" width="276" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I get the remaining members of the group to pose for a photo at the front of the building. As we're leaving, I encourage our Muslim friends to join us on the visit to </span><a href="http://www.lpjc.org.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Neve Shalom</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> - Leicester Progressive Jewish Congregation's synagogue - next Monday evening. I hope that some of them will be able to take us up on the offer.<br /><br /> This is the fourth of six Faith Awareness visits planned for Monday evenings in May and June, the others being</span><br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.jaincentreleicester.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Jain Centre</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, Oxford Street (</span><a href="http://equalitydiversityofficer.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/faith-awareness-summer-visits-jain.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">13 May</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">)</span></li>
<li><a href="http://www.leicester.anglican.org/news/details/a-new-church-is-born" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">All Saints Church</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, Kerrysdale Avenue (20 May)</span></li>
<li><a href="http://mandir.org/leicester/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, Gipsy Lane (3 June) </span></li>
<li><a href="http://www.lpjc.org.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Neve Shalom Progressive Synagogue</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, Avenue Road (17 June)</span></li>
<li><a href="http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2361706" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Guru Amar Das Gurdwara</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, Clarendon Park Road (24 June) </span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I may not be ale to attend every visit personally, but I hope to arrange for a blog post on each of them. Watch this space!</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17455644680102431584noreply@blogger.com0Islam Information Centre, 45 Highfield Street, Leicester LE2 1AD, UK52.6291491 -1.118007400000010452.6279446 -1.1205289000000105 52.6303536 -1.1154859000000104tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086361649112731038.post-36864372292222461752013-06-03T22:30:00.000-07:002013-06-17T07:44:19.609-07:00SUMMER VISITS: BAPS SHRI SWAMINARAYAN MANDIR<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4My46TMx2l8Cqnr7skZ91JaeYD1aTlMPjPkE_Bhgajcl5nICW0fdcgJQbGjWEdkE9Gzb4Ms47WZLDQjBS-o9hb4QAOID4Dz_mmYXCPuX-L26IHlW0Yv8wU4YcoDQt2lUpkh6XrUfcJnJ4/s1600/baps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4My46TMx2l8Cqnr7skZ91JaeYD1aTlMPjPkE_Bhgajcl5nICW0fdcgJQbGjWEdkE9Gzb4Ms47WZLDQjBS-o9hb4QAOID4Dz_mmYXCPuX-L26IHlW0Yv8wU4YcoDQt2lUpkh6XrUfcJnJ4/s400/baps.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The </span></span><a href="http://www.christiansaware.co.uk/Faith_Awareness_Overview.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Faith Awareness</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> series of summer visits to places of worship and other faith-related sites in Leicester continues this evening at </span><a href="http://mandir.org/leicester/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, <span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Gipsy Lane</span></span>. I'm obliged to be elsewhere this evening, so much of the content of this blog post has been provided by Barbara Butler (thanks Barbara!)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Shri Swaminarayan Mandir is directly across the road from the place the group's last visit in this programme: <a href="http://www.leicester.anglican.org/news/details/a-new-church-is-born" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">All Saints Church</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, Kerrysdale Avenue.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="en-GB">Our group was welcomed and shown
into the main temple, where we admired the beauty and peace of the
space. We also appreciated the watercolour depictions of the life of
the guru. We were shown round the classrooms and talked to some of
the boys who were learning Gujarati. This was made easy because we
had a child with us. We finally joined in with the worship of the
community.</span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyy0rmXSKmM8iNDkL87fcl5ePvNZ2qFJPa3lI-fmuSgChUyozbjo31zdAE0DFsEtrC_HXFpVg3ncF5AJmT0Q4G78UCbYEYlnjAkuLD5QyTHVAv47p2UA_GAKLmkPUsYdCK-i82-tLgsZVb/s1600/baps_entrance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyy0rmXSKmM8iNDkL87fcl5ePvNZ2qFJPa3lI-fmuSgChUyozbjo31zdAE0DFsEtrC_HXFpVg3ncF5AJmT0Q4G78UCbYEYlnjAkuLD5QyTHVAv47p2UA_GAKLmkPUsYdCK-i82-tLgsZVb/s400/baps_entrance.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Frieze in the vestibule at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir</span></td></tr>
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This is the third of six Faith Awareness visits planned for Monday evenings in May and June, the others being</span><br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.jaincentreleicester.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Jain Centre</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, Oxford Street (</span></span><a href="http://equalitydiversityofficer.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/faith-awareness-summer-visits-jain.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">13 May</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">)</span></span></li>
<li><a href="http://www.leicester.anglican.org/news/details/a-new-church-is-born" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">All Saints Church</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, Kerrysdale Avenue (20 May)</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="http://www.islaminfocentre.org.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Islam Information Centre</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, Highfield Centre (</span><a href="http://faithawareness.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/summer-visits-islam-information-centre.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">12 June</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">) </span></span></li>
<li><a href="http://www.lpjc.org.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Neve Shalom Progressive Synagogue</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, Avenue Road (17 June)</span></span></li>
<li><a href="http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2361706" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Guru Amar Das Gurdwara</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, Clarendon Park Road (24 June)</span></span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I may not be ale to attend every visit personally, but I hope to arrange for a blog post on each of them. Watch this space!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I'm bringing a group of Year 5 pupils from </span><a href="http://www.sandfieldclose.leicester.sch.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Sandfield Close Primary</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> here </span><a href="http://equalitydiversityofficer.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/sandfield-close-primary-pupils-visit_4.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">tomorrow morning</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">. That will be the third of four visits in two days that these children are making to local places of worship, arranged in <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">association with </span><a href="http://www.themightycreatives.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Mighty Creatives</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> (a charity based in Leicester's </span><a href="http://www.lcbdepot.co.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">LCB Depot</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, working across the East Midlands to champion young people's creativity and innovation)</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Artwork that the children produce as an outcome of their visits will be on display under the title, "Faith in Neighbours" in the Mezzanine at Curve as part of</span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.indiansummer.org.uk/" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">An Indian Summer</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> later this month</span>.</span></span></span></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17455644680102431584noreply@blogger.com0 BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, 135 Gipsy Lane, Leicester LE4 6RH, UK52.6543077 -1.10542350000002952.651899699999994 -1.110466000000029 52.6567157 -1.1003810000000289tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086361649112731038.post-16656330887421708762013-06-02T15:00:00.000-07:002013-06-17T07:47:31.273-07:00BIG LUNCH WITH SANT NIRANKARI MISSION<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG_e154s_FYnbvBKV8yPe0rkicf_jMjChwSYLTNMD8ZwHr21eipkDq_0iZSwyL1hni1ZPyvtjISkKkpi9BF809yi95qpXQnzklgbVsQD84ex8A_6rDMbQleuPb6ZPlq1jlbbBFr_CItpBH/s1600/big_lunch01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG_e154s_FYnbvBKV8yPe0rkicf_jMjChwSYLTNMD8ZwHr21eipkDq_0iZSwyL1hni1ZPyvtjISkKkpi9BF809yi95qpXQnzklgbVsQD84ex8A_6rDMbQleuPb6ZPlq1jlbbBFr_CItpBH/s400/big_lunch01.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Nav Aurora, GMB, Cllr Manjula Sood, Debbie from Asda</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Late morning and early afternoon today I'm at </span><a href="http://www.nirankari.com/leicester/index.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Sant Nirankari Bhawan</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, for a </span><a href="http://www.thebiglunch.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Big Lunch</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> event, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Queen's coronation. The Big Lunch receives sponsorship and support from Asda.</span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This is the first time I've visited the group's centre in Prebend Street, on the site of an old Quaker Meeting House - the second to be occupied by the Society of Friends in Leicester (built 1877, closed 1956).</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.nirankari.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Sant Nirankari Mission</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> styles itself "an all-embracing spiritual movement dedicated to peace, love and human fraternity. ... The mission is a platform for spiritual awakening with the simple philosophy that God is for all humanity irrespective of age or background, age, gender, political ideology or any other differentiating factor."</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">On entrance, the first thing I see is an interesting exhibition showing a range of community activities: blood donor drive; Easter egg donation; Universal Oneness Community Games; Mystical Musical Events; street shows. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The programme begins with half an hour of Bhangra dancing, that starts out as a demonstration and ends up a bit of a rammy. There's a nice photo above, taken around the halfway point. A couple of minutes later, I'm up dancing in the circle (I'd time the rammy as starting from that point). I'm not often seen dancing in public, but I'm dragged on to the floor by Cllr Manjula Sood and she's my boss, so how could I refuse? This is followed by a demonstration of Dandiya (below). No way am I getting involved in that: those women have sticks</span>!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">After this demonstration, I make my way to the <i>langar </i>and shar</span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">e in the vegetarian food and soft drinks. In the main hall, there's a "laughing yoga" session going on, with audio piped into the room where we're eating. It takes me a few minutes to figure out just what the bizarre noises are for - and when I do, it's a bit of a relief</span>!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I'm moved to say that this is one of the most genuinely diverse, harmonious, joyous inter faith events that I've attended, in Leicester or elsewhere.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The congregation here is remarkably varied. Going on visual cues alone, some are distinctly Hindu; others Muslim; others still, Sikh; a few are Christian. This could prompt a debate about the relationship between conventional markers of culture and geographical origin, spiritual belief and religious practice - but everyone's too busy getting along and being happy together for that</span>.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A couple of Police Community Support Officers attending today appear to have resolved that hoary old chestnut about whether members of the emergency services should remove their shoes in a place of worship</span>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Given that this is my first visit here, I'll be back in just a few days' time. There's a talk on the Bhagavad Gita, given by Mrs Jaya Rowe this coming Wednesday (5 June, 1830)</span>.</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17455644680102431584noreply@blogger.com0 Sant Nirankari Bhawan, 2A Prebend Street, Leicester LE2 0LA, UK52.6298006 -1.122205099999973852.6285961 -1.1247265999999738 52.6310051 -1.1196835999999737tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086361649112731038.post-76908429524707399732013-05-28T15:00:00.000-07:002013-06-17T07:49:30.983-07:00"FORGIVE? FORGET? WHY I STILL TEACH THE HOLOCAUST"<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Gatehouse, University of Leicester Chaplaincy Centre</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">At the University of Leicester's </span><a href="http://www2.le.ac.uk/institution/chaplaincy"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Chaplaincy Centre</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"> this lunchtime, for the summer term lecture sponsored by </span>the </span><a href="http://www2.le.ac.uk/institution/chaplaincy/world-faiths" target="_blank"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">World Faiths Advisory Group</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> (WFAG).</span></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> The World Faiths Advisory Group exists to promote understanding and co-operation among faith groups on campus, by</span><br />
<ul><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">exploring spirituality in a multi-faith context</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">welcoming students and staff of all faiths</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">working towards equal opportunities in relation to all faith groups</span></li>
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</span></ul>
<br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> This lecture is part of WFAG's programme of encouraging people of different faiths associated with the university to meet, mix and get to know each other better. Stephen Foster (Co-ordinating Chaplain) tells us that WFAG recently organized a "speed dating" event in this very room, involving representatives of several faith societies on campus (he apologises for using that term, but he can't think of a better one right now - and at least we all know what he means by that). </span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> The title of today's lecture is "Forgive? Forget? Why I still teach the Holocaust". The speaker is </span><a href="http://www2.le.ac.uk/centres/stanley-burton-centre/people/aubreynewman" target="_blank"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Aubrey Newman</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, Emeritus Professor of History and Past Director of the Stanley Burton Centre for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of Leicester.</span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Prof. Newman speaks in the Octagon from 1300, following a light lunch, in front of an audience two dozen strong, with Bahá'í, Buddhist, Sikh and several denominations of Christian representation.</span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Prof. Newman asks us to consider his talk as an <i>Apologia pro vita mea</i>: a defence of one's life. Technically speaking, he is still an academic historian of the 18th century. Even at this late stage, he ponders whether he has taken the right path or should return to a biography of George III that has languished, two-thirds finished, in a drawer for many a year.</span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> He was first invited to teach a special course on the Holocaust at the University of Leicester in the early 1980s. He muses that we'd be hard pressed to find someone who has spent so long teaching a subject which he abhors.</span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Two quotations feature prominently in the presentation:</span><br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"Those who do not know history's mistakes are bound to repeat them." (</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Santayana" target="_blank"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">George Santayana</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, 1863-1952)</span></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"You are not obligated to finish the work, neither are you free to give it up." (</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillel_the_Elder" target="_blank"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Rabbi Hillel</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, c.110 BCE - 10 CE<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillel_the_Elder#cite_note-1"></a></sup>)</span></blockquote>
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<br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Turning to the title of his talk, he asks: can he forgive? No. Can he forget? Definitely not.</span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> The refusal to forgive does not denote any kind of vindictiveness on the part of the speaker. Prof. Newman doesn't accept the notion of vicarious forgiveness, any more than he accepts the notion of vicarious sin. As we are responsible for our own behaviour, so the only people who can forgive are those against whom the act has been perpetrated. Therefore the only people with the right to forgive the Holocaust are the victims themselves - and forgiveness cannot be obtained from the dead.</span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> And as far as forgetting goes, it appears that much of Europe has forgotten the lessons of the Holocaust, if the rise of far right extremism is anything to go by.</span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> During the Q&A I ask Prof. Newman a question. In his answer he refers to the Jewish community in Scotland with what sounds like first hand knowledge. After the meeting is over, I push him a little on this and he tells me that his family went up to Glasgow to escape the Blitz (arriving just in time to experience Glasgow's own), that he was educated at Queen's Park School and took his first degree at the University of Glasgow.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17455644680102431584noreply@blogger.com0Chaplaincy to the University of Leicester, The Gatehouse, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK 52.621919299999988 -1.123810400000024952.621919299999988 -1.1238104000000249 52.621919299999988 -1.1238104000000249tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086361649112731038.post-75443773618798528302013-05-22T22:00:00.000-07:002013-06-17T08:02:22.933-07:00MY JEWISH SOUL<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Anthony & Ann Gimpel</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">At
</span></span><a href="http://www.leicesterquaker.org.uk/index.php"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">Quaker
Meeting House</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">,
Queens Road, this evening for the launch of </span></span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/anthony.gimpel.7" target="_blank"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">Anthony
Gimpel</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">'s
new book, </span></span><em><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">My
