Strangely Perfect

Each one of the fuzzy white bits in the photo above is a galaxy containing billions of stars and thus many, many life-forms, all at various stages of evolution.  This statement is derived from the work of thousands of intellectuals using the powers of observation and deduction available to us all. Tonight there was a [...]

New Jaguar XJ In common with most cars like this, it’s a lovely looking machine – a style marvel; sleek and vapid, mercurial. It’s also a waste of space and a waste of effort. It’s two tonnes of mass for a 400kg payload is pants.  An ecological disaster zone. Money for Old Rope Not only [...]

Paris Cycles Freely with Loaded Questions and Answers In Buddhism, there’s a concept called the forces of negativity which is inherent to the whole universe – but especially when applied to living sentient beings like ourselves. These negative forces are extremely apparent when the Velib Cycle Scheme in Paris is considered.  We have: The initial [...]

I’ve just been reading this fascinating book, Encountering the Dharma: Daisaku Ikeda, Soka Gakkai, and the Globalization of Buddhist Humanism by a non-Buddhist, Richard Seager, who gives a really good, well-balanced investigation into Buddhism, the Soka Gakkai (SGI) and it’s meteoric rise in popularity under the inspirational personas of Makiguchi, Toda and Ikeda. Well you’d [...]

It must be ties of karma from the distant past that have destined you to become my disciple at a time like this. – Nichiren Daishonin, The Heritage of The Ultimate Law of Life, WND1, p217 Or the Inter-Connectedness of all things Like ALL people in Western Europe, I’m a racial mongrel.  And I observe [...]

Hospitals ‘infested with vermin’ In the latest bout of the fear and gloom sweeping the country, (BBC link above), this time it’s the tories mixing facts and data up with proper information – and typically, the media are going along with it because it makes good copy. Read the article, illustrated with a picture of [...]

You have to be careful with statistics. (especially when you are trying to deceive!) The graph shown at the left appears on the BBC website alongside the panic and doom inducing headline; UK house price fall ‘at a record’.  It was repeated many times, even on national TV news on all stations. The thing is [...]

Following on from my earlier posting mentioning General Motors cutbacks in SUV production due to rising fuel prices, Ford has now done the same. And about time, too! The car companies will still make pots of money by making smaller, more efficient cars.  They will actually be cheaper to make when looking at the raw [...]

Had a fantastic 2-3 days in Taplow Court at the UK SGI headquarters so thanks to all who organised it, turned up or gave daimoku. We had much to inspire us. Somehow we seemed to get loads of heavyweight dudes to give us lectures of the highest calibre. I now have got a (loan) Gohonzon [...]

What’s all this Buddhism then, like? Intro I practice the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin who was a guy living in 13th century Japan. He is what most people nowadays would call a “good guy” although at the time, because he spoke his mind which then annoyed the ruling classes, he spent most of his life [...]