Why am I a Buddhist?

Plus a yummy menu of Bright Earth activities for you to choose from

I’ve been a Buddhist for many years now - studying under various teachers, co-running the Bright Earth temple for a decade and co-starting a ministry training programme. Why has this golden thread been so important to me? What benefits has being-a-Buddhist brought me? How might you receive some of them too?

A beautiful new Amitabha Buddha for our shrine room, donated by Dayamay

First, a menu of Bright Earth offerings to choose from if you’d like to explore Buddhism in 2025. How much time would you like to put aside? Are any of these practices calling to you?

🙏🏻 1 minute a day - Everyday Gassho (two bows a day) - read Rev. Kubose’s instructions
🙏🏻 5 - 10 minutes a day - do some daily chanting - chant along with one of these
🙏🏻 30 minutes - write a Dharma Glimpse - write one and send it to us
🙏🏻 45 minutes - Bright Earth Buddhist practice - join us live or on Youtube
🙏🏻 2 - 3 hours a week for 6 weeks - join a book group - two start next week - scroll down to read more

Just before getting ordained, more than ten years ago…

So, why AM I a Buddhist?

I’m sometimes surprised that I am. I could easily have remained a devout atheist, or become a Sufi or a mystical Christian...

As with much of life, most of me becoming Buddhist was an accident. I was opened up to spiritual teachings by the 12 step programmes. I stumbled on quotes by Pema Chodron and fell in love with a book on Zen. I signed up for a Buddhist psychotherapy training and unexpectedly received a religion (and a spouse). Since then my relationship with Buddhism has flourished, and its beautiful roots are now tangled all the way through me.

I love many things about Buddhism, and especially Pure Land Buddhism. Today I’ll talk about two of them.

The first is that it gives me a kind of instruction manual for life. The Buddhist canon is huge and I have encountered thousands of teachings that throw light on my circumstances. The grounding of returning to the present moment, and to the breath. The pragmatism of recognising our extremely foolish natures. The simple lessons I need to learn over and over - gratitude, making offerings, knowing that we are loved. I feel like I’ve only dipped the very tip of my little toe into the sea of Buddhist teachings, and they have already brought me so much.

The second thing is that it gives me a steady place to stand. In Buddhism we talk a lot about refuge - leaning in to something that will always hold us - unlike the vagaries of ordinary life. I still try and lean into them, of course - comfort, popularity, financial security, chocolate biscuits... I do this, and then these things fail me, and that’s okay and very human.

I also know that whenever I want to find true peace then I just need to remember the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha - infinite love and wisdom, the teachings of this infinite love, and those of us who try to follow these teachings. The consolation of leaning into these three jewels also deepens over time, in the same way we deepen our relationship with beloved friends or trees or places.

Receiving these benefits and more has inspired me to want to share them with others. Good teachings are infectious! Maybe our form of Buddhism will work for you, or another, or a different religion or philosophy or set of practices. I’m wishing that you will find the things that work for you. I’m also wishing that you can enjoy continuing to dip your own toes into Buddhist and other waters. The water’s warm!

Bright Earth Book groups

I love our book groups! Kaspa & I first started running them in 2022, inspired by our experience of book groups with the Bright Dawn Buddhist group started by Rev. Koyo Kubose. Rather than an academic or ‘thinking’ approach, they encourage us to take inspiration from different teacher’s writings and apply it to our everyday lives. They also allow us to appreciate the wisdom of our fellow book group attendees, whether they’ve been learning about Buddhism for ten years or ten minutes.

They require a 2 - 3 hour commitment a week for a set number of weeks. This includes reading a chapter, writing a few paragraphs about the chapter (bits you liked, bits that confused you, how you related it to your life etc.), reading your fellow book group’s writing and then meeting for an hour with the group either face to face or on Zoom.

They are very small and friendly groups and they’re a lovely way of both meeting fellow Buddhist-curious folk and deepening your experience of the Dharma. There’s still time to sign up to one of January’s groups, below - ask any questions or sign up by replying to this newsletter or emailing hello@brightearth.org. Both books are suitable for both beginners & experienced practitioners. They are paid for by donation - between £20 & £60 for the 6 classes or whatever you can afford.

Dave will be running a group on Living Nembutsu by Jeff Wilson. This will take place in the temple in Malvern, the UK, on Monday evenings between 7pm & 8pm - register by 13th of January for the first meeting on the 20th. 6 weeks long.

This book takes Pure Land teachings and sees how they fit with various types of social activism. How can they inspire us to make a difference? Read more about the book.

Dayamay will be running Shin Buddhism: Bits of Rubble into Gold by Taitetso Unno. This will be over Zoom on Sunday evenings between 7pm & 8pm - register by the 12th of January for the first meeting on the 19th. 8 weeks long.

This is a beautiful collection of short pieces - very readable and a great introduction to Pure Land Buddhism. They really shine. Read more about the book.

To find out more about Bright Earth visit our website. Thank you for reading all the way down to here.

Namo Amida Bu,
Satya <3