Jewish Soul</span></span></em><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">
(published by </span></span><a href="http://www.christiansaware.co.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">Christians
Aware</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">).</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">There
are more than 60 people in the room when Barbara Butler (Executive
Secretary, Christians Aware) opens the meeting, inviting David
Patterson to speak first. David is a neighbour of Anthony Gimpel and
his wife Ann in Loughborough. He speaks about Anthony's
influence on the way that Holocaust Memorial Day is
commemorated there and how this is informed by Anthony's
personal engagement with the Holocaust, as described in the book.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">In
the worldview Anthony espouses in his book, forgiveness must come
before understanding, not the other way round as has long persisted
in the classic British liberal model espoused by influential figures
such as George Eliot and John Stuart Mill. Understanding oneself
comes before understanding others. So it follows that in
order to understand oneself, one must forgive oneself.<br /><br />Anthony
- and of course his book - are deeply influenced by Quaker
spirituality. The book is a search for his own inner soul, but
at each stage of that search, it shows how he is engaged with the
outer world: family, community, society, the world, always
leading back to himself.</span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">Next
to speak is Ruth Fraser. She, in common with Anthony, describes
herself as a Jewish Quaker. She offers the memorable observation
that for a Jew to dwell on the Holocaust feels like applying a
Brillo Pad to the soul.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">David
Clark, speaking next, says that he would locate the
essence of Anthony's book on page 57: but he won't say what
that is, or read the passage to us. If we want to find
out for ourselves, we should buy the book! For the sake of the blog,
I prevail upon him later and he points out the following paragraphs:</span></span></div>
<blockquote style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">A
friend was asking me about prayer. I answered saying that perhaps
prayer is what happens when your heart genuinely wants something and
the universe responds. It is instructive to hear my friend's comment:
She said something like "you mean when I really want in my heart
to do something." No, that is not what I meant. You may think it
is what I said but listen carefully and notice the addition of one
little word in her comment: I. It is quite different for your heart
to want something and for you to want something in your heart. In the
first case the universe responds: in the second the universe remains
silent. That is why "I want never gets."</span></span>
</blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">So
what then do I mean about the universe responding? Being aware of
what your heart is saying may allow you to be aware of the response
of the universe but that is not a given. The response may or ay not
accord with your conscious understanding. You may or may not want
what the universe if going to give you. Do you really know what your
heart wants? Is your ego happy with this? Will you accept the
consequences? Only you can know and the universe is not particularly
bothered whether you do or not. The key is your self awareness. Your
ego and your conscience are irrelevant. It is neither here not there.</span></span></blockquote>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">Just
before this meeting, early news reports of the incident in Woolwich
begin breaking. I get the feeling I'm the only one who knows about
it, from the simple fact that no one else mentions it. Something of a
contrast to what's been going on here this evening, I'm sure you'll
agree, faithful reader.</span></span></div>
</span><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17455644680102431584noreply@blogger.com0 Quaker Meeting House, 16 Queens Road, Leicester LE2 1WP, UK52.6194704 -1.117271299999970352.6170604 -1.1223137999999704 52.621880399999995 -1.1122287999999703tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086361649112731038.post-41360310911589788692013-05-20T21:30:00.000-07:002013-06-17T07:35:06.898-07:00SUMMER VISITS: ALL SAINTS CHURCH<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPKYp74HoVPoIcA6gCxZ8R6rF8xrKhCpTC_-OswN0RDMuhlsYlIKoscJZNEW8fZygT5zk29-QworiK2rIooOl7fFbLbOHSaQDBvhgEMtCYW1zcech9wHcYwphnGsNq0y-p4yJv8zgfw3Qc/s1600/all_saints.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPKYp74HoVPoIcA6gCxZ8R6rF8xrKhCpTC_-OswN0RDMuhlsYlIKoscJZNEW8fZygT5zk29-QworiK2rIooOl7fFbLbOHSaQDBvhgEMtCYW1zcech9wHcYwphnGsNq0y-p4yJv8zgfw3Qc/s400/all_saints.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The </span></span><a href="http://www.christiansaware.co.uk/Faith_Awareness_Overview.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Faith Awareness</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> series of summer visits to places of worship and other faith-related sites in Leicester continues this evening at </span><a href="http://www.leicester.anglican.org/news/details/a-new-church-is-born" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">All Saints Church</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, Kerrysdale Avenue. I'm obliged to be elsewhere this evening, so much of the content of this blog post has been provided by Barbara Butler (thanks Barbara!) </span></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The visit gives a welcome insight into a multicultural and
international community who worship here. The majority of the congregation
is from the Punjab, from both India and Pakistan. They worship
at 1500 every Sunday and offer opportunities and support for all age
groups. They have also made collections of money and goods
for Christian communities in Pakistan who have lost their homes
in violence. There is a separate Tamil congregation.</span><br />
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">We
enjoyed a lively discussion about interfaith work and the reasons
for it. We talked about the value of understanding each
other and of working together for peace. We were asked to remain
in contact with the community and to invite members to our
meetings. We were also invited to attend the church and to
give a talk about Christians Aware and Faith Awareness. Hopefully this will take place in July.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbuNjd85KSh7XDabO6ul3mDtioWpfjYLnZe2MFvhUraM0EqHSLPRbBCF3pe0tc5CahPLBJefNqG6zeLHdkZQFzW4NSAseQNLSAPtXWavsR7XemniuO1-zAx6swgpNvfaHJnFAOu7PCA8rS/s1600/gabriel.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbuNjd85KSh7XDabO6ul3mDtioWpfjYLnZe2MFvhUraM0EqHSLPRbBCF3pe0tc5CahPLBJefNqG6zeLHdkZQFzW4NSAseQNLSAPtXWavsR7XemniuO1-zAx6swgpNvfaHJnFAOu7PCA8rS/s400/gabriel.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A carving of the angel Gabriel, above the entrance to All Saints Church</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">On 15 June the
church celebrates its first anniversary, marking the date when the membership of Leicester United Christian Fellowship became a Church of England congregation with its home in All Saints Church (which used to e St Gabriel's). We've been invited to
attend the celebrations.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">All Saints Church is directly across the road from the place the group's next scheduled visit in this programme: <a href="http://mandir.org/leicester/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, Gipsy Lane</span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
This is the second of six Faith Awareness visits planned for Monday evenings in May and June, the others being</span><br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.jaincentreleicester.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Jain Centre</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, Oxford Street (</span></span><a href="http://equalitydiversityofficer.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/faith-awareness-summer-visits-jain.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">13 May</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">)</span></span></li>
<li><a href="http://mandir.org/leicester/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, Gipsy Lane (3 June)</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="http://www.islaminfocentre.org.uk/" target="_blank">Islam Information Centre</a>, Highfield Centre (<a href="http://faithawareness.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/summer-visits-islam-information-centre.html" target="_blank">12 June</a>) </span></span></li>
<li><a href="http://www.lpjc.org.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Neve Shalom Progressive Synagogue</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, Avenue Road (17 June)</span></span></li>
<li><a href="http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2361706" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Guru Amar Das Gurdwara</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, Clarendon Park Road (24 June) </span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I may not be ale to attend every visit personally, but I hope to arrange for a blog post on each of them. Watch this space!</span></span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17455644680102431584noreply@blogger.com0All Saints Church, 20 Kerrysdale Avenue, Leicester LE4 7GH, UK52.6556755 -1.103222400000049752.6532675 -1.1082649000000497 52.658083500000004 -1.0981799000000496tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086361649112731038.post-16275900199385526812013-05-13T21:00:00.000-07:002013-05-15T08:32:06.023-07:00SUMMER VISITS: JAIN CENTRE<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrFuf2Qk4TvWdS5BdD74M1kRmk6TMuW1_tOYf8ctRd1lFkyI39VJTl92JbCRivzN60BUehEVHtzW9E4F80k1QMjkLFOmvnMchRDAT6XVO3fYA1vaXh9QlSRIlFMLEyM5oElouaqS9VRM5U/s1600/jain-centre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrFuf2Qk4TvWdS5BdD74M1kRmk6TMuW1_tOYf8ctRd1lFkyI39VJTl92JbCRivzN60BUehEVHtzW9E4F80k1QMjkLFOmvnMchRDAT6XVO3fYA1vaXh9QlSRIlFMLEyM5oElouaqS9VRM5U/s400/jain-centre.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Faith Awareness schedule of summer visits to places of worship in Leicester begins this evening at the <a href="http://www.jaincentreleicester.com/" target="_blank">Jain Centre</a> in Oxford Street.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I must have visited the Jain Centre more than a dozen times. I think I first came here in 1988, only a year after I moved to this part of the world from Dumbarton. On each visit I see something new and learn something new. I don't know how anyone can say, "Oh yes, I've seen the Jain temple" and just tick it off their list. This place seems to change, develop, evolve in ways - and at a rate - that set it apart from most other faith sites in Leicester.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Our small group is taken on a guided tour of the Centre by Dr Ramesh Mehta and Pradip Mehta. As well as giving us an overview of the history and teachings of Jainism, they describe the history of the Centre itself and discuss the community's plans for celebrating the 25th anniversary of its foundation this summer. Many of the occasions associated with this anniversary are taking place in London, because it's central for the many participants coming from overseas and because Jains in Leicester don't have access to venues here large enough to be able to hold the number of people taking part. The Centre has a flag flying above it, which is renewed annually on 14 July, the date of the founding of the Centre. The flag which will be raised there on 14 July this year (precisely at 12:39), marking the silver jubilee of the Centre, is currently being taken on a circuit of Jain community centres, homes and places of worship around the country. At each stop, it becomes a focal point for practices of devotion, meditation and purification. Dr Mehta said we could think of it as being like the Jain community's version of the Olympic Torch relay. Dr Mehta helped me write the <a href="http://www.lcof.org.uk/faith/jains/" target="_blank">Council of Faiths leaflet on Jains</a>, which was one of my first tasks in that post. Now that it's time to prepare a new edition of that leaflet, I hope to call on his help again.</span><br />
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<tr><td><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgwu4nagXWUt3I3DIUnmK0MKiivEYjONwVyy-6bSjPub6xw7LVdsVxDyfl1o_Gw_EUrEumVgB0aJcKkB84nzE9xGTJCuVZY7YWnc_jTuIF4bwobg9iBZ1iSo1q1lu-K677cBvQ15Y6xwft/s1600/hatch-jain-460_789244c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgwu4nagXWUt3I3DIUnmK0MKiivEYjONwVyy-6bSjPub6xw7LVdsVxDyfl1o_Gw_EUrEumVgB0aJcKkB84nzE9xGTJCuVZY7YWnc_jTuIF4bwobg9iBZ1iSo1q1lu-K677cBvQ15Y6xwft/s400/hatch-jain-460_789244c.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Carved pillars of Jaisalmer yellow sandstone in the worship area of the Jain Centre<span style="text-align: left;"> </span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When I was first looking for information about Jains and Jainism for my work, nigh on six years ago, I could find little that was accessible or reliable online. That has changed recently with the appearance of professional sits created by Jain organisations such as the <a href="http://www.jainology.org/" target="_blank">Institute of Jainology</a>, <a href="http://jainworld.com/">Jainworld.com</a><span id="goog_992539837"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_992539838"></span>, the <a href="http://blog.jainpedia.org/" target="_blank">Jainpedia</a> Project, a comprehensive section on the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/jainism/index.shtml" target="_blank">BBC Religions</a> website, thorough representation on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jainism" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a> and on more specialist sites such as the <a href="http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Jainism" target="_blank">New World Encyclopedia</a>. Even Kew Gardens <a href="http://www.kew.org/plant-cultures/themes/sacred_and_spiritual_jainism.html" target="_blank">Plant Cultures</a> website has a section on Jainism.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvEv0YiNv0vJQOCaxRFOMNg06LoqcHiTgNc4PZ8a4TYNySIyCVcB7xnjM4GXkyxpMKn6obnCqOODHk7T-zAK5kIMO1M1OEBfI-AcgCTxOUD5a1JzCwCZU1LWk3UQoEzV4bzI_jPnRT8dmf/s1600/jain-symbols_1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvEv0YiNv0vJQOCaxRFOMNg06LoqcHiTgNc4PZ8a4TYNySIyCVcB7xnjM4GXkyxpMKn6obnCqOODHk7T-zAK5kIMO1M1OEBfI-AcgCTxOUD5a1JzCwCZU1LWk3UQoEzV4bzI_jPnRT8dmf/s400/jain-symbols_1.png" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The hand represents fearlessness and symbolizes the attitude </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">of</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><em style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ahimsa</em><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(non-violence) to all living creatures</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Dr Mehta tells us that if we want to understand the Jain way of life in a nutshell, we should remember the three "A"s:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahimsa_in_Jainism" target="_blank">ahimsa</a></em>: non-violence</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aparigraha" target="_blank">aparigraha</a></em>: non-acquisitiveness</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anekantavada" target="_blank">anekäntaväda</a></em>: multiplicity of views</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">He also gives us a mnemonic by which we can remember the principles of this ancient religion with a message for the modern world:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"J" is for justice</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"A" is for amity</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"I" is for introspection</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"N" is for nobility</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Two of my favourite Jain Centre facts: the building accommodates several sects of Jainism, each with their distinctive interpretations, identities and practices. The different sects have their own spot set aside in the Centre for their use.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbCGOPB177GAizICZ05zhyphenhyphen3hupfcqB-A5U-KS_78hhavsJ6xNkm0alfrTyMQwKXVAMIr_j1PWucNQNxZw4HB9E9AI1_sQwSgsZCdM_TvtAMlLv32TPN5AQIOgTi8DnxhiCp2GTglf5-860/s1600/jain_prayers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbCGOPB177GAizICZ05zhyphenhyphen3hupfcqB-A5U-KS_78hhavsJ6xNkm0alfrTyMQwKXVAMIr_j1PWucNQNxZw4HB9E9AI1_sQwSgsZCdM_TvtAMlLv32TPN5AQIOgTi8DnxhiCp2GTglf5-860/s400/jain_prayers.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My other favourite Jain Centre fact: it's the only Jain place of worship in the world with stained glass windows. Rather than brick up, cover or replace with ordinary glass the stained glass windows from of the original Congregational Church, the local Jain community decided to create a series of windows of their own, telling the story of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahavira" target="_blank">Mahavira</a> (599-527 BCE), 24th and latest in the line of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tirthankar" target="_blank">Tirthankaras</a>. A contemporary of Gautama the Buddha, Mahavira is credited with establishing Jainism in the form we know today.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkFmFucakR9HHIgIKH1i8LVcFDOTSOVkSGwZqin_XJAMSxu3lu-TQ4Bn9hZ6lj5l38QNqIGs7D0bE9SDDnj0Yvs9RUPSUpzYsXUEOOyGSDG4fstRQE7s8g18rgxOku9TB8UqP1aQ4af3Zo/s1600/Colored%2520Mahavira%2520-%2520Snake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkFmFucakR9HHIgIKH1i8LVcFDOTSOVkSGwZqin_XJAMSxu3lu-TQ4Bn9hZ6lj5l38QNqIGs7D0bE9SDDnj0Yvs9RUPSUpzYsXUEOOyGSDG4fstRQE7s8g18rgxOku9TB8UqP1aQ4af3Zo/s400/Colored%2520Mahavira%2520-%2520Snake.jpg" width="281" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Detail from one of the stained glass windows in the Jain Centre, </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">illustrating episodes form the life of Mahavira</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I love that word: <em>Tirthankara</em>. The best translation into English is "ford-maker". Think of this life as a fast-flowing river which can only be crossed by means of the ford made by the Tirthankara. To ignore the ford that the Tirthankara has made and try to cross otherwise means being caught up in the currents and risking being swept to your doom!</span><br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17455644680102431584noreply@blogger.com0Jain Centre, 32 Oxford Street, Leicester LE1 5XU, UK52.6314083 -1.136682299999961352.6302038 -1.1392037999999614 52.6326128 -1.1341607999999612tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086361649112731038.post-74080528829200664662013-03-11T22:30:00.000-07:002013-03-25T04:29:57.877-07:00GOING ON BEYOND 7: A SPOT OF DIY<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTDrhKDQqQd895QfNCE2SX0hzixzwaP_jsehp2GBV_8iiAPZqP6LnljWDwl3FwaYlV_NWIJajvZZJirktj5Kv4LQrq4xOGMibln1S-nsYKAlRgKq5jjt-Bp_zA7nDpquziO7FJE9DNrXHG/s1600/christchurch-from-queens-road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTDrhKDQqQd895QfNCE2SX0hzixzwaP_jsehp2GBV_8iiAPZqP6LnljWDwl3FwaYlV_NWIJajvZZJirktj5Kv4LQrq4xOGMibln1S-nsYKAlRgKq5jjt-Bp_zA7nDpquziO7FJE9DNrXHG/s400/christchurch-from-queens-road.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">At </span></span></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);"><a href="http://www.christchurchcp.org.uk/">ChristChurc</a><a href="http://www.christchurchcp.org.uk/">h,
Clarendon Park</a></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">,
for the seventh session in the course, "Going On Beyond:
</span></span></span></span><a href="http://faithawareness.blogspot.co.uk/#"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">Meditation</span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">
and Mysticism in the World Faiths". This nine-week course
is an interfaith opportunity presented by </span></span></span></span><a href="http://www.christiansaware.co.uk/"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">Christians
Aware</span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">, as
part of its </span></span></span></span><a href="http://www.christiansaware.co.uk/Faith_Awareness_Leicester.html"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">Faith
Awareness</span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);"> programme.
