Avsnitt
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I love doing this, I love having you here, and I love when I meet you on the road sometimes when I'm doing shows,
I always love the idea of life as simply the embodiment of something from moment to moment. It's like we have choices. What do we embody. What beautiful story do we enact in our life. We're like players waiting to go on stage and we choose what play it will be.
This way of being in the world allows every moment to become precious. Simply because I am in my body. And that is the door, the gate, the portal to being. Being is in me now, in this moment. What an amazing way of looking at the world. And then there is that long ago remembrance of the Body of Christ. This too is possible to live, to become, to embody the body of the Christ. You see we are not just what people tell us we are. We are our own mystery. We become that which we choose to follow, we reach a destination of bliss or joy by virtue of our choice to follow a certain path of bliss. Always, as they say, follow your bliss.
Enter into your body. Enjoy it. And embody what you choose; not hell but heaven. Yes. Embody heaven. Play it, even as a game, and you will find it works. It's like learning to swim. Or fly. Or love. All possible in the realm of the heart.
I hope you enjoy the podcast.
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Across Christianity, Islam, Judaism, there runs a persistent intuition that place matters, not merely as geography, but as a spiritual condition. To remain somewhere, to dwell, to inhabit a particular location with fidelity becomes a way of encountering God.
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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The place where I want to be
Is always personal
Is always here now
Is always without linguistic ideological constructs.
I want to face the silence of the universe.
I want to seek for meaning and accept the absurdity of there being no meaning.
And I want to do that standing at the cross and embracing the dead Christ
And finding in that moment, in that abandonment, in that shaft of attention
That I am in a universe that cannot be mastered conceptually.
Albert Camus is a giant of philosophy, and can also be a guide into the very depths of mystical experience.
Enjoy this podcast.
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This is amazing, you know. When you begin to see how simple and what's at the back of all faith experience, that it is love, that it is this... And it's not a psychological condition because psychologically your condition may be i- in a dark place of depression or loneliness or woundedness or violence done to you, and yet if you can find the space within you which is loved The strength that comes out of that is extraordinary and here is the poem I mentioned.
Ascension
I choose. That’s the trick of it. I choose
the cinema, the chipper, the warm bath—
and choosing, I already live the thing,
the future leaking backwards into now
the way the smell of boiling fowl could lift
a bus-ride home to mother.
And she would say, I'll have a dinner ready.
Because she got the recipe from her mother,
Who got it from hers—the nutmeg and the spuds,
the organic free range feathered fowl,
And then the broth that filled the kitchen, the great pot
a kind of covenant, matrilineal, plain.
I was seventeen.
knew exactly what was coming.
That is the mercy of tradition: certainty
As embodiment of love, or love that works through habit.
And so with this Ascension. The story ends with leaving.
He sends a text: I'm already at the restaurant.
He has gone ahead—not vanished, but just changed location,
the way a friend is vanished, when they’re on the plane.
We call it kingdom, the sovereignty of tomorrow —
The confidence of saying I know where I’m going now
I choose to believe this. Too much is made
of chance—as if faith were a leap off stone
and not just stepping toward a table,
set by someone else for you,
She hears you coming down the long hall,
and has begun to pour.
The aperture opens.
The cosmos comes in.
Love is the trick of all happiness, I suppose —
and I am home before I reach the door.
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It's a tricky and inaccessible idea, Christian feast, but it can be a door that opens beautifully in the context of Buddhist ideas. So here goes. Loved doing this meditation this afternoon and more to come on Ascension. So many wonders in it that I didnt' get around to half of what I wanted to talk about. That's why I have written in a few footnotes here that I can pick up on later. Or leave a message below if you want me to go further on any of the headings below.
In the The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment and related Lamrim teachings, these themes are presented as practical methods for transforming self-centeredness into compassion and wisdom.
Reasons why “exchanging self for others” is beneficial
(“Exchanging self and others” means changing the attitude that cherishes oneself above others, and instead cherishing others as oneself.)
