Thought for the Day
I have been the Buddhist contributor to Thought for the Day on Radio 4 since 2006, and since 2010 I’ve done similar talks on BBC Radio Wales in the Weekend Word slot
Ending the Middle East Cycle of Violence
As the war in Gaza threatens to spiral into a regional conflict, what light does Buddhist wisdom shed on cycles of violence? After the Israeli attack on the Iranian embassy in Damascus and Iran’s missile strike against Israel, now what? Troubled voices are urging...
AI Struggles Show We’re all Biased, but Mindfulness Can Help
When AI Systems Try to deal with bias they encounter an underlying truth: no one's perceptions are wholly true. Tackling that starts with ourselves Think of a doctor or a lawyer. If what comes to mind is the image of a white man, does that show your unconscious bias...
Extreme Weather Shows How Conditionality Works
Extreme weather is disconcerting because climate change shows how far our responsibility extends Here in Wales people say: ‘When you can see the hills, it's going to rain; when you can't see them, it’s already raining!’ The weather in the UK is a constant, but these...
Staying alive to ambiguity in a media storm
Thought for the Day BBC Radio 4 14.07.23 When a storm blows up in the media we get drawn in. Milan Kundera and the Buddha can help us stay alive to humans realities behind the news. One of the many lessons the Czech novelist Milan Kundera, who died this week, urged on...
How to Make Peace in the Culture Wars
Trans debates are just one battleground in the Culture Wars. Learning fromthe Buddha, how can we make peace? Thought for the Day, BBC Radio 4 19.05.2023 Andrew,’ I said. ‘You look … different.’ My old friend was wearing a dress and makeup and his hair had grown. ‘I am...
Here’s how a Buddhist relates to the Coronation
I’ll watch the Coronation this weekend, but how can I say ‘God Save the King’ when I don’t believe in God? King Charles philosophy of 'Harmony' could make a connection Thought for the Day BBC Radio 4, 4 May 2023 I think I’ll watch the Coronation this weekend, but I...
Sentient AI is Possible. Let’s Make it Compassionate
Sentient AI is making us ask: what is consciousness? For Buddhism, the real issue is what consciousness is for, and the answer involves compassion Can Artificial Intelligence systems be sentient? Philosophers call consciousness ‘the hard problem’ because we can’t...
How to Survive Being Everything, Everywhere, All at Once
The Oscar Winning movie, Everything, Everywhere, All at Once is a parable of life and survival in the age of infinite possibilities Thought for the Day, BBC Radio 4 16/03/2023 Blinking my way out of the movie that this week won seven Oscars, I knew it was...
The Dark Side of the Moon: Still Powerful at Fifty
As the classic Pink Floyd Album turns fifty it still resonates as a search for meaning in a hostile world BBC Radio 4, Thought for the Day, 10/03/2023 I’m sixteen years old, far from sober, gazing up at the star-filled sky and a soundtrack starts in my head. Ba-boom,...
The Secret of Public Ethics is Ethical Training
As the government and public bodies in the UK face ethical scrutiny, we need to see ethics as Buddhists do: starting with individuals and matter of training Thought for the Day, BBC Radio 4 26.01.2023 The Committee for Standards in Public Life, which reported again...
To protect biodiversity we need the Bodhisattva’s compassion
The UN Biodiversity Conference is a last ditch effort to safeguard the living world. We shouldrespond with the spirit of the Bodhisattva Thought for the Day, BBC Radio 4. .7.10.2022 What are animals for? Or plants, fish and insects? The utilitarian answer is...
The Queen’s death is a powerful reminder to reflect on impermanence
The Queen's funeral is a reminder that everything we experience is subject to change. Buddhists reflect on impermanence to focus on what's most important Thought for the Day, 21.09.2022 Autumn has come quickly this year. Three weeks out of August, it’s still harvest...
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 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...
What we need to learn from the Covid Pandemic
Buddhism teaches that existence is impermanent, insubstantial and unsatisfactory. Covid and the conditions of the modern world bring out these underlying patterns, and we need to change our mindset to match reality Thought for the Day 19.02.2021 As we glimpse the...
Facing Mortality on Parinirvana Day
Covid-19 has brought home to everyone our unavoidable vulnerability and mortality. This is a central theme of Buddhist teachings, which we mark on Parinirvana Day, which commemorates the Buddha's passing away Thought for the Day 12.02.2021 In a mid-winter chill we...
Covid created a mental health crisis. Now we need to rethink education
Though for the Day 05.02.2021 After the pandemic we'll face the cost for mental health, especially among young people. But the problems are longterm, and we need to rethink meditation. The new Welsh curriculum, which prioritises wellbeing approaches, including...
Free Speech has limits. Buddhists call it Skilful Communication
When Trump incited his followers before they attacked Congress, but claimed ''Free Speech'. Buddhist principles locate the limits of freedom in communication Weekend Word, BBC Radio Wales, 15.01.2021 As his impeachment proceeds, being banned from Twitter may seem the...
In a pandemic without borders we need vaccine equity
Rich countries are pre-ordering massive quantities of the covid-19 vaccines. But what about the poorer countries who are pushed to the back of the queue? Think of a Buddhist and perhaps you imagine the Buddha’s untroubled gaze, or someone meditating with their eyes...
I need shared rituals to help me survive another Lockdown
If the second lockdown is to work, people need to get behind it. We need to feel its importance once again, and I think we need rituals to help us Thought for the Day 07.11.2020 As England starts its four week lockdown, here in Wales, we’re coming to the end of a two...
Surprising Buddhists Insights Suggest How to Tackle Terrorism
The case of the supposedly reformed terrorist who killed people at a conference on offender rehabilitation raises fundamental questions. It should prompt us to look at the role of views and beliefs in light of the Buddha’s teachings
In the Green Economy, Sustainability Demands Wellbeing
Thought for the Day 28.08.2020 There are job losses at Gatwick and Rolls Royce, and shops are closing all down the high street. Covid-19 started as a medical emergency, but the crisis has turned economic and we’re told there’s much more to come. When people are...
Ellen Degeneres and the Limits of Daytime TV Kindness
As Ellen Degeneres’ Kindness brand runs into trouble, how does kindness look from a Buddhist perspective?
Keeping a Global Perspective on Covid
Coronavirus has created a crisis in developed countries like the UK. But the wider impact is being felt even more strongly in the developing world. How can we keep that wider perspective? Something remarkable happened with the onset of Covid-19. With half the world in...
The Four Sights in Lockdown
Buddha Day or Wesak 2020 falls as much of the world is in lockdown. And the ancient story of the Buddha's Four Sights has a new resonance Thought for the Day 07/05/2020 If the clouds clear tonight we’ll see the May full moon, traditionally called the Full Flower Moon...
Lockdown and the Creative Space
The Covid-19 lockdown is disturbing. But what are the creative possibilities of the space it creates Like so many others, I’ve been deleting future events from my online calendar and, in place of the busy summer I’d planned, there’s a lot of blank space. Those...