It is presented in association with </span></span></span></span><a href="http://leicesterbuddhistvihara.co.uk/news/59-serene-reflection-meditation-meetings.html"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">Leicester
Serene Reflection Meditation Group</span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">.<br /><br />This
evening we're expecting to receive a presentation on "Major
Trends in Jewish Mysticism" but our speaker fails to appear. So
Kevin Commons and Ian Grayling (from the Serene Meditation Group) and
I speedily organise a DIY session in place of the one advertised.<br /><br />We
set up three groups of five to discuss three related terms that
impact on theory and practice: "meditation",
"contemplation" and "concentration". Lively
discussion ensues over the next half hour or so, during
which we raise such points as those listed below:</span></span></span></span></div>
<ul>
<li>
<span style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">Is
there a hierarchy of these terms?</span></span></span></li>
<li><div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">Do
commentators or practitioners consider any of them superior or
inferior to the others?</span></span></span></div>
<li><div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">Does
one have to go through different levels before experiencing each
one?</span></span></span></div>
<li><div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">Once
you reach one of these stages (e.g. “concentration”) are you
done with the others that come before it?</span></span></span></div>
<li><div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">How
do they relate to other terms used to describe similar experiences
(e.g. "absorption", "reflection")?</span></span></span></div>
<li><div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">What
is there relation to states of mind where there is an absence of
mental processes?</span></span></span></div>
<li><div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">These
terms are defined and redefined in complementary or contradictory
ways according to the disciplines, paraphernalia and style of
practice.</span></span></span></div>
<li><div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">We
should beware of falling into the trap of believing that we can use
these (or any other) terms to describe or express experiences which
are beyond words – especially as they are themselves translations.</span></span></span></div>
<li><div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);">We
end with a short spell of meditation practice after the <i>zazen</i>
(“just sitting”) form that we experienced last week.</span></span></span></div>
</li>
</li>
</li>
</li>
</li>
</li>
</li>
</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243);"><br />I
think we did alright this evening, for a spot of DIY.</span></span></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17455644680102431584noreply@blogger.com0ChristChurch, 105a Clarendon Park Road, Leicester LE2 3AH, UK52.617540000000012 -1.115183099999967552.616335000000014 -1.1177045999999675 52.618745000000011 -1.1126615999999674tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086361649112731038.post-26293102265347287092013-03-04T22:00:00.000-08:002013-04-29T07:01:25.841-07:00GOING ON BEYOND 6: DOGEN, MYSTICAL REALIST (A SOTO ZEN PERSPECTIVE)<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJIFH2U0wNu13mPTGO4-qw-fJCiJ2rLlL0UtOkNXkZfCt8NH8iu3KCQeAtO3Zqo4P_O1g6UeL7-9rwrGzVXebxlclqAO-GKO7dQfGT_vONk_fS7GF5dvGCrpkyuvcS5UFpjdB5yR6Bw-Q3/s400/Dogen.jpg" width="400" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: #f3f3f3; color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919;">At </span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: blue;">ChristChurc</span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: blue;">h, Clarendon Park</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919;">, for the sixth session in the course, "Going On Beyond: Meditation and Mysticism in the World Faiths". </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919;">This nine-week course is an interfaith opportunity presented by <span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Christians Aware</span>,<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> as part of its </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Faith Awareness</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> programme. </span>It is presented in association with </span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: blue;">Leicester Serene Reflection Meditation Group</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919;">.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919;">This evening our topic is </span></span></span><span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"Dogen: Mystical Realist". </span><span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Kevin Commons and Ian Grayling, from the Serene Meditation Group, present a Soto Zen perspective on our theme. Kevin distributes a handout, reproduced below:</span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Origins of Zen Buddhism</span></span></b></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1362478406684_7950" lang="EN-GB"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">After years of trying various practices Shakyamuni finally just sat under the Bodhi tree, experiencing all manner of thoughts and images, until the morning star appeared, at which point all thought dropped away, and he experienced Enlightenment, and became the Buddha. He was prevailed upon to teach and, over time, gathered a large following of disciples, to whom he regularly unfolded aspects of his teaching. One day, on Vulture Peak Mountain, instead of talking, he just held up a flower and Mahakashyapa, one of his main disciples, smiled, indicating his understanding of the essence of the teaching. This incident is regarded as the foundation of the Zen form of Buddhism, which involves the transmission of the teaching “outside the scriptures”. The point is that, although there are lots of Buddhist scriptures, in the Zen tradition scripture study does not, in itself, result in realising the heart of the teaching. Direct experience, beyond words is necessary for this. This form of Buddhism was taken to China by the Bodhidharma, and maintained by a succession of Chinese patriarchs, including Hui-Neng, who had held the lowly position of kitchen assistant at his monastery and was believed to have been illiterate.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Dogen’s early childhood (1200-1212)</span></span></b></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At the time of Dogen’s birth the Japanese nobility had become steeped in aesthetic refinement. This inspired a sense of the transience of beauty, and so focused on the aesthetic, rather than ethical, aspects of religion. Consequently, they were indifferent to the lot of the masses. His birth was also preceded by the establishment of feudalism in Japan and the rise of the Samurai class. In a time of political chaos, many Buddhist monasteries’ concern about their wealth, prestige and power was to the detriment of their moral, intellectual and religious activities.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Though Dogen’s father died when he was two, the death of his mother when he was seven had a bigger impact, as she had requested, on her deathbed, that he should become a monk in order to seek the truth of Buddhism and strive to relieve the sufferings of humanity. This imperative prevailed against his uncle Moroie’s wish to name him as his heir and to establish him in a career as an aristocrat.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Apprenticeship in Buddhism (1212-1227)</span></span></b></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dogen was ordained in 1213 and began a systematic study of the Buddhist scriptures. This led him to this seemingly insoluble spiritual question:</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“As I study both the exoteric and esoteric schools of Buddhism, they maintain that human beings are endowed with Dharma-nature by birth. If this is the case, why did the Buddhas of all ages – undoubtedly in possession of enlightenment – find it necessary to seek enlightenment and engage in spiritual practice?” (Quoted in Hee-Jin Kim (2004) p. 22)</span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Whilst Dogen accepted the truth of original enlightenment he did question the significance of activities that constitute human existence, which amounted to asking “What is the meaning of existence?” To seek an answer he studied with various Buddhist teachers, most notably Myozen, who had brought Rinzai Zen from China to Japan . Yet he still felt dissatisfied with much of the Buddhist teaching in contemporary Japan as his original question remained unanswered so he travelled to China to continue his search in 1223. He stayed at various monasteries but overall was rather disappointed with the state of Buddhism in China and had decided to return to Japan , when an old monk suggested he should visit Ju-ching, the abbot of Mount T’ien-tung monastery. Ju-ching was a rigorous practitioner of <i>Ts’ao-tung</i> (Soto Zen) sitting in the <i>shikan-taza</i> (just sitting) form of <i>za-zen</i> (formal sitting meditation) every day, often for long periods. Unlike his contemporaries he eschewed politics, prestige and financial reward but rather focused on helping his students to see the truth for themselves. One day Ju-ching admonished a monk who had fallen asleep during meditation with the following words:</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">“In za-zen it is imperative to cast off body and mind. How could you indulge in sleeping?” (Quoted in Hee-Jin Kim (2004) p. 36)</span></span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The remark shook Dogen to his core and he experienced an inexpressible ecstatic joy that engulfed his heart and Ju-ching acknowledged the authenticity of Dogen’s enlightenment experience.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">“To cast off body and mind did not nullify historical and social existence so much as to put it into action so that it could be the self-creative and self-expressive embodiment of Buddha-nature. In being “cast off”, however, concrete human experience was fashioned in the mode of radical freedom – purposeless, goalless, objectless, and meaningless. Buddha-nature was not to be enfolded in, but was to unfold through, human activities and expressions. The meaning of existence was finally freed from and authenticated by its all-too-human conditions only if, and when, it lived co-eternally with ultimate meaninglessness.</span></span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">What was taking place in Dogen’s mind was a radical demythologising and in return remythologising of the whole Buddhist symbol-complex of original enlightenment, Buddha-nature, emptiness, and other related ideas and practices. The crux of his vision lay in a realistic affirmation and transformation of what was relative, finite, and temporal in a nondualistic vision of the self and the world. To understand duality lucidly and to penetrate it thoroughly within a nondualistic mode of existence was Dogen’s final solution. His remaining life consisted of his intellectual, moral, and cultic efforts to enact and elucidate this vision in the specific historical and social conditions of his time.” (Hee-Jin Kim (2004) p. 37)</span></span></span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Return to Japan (1227 to 1253)</span></span></b></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This experience answered Dogen’s question about the meaning of existence. In 1227 he returned to Japan to transmit the ancestral line of his teacher to his own countrymen. In the same year he composed <i>Fukan zazengi</i> “Rules for Meditation”, (Appendix) which can be regarded as a manifesto for the teaching he proclaimed. He stayed at Kenninji temple until 1230, when he moved to an abandoned temple called An’yoin, where he composed the <i>Bendowa</i> chapter of the <i>Shobogenzo, </i>which expanded his teaching in the<i> Fukan zazengi</i>. In 1233 he moved into <i>Kannon-doriin</i> temple, which was expanded over the next ten years, and wrote 44 more chapters of the <i>Shobogenzo</i> and took on Ejo as a disciple, who helped with the administration of the temple and its development. He opened the monastic community of the re-named, expanded, <i>Kannon-horinji</i> temple to everyone regardless of intelligence, social status, sex or profession and abolished the separation between monks and lay people, writing:</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">“It (enlightenment) depends solely upon whether you have a sincere desire to seek it, not upon whether you live in a monastery or in the secular world.” (Quoted in Hee-Jin Kim (2004) p. 42)</span></span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1362478406684_7980" lang="EN-GB"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">However, he did put the bulk of his effort into developing monastic training and his lay disciples built the Daibutsuji temple in a secluded mountain area. He moved there in 1244 and., two years later, changed its name to Eiheiji (temple of eternal peace) under which name it survives today. He spent much of his later years establishing the detail of daily life and practice for his monastic community. In 1253 he appointed Ejo as his successor and finally succumbed to illness that he had experienced for about 3 years. He died sitting in the <i>zazen</i> posture.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">Much of the material about Dogen's life comes from: </span>Hee-Jin Kim's Eihei Dogen: Mystical Realist Wisdom Publications (2004). You can find a review of the book online in the Journal of Buddhist Ethics.</span></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After an hour or so of the session, we're invited to dry a bit of </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">zazen </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- "just sitting" - meditation. We can sit on the floor, with various kinds of stools or cushions for support or remain in our chairs (as I do) and face the wall for ten minutes. Eyes open, not struggling against any thoughts which may arise, but not deliberately engaging with them if possible. I don't think I'll be able to last that long without falling asleep, but I find it surprisingly easy - and refreshing.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17455644680102431584noreply@blogger.com0ChristChurch, 105a Clarendon Park Road, Leicester LE2 3AH, UK52.617540000000012 -1.115183099999967552.616335000000014 -1.1177045999999675 52.618745000000011 -1.1126615999999674tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086361649112731038.post-54711622685577648982013-02-25T22:00:00.001-08:002013-03-12T14:53:31.556-07:00GOING ON BEYOND 5: A SIKH PERSPECTIVE ON MEDITATION<div class="MsoNormal tr_bq" style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiashWuPVAb5A7SQ2LMv7QWPa1ze6hUAtp64w4lUfWHOhR0n9QZ8GCJJ2MGsEEbz6P5IHiga_UvXl3Vr2tR7Yn6w8NgiuWbKmJotkol0ex7rwMmUQPMvn1cG78xx5igi5fVFqEJmOmSPytQ/s1600/sikh_meditating.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiashWuPVAb5A7SQ2LMv7QWPa1ze6hUAtp64w4lUfWHOhR0n9QZ8GCJJ2MGsEEbz6P5IHiga_UvXl3Vr2tR7Yn6w8NgiuWbKmJotkol0ex7rwMmUQPMvn1cG78xx5igi5fVFqEJmOmSPytQ/s1600/sikh_meditating.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At </span><a href="http://www.christchurchcp.org.uk/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">ChristChurc</span></a><a href="http://www.christchurchcp.org.uk/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">h, Clarendon Park</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, for the fifth session in the
course, "Going On Beyond: Meditation and Mysticism in the World
Faiths". This nine-week course is an interfaith opportunity
presented by </span><a href="http://www.christiansaware.co.uk/" style="color: #0c343d; text-decoration: initial;">Christians
Aware</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, as part of its </span><a href="http://www.christiansaware.co.uk/Faith_Awareness_Leicester.html" style="color: #0c343d; text-decoration: initial;">Faith
Awareness</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> programme. It is presented in association with </span><a href="http://leicesterbuddhistvihara.co.uk/news/59-serene-reflection-meditation-meetings.html" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Leicester Serene Reflection
Meditation Group</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Our topic this evening is "A Sikh Perspective on Meditation". The person we'd engaged to deliver the presentation has called off, so we've prevailed upon our friend Kartar Singh to step into the breech at very short notice. I can't imagine that Kartar would suffer much trepidation at the prospect though - just last week he spoke up on BBC One's Question Time when it was televised from Leicester's Curve. George Galloway was on the panel that edition - so Kartar should have no reason to fear his reception here this evening! By the way, you can watch that edition of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01qrfmf" target="_blank">Question Time</a> from Leicester on the BBC iPlayer till 13 February 2014.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
So as not to give Kartar too onerous a task, I've offered to prepare a handout on the topic, which attendees can read and to which he'll respond. The text of the two-page handout, adapted from an article on <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/SikhiWiki" target="_blank">SikhiWiki</a> entitled, "<a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Meditation" target="_blank">Meditation, the doorway to higher consciousness</a>", is reproduced in full below:</span><br />
<blockquote>
<b><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Meditation – the
door to higher consciousness</span></b></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Meditation is any practice whose goal is attaining a
state of higher consciousness. It is the process of retraining our
awareness to operate not from the conscious or subconscious level,
but from the level of the super-conscious.…</span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en">The Gurmukh attains the fourth state of higher
consciousness.</span><span lang="en"><i>“To attain this higher
level of consciousness, one has to disengage the mind away from
mundane interactions and join it to a much higher level of
awareness.”</i></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en"><i></i></span><span lang="en"> </span><span lang="en">When considering awareness, it is clear that man is
more aware of his surrounding than animals. Man is conscious of his
parents, grand-parents and other relatives while animals in general
may not be so conscious about some of the complex relations that they
may have. Most animals’ behaviour is driven by their immediate
sensory needs while most human behaviour is driven by etiquette and
social norms rather than sensory demands. The concept of correctness
and fairness has crept in - this can be termed “consciousness”.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en"></span>
When a hungry animal sees food, it will not wait for its frail
parents or grand-parents to eat first before it starts eating;
however, with most humans, we would distribute the food so that the
frail receive a fair share of the food. This highlights the better
consciousness instilled in humans.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">
<span lang="en">But if one does not pay regards to these “higher”
human qualities then the Guru reminds us, </span><span lang="en"><i>"Those
who do not serve the Primal Being, and do not reflect upon the Word
of the Shabad - do not call them human beings; they are just animals
and stupid beasts"</i></span><span lang="en">.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en"> </span>
However, consciousness does not stop with material needs; many other
things have to taken into consideration - emotional needs, moral
support, community welfare, social cohesion, global well-being, etc.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<b><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en">Meditation - a way
to better awareness</span></span></span></b></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en"></span></span>
Meditation is a way to improve one’s awareness of the world and to
become better equipped to play a better, more finely tuned and fairer
role in life. The essential attitude for correct meditation is one of
listening. To listen clearly one must subdue the level of
interference that is exerted on ones mind in our daily life; to still
the mind and to listen to the "internal vibrations" of the
mind.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Without this internal stillness of the mind, listening clearly is
impossible. It’s like trying to teach quantum mechanics to someone
while there are very loud thunder storms all around - a completely
impossible task!</span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span lang="en" style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once a state of tranquillity has been reached and the
chaos of everyday turbulence of random thoughts has been subdued from
the mind, only then can one listen to the internal vibrations of the
mind and soul. In this stillness one can tune into the natural
vibration of nature - the need and requirements of the Universe.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en"> </span><span lang="en">In </span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><a class="western" href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Sikhi"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en"><span style="text-decoration: none;">Sikhi</span></span></span></a></span></span><span lang="en">,
this vibration is referred to as </span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><a class="western" href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Naam"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en"><span style="text-decoration: none;">Naam</span></span></span></a></span></span><span lang="en">
- or even God - </span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><a class="western" href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Waheguru"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en"><span style="text-decoration: none;">Waheguru</span></span></span></a></span></span><span lang="en">.
So the Sikh masters require the Sikh to recognise this energy of
Nature and recognise this within the person's own mind. The </span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><a class="western" href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Sikh_Gurus"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en"><span style="text-decoration: none;">Sikh
Gurus</span></span></span></a></span></span><span lang="en"> asks the
Sikh to instil the name of the Lord within his/her mind. As </span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><a class="western" href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Ram_Das"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en"><span style="text-decoration: none;">Guru
Ram Das</span></span></span></a></span></span><span lang="en"> says,
</span><span lang="en"><i>"Listen, O mind: meditate on the Name
of the Lord.”</i></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<b><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en"><i></i></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en">Oneness</span></span></span></b></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en"></span></span><span lang="en">Many consider God to be an all-knowing
super-conscious Being; others consider God to be indefinable, not a
Being at all. One needs to replace the chaos of random uncontrolled
thoughts in the mind by only one thought - the remembrance of the
Lord's name; the pure love for the Creator. </span><span lang="en"><i>"The
minds of those who listen to the Lord's Name are drenched with bliss;
I worship their feet continually."</i></span><span lang="en">
(Shri Guru Granth Sahib p. 1135).</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en">Once this pure state of tranquility is present in the
mind, the realization of the oneness of the universe becomes known.
