Wise Attention Blog
Wise Attention includes 20 years of writing exploring what it means to practice Buddhism, mindfulness and ethics in the modern world. You’ll find reviews, talks, interviews, broadcasts and reflection on the arts as well as reflections on the Buddha and Buddhist teachings
How to Teach Wellbeing in the Curriculum for Wales
Wales' new school curriculum places wellbeing and emotional intelligence at the heart of education. It's a big challenge, but Buddhist perspectives are helping Weekend Word, BBC Radio Wales 26th August 2020 GCSE results are out, and before long it will be a new school...
Cherish Water in a Drought
We're in a drought, and caring for our water supply means feeling it's importance. We need to get wet Thought For The Day 23.08.2022 Across the country record low rainfall and high temperatures have depleted reservoirs and dried up rivers. We’ve seen hosepipe bans in...
Tackling The Food Crisis Means Changing How We Think
As food prices rise, we need to question the system that created it. Systems thinking and the Buddhist teaching of Dependent Arising can help Thought for the Day, BBC Radio 4 13.07.2022 As food prices rise, many people here in Wales, as elsewhere, are skipping meals...
Peter Brook Created Holy Theatre in an Empty Space
Visionary theatre director Peter Brook created Holy Theatre in an 'Empty Space', echoing the Buddhist teaching of Emptiness and Tibetan Buddhist meditation Thought for the Day, BBC Radio 4, 06 July 2022 When I was a theatre student in the 1980s Peter Book, who died...
Skilful Communication Lessons for Social Media
A battle is under way between governments wanting to rein in social media, and advocates of unfettered free speech. We need to reconsider what skilful communication looks like, and the Buddha is an outstanding exemplar Thought for the Day BBC Radio 4, 12.05.2022...
Zen lessons for the important inner dimension of Climate Change
Climate change is often presented as a technical issue that needs a technical fix, but as the IPCC recognise, it has an 'inner dimension' that aligns with Buddhist teachings Thought for the Day, BBC Radio 4 07.05.2022 My son turns thirteen today and it seems quite a...
‘The Sound of One Hand’. Why You’ll Love this Funny, Moving Triratna Memoir
The Sound of One HandBy SatyadasaWindhorse Publications, 2022 Like Satyadasa I’ve been a part of the Triratna Buddhist Community for the whole of my adult life. He’s about a decade younger than me, but many of the Triratna experiences he describes in The Sound of One...
The Endurance has been found. But how can we develop endurance for ourselves?
Ernest Shackleton's lost ship, Endurance, has been discovered. From Shackleton to President Zelensky, endurance is a profound virtue. So how can we develop it? Thought for the Day, 10/03/2022 In the profound silence of the deep ocean, three thousand feet below the...
Buddhists Respond to the Invasion of Ukraine
Thought for the Day, BBC Radio 4 03 March 2022 – Vishvapani As the Russian Tanks roll into Ukraine, how relevant is the Buddhist teaching of non-violence? Each week I meet with local members of my Buddhist Order for a chapter meeting, and we talk about what’s...
How to Stop Climate Change: Less Stuff and More Contentment
Ho can we find things we love that enhance the quality of our lives without increasing the quantity of our stuff?
Buddhism & Vaccine Equity: the Wise Way is Generosity
The case for a fair and equitable roll out of Covid vaccines is clear, but the developed world is failing to heed it. Buddhism teaches that a generous response is also a wise one Thought for the Day 08.10.2021 The case for global vaccine equity seems straightforward....
Buddhist Wisdom in a World Where the News Never Stops
As the pandemic drags on, and the news never seems to stop, Buddhists are celebrating Dharma Day and reflecting on the Buddha's teaching of the Four Noble Truths Thought for the Day 23/07/2021 It never stops. Some of the Covid restrictions may be ending, but not the...
As covid restrictions wind down, we need to balance control with freedom
Weekend Word, BBC radio Wales, 16.07.2021 From next Monday, if you take a train from Swansea to London you’ll be required to wear a face mask as you travel through Wales. Once you’ve passed through the Severn Tunnel, you can take it off if you want because the rules...
Buddhism and ‘Freedom Day’
Boris Johnson declared that July 19 2021 would be Freedom Day, but dropped the term as the virus started to spread again. So what is true freedom from a Buddhist perspective? It’s 14th July, Quatorze Juillet, when France marks the storming of the Bastille in the name...
Bob Dylan and the Buddha
As Dylan turns 80, his an icon of honesty in a world hungry for success rather than truth resonates with the Buddha's rejection of worldly values Prompted by his eightieth birthday, which fell on Monday, I’ve been listening to Bob Dylan and pondering what keeps...
Animal Sentience and Compassion
A law recognising that animals are sentient will help protect them. But engaging compassionately with other beings is central to our true humanity Thought for the Day 19.05.2021 A few weeks ago Tessa arrived in my life – a sweet-natured brindled greyhound, recently...
Solidarity with India in the Time of Covid
It’s becoming impossible to ignore the gulf between what’s happening with Covid in the developed world and the developing world. But to respond to what’s happening in India we need to feel it It’s high spring in Britain as we move towards the end of lockdown. But in...
Lincoln in the Bardo – Review
Lincoln in the Bardo, winner of the 2017 Mann Booker Prize, has been widely praised as a remarkable vision of human life and its possibilities that is formally daring but also moving and accessible. It is all those things, but it is also the first truly great western...