Vishvapani
I write and teach from a Buddhist perspective, exploring the relevance of mindfulness and Buddhism to the modern world
thought for the day
Reflections on the news from a Buddhist perspective BBC Radio 4 since 2006
Books
Writing on Buddhist history, myth and contemporary expressions
Buddhist writitng
Posts, essays and reflections on Buddhism in the modern world from the Wise Attention bog
I'm a writer, speaker, and teacher of Buddhism, based in Cardiff, Wales.
My work centres on Buddhism and the modern world — what the tradition offers when we bring it into genuine contact with contemporary life, and what happens when we take its insights seriously rather than decoratively. Over the years that has meant writing biography and cultural commentary, broadcasting, teaching meditation and the Dharma, and increasingly exploring the territory where Buddhism meets myth, imagination, and the arts.
My books include Gautama Buddha: The Life and Teachings of the Awakened One (Quercus), and Reimagining Buddhism: Understanding Sangharakshita's Life and Teachings (Windhorse, 2025). I'm currently writing Buddhism and Myth: The Country of Undefined Meaning. I write for Tricycle: the Buddhist Review and The Guardian, and contribute regularly to BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day.
I've been a practitioner in the Triratna Buddhist Order since 1992 and teach widely within the tradition and beyond — at centres, on retreat, and at festivals and events in the UK and internationally. Recent teaching has included leading a Buddhist pilgrimage for Tricycle. I'm also engaged in the Order's international work.
Imagination
Awakening The Imagination Online Retreat
Friday 15 May-Thursday 21 May. Vishvapani and artist Amitajyoti Discover the Imagination as a source of deep enrichment and how it can be a path of awakening into an expansive, loving and insightful awareness.
Writing
Reimagining Buddhism: Understanding Sangharakshita's Life and Teachings
Windhorse Publications, 2025
Learn More
Learn More & Book
Wise Attenion Blog
Seeking the Buddha in History
The Buddha of history is not the same as the archetypal Buddha, but we can come close to him through the words he left behind and though imagination. This article was a keynote talk at the 2011 Triratna Buddhist Order Convention and reveals the Buddha to be a man of hum…
Responding to Praise and Blame
A vivid account in one of the earliest Buddhist texts describes how the Buddha guided his disciples in responding skilfully to both praise and blame. The story is full of his wisdom about how we can avoid harming ourselves or others through our speech and how we can nav…
Buddhism & the Mindfulness Movement: Friends or Foes?
We’re in the middle of the Mindfulness Boom as Buddhist-derived meditation practices enter the cultural mainstream. But is this the Dharma touching and transforming western society, or is Buddhism being turned into a self-help technique and a consumer product?