We must learn to listen to the deep voice within our "inner"
mind because as </span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><a class="western" href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Nanak"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en"><span style="text-decoration: none;">Guru
Nanak</span></span></span></a></span></span><span lang="en"> states
in Japji sahib, </span><span lang="en"><i>"Within the mind are
gems, jewels and rubies, if you listen to the Guru's Teachings, even
once"</i></span><span lang="en"> (</span>Shri Guru Granth Sahib p. <span lang="en">2)</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en"> </span>
The mind must be kept totally receptive, because we can’t think our
way into deep meditation. Nor, indeed, can you think your way to true
guidance and inspiration. You can only receive wisdom: you cannot
concoct it.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<b><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en">Recognise the truth
within</span></span></span></b></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en"></span></span>
A truth must be perceived in that calm awareness which is
super-consciousness.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Meditation, then, is not creating answers: It is
perceiving them. And this is the secret of true guidance. The stilled
mind will be able to start functioning properly and one become more
aware of the reality around us.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span lang="en" style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Most people seldom listen. They “listen” while
thinking, when can I interrupt and what can I say. They’re like an
out-of-tune musical instrument. Because they no longer are able to
tune into their own essential nature, their inter-actions with life
and other people produce only discords. They are deaf to the symphony
of sounds in the world around them. They are deaf to other people,
for they are more interested in speaking their own minds.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<b><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en"></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en">Listening deeply is
necessary</span></span></span></b></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en"></span></span><span lang="en">They behave as though perpetually campaigning for
their own ideas. However, </span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><a class="western" href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Arjan_Dev"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en"><span style="text-decoration: none;">Guru
Arjan Dev</span></span></span></a></span></span><span lang="en">
reminds us that, </span><span lang="en"><i>"Those who listen
with their mind and ears to the Lord's meditative remembrance, are
blessed with peace at the Lord's Gate, O mortal"</i></span><span lang="en">
(</span>Shri Guru Granth Sahib p. <span lang="en">200). So if you wish to obtain peace in this life and later,
then you need to remove the randomness in the mind and replace it
with love for God's name …</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To understand what meditation is we must learn to listen to what is,
and not keep insisting on what we think it ought to be. We must try
to tune in to things as they are. Meditation is the opposite of
imposing your will on the world. Try to relinquish, even for just a
few minutes, the process of concocting plans and projects for the
future. Be more, not less, conscious.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">
<span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><a class="western" href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Arjan_Dev"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en"><span style="text-decoration: none;">Guru
Arjan Dev</span></span></span></a></span></span><span lang="en">
tells us, that we forget the Lord and indulge in our plans and
schemes: </span><span lang="en"><i>"They do not know the One who
created them; they think up all sorts of schemes and plans.” </i></span><span lang="en">(</span>Shri Guru Granth Sahib p. <span lang="en">297). For true connection with the Creator, one has to break this
constant loop about our personal schemes and plans that are
perpetually going round in our minds.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en"> </span><span lang="en"><i>B</i></span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en"><i><span style="text-decoration: none;">ased
on an article by Swami Kriyananda, </span></i></span></span></span></span><i>adapted from SikhiWiki: encyclomedia of the Sikhs</i></span></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
Kartar responds to our questions and comments (about unfamiliar terms and concepts mostly) and extemporises on themes and topics contained in the handout - and some that are not. He points out (and I acknowledge) that the handout is missing important information about Sikh worship, in particular prayers and hymns from the Guru Granth Sahib. The handout had some of this earlier in the day but it was excised, purely for the sake of the time available to us this evening.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17455644680102431584noreply@blogger.com0ChristChurch, 105a Clarendon Park Road, Leicester LE2 3AH, UK 52.617540000000012 -1.115183099999967552.616335000000014 -1.1177045999999675 52.618745000000011 -1.1126615999999674tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086361649112731038.post-77147469105655136562013-02-18T22:00:00.001-08:002013-05-13T06:52:42.163-07:00GOING ON BEYOND 4: RAMAKRISHNA - A HINDU VIEWPOINT<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRc4R3DSLTSOetg96AhAiusvXLWf-rj-xm-rH-TtlDoVcp1nJ525jrovUB1Jg30AmYSq4MmOrz5BNEoTEmK-DQ5E2fM94fYPuXFG0QrF6imXbwoosnf935qnspgTYYzcV5aUBYGOzwSGj3/s1600/Ramakrishna-banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRc4R3DSLTSOetg96AhAiusvXLWf-rj-xm-rH-TtlDoVcp1nJ525jrovUB1Jg30AmYSq4MmOrz5BNEoTEmK-DQ5E2fM94fYPuXFG0QrF6imXbwoosnf935qnspgTYYzcV5aUBYGOzwSGj3/s400/Ramakrishna-banner.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #191919;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919;">At </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.christchurchcp.org.uk/"><span style="color: blue;">ChristChurc</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.christchurchcp.org.uk/"><span style="color: blue;">h, Clarendon Park</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919;">, for the fourth session in the course, "Going On Beyond: Meditation and Mysticism in the World Faiths". </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919;">This nine-week course is an interfaith opportunity presented by <a href="http://www.christiansaware.co.uk/" style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-decoration: initial;"><span style="color: blue;">Christians Aware</span></a>, as part of its <a href="http://www.christiansaware.co.uk/Faith_Awareness_Leicester.html" style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-decoration: initial;"><span style="color: blue;">Faith Awareness</span></a> programme. It is presented in association with </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919;"><a href="http://leicesterbuddhistvihara.co.uk/news/59-serene-reflection-meditation-meetings.html"><span style="color: blue;">Leicester Serene Reflection Meditation Group</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919;">.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919;"><br /></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">We were expecting to receive a presentation this evening on "</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramakrishna" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Ramakrishna</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, a Hindu Viewpoint". Our speaker, who would have been travelling up from London, cancelled earlier today, </span></span><span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">so Barbara Butler has stepped into the breach and leads us through the same topic.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #191919;">Ramakrishna used meditation and mysticism as means of "going on beyond" the separation of religions to realise their underlying unity. He </span><span style="color: #191919;">never claimed that all religions are alike - but advocated unity in diversity, a harmony achieved through mediation and contemplation - appreciation of what we might call these days, "the gift of difference". <span style="color: #191919;">This was the basis of his appeal for a fellowship of religions, an expression of the Hindu philosophy of <em><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_654877785"></span>Advaita<span id="goog_654877786"></span></a></em> - unity - challenging the philosophical position of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dualism#In_Indian_philosophy" target="_blank">Dualism</a>. He offered <span style="color: #191919;">the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavad_Gita" target="_blank">Bhagavad Gita</a> as the key text in understanding this unity.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In practical and social terms, Ramakrishna's teaching of unity expressed itself in his conviction that <span style="color: #191919;">all people are equal - a radical position for a nineteenth century Hindu. </span><span style="color: #191919;">His disciple, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivekananda" target="_blank">Swami Vivekananda</a>, taught against idleness, asserting that "work is worship, worship is work" rather than proposing that one is more meritorious than the other, that a person should choose one over the other.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #191919;">In the second half of the meeting, we form small </span><span style="color: #191919;">groups and discuss what we could do to work towards Ramakrishna's goal of a fellowship of religions.</span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Obstacles</strong></span></span></span></span><br />
<ul><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Ignorance</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Clinging to convictions</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Thinking that your way is the only way</span></span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Lack of healthy doubt</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Following a path for your on aggrandisement (egotism)</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Not taking an interest in how others see life</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Institution of religions: maintaining the institution can be put before what the religion is really about</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Association of religion with government or with power</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Dialogue of religious leaders maintains established power</span></span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Lack of time</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Lack of confidence</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Complications</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Unity – too easy</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Conflicts – real</span></span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Work / commitment within one’s own denomination is so absorbing that there is no time for dialogue</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It is too easy to proclaim human unity and yet not recognise the reality of conflict </span></span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Inter-faith work can become commodified, self-sustaining career path</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span></span></ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Ways forward</strong></span></span></span></div>
<ul><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">If strong in one’s own faith, then one can cope with others</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Openness</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span></li>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Keeping hope alive</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Gentle first steps, listening</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Showing good will</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Meeting one another</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">F</span><span lang="EN-GB">ellowship</span></span></span></div>
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</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17455644680102431584noreply@blogger.com0ChristChurch, 105a Clarendon Park Road, Leicester LE2 3AH, UK52.617540000000012 -1.115183099999967552.616335000000014 -1.1177045999999675 52.618745000000011 -1.1126615999999674tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086361649112731038.post-56046494205717550942013-02-04T22:00:00.000-08:002013-03-12T15:33:30.671-07:00GOING ON BEYOND 2: MYSTICISM FROM A CISTERCIAN PERSPECTIVE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919;">At </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.christchurchcp.org.uk/"><span style="color: blue;">ChristChurc</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.christchurchcp.org.uk/"><span style="color: blue;">h, Clarendon Park</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919;">, this evening for the second session in the course, "Going On Beyond: Meditation and Mysticism in the World Faiths". </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This nine-week course is an interfaith opportunity presented by <a href="http://www.christiansaware.co.uk/" style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-decoration: initial;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Christians Aware</span></a>,<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> as part of its </span><a href="http://www.christiansaware.co.uk/Faith_Awareness_Leicester.html" style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-decoration: initial;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Faith Awareness</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> programme. </span>It is presented in association with </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://leicesterbuddhistvihara.co.uk/news/59-serene-reflection-meditation-meetings.html"><span style="color: blue;">Leicester Serene Reflection Meditation Group</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Our speaker this evening is Father Joseph Delargy, Abbot of the Monastery of </span><a href="http://www.mountsaintbernard.org/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Mount St Bernard Abbey</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> (on the right in the photo above, with Kevin Commons). The full text of his talk is reproduced below.</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Mysticism from a Cistercian Perspective</strong> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I have been invited to speak about Mysticism from a Cistercian Perspective. There are two words in that title that may need clarification.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Cistercian is the order of monks I belong to. It is a Roman Catholic Christian order founded in the year 1098. Today it numbers about 4000 of both of monks and nuns, about 2000 monks and 2000 nuns spread throughout 200 monasteries throughout the world.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Mysticism is harder to define. Even though it is a word that is used much in Christianity – we speak of mystical theology, mysticism, and mystics, we think of the Spanish Mystics Teresa and John of the Cross, or the English mystics, Julian of Norwich, Richard Rolle, the Cloud of Unknowing - we find it hard to actually define it. A definition of mystical theology is: the study of the human experience of God and a definition of mysticism is: involving the explicit experience of the immediate presence of God. So it is to do with the experience of God in this life.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Another problem with the word mysticism is the tendency to equate it with unusual phenomena like ecstasies, trances, visions, but these are always peripheral to true mysticism, all the true mystics never sought anything like that and if they did experience them they often found it an embarrassment. A saying that is often said by older monks to over eager novices is that mysticism "begins in mist, is centred on I and ends in schism."</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The mystical teaching of the Cistercians would be above all found in the writings of the first Cistercians monks, people like St Bernard of Clairvaux (pictured below), William of St Thierry, Ailred of Rievaulx, Guerric of Igny and others. The Cistercians were originally a reform movement, started in 1098 in France, when a group of monks left the abbey of Molesme to found a new monastery with a simpler lifestyle and following the Rule of St Benedict more closely, stripped of all the accretions that had attached themselves to it over the years.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfRYDeKdteiq7IaReF_pHEzPv2qwnABQyg8-PsO45skoErMXp0w4p-VAxUgfgVoQ1YJ2pFMwD_KLbKiTSpk7D2f9xpgz1MoOdF7HlQXWGA92aLML4Mjp_JHTzMiC8XyiPZ4p3o81PZSKcE/s1600/st_bernard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfRYDeKdteiq7IaReF_pHEzPv2qwnABQyg8-PsO45skoErMXp0w4p-VAxUgfgVoQ1YJ2pFMwD_KLbKiTSpk7D2f9xpgz1MoOdF7HlQXWGA92aLML4Mjp_JHTzMiC8XyiPZ4p3o81PZSKcE/s1600/st_bernard.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Their teachings are found in their sermons, treatises and commentaries. The Song of Songs in the Old Testament was one of their favourite books of the Bible and they never tired commentating on it. St Bernard’s great commentary runs to 86 substantial sermons and he only got as far as chapter 3 verse 1, not even half way through. The English Cistercians John of Ford and Baldwin of Ford continued this work after Bernard’s death in 1153.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Cistercians saw the love story between the bride and the groom in the Song of Songs as representing the relationship between God and the soul.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Bride = the soul <i>(or the Church)</i> = anima</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Groom = God = the Word</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">One verse they homed in on was 2:4. Our modern bibles say: <i>He brought me to the banqueting hall and his banner over me was love</i> but the old Latin bibles they would have used instead of saying <i>his banner over me was love</i> say <b>He set love in order in me</b>. That seems to be the whole key to Cistercian mysticism – the ordering of our love.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">We do love, as humans we can’t do anything else, but we either love the wrong things or love the right things but love them too much or too little. Our love needs to be put in order.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Another important theme is that of image and likeness. Following Holy Scripture and the book of Genesis they believe that man is made in the image and likeness of God. After the fall of Adam we are still the image of God but we have lost our likeness. The spiritual/mystical path has as its goal to restore our likeness to God.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Cistercians couldn’t get over the fact of the Incarnation, it fascinated them, the fact that God emptied himself to become man in Jesus Christ, the true humanity of Christ, a man like us in all things but sin. Pope Benedict XVI speaking on this aspect of St Bernard’s teaching in 2009 said:</span></blockquote>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In the extenuating battles between Nominalists and Realists two philosophical currents of the time the Abbot of Clairvaux never tired of repeating that only one name counts, that of Jesus of Nazareth. "All food of the soul is dry", he professed, "unless it is moistened with this oil; insipid, unless it is seasoned with this salt. What you write has no savour for me unless I have read <i>Jesus</i> in it" (<i>In Canticum Sermones </i>XV, 6: <i>PL </i>183, 847).</span></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For Bernard, in fact, true knowledge of God consisted in a personal, profound experience of Jesus Christ and of his love. And, dear brothers and sisters, this is true for every Christian: faith is first and foremost a personal, intimate encounter with Jesus, it is having an experience of his closeness, his friendship and his love. It is in this way that we learn to know him ever better, to love him and to follow him more and more. May this happen to each one of us!</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><span lang="EN-US"></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Silence was another important element to the Cistercian mystical path. Not just silence to foster recollection but silence in order to "hear" God. They believed that hearing comes before sight. We will only see God in heaven but in this life we can ‘hear’ God (metaphorically speaking) speaking to our soul.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Simplicity was important – simplicity in liturgy, architecture, and life style. Whilst beautiful things – statues, stained glass, etc. - can lead us to God they can also be a hindrance getting in the way of a pure experience of God. In a sense the Cistercians were minimalists.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Cistercians followed the Rule of St Benedict (c. 530 pictured above) and so its teaching was foundational to them. Humility and obedience were essential elements of their spirituality and mysticism.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Manual work was held in high esteem by the Cistercians. St Bernard said he learnt more from the woods and the trees and the rocks than he ever did from books.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Cistercians described the mystical experience as ‘Visits from the Word’ – no strange phenomena – but when prayer is easy and living the virtues then the Word (God) is with us. When prayer is difficult and living the virtues is a struggle then the Word has departed. We sense the Word’s presence and absence but we don’t know the moment when he came or went. The comings and goings of the Word are entirely up to God, though we can facilitate them by making ourselves ready.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">No saint is as optimistic as St Bernard, no saint is as hopeful as he is, in the ability of man, wherever and whoever he is, to return to God. No one was beyond hope for Bernard. The most wretched sinner was seen by Bernard as a man with his foot on the first rung of the ladder back to God. For Bernard the man at the very bottom has nowhere else to go apart from up. No saint was ever as encouraging as St Bernard. In a very well known passage Bernard writes – and this comes after speaking about the heights of the spiritual life and union with God – he writes:</span></blockquote>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Every man – even if burdened with sin, enmeshed in vice, ensnared by the allurements of pleasures, caught in mud, fixed in mire, a slave to care, distracted by business, afflicted with sorrow, wandering and straying, filled with anxious forebodings and uneasy suspicions – every man, I say, standing thus under condemnation and without hope, has the power to turn and find it can not only breath the fresh air of the hope of pardon and mercy, but also dare to aspire to union with God…. Why should he not venture with confidence into the presence of him by whose image he sees himself honoured, and in whose likeness he knows himself made glorious? Why should he fear a majesty when his very origin gives him ground for confidence. (SC 83)</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">St Bernard certainly lived by this. In the well-known story, one day St Bernard was on his way to see Count Theobald and on the way he came across a crowd leading a man out to the gallows for execution. The man was Constantius and he was guilty of murder. We can imagine the scene, the baying crowds heaping insults on the murderer and the terrified man being dragged along. Bernard stopped and took the rope by which the man was tied and said to those in charge "Let me have this murderer, for I wish to take him and hang him with my own hands" (i.e. by living the penitential monastic life). Such was Bernard’s authority that those in charge let him take the man and Bernard took him to Clairvaux where he became a monk. Under Bernard’s guidance Constantius made atonement and reparation for his sins by a life of obedience and penance as a monk for the remaining thirty years of his life until his holy death. Constantius is remembered in the menology of our Order on June 20.</span></blockquote>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">When the crowds looked into the terrified man’s face they saw an evil demon, when St Bernard looked into the man’s face he saw past his sins to a potential saint. Cardinal Basil Hume used to say (quoting Oscar Wilde): "Every sinner has a future and every saint has a past."</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><span lang="EN-US"></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="EN-US">In his sermons on conversion he paints and all to familiar picture, when we try to convert we are beset with greater temptations. But we are not to despair. He writes: (If we ask) … "Is it possible for such wretchedness to make a person happy?" (I say to you) Whoever you are, if you are in this frame of mind, do not despair: it is mercy, not misery, that makes a person happy, but mercy’s natural home is misery. Indeed it happens that misery becomes the source of our happiness when humiliation turns into humility and necessity becomes a virtue. Sickness has real utility when it leads us to the doctor’s hands, and he whom God restores to health gains by having been ill. (Conversion 12)</span><span lang="EN-US">All I have been saying is from the past, from history, so I would like to speak about a modern Cistercian Mystic, Thomas Merton. In December it </span>was the 46<span style="font-size: small;"><sup>th</sup> anniversary of his death.</span></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Thomas Merton (photo above) was born on 31 January 1915 in Prades in France in the eastern Pyrenees where his father was painting. His father, Owen, was a New Zealander, and his mother Ruth, was an American. When Merton was one year old the family moved to the US, first to Douglaston on Long Island then to the borough of Queens in New York. Merton had one brother, John Paul, who was a few years younger than he. When he was 6 Merton’s mother died and this was followed by a period of wandering for the family. First his father took him to Bermuda and then once again to France, where Merton went to school. In 1928, when Merton was 13, it was decided to continue his education in England and they moved to Ealing, W. London. He began school at Ripley Court, a prep school in Surrey, and then when he was 14 he moved to Oakham Public School in Rutland, just 25 miles away from where we are sitting now. After Oakham he gained entrance to Cambridge University where he studied modern languages French and Italian. At Cambridge something went wrong, though we are never told quite what it was, but to the end of his days Merton seemed to have a real hatred of Cambridge. After two years at Cambridge he transferred to Colombia University in NY and was much happier there reading English Literature and doing his Masters degree on William Blake. He lived in NY on and off for the next 6 years and during this period he converted to the Roman Catholic faith, being baptised on 16 November, the feast of St Gertrude, in 1938, when he was 23. Three years later he entered the Cistercian Abbey of Gethsemane in Kentucky in the U.S. and soon after began his prolific writing career.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">There is no single opinion on Merton: some see him as the most important monk of the twentieth century, and indeed the most important monk of modern times, others see him as an anomaly. Whatever the opinion, though, it can’t be denied that he was a significant figure and still is. What his influence on the development of the Order was is hard to say; it could be argued he had an enormous influence on the Order, or equally, that he had no real lasting influence on the Order. My opinion at the moment is that he had a large influence on the Order, but not directly, but indirectly. I don’t think we can point to anything and say we do or don’t do this because of Thomas Merton, but I think the attitude and outlook of the Order has been very much shaped by Merton.Just recently I came across a piece of his writing that I think can serve us as a good meditation.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It is his first ever Christmas he spent in the monastery, so that is just after a few weeks, bearing in mind he entered on 10 December, Merton was waiting in church for the midnight Mass to begin and Merton writes in his journal:</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Lord it is nearly midnight and I am waiting for you in the darkness and the great silence. I am sorry for all my sins. Do not let me ask any more than to sit in the darkness and light no lights of my own, and be crowded with no crowds of my own thoughts to fill the emptiness of the night in which I await you.… <b>Your brightness is my darkness. I know nothing of you and, by myself, I cannot even imagine how to go about knowing you. If I imagine you, I am mistaken. If I understand you, I am deluded. If I am conscious and certain I know you, I am crazy. The darkness is enough</b>. (<i>Bridges to Contemplative Living, </i>edited by Montaldo & Toth, Ave Maria Press, 2010. p. 28)</span></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Powerful words from someone who had just been in the monastery for two weeks.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Twenty four years later this basic theme and attitude is still there in his mature writings. In 1965 in the <i>Climate of Monastic Prayer</i> he writes:</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Contemplative prayer is, in a way, simply the preference for the desert, for emptiness, for poverty. One has begun to know the meaning of contemplation when one intuitively and spontaneously seeks the dark and unknown path of aridity in preference to every other way. The contemplative is one who would rather not know than now. Rather not enjoy than enjoy. Rather not have proof that God loves him. He accepts the love of God on faith, in defiance of all apparent evidence. This is the necessary condition, and a very paradoxical condition, for the mystical experience of the reality of God’s presence and of his love for us. Only when we are able to ‘let go’ of everything within us, all desire to see, to know, to taste, and to experience the presence of God, do we truly become able to experience that presence with the overwhelming conviction and reality that revolutionize our entire life. (Ibid. p. 29)</span></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I think that is a good and helpful passage. We all experience periods of aridity in the spiritual life but here Merton teaches that we have only begun to know the meaning of contemplation when we "intuitively and spontaneously seek the dark and unknown path of aridity in preference to every other way." So our aridity is not a hindrance on our journey to God but rather it is the way, the path, to Him.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">ChristChurch is busy this evening. We're used to the </span><a href="http://www.cityofleicestersingers.co.uk/index.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">City of Leicester Singers</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> rehearsing here on Monday evenings. Tonight, session four of an eight-week course on the history of the Old Testament is being held in the Vaughan Powell Room, next to ours - though no one can remember that being on last week. In the Worship Space (the main area of the church), Rev David Jennings, Canon Theologian, is delivering the monthly </span><a href="http://www.leicestertheologicalsociety.org.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Leicester Theological Society</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">: "Is the Bible the word of God? Discuss". Until this evening, Leicester Theological Society has held its monthly meetings on Fridays. I've often wanted to attend their lectures but they've either coincided with the kids staying with me or some other social commitment. But it's odd that they should be holding them here now on Monday evenings, when some of those who regularly attend the Christians Aware / Faith Awareness sessions would more than likely want to attend the lecture. For that matter, I'd fancy joining in the Old Testament history course too!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">But it's a wee bit more than a minor irritation here this evening. In the Worship Space, David Jennings is using the microphone and PA and his talk is seeping into our room via a speaker that we can't switch off. It's turned down as low as it'll go but we can still hear every word, bubbling under Father Delargy's talk. When he's about to take us into a period of silent meditation, I break ranks and dash into the Worship Space to see if they can cut the sound to our room. But even though they're on to Q&A, there's no natural break in the flow that would allow me to interject. After standing there for the better part of ten minutes and failing to make myself seen or heard, I head back to our session. I have to say I'm relieved that that particular distraction won't be there next week.</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17455644680102431584noreply@blogger.com0ChristChurch, 105a Clarendon Park Road, Leicester LE2 3AH, UK52.617540000000012 -1.115183099999967552.616335000000014 -1.1176935999999675 52.618745000000011 -1.1126725999999674tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086361649112731038.post-77094335515932621802013-01-28T22:30:00.000-08:002013-03-11T08:47:47.844-07:00GOING ON BEYOND 1: INTRODUCTION & PERSONAL REFLECTION<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhISUk6lYJe1urabwma3tbdepS6rvdo3-GBRDOD7lyPp4DS2FbvtO5QVq5-jxHHYltmBTHF5FkOfyQa35oBfOJKLB78njsYHOTO69SUblo86VZogQdIwokI76SqBztJTS251Jq9rHTUUxHI/s1600/ian+%2526+kevin.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhISUk6lYJe1urabwma3tbdepS6rvdo3-GBRDOD7lyPp4DS2FbvtO5QVq5-jxHHYltmBTHF5FkOfyQa35oBfOJKLB78njsYHOTO69SUblo86VZogQdIwokI76SqBztJTS251Jq9rHTUUxHI/s1600/ian+%2526+kevin.JPG" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919;">At </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.christchurchcp.org.uk/"><span style="color: blue;">ChristChurc</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.christchurchcp.org.uk/"><span style="color: blue;">h, Clarendon Park</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919;">, this evening for the first session of a new course, "Going On Beyond: Meditation and Mysticism in the World Faiths". </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">This nine-week course is an interfaith opportunity presented by <a href="http://www.christiansaware.co.uk/" style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-decoration: initial;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Christians Aware</span></a>,<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> as part of its </span><a href="http://www.christiansaware.co.uk/Faith_Awareness_Leicester.html" style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-decoration: initial;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Faith Awareness</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> programme. </span>It is presented in association with </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://leicesterbuddhistvihara.co.uk/news/59-serene-reflection-meditation-meetings.html"><span style="color: blue;">Leicester Serene Reflection Meditation Group</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It was originally intended as a ten-week course which should have begun last Monday, but sub-zero temperatures and slippery roads and pavements made it seem wise to postpone the start by a week.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This is the latest in a series of courses that has so far addressed "Mindfulness" (2010), "Mindfulness and Morality" (2011) and "Mindfulness and Wisdom" (2o12) - each of which is covered extensively on this blog. Ian Grayling and Kevin Commons (photo above) from Leicester Serene Reflection Meditation Group are facilitating this first session and will have their hands on the tiller throughout the course.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">There are 15 people attending this evening (including our facilitators). This programme has been designed as a means of helping those attending to explore the process of looking within as a means of deepening their understanding of their own faith as well as looking at mysticism within a range of different traditions. More specifically, the programme seeks to enable people to:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Recognise ways of knowing through personal experience that goes beyond rational understanding;</span></div>
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<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Be mindful of similarity and difference in contemplative practice from different faith perspectives;</span></li>
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<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Consider the practice of "meditation" as a means of underpinning daily living.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This opening session provides a "faith-neutral" introduction. The remaining sessions will each look at meditation or contemplative prayer and mysticism through the life of a well known practitioner from a sample of different faiths. Each of these sessions will comprise an introduction from a named speaker and explanation of the particular practice of the chosen practitioner. The presenters will then lead a short period of meditation or contemplative prayer and the session will conclude with questions from the audience.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 18px;">The programme, which employs a range of delivery techniques, including practical experience of a contemplative technique, aims to promote active and reflective learning in an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 18px;">This evening, Ian and Kevin renew our acquaintance with authorities and commentators whose names and insights we've come to know through these courses: James W. Fowler and his definitions of stages of faith; Alister Hardy and his research on religious experience; Zohar and Marshall and their work on spiritual intelligence. We do some pairs work discussing how Hardy's findings relate to our own lives - an exercise in active listening.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17455644680102431584noreply@blogger.com0ChristChurch, 105a Clarendon Park Road, Leicester LE2 3AH, UK52.617540000000012 -1.115183099999967552.616335000000014 -1.1176935999999675 52.618745000000011 -1.1126725999999674tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086361649112731038.post-84282317057381358102013-01-27T09:00:00.000-08:002013-06-17T07:23:21.496-07:00BBC RADIO LEICESTER: GOING ON BEYOND<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkGdOHX4uzvEJ98bAO9q_ygEmJMPkQ-LaFeao6jOz-IrpQYtA223YVr7wsJEfqHWG8ZQ_er6MEFrJ7zkaozgX6vXU7sUxw-UlshnhTahdDK8__n0gIGuIN93TijLW9eMn2xNyhc237INGt/s1600/Monica_Winfield+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkGdOHX4uzvEJ98bAO9q_ygEmJMPkQ-LaFeao6jOz-IrpQYtA223YVr7wsJEfqHWG8ZQ_er6MEFrJ7zkaozgX6vXU7sUxw-UlshnhTahdDK8__n0gIGuIN93TijLW9eMn2xNyhc237INGt/s400/Monica_Winfield+(1).jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This morning I'm on BBC Radio Leicester, speaking with Monica Winfield (photo above) by phone about the new Christians Aware / Faith Awareness course, "Going On Beyond (Meditation and Mysticism in the World Religions)". Here's the transcript of the interview.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>MW:</b> You’re listening to BBC Radio Leicester. It’s eleven minutes to eight. And it’s a little while since we heard from the local organisation, Christians Aware. This is a network of individuals and groups of various denominations dedicated to working for justice and peace. They’ve just started a series of talks with the title, “Going On Beyond (Meditation and Mysticism in the World Faiths)”. Some very distinguished speakers from various faiths and denominations will be appearing, including George Ballentyne, who works for Christians Aware and I’m delighted to say he joins us now. George, good morning.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>GMB:</b> Good morning Monica.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>MW:</b> Now the last thing I want to do is ask you to give the game away of what you’ll actually be talking about, but you’re looking at this from a Baha’i perspective, aren’t you?</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>GMB:</b> Yes, I’m one of the speakers. We’re going to have a nine-week course, it starts tomorrow evening at 7:30 and it’s based in Christchurch which is in Clarendon Park. And these courses have been running for quite some time now and, really, the purpose of this set is to not just talk about meditation and mysticism in the different faiths of the world but to actually give a little taster of how it’s practised in each of these faiths and religions and beliefs. So there’s quite a wide variety of speakers. I usually do one session out of the course, but we’ve also got a Muslim speaker, we have a Jewish speaker, we have a Sikh speaker and, for the first time, we have a Pagan speaker as well and we’ll have a Hindu and at least one Christian tradition represented.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>MW:</b> That sounds absolutely fantastic. And the title is “Going on Beyond” and I assume each of your speakers will have a different idea of what that means.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>GMB:</b> I do hope so, or else it’s going to be very dull [MW laughs] to be honest if they all say exactly the same thing. But it really is part of the interest of the course that they are so different. And when you experience this not just in, you know, the one evening, but over the whole length of the course, it’s amazing both the variety but then again the similarity between them and that’s the purpose of it – you know, it’s like going into a beautiful garden: the flowers are all lovely but they’re all different.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>MW:</b> Do you know that’s one of the main things that’s come home to me presenting this programme on a Sunday morning? That there’s a lot of similarities but, as you say, a lot of differences as well. Who do you think would get the most out of this series?</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>GMB:</b> Well it’s for people really, who are interested in finding out some – it’s a basic level introduction to how the different faiths approach this. It’s not academic and no one would have to feel that oh, you know, because they’ve missed previous courses that they can’t join in this one. It’s a very entry-level one for people who are really interested in getting that experience from the different faiths, learning something about different faiths, meeting people from different faiths, sharing some kind of inter-faith fellowship. Well, you’ve had me on the show so many times before, you know that’s the dimension that interests me so much. So we’re always talking about the diversity in Leicester but there are actually very few opportunities for people to experience it, especially for people who are not professionally involved in the religious life of the city. So this one will work for – you know, we’ve had students, retired people, people, you know, who’ll pop in after work. It’s a very straightforward but really quite interesting and stimulating kind of course.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>MW:</b> And is there a bit of audience participation required?</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>GMB:</b> Well there will be, because we’re going to be getting a little taster, ten minutes or so of how, you know, how does this brand of Hinduism meditate or how does a Jewish person experience that kind of mystical dimension. Now, nobody is going to be enlightened in ten minutes on a Monday evening in Clarendon Park, but it will just – it’s a way of showing that there’s nothing alien, nothing strange, nothing threatening about the way people do these things. And everybody can find one out of these little pieces of practice that will that work for them and that they might want to take further – they might want to go on beyond with, as it were.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>MW:</b> Absolutely. And do we need to sign up for all of them all in one go or can we come and go?</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>GMB:</b> No, it’s very variable. The biggest number of people I‘ve seen turn up for one of these sessions on a Monday evening was 52 – we had to find another room to be in the church – and the smallest number was three. I should say that, that evening I was the speaker [MW: Oh George! You –] It coincided with Half Term, that was the thing – but no, people are just able to – if folk want to make contact with the Christians Aware office or they can even do it through me, it’s very easy to find my contact details on the net – but there’s no pressure to do that. People really can just turn up for one or skip a few or pick the ones that interest them most.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>MW:</b> It sounds fascinating, it really does. Just tell me a little bit more about Christians Aware; what do you do the rest of the time?</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>GMB:</b> Well, Christians Aware is an organisation that really works to present a united front of Christians from different denominations, who are looking particularly at social issues. One of the big ones on their calendar this year is food security. So there’s a number of – there’s a talk coming up at the end of February (you might want someone to come into the studio and talk about that) that Christians Aware is hosting, from the World Development Movement on that issue. And then there’s a summer school that they’re sponsoring later in the year which will take a whole week to look at it. It’s very practical, very down to earth, very grounded. There’s nothing airy-fairy about what they’re discussing. It’s not about theological niceties or the structure of the church, it’s about how do people of faith – and that’s people of different faiths – work with the issues and the problems of the world to make life better for all.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>MW:</b> What higher aim can there be [GMB laughs], to be quite honest with you? You know, I think you’ve got to aim high because that way you’ll achieve what you want to. Just give us the rundown again on the course we’re talking about here, these Going On Beyond talks.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>GMB:</b> Right so it’s “Going On Beyond (Meditation and Mysticism in the World’s Faiths)”. It’s going to start tomorrow evening and it’s every Monday for nine weeks at Christchurch, Clarendon Park, And that will start at 7:30 and it finishes at 9. And if anyone would like more details, contact Christians Aware on 254 0770.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>MW:</b> Lovely, 0116 [GMB: Yes] 254 0770.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>GMB:</b> Yeah.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>MW:</b> Brilliant. George, great to talk to you today, enjoy the rest of your Sunday.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>GMB:</b> Thank you.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>MW:</b> Thanks for being with us.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>GMB:</b> Thanks, bye.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>MW:</b> Take care, bye bye. That’s George Ballentyne there, from Christians Aware. Sounds brilliant, doesn’t it? If you go along and you go to that first one and you want to let me know what it was like and what went on, I would love to hear from you. You can get in touch with me next week here at BBC Radio Leicester.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Follow Monica Winfield on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/MonWRL" target="_blank">@MonWRL</a></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17455644680102431584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086361649112731038.post-75419881567379357782012-12-01T17:00:00.000-08:002013-03-12T15:02:34.683-07:00HERE ALONE: REFUGEE CHILDREN IN THE UK<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here
Alone: Refugee Children in the UK is a one-day conference
jointly sponsored by <a href="http://www.christiansaware.co.uk/" target="_blank">Christians Aware</a> and the <a href="http://leicester%20unaccompanied%20child%20initiative/" target="_blank">Leicester UnaccompaniedChild Initiative</a>, held at Quaker Meeting House, Queens Road.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
Legislation
defines an “unaccompanied asylum seeking child” as a child who is
</span></div>
<ul>
<li><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">applying
for asylum in their own right, and
</span></div>
</li>
<li><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">is
separated from both parents and is not being cared for by an adult
who by law has responsibility to do so
</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A
child may move between the unaccompanied and accompanied categories
whilst their applications are under consideration, e.g. where a child
arrives alone but is later united with other family members in the
UK, or a child arrives with their parents or close relatives but is
later abandoned, or a trafficked child, or one brought in on false
papers with an adult claiming to be a relative.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As
soon as anyone who has been treated as a child under these conditions
turns 18, they have to apply for refugee status. Only seven per cent
of such applications are successful. If refugee status is granted,
that is valid for five years. At the end of that period, one has to
apply for leave to remain. </span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
Barbara
Butler (Executive Secretary of Christians Aware) introduces the day
and welcomes the 30 attendees present at the start of the conference.
She asks us to bear in mind that we are not talking about the giving
of charity in the conventional sense (e.g. of handouts or food
parcels) but the giving of hope, hospitality.</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwcPYFXNrPYIDzphpzUDtDwYbpyGbGFIY7Jy4j0u5bSwUTl9IQWOcHfECOjlR_qax8tkvdIPCrJcSmcZ48LsQSvaY7PdANZ85TlIE8p50qRa4Www3KNPTDztfjCAAI69lLDPgnEopfwx_g/s1600/rachels_story.jpg"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="171" name="graphics1" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwcPYFXNrPYIDzphpzUDtDwYbpyGbGFIY7Jy4j0u5bSwUTl9IQWOcHfECOjlR_qax8tkvdIPCrJcSmcZ48LsQSvaY7PdANZ85TlIE8p50qRa4Www3KNPTDztfjCAAI69lLDPgnEopfwx_g/s1600/rachels_story.jpg" width="304" /></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The
conference proper starts with us watching a five minute-long
animated film, Rachel's Story, one of a series of short films
from <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01k7c4q" target="_blank"><span style="color: #073763;">Seeking
Refuge</span></a>, broadcast on
BBC 2 in June this year. Seeking Refuge contains five stories
giving a unique insight into the lives of young people who have
sought asylum in the UK, told by the children themselves. Each of the
films conveys different experiences of young refugees and asylum
seekers, while communicating the collective struggles and hopes of
young people fleeing from their country of origin, and the issues
they face adjusting to life in the UK. The stories powerfully explore
themes including persecution, separation and alienation, and seek to
inform young audiences about some of the hardships these children
face.<br /><br />First speaker is David Pitts, who sets the topic within
an international context. David is a member of Christians Aware
who every year spends time teaching English to children in camps on
the border between Thailand and Burma. Something that sticks in my
mind from David's talk is when he considers the words that Paul
attributes to Jesus, "It is better to give than to receive"
(Acts 20:35) in relation to those who have nothing and who are wholly
dependent on others. It's not good for people to be on the receiving
end all the time - they need to have opportunities to give.</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLqLi9-_GJeTdNZ3VFH6Y265CP9LYrPrAhBFtxaaVrApyWOUGjq9BmEthbxythjlKLILar1Yify31HNXUokzGy2kjQnun8TxnCSCRj3TbsdcAzmPf1FlQ1cYe22r-3u0UgKmZx0NrWllyV/s1600/alison_birch.jpg"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="213" name="graphics2" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLqLi9-_GJeTdNZ3VFH6Y265CP9LYrPrAhBFtxaaVrApyWOUGjq9BmEthbxythjlKLILar1Yify31HNXUokzGy2kjQnun8TxnCSCRj3TbsdcAzmPf1FlQ1cYe22r-3u0UgKmZx0NrWllyV/s320/alison_birch.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Alison
Birch, from the Leicester Unaccompanied Child Initiative,
speaks about the situation with unaccompanied asylum seeker
children in Leicester. There are reckoned to be 195 unaccompanied
child asylum seekers in Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Rutland.
Of that number, 110 have come here from Afghanistan. She shows a clip
from BBC East Midlands Today about the work of LUCI at The Centre
project, based at Central Baptist Church. Many children and
young people are sent to LUCI by other local authorities in the East
Midlands, because of the diversity of Leicester, as it's assumed that
they'll be able to be put in touch with members of their own
community more easily here.<br /> </span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Brandon
Akem, who arrived here from Cameroon aged 16 - volunteers for LUCI
while studying Law at Leicester University. He speaks briefly about
his own experience in both receiving and giving support.
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO62625Jg9Oin1WjQxkntLQGMixa7vZH0QmHM163Em-vInOAIblPSOb_IBfWb_ICYdxxkXEAAcr9vCy3b5y4Bgk2ZoZMYlC6OGU14qVLqSPkpdyo1jFpZugqEKUeJAiCL-7WiBcDpvRlpY/s1600/here_alone_beate.jpg"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="213" name="graphics3" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO62625Jg9Oin1WjQxkntLQGMixa7vZH0QmHM163Em-vInOAIblPSOb_IBfWb_ICYdxxkXEAAcr9vCy3b5y4Bgk2ZoZMYlC6OGU14qVLqSPkpdyo1jFpZugqEKUeJAiCL-7WiBcDpvRlpY/s320/here_alone_beate.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Beate
Dehnen (artist and author, teacher and educationalist) speaks next on
the topic, "Refugees and Art: Art as Refuge". She shares
examples of the kind of material created in her workshops with asylum
seekers and refugees, which she has used a platform on which to
empower people who feel powerless, to help them find a voice when it
appears that no one can hear them. Some work by Beate and
participants in her workshops on the theme, "Here Alone" is
on display today. Most of the attendees take advantage of
opportunities to view it throughout the day.</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNAT00z6AzN8uKhyD3rCpA3R6XwqTDHqmZywWvSi7NQBYvVnE_XyyotvdP14V6xRreforLQ6q72rj3Ct0M9NdTOjdLwQ1J4S3-H6CBvScCeojY1NOzQSA92L2zehgNnSkUcB965y-f0wVL/s1600/hamedullah.jpg"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="225" name="graphics4" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNAT00z6AzN8uKhyD3rCpA3R6XwqTDHqmZywWvSi7NQBYvVnE_XyyotvdP14V6xRreforLQ6q72rj3Ct0M9NdTOjdLwQ1J4S3-H6CBvScCeojY1NOzQSA92L2zehgNnSkUcB965y-f0wVL/s1600/hamedullah.jpg" width="300" /></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Last
session of the morning is given over to watching the short
documentary, <a href="http://www.hamedullahtheroadhome.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #073763;">Hamedullah:
The Road Home</span></a> by
<a href="http://www.sueclaytonfilm.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #073763;">Sue
Clayton</span></a>. Sue was
hoping to be here herself, but unexpected family commitments
have prevented that. Sue is passionate about empowering young people
to express themselves through social media, film-making and video
diaries. Her film introduces us to Hamedullah Hassany, who arrived in
this country as an unaccompanied child asylum seeker a number of
years ago. Upon turning 18, he is deported to Afghanistan, leaving
behind friends, home and studies in Canterbury, where he had been
making a life for himself. Sue gave him a video camera on which to
record his experiences in Afghanistan Although Afghanistan is
nominally his home country (though Kabul is not his home town),
Hamedullah is a fish out of water there. After spending some of his
most formative years in England, he has nothing in common with the
people he has been sent to live among and can barely make his
way in their society. The people with whom Hamedullah comes into
contact assume that, having been deported from the UK, he must be a
criminal or some other sort of undesirable. Most shun his company
because of that, while others play upon it for their own ends. He
returns to the village where he grew up, only to find the homes there
abandoned and decaying, like ancient ossified relics. Hamedullah
soon comes to the grim conclusion that he has nothing to do, nowhere
to go and no one on whom he can rely for help or friendship. We
witness his transformation from a bright and cheerful, friendly and
gentle, motivated and optimistic young man to one who is bitter and
cynical, deflated and degraded, pessimistic and poisoned.<br /><br />Hamedullah
is still in Afghanistan, subsisting on small amounts of money that
Sue Clayton sends him from sales of the DVD or fund-raising
activities on his behalf.<br /><br />I felt moved and appalled by this
film, in fairly equal measure. Moved by the plight of Hamedullah,
appalled at how anyone thinks this is a civilised thing to do to
another human being.<br /><br />Lunchtime next: a walk in the crisp
December air of Queens Road is required after what I've just sat
through. It takes a few minutes before I feel able to sit and talk
with anyone else, or to eat anything.
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv3COWk8DSwDtPR65aosEvzrejQ1ITr0GXjlmSvZPffKD-voZuOiHFb2QHet9bOW3urHepWgYlyIzqpPYseoz9YZ82QXjqc1iGxp-H6EOQvxymLLgJ8X3XdhD0mwBun74kJ0Zxsi6nv3u8/s1600/here_alone_workshop.jpg"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="213" name="graphics5" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv3COWk8DSwDtPR65aosEvzrejQ1ITr0GXjlmSvZPffKD-voZuOiHFb2QHet9bOW3urHepWgYlyIzqpPYseoz9YZ82QXjqc1iGxp-H6EOQvxymLLgJ8X3XdhD0mwBun74kJ0Zxsi6nv3u8/s320/here_alone_workshop.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After lunch, we have a choice between one workshop with Alison Birch or another with Lisa Matthews, Campaigns Coordinator (South) for the National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns. Alison's workshop focuses on what is being done - and what can be done - in Leicester, Lisa's on national campaigns. At the end of the workshop period, we all come back together and Lisa sums up the event.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
It would be an injustice to those who are the focus of today's conference if we allowed our concern to peter out as we leave Quaker Meeting House. We make tentative plans for action to capitalise on the commitment of those attending today. At the very least, we should ensure that future events on this and related topics should have a more varied line-up in terms of those presenting and those attending. Greater effort could be made to involve people of other religions, traditions, cultures and backgrounds (on a mildly ironic note, Bahá'ís from city and county have been holding their local convention in an upstairs room and a couple of them join in for the last half hour of the conference, once their own event is done).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
Thanks to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/amusiyiwa?fref=ts" target="_blank">Ambrose Musiyiwa</a> for these pictures - and for many more photos from the conference which he has posted on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.495145920506796.107547.446884161999639&type=1" target="_blank">Facebook</a> under the guise of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CivicLeicester" target="_blank">Civic Leicester</a>.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17455644680102431584noreply@blogger.com0Quaker Meeting House, 16 Queens Road, Leicester LE2 0ND, UK52.6292767 -1.120649552.6268672 -1.125585 52.6316862 -1.115714tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086361649112731038.post-55527541189403443312012-11-05T22:00:00.000-08:002012-12-04T02:28:24.414-08:00THE BEATITUDES 4: THE BEATITUDES FROM A DOMINICAN PERSPECTIVE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOIqoFabwEfRPwCnSVNW74Kj7QzJ6f01ININbHhawfHgvhDn5jBgfSRbyV00hO5adTINZGyVZtKna4qGW0MogtnU-RTYho7b1fPbV53M6ZMm8C6aU8L99a8zRptCy11r0kJZ5EV8SVrTfC/s1600/father_fabian.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOIqoFabwEfRPwCnSVNW74Kj7QzJ6f01ININbHhawfHgvhDn5jBgfSRbyV00hO5adTINZGyVZtKna4qGW0MogtnU-RTYho7b1fPbV53M6ZMm8C6aU8L99a8zRptCy11r0kJZ5EV8SVrTfC/s320/father_fabian.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Fourth
session in the course on the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatitudes" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Beatitudes</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> at
</span><a href="http://www.christchurchcp.org.uk/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Christchurch,
Clarendon Park</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">.
This eight-week course is presented as part of </span><a href="http://www.christiansaware.co.uk/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Christians
Aware</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">'s </span><a href="http://www.christiansaware.co.uk/Faith_Awareness_Leicester.html"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Faith
Awareness</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> programme.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Our topic this evening:
"The Beatitudes from a Dominican Perspective", presented by </span><a href="http://www.holycrossleicester.org/Friars.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Father Fabian Radcliffe OP</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> (photo above) Dominican Friar at </span><a href="http://www.holycrossleicester.org/Holy_Cross_Leicester.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Holy Cross Priory</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> and President of </span><a href="http://www.leicestertheologicalsociety.org.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Leicester Theological Society</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">.</span></span><br />
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12)</span></strong></blockquote>
</div>
<ol><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span></ol>
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Our speaker begins by setting the Beatitudes in the context of their delivery in the Sermon on the Mount - and how that episode in the Gospels differs from what we would consider to be a "sermon" today.</span><br />
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">These words are delivered to those whom we might call "the wretched of the earth" (a tantalising nod, from my point of view at least, to </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frantz_Fanon" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Frantz Fanon</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> there)- to "the mass of men", who, in the words of </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Henry David Thoreau</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, lead "lives of quiet desperation".</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Father Fabian then proceeds to lead us through a brief reflection and discussion of the Beatitudes, singly and collectively, considering similarities of content and style, and how they might be differentiated or grouped together.</span><br />
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Nos 1-8 seem to belong to a different set to number 9.</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Nos 1-8 seem more poetic, number 9 more conversational.</span></blockquote>
</div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Nos 1-8 each has a different theme, number 9 reprises them.</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Nos 1 and 8 are the only two that contain the phrase, "the kingdom of heaven"; in this sense, they "bookend" numbers 2-8.</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Nos 4 and 8 contain the word "righteousness"; this allows us to consider numbers 1-4 and numbers 5-8 as two subsets.</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Nos 1-4 appear to relate to more "passive" people, who are singled out and picked on because of their inaction.</span></blockquote>
</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Nos 5-8 appear to relate to more "active" people, who are singled out and picked on because of their action.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
Nos 1-4 appear to be addressed to those who lives are ebbing away; who long for justice to be delivered to them; whose grasp on existence seems tenuous.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="color: #191919;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
Nos 5-8 appear to be addressed to those who are actively striving to change the world around them and to bring justice into the world.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
No 2: "those who mourn" are another class of "the poor in spirit" from number 1.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
No 3: "the meek" can't stand up for themselves or for their rights; they have lost their stake in the land and cannot retrieve it by their own efforts. For "the earth" read "the land", a meaning more in keeping with the nuances of the original Hebrew meaning. We have largely lost any understanding of the Hebrew / Israelite tradition, the historical context and social milieu from which the Beatitudes arise. While it's good to be aware of the roots, we can't cling to them. We have to acknowledge roots and origins, but move on to a contemporary meaning - as long as the spirit that flows throughout it is the same. Otherwise, it is in danger of becoming an arcane, academic pursuit, without relevance - or the power to inspire - later generations who read the text and try to apply its meaning in their lives.</span></blockquote>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">No. 4: People who long for justice, but are unable to play and active part in bringing it about.</span></blockquote>
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<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">No 5: "the merciful": an attitude of trust and loyalty, arising out of a mutual relationship.</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">No 6: Described by Father Fabian as "one of the more difficult to get right". Quite as much about vision, perception, our understanding of what is real and true. The heart, for Hebrews, was as much the seat of the rational faculty as it is of the feelings. This reference to right feeling, right thinking, leading to right action all sounds a bit Buddhist - which is very much in keeping with the Christians Aware / Faith Awareness way of things!</span></blockquote>
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<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">No 7: "Peace" is not merely the absence of conflict, of course, but the total well-being of the generality of society, that condition of harmonious community that allows all to flourish.</span></blockquote>
</div>
</span><div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">No 9: Father Fabian wonders if this comes from another source, something that Jesus was heard to say often - and the compilers of the Gospels added it here.</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br /></blockquote>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">How, why and <em>when</em> are the poor (of any sort) "blessed"? Their condition is analogous to the Kingdom of Heaven as described in the Gospels - their blessings at one and the same time present and still to come.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The people described in the first group (1-4) are blessed by receiving the aid of those described in the second group (5-8). The people described in the second group are blessed by adding those described in the first. As the wheel turns, people from one group become members of the other. Some of the helpers become those who need help; some of those who needed help find themselves in the position of being able to help.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">In our discussion toward the end of the session, reference was made to a talk given at Secular Hall here in Leicester some five years ago by the philosopher and founding figure in the <a href="http://www.sofn.org.uk/" target="_blank">Sea of Faith Network</a>, <a href="http://www.doncupitt.com/don-cupitt" target="_blank">Don Cupitt</a>. In that talk (attended by at least two of those present this evening) he made the case for the postwar settlement of the Welfare State as the manifestation of the Kingdom of God on earth - the making real and practical Jesus' ethic, in ways that touched and transformed the quietly desperate lives of the wretched of the earth. Rather than attempt to justify his assertions here, I refer you to Don Cupitt's writings, probably starting with <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Meaning-West-Apologia-Christianity/dp/033404202X" target="_blank">The Meaning of the West</a> (2008).</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17455644680102431584noreply@blogger.com0Christchurch, 105a Clarendon Park Road, Leicester LE2 3AH, UK52.61754 -1.115183152.61513 -1.1201186 52.619949999999996 -1.1102476000000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086361649112731038.post-12034259449601415762012-10-16T08:00:00.000-07:002012-11-12T02:50:53.925-08:00DOZENS ENJOY PILGRIMAGE ROUND CITY VISITING DIFFERENT FAITH CENTRES<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This article appears in today's </span><a href="http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/Dozens-enjoy-pilgrimage-round-city-visiting/story-17089026-detail/story.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Leicester Mercury</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">:</span><br />
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Dozens enjoy pilgrimage round city visiting different faith centres</span></strong></blockquote>
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<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">More than 40 people took part in an annual inter-faith walking pilgrimage in Clarendon Park, Leicester, at the weekend.</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The event, which took six hours to complete, visited seven sites where pilgrims were welcomed by a different faith community.</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The tour began at noon, at Guru Amar Das Gurdwara, before moving on to the Quaker Meeting House, then St John the Baptist Church, before being hosted by Baha'is in the Octagon Room, attached to St John's.</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The walkers then visited the Neve Shalom Progressive Synagogue, The Art of Living Centre, in Toller Road, finishing at the Geeta Bhavan Hindu Temple and Community Centre, in Clarendon Park Road.</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">At each stage, the group was welcomed with a talk about the community hosting them and the place of worship. They also joined in a short devotional activity.</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Barbara Butler of Christians Aware, which organised the event, said: "We spent a little time with Sikhs, Quakers, Anglicans, Baha'is, Jews and Hindus. We're grateful to those who played host to our group."</span></blockquote>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17455644680102431584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086361649112731038.post-21510731778276881792012-05-21T22:00:00.000-07:002013-03-12T15:16:28.861-07:00INTRODUCTION TO AYURVEDA 2: DISCOVER YOUR MIND-BODY TYPE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPnbmn1aIDWggRIwYclAjvrLeVDuVLhS_B4H1kr4t7Jr6oD2h1azWbJMI-XIt6aJ2U2SRSlOGx_-h3ukVyuIpW-AojWlVK4qOGj3_KaUR2hnJyu2R8pvAOCO4_wugZtV-32OHHDPaFpQiM/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPnbmn1aIDWggRIwYclAjvrLeVDuVLhS_B4H1kr4t7Jr6oD2h1azWbJMI-XIt6aJ2U2SRSlOGx_-h3ukVyuIpW-AojWlVK4qOGj3_KaUR2hnJyu2R8pvAOCO4_wugZtV-32OHHDPaFpQiM/s320/001.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At </span><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.christchurchcp.org.uk/"><span style="text-decoration: none;">Christchurch, Clarendon Park</span></a></span><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, for the second session in the course, "Introduction to </span><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayurveda" target="_blank">Ayurveda</a></span><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">", offered by </span><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.christiansaware.co.uk/"><span style="text-decoration: none;">Christians
Aware</span></a></span><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> as part of their </span><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.christiansaware.co.uk/Faith_Awareness_Leicester.html"><span style="text-decoration: none;">Faith
Awareness</span></a></span><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> programme.</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;">This evening, course leader Neena Joshi is
joined by Dr Dave (photo above), who presents most of the session. Dr Dave
worked within the NHS as a gynaecologist at Leicester Royal Infirmary for ten
years, then as a GP with a practice off the Narborough Road. Now retired, he's
following in the footsteps of his father, who was an Ayurvedic practitioner. Dr
Dave's lengthy professional experience and deep knowledge allow him to make
meaningful comparisons between allopathic and Ayurvedic medicine.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;">The goal of Ayurveda is to establish and
maintain internal equilibrium. There are three ways in which this desired
equilibrium may be disturbed: of external physical origin; of internal physical
origin; and of mental origin. In Ayurveda, the mind is the root, seat and
origin of all conditions, good and bad. Therefore, control of the mind is the
first and most effective step in controlling the body. The mind cannot be controlled
by the mind itself, but it can be influenced by control of the breath. At the
end of the session, Neena leads us through a short exercise of alternate
nostril breathing to demonstrate this effect on the mind. She also gives us
homework: a sheet listing characteristics, internal and external, which would
help each of us determine our own<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>dosha<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>- our mind-body type. We should
all have a go at this before we meet up again for the next session.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
As we're breaking up, I make an appeal for volunteers to take part in our Faith
Communities Health Champions project with Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust.
I'd like to have a few people who have a lively personal interest in
non-conventional medical treatment. It seems like I might have a few willing
participants from this evening's group.</span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17455644680102431584noreply@blogger.com0Christchurch, 105a Clarendon Park Road, Leicester LE2 3AH, UK52.61754 -1.115183152.61513 -1.1201186 52.619949999999996 -1.1102476000000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086361649112731038.post-45117303694925488312012-05-14T22:00:00.000-07:002013-03-12T15:18:12.399-07:00INTRODUCTION TO AYURVEDA 1: AYURVEDA & HEALTH<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4xxWIOc-KGSzm64ed8qLsZ0U5yPmo_2GAlGeHPGMT3YaxQBzunXvSwiztqwg_w3MFRjrYAWTdnzywNUbi7LqR9dPkGVwxH6pUASdfKIBORKNq7-CidVLrG1PgbZYr8LQ8CIiiAdqdc7_a/s1600/002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4xxWIOc-KGSzm64ed8qLsZ0U5yPmo_2GAlGeHPGMT3YaxQBzunXvSwiztqwg_w3MFRjrYAWTdnzywNUbi7LqR9dPkGVwxH6pUASdfKIBORKNq7-CidVLrG1PgbZYr8LQ8CIiiAdqdc7_a/s320/002.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">At </span><a href="http://www.christchurchcp.org.uk/"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Christchurch, Clarendon
Park</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, for the first session in
a new course, "Introduction to </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayurveda" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Ayurveda</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">", offered by </span><a href="http://www.christiansaware.co.uk/"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Christians
Aware</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> as part of
their </span><a href="http://www.christiansaware.co.uk/Faith_Awareness_Leicester.html"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Faith
Awareness</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> programme.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">
<br />The five-week course (interrupted by holidays on
two successive Mondays) is led by Neena Joshi (photo above), who runs yoga
classes locally, as well as being involved in Leicester’s Art of Living
centre. There are 38 <a href="http://uk.artofliving.org/kriya_inyourarea.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: #073763;">Art of Living centres throughout England</span></a> (25 of them
outside London).<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Neena
introduces us to many technical terms this evening, some of which will be more
clearly defined as we progress through the course. As far as this introductory
session goes, probably the most important one to grasp is the meaning of
Ayurveda itself: <i>Ayur </i>means "life", <i>Veda </i>means
"knowledge".<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">After being
immersed in a lot of theory, Neena closes the session by leading us through a
quarter of an hour of breathing and movment practice, to relax the body and calm
the mind.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17455644680102431584noreply@blogger.com0Christchurch, 105a Clarendon Park Road, Leicester LE2 3AH, UK52.61754 -1.115183152.61513 -1.1201186 52.619949999999996 -1.1102476000000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086361649112731038.post-85223230314394685412012-03-05T22:00:00.000-08:002013-03-11T08:29:19.356-07:00MINDFULNESS & WISDOM 8: IN CONCLUSION<span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 24px;"><span style="color: #191919;"><span lang="EN-US">At </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.christchurchcp.org.uk/" style="color: #0c343d; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: blue;">ChristChurc</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.christchurchcp.org.uk/" style="color: #0c343d; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: blue;">h, Clarendon Park</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US">, for the final session in the course, "Mindfulness". </span></span></span><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 24px;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919;">This eight-week course is an interfaith opportunity presented by <a href="http://www.christiansaware.co.uk/" style="color: #0c343d; text-decoration: initial;"><span style="color: blue;">Christians Aware</span></a> (as part of its <a href="http://www.christiansaware.co.uk/Faith_Awareness_Leicester.html" style="color: #0c343d; text-decoration: initial;"><span style="color: blue;">Faith Awareness</span></a> programme) in association with </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919;"><a href="http://leicesterbuddhistvihara.co.uk/news/59-serene-reflection-meditation-meetings.html" style="color: #0c343d; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: blue;">Leicester Serene Reflection Meditation Group</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919;">.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 28.528528213500977px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 28.528528213500977px;">This concluding session is facilitated by Ian Grayling and Kevin Commons, from the Serene Reflection Group.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #191919;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919;"><br /></span></span>
</span><br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #191919;"><span style="background: rgb(252, 251, 248);">Part
of this evening is devoted to considering similarities and
differences between the presentations that we've had in previous
weeks.</span></span> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">From
the three introductory sessions</span></b></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">People may well be at different
stages of faith where for some the principal locus of authority is
external (teachers and scriptures) but for others the principal locus
of authority is found within. This is underpinned by a sense of
progression through life from Dependence, though Independence to
Interdependence.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="western" style="border: currentColor; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>Zen Buddhism </b>Wisdom and
Compassion are inextricably linked.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="western" style="border: currentColor; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>Islam </b>Wisdom is expressed in
your actions.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="western" style="border: currentColor; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>Judeo-Christian </b>The
scriptures provide insight in how to lead the good life. In
this regard is Jesus a window into Wisdom?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="western" style="border: currentColor; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>Humanist </b>Wisdom is about
deciding what is right to do at an individual, family and societal
level.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="western" style="border: currentColor; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>Similarities </b>If wisdom is not
manifested in daily life it is not wisdom. What you think, believe
and say should be compatible with what you do.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="western" style="border: currentColor; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>Differences </b>The
Zen contribution made much more of the importance of direct personal
experience that goes beyond rationality but is still relevant to
daily life.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17455644680102431584noreply@blogger.com0ChristChurch, 105a Clarendon Park Road, Leicester LE2 3AH, UK52.61754 -1.115183152.61513 -1.1201186 52.619949999999996 -1.1102476000000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086361649112731038.post-16221026303652441072012-02-27T22:30:00.000-08:002013-03-11T08:27:24.978-07:00MINDFULNESS & WISDOM 7: THE PLACE OF WISDOM IN THE HUMANIST TRADITION<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjspdW3FIfIMD9WUajCTGLBiSHXgakoEm2q1RHm9UJj8UVy44ItsEOhcCoAMi6i5UZLZnXHGtBEXaD2jaqJojXMU-YBXiVfLUL3RwEodxNQTopFNh-1r95vcEtECazBLMyJAJLMpevlmzPL/s1600/Hayes_Allan-200x200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjspdW3FIfIMD9WUajCTGLBiSHXgakoEm2q1RHm9UJj8UVy44ItsEOhcCoAMi6i5UZLZnXHGtBEXaD2jaqJojXMU-YBXiVfLUL3RwEodxNQTopFNh-1r95vcEtECazBLMyJAJLMpevlmzPL/s1600/Hayes_Allan-200x200.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 24px;"><span style="color: #191919;"><span lang="EN-US">At </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.christchurchcp.org.uk/" style="color: #0c343d; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: blue;">ChristChurc</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.christchurchcp.org.uk/" style="color: #0c343d; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: blue;">h, Clarendon Park</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US">, for the seventh session in the course, "Mindfulness". </span></span></span><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 24px;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919;">This eight-week course is an interfaith opportunity presented by <a href="http://www.christiansaware.co.uk/" style="color: #0c343d; text-decoration: initial;"><span style="color: blue;">Christians Aware</span></a> (as part of its <a href="http://www.christiansaware.co.uk/Faith_Awareness_Leicester.html" style="color: #0c343d; text-decoration: initial;"><span style="color: blue;">Faith Awareness</span></a> programme) in association with </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919;"><a href="http://leicesterbuddhistvihara.co.uk/news/59-serene-reflection-meditation-meetings.html" style="color: #0c343d; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: blue;">Leicester Serene Reflection Meditation Group</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919;">.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 28.528528213500977px;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Our
topic this evening is "The Place of Wisdom in the Humanist
Tradition", presented by Dr Allan Hayes. Allan studied
mathematics at Trinity College Cambridge (BA, PhD). Retired
from an academic career, in which he taught at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT), Purdue University, Leicester
University and De Montfort University, he is now a Director
of </span><a href="http://www.leicestersecularsociety.org.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Leicester
Secular Society</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> and a Trustee of the </span><a href="http://www.sofn.org.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Sea
of Faith Network</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> and of the </span><a href="http://www.humanism.org.uk/about/people/trustees" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">British
Humanist Association</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Allan
discusses the wisdom of Proverbs and of Jesus as recorded in the
Gospels and makes a case for their value as human-created,
human-centred sources of wisdom, without the need to appeal to
supernatural origin. When asked to clarify what he means by
"supernatural", Allan defines it (without recourse to any
text) as "an agency with intention, acting with its own purpose,
that is outside the normal discourse of science."</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Allan
refers to two books, published within a year of each other, which
illustrate opposite ends of the spectrum of belief: </span><a href="http://www.doncupitt.com/don-cupitt" target="_blank"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Don
Cupitt</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">'s </span><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jesus-Philosophy-Don-Cupitt/dp/0334043387" target="_blank"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Jesus
and Philosophy</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
(London: SCM Press, 2009), in which the author presents Jesus as a
radical humanist and </span><a href="http://johnshelbyspong.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">John
Shelby Spong</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">'s
</span><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jesus-Non-Religious-John-Shelby-Spong/dp/0060778415/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330467080&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Jesus
for the Non-Religious</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> (New
York: HarperOne, 2008), in which the author argues that Jesus is such
an extraordinary figure, he must be divine.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17455644680102431584noreply@blogger.com0ChristChurch, 105a Clarendon Park Road, Leicester, LE2 3AH, UK52.617540000000012 -1.115183099999967552.616341500000011 -1.1177045999999675 52.618738500000013 -1.1126615999999674tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086361649112731038.post-88565981956580861122012-02-20T22:30:00.000-08:002013-03-11T08:26:36.318-07:00MINDFULNESS & WISDOM 6: THE PLACE OF WISDOM IN THE JUDEO-CHRISTIAN TRADITION<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI1NEeCf26kaN6F1Y3lpEf1FhmfQ_rydPa-x5XbvNQRSc2L3oYuXXcXCvewtd3ufkdyxDRjYJFK8AtXv80gN43dlXiyOHauZ15G4AZfWmq_rRDf-ZqDTHt7AZIDrLdEtd1e1Q1PH0mAMMW/s1600/revbaybrook-small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI1NEeCf26kaN6F1Y3lpEf1FhmfQ_rydPa-x5XbvNQRSc2L3oYuXXcXCvewtd3ufkdyxDRjYJFK8AtXv80gN43dlXiyOHauZ15G4AZfWmq_rRDf-ZqDTHt7AZIDrLdEtd1e1Q1PH0mAMMW/s200/revbaybrook-small.jpg" width="195" /></span></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 24px;"><span style="color: #191919;"><span lang="EN-US">At </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.christchurchcp.org.uk/" style="color: #0c343d; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: blue;">ChristChurc</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.christchurchcp.org.uk/" style="color: #0c343d; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: blue;">h, Clarendon Park</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US">, for the sixth session in the course, "Mindfulness". </span></span></span><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 24px;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919;">This eight-week course is an interfaith opportunity presented by <a href="http://www.christiansaware.co.uk/" style="color: #0c343d; text-decoration: initial;"><span style="color: blue;">Christians Aware</span></a> (as part of its <a href="http://www.christiansaware.co.uk/Faith_Awareness_Leicester.html" style="color: #0c343d; text-decoration: initial;"><span style="color: blue;">Faith Awareness</span></a> programme) in association with </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919;"><a href="http://leicesterbuddhistvihara.co.uk/news/59-serene-reflection-meditation-meetings.html" style="color: #0c343d; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: blue;">Leicester Serene Reflection Meditation Group</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919;">.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 28.528528213500977px;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div style="background: rgb(252, 251, 248); margin: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #191919;"></span><span style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Our topic this evening is "The Place of
Wisdom in the Judeo-Christian Tradition", presented by Revd Marcus Braybrooke.
Marcus is<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.worldfaiths.org/MarcusBraybrooke.php" target="_blank"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">President
of the World Congress of Faiths</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> and is the author of many books on religion
and spirituality in its many forms. His specialist interest is in relations
between Christians and Jews. </span></span><span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The copy below is
almost entirely adapted from the handout we’re given this evening.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="background: rgb(252, 251, 248); margin: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Wisdom
literature was commonplace in the Ancient world. Here are a few examples of
Ptahotep's advice:</span><span style="color: #191919;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<ul><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"Do not gossip in your neighbourhood, because people love the silent."</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="color: #191919;"></span><span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"Only speak when you have something worth saying."</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"Love your wife with passion."</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"Do not blame those who are childless, do not criticise them for not having any, and do not boast about having them yourself."</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span></ul>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="background: rgb(252, 251, 248); margin: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>Wisdom
literature in the Bible</b></span></div>
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Wisdom
literature includes books such as Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of
Solomon and perhaps the Psalms and (in the Apocrypha) The Wisdom of Solomon and
Ecclesiasticus, which is the Greek translation of Ben Sirah who wrote the book
in Hebrew c. 190/180 BCE and it was then translated into Greek for his grandson
in 132 BCE. Wisdom literature in the Bible is of two types: instruction and
reflection.</span><br />
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="background: rgb(252, 251, 248); margin: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>Instruction</b></span><span style="color: #191919;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #191919;">Are you
good at getting up in the morning? If not, here's one for you: "As the door
turns upon its hinges, so doth the slothful turn upon his bed." (Prov 26:13).
Again, "The bickerings of a wife are like the ever-dripping gutter." (Prov
19:13). But lest we be accused of sexism, Proverbs also says of a virtuous
woman, "her price is above rubies." (Prov 31:10). Sometimes there are parallels
with New Testament passages: "The tongue that soothes is a tree of live; the
perverse tongue a breaker of hearts." (Prov 15:4) and "With the tongue we praise
Our Lord and Father with the tongue we curse man, who hath been made in God's
likeness." (James 3:9). </span><span style="color: #191919;">There is
quite often a suggestion that God will reward the righteous:
"</span><span style="color: #191919;">Treasures of wickedness profit nothing, but righteousness
delivers from death. The Lord will not let the upright go hungry. He thwarts the
greed of the wicked." (Prov 10:23). Also, </span><span style="color: #191919;">"The righteous man
'shall be like a tree planted by the waterside, but the ungodly are like chaff,
which the wind scattereth away from the face of the earth." (Psalm
1)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #191919;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="background: rgb(252, 251, 248); margin: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>Reflective literature</b></span><span style="color: #191919;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #191919;">Wisdom
literature ponders the injustice of life: </span><span style="color: #191919;">"God has delivered me
to the ungodly, and turned me over into the hands of the wicked. Know now that
God hath overthrown me, and has caught me in a net. Behold I cry out of wrong,
but I am not heard: I cry aloud but there is no judgement." (Job
19:6-7) </span><span style="color: #191919;">The Preacher in Ecclesiastes says: </span><span style="color: #191919;">"Vanity of vanities,
all is vanity".</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #191919;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="background: rgb(252, 251, 248); margin: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>The
personification of Wisdom (who is female)</b></span></div>
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Wisdom
says in "The Lord brought me forth or created me as the first of his works ... I
was appointed from eternity, before the world began." (Prov 8:22)</span><span style="color: #191919;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="background: rgb(252, 251, 248); margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #191919;">"wisdom
pervades and permeates all things. She is the breath of the power of God, pure
emanation of the glory of the Almighty ... She is the reflection of the eternal
Light, untarnished mirror of God's active power, and image of his goodness."
(Book of Wisdom 7:25-26)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #191919;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #191919;">W</span><span style="color: #191919;">isdom
gives understanding and teaches the secret of a good lire, which is obey the
Torah. </span><span style="color: #191919;">Solomon says: "I called
upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me ... I loved her above health and
beauty ... She is a treasure unto men that never fails." (Wis 7:7)</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="background: rgb(252, 251, 248); margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #191919;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #191919;">"Thy word
is a lantern unto my feet: and a light unto my paths." (Psalm
119:105) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #191919;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #191919;">"Thy testimonies are
wonderful: there fore doth my soul keep them." (Psalm 119:129)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #191919;"><br /></span></span>
<div>
</div>
</div>
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #191919;">Wisdom in
the New Testament - </span><span style="color: #191919;">Parallels in the
Gospels</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #191919;">Wisdom
says: "Put your neck under the yoke and let<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>your<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>soul receive instruction: she is hard to
find." (Ecclesiasticus 51:26) </span><span style="color: #191919;">Jesus says:
"Take</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="color: #191919;"> </span><i style="color: #191919; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">my<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i><span style="color: #191919;">yoke upon you and learn
of me." (Matthew 11:25) </span><span style="color: #191919;">Testing,
and the mocking of a servant of God's claim to be protected by God: Let us see
if his words are true, and let us test what will happen at the end of his life:
for if the righteous man is God's son, he will help him, and will deliver him
from the hand of his adversaries." (Wis 2:17-18). </span><span style="color: #191919;">"He trusts in God; let
God deliver him now, if he desires him; for he said, 'I am the Son of God.'"
(??)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #191919;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="background: rgb(252, 251, 248); margin: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>The
wisdom of God is foolishness to men (1 Cor 1:17ff)</b></span><span style="color: #191919;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Wisdom is
a challenge to human conceit and to a knowledge-based pattern of
education.</span><br />
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="background: rgb(252, 251, 248); margin: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>Jesus
as the Wisdom or Word of God</b></span><span style="color: #191919;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Several
New Testament writers identify Jesus with the figure of Wisdom who was with God
from the beginning but how close is the parallel?</span><span style="color: #191919;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="background: rgb(252, 251, 248); margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #191919;">Paul
actually speaks about Christ as "the power of god and the wisdom of God." (1 Cor
1:24) and says that his message was "of the mystery of the wisdom of God - even
the hidden wisdom, which God orddainedCor 2:7) "</span><span style="color: #191919;">Wisdom is
a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an
image of his goodness." (Wis 7:26) The author of Hebrews says of Christ: "He
reflects the glory of God and hears the very stamp of his nature, upholding the
universe by his word of power." (</span><span style="color: #191919;">Prologue to John's
Gospel)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #191919;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="background: rgb(252, 251, 248); margin: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>Later
Judaism</b></span></div>
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Rabbinic
Judaism said little about Wisdom, but she reappears in Kabbala or mystical
Judaism.</span><br />
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="background: rgb(252, 251, 248); margin: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>"How
should we speak of Jesus?"</b></span><span style="color: #191919;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Some translations of
the New Testament avoid "Father" and "Son".</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="background: rgb(252, 251, 248); margin: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"Stories
of the Prophets", and Arabic Bible that uses "Lord" instead of "Father" and
"Messiah" instead of "Son".</span><span style="color: #191919;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="background: rgb(252, 251, 248); margin: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"True
Meaning of the Gospel of Christ", an Arabic translation which removes "Father"
in reference to God and removes or redefines "Son".</span><span style="color: #191919;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="background: rgb(252, 251, 248); margin: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A Turkish
translation of Matthew that uses "guardian" for "Father" and "representative" or
"proxy" for "Son".</span><span style="color: #191919;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="background: rgb(252, 251, 248); margin: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The
Bengali<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Infil Sharif</i>, which
translated "Son" as "Messiah" and "Son of God" as "God's Uniquely Intimate
Beloved Chosen One"</span><br />
<div>
</div>
</div>
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">We're
given an exercise for our small group work that seems a little odd, given that
not everyone in the room is Christian (we have at least two Secular Humanists,
two Buddhists and a Bahá'í) but everyone does their best to enter into the spirit of things. We're asked to discuss the most helpful way to
speak of God's presence in Jesus:</span><br />
<ul><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="color: #191919;"></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #191919;">Jesus is God</span> </span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #191919;">Jesus is the Image of God</span> </span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #191919;">God was in Jesus Christ</span> </span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #191919;">Very God of Very God</span> </span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #191919;">The Wisdom or Word of God was present in Jesus and also in Buddha and Zoroaster and Krishna</span> </span></li>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="color: #191919; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Jesus as a window into God (which is how he is described in Honest to God)</span></li>
</ul>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17455644680102431584noreply@blogger.com0Christchurch, 105a Clarendon Park Road, Leicester LE2 3AH, UK52.61754 -1.115183152.61513 -1.1201186 52.619949999999996 -1.1102476000000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086361649112731038.post-9370098295390533682012-02-13T22:30:00.000-08:002013-03-11T08:23:44.720-07:00MINDFULNESS & WISDOM 5: THE PLACE OF WISDOM IN THE ISLAMIC TRADITION<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://www2.le.ac.uk/ebulletin/news/2000-2009/2008/06/npfolder.2008-05-20.2400166010/npimageset.2008-06-09.3841858487/article" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www2.le.ac.uk/ebulletin/news/2000-2009/2008/06/npfolder.2008-05-20.2400166010/npimageset.2008-06-09.3841858487/article" /></a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(252, 251, 248);">
<br />
<span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 24px;"><span style="color: #191919;"><span lang="EN-US">At </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.christchurchcp.org.uk/" style="color: #0c343d; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: blue;">ChristChurc</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.christchurchcp.org.uk/" style="color: #0c343d; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: blue;">h, Clarendon Park</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US">, for the fifth session in the course, "Mindfulness". </span></span></span><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 24px;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919;">This eight-week course is an interfaith opportunity presented by <a href="http://www.christiansaware.co.uk/" style="color: #0c343d; text-decoration: initial;"><span style="color: blue;">Christians Aware</span></a> (as part of its <a href="http://www.christiansaware.co.uk/Faith_Awareness_Leicester.html" style="color: #0c343d; text-decoration: initial;"><span style="color: blue;">Faith Awareness</span></a> programme) in association with </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919;"><a href="http://leicesterbuddhistvihara.co.uk/news/59-serene-reflection-meditation-meetings.html" style="color: #0c343d; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: blue;">Leicester Serene Reflection Meditation Group</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919;">.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
Our
topic this evening is "The Place of Wisdom in the Islamic Tradition", presented by
Freda Hussain MBE. Freda is retired </span></span><a href="http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=2099785" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Head Teacher</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> at </span><a href="http://moatcollege.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Moat Community College</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> and
former Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire. Her presentation is peppered with
illuminating quotations about the significance of wisdom in the Islamic
tradition and the importance of knowledge and learning:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(252, 251, 248);">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"Acquire
knowledge, it enables its possessor to distinguish right from wrong. It is our
friend in the desert, our company in solitude and companion when friendless. It
guides us to happiness, it sustains us in misery, it is an ornament amongst
friends and our armour against enemies." (from </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadith"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Hadith</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> - a compilation of sayings ascribed to the
Prophet Muhammad)</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"A
Muslim who plants a tree or sows a field, from which man, birds and animals can
eat is committing an act of charity." (Hadith)</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"Who
are the learned? Those who practise what they know."
(Hadith)</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"No
man is a true believer unless the desires for his brethren, that which he
desires for himself." (Hadith)</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"There
is no greater wealth than wisdom; no greater poverty than ignorance." (from
sayings of Imam Ali)</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"The
teacher who is wise indeed does not bid you into the house of wisdom, but rather
leads you to the threshold of your own mind." (Kahlil
Gibran)</span></blockquote>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #191919; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><span style="color: #191919; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Our
speaker briefly but helpfully discusses the Sufi thread in Islamic thought and
culture and how Sufi poetry expresses the wisdom born from that tradition, which
is inseparably linked with spiritual yearning and religious ecstasy.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(252, 251, 248);">
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">When
we do small group work for 20 minutes or so, we're tasked with thinking of a
question to put to our speaker. I don't think that even this group is familiar
enough with the kind of Islam which has been described this evening to do that.
Many of those attending find it hard to reconcile the contemporary image of
Islam with the one which Freda has described this evening. She understands this
all too well and acknowledges it as the tragedy of modern
Islam.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(252, 251, 248);">
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">One
interesting question is whether there is an movement or stream of thought within
the Islamic world comparable to the </span><a href="http://www.sofn.org.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Sea of Faith Network</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">. Our
speaker says that she doubts it.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(252, 251, 248);">
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Freda
differentiates between modern Islamist thinking, which appears to revolve around
the fear of God, with Sufi thinking, which revolves around the love of God. In
this connection, she quotes another saying from the Hadith: "The ink of the
scholar is more sacred than the blood of the martyr."</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(252, 251, 248);">
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The
authoritative, canonical nature of Hadith seem always to be in dispute. As
fashions and passions change, so certain sayings can be ruled in or out, giving
backing to different worldviews.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(252, 251, 248);">
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">We
discuss the apparent equivalence of knowledge and wisdom in the quotations used
this evening. These are two distinct terms in Arabic
(<i>'ilm</i> and <i>hikmat</i>) which are occasionally conflated when translated
into English. But over and above these, Freda emphasises the inseparable
relation between faith (<i>iman</i>) and action (<i>aman</i>).</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17455644680102431584noreply@blogger.com0ChristChurch, 105a Clarendon Park Road, Leicester LE2 3AH, UK52.61754 -1.115183152.61513 -1.1201186 52.619949999999996 -1.1102476000000001