Self-cherishing is identified as the root of suffering, conflict, jealousy, fear, and dissatisfaction.Cherishing others creates the causes for happiness, harmony, friendship, and inner peace.All happiness we experience depends on others:food,shelter,education,language,opportunities,spiritual teachings,even our sense of identity.Since we depend entirely on others, prioritizing only ourselves is irrational and disconnected from reality.Exchanging self for others weakens ego-clinging, which is a major obstacle to liberation and enlightenment.It develops:compassion,patience,generosity,humility,courage.It transforms adversity into spiritual practice:criticism becomes training in patience,suffering becomes a basis for empathy,difficulty becomes fuel for bodhicitta.Bodhisattvas and Buddhas are said to arise from cherishing others; ordinary suffering beings arise from self-cherishing.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Always special moment, that dawn walk in support of Pieta house. So today I'm delighted to share not just a full reflection on the beauty of faith experience, calm abiding in your own mind and so forth, but I've also added a 20 minute meditation at the very end about my own brokenness as I approach to great mystery of love. So lots of things here, from the Buddhist treasures of wisdom to the Christian notion of forgiveness, gratitude, and how to approach the God within your own deep wounded and beautiful soul. Enjoy.
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in the old days I remember the May altar. White lace, feminine deity in the form of Mary, and lots of flowers. Now I go to the buddhist centre and there it is again; the altar/shrine, white lace, feminine deity, and lots of flowers.
Something about this month that just gets me all gushing with a kind of gratitude. It's a month to prepare the garden. To talk with the bees, and the birds and watch the wild flowers the foxglove emerging and the blossom on the apple tree. It's as if the entire world were the shrine, a constant praise rising to the divine presence.
And there is no naming it. We do it as Christians, Buddhists, Jews, Hindu or as the community of Islam. We don't get it right. We sometimes empower the darkest forces in our psyche. But as they say in Nigeria, we try.
Yes we try. We all do. And sometimes it's worth reminding yourself of your own innate goodness. As we say in Buddhist tradition you are already enlightened, you are already carrying in you the buddha light. it's just some of us haven't quite realised it. But on the first of may I think it's always good to consider this; how the light is already in us. How the peace is already ours. How heaven is just outside the door in the garden. So I hope you enjoy the podcast, the ramblings of a writer and storyteller, the song of the heart I would call my podcast. Enjoy and have a great weekend and I'll be back very soon.
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May 2 @ 11:00 am - 4:00 pm
Jampa Ling Centre Owendoon House, Bawnboy, County Cavan, Ireland
Saga Dawa (Vesak) is the celebration of the Buddha’s birthday, enlightenment and Parinirvana. We invite you to share this special day at Jampa Ling. We celebrate with a smoke puja in the [...]
Saga Dawa is one of the most important periods in Tibetan Buddhism, marking the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and passing (Parinirvana). It usually falls in late spring or early summer, aligned with the full moon of the fourth lunar month. Rather than a single day, it is often observed as an entire sacred month, with the full moon day seen as the most spiritually powerful.
During Saga Dawa, practitioners focus on accumulating merit through positive actions. This includes acts of generosity, prayer, meditation, and compassion toward all living beings. Many people avoid harming animals, adopt vegetarian practices, release animals as a symbolic act of compassion, and engage in pilgrimages or ritual offerings. It is believed that the effects of both positive and negative actions are multiplied during this time.
At a deeper level, Saga Dawa is about reflection on impermanence, compassion, and the path to awakening. It invites people to align their everyday actions with Buddhist values, not just through ritual but through intention and awareness. Whether in monasteries or community spaces like Jampa Ling, the emphasis is on shared practice, connection, and cultivating a more mindful and compassionate way of living.
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Three stories from my writings. Followed by a big big dive into a Buddhist idea bout mind training that you are going to love. That's all I'll say. Stick with it to the end. Change your attitude. This is not for beginners. But on the other hand, it might be for beginners. Lojong is about beginning.
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I looked for You in all the usual places.
In quiet rooms.
In late nights.
In that moment just before sleep
when people say You’re supposed to feel closest.
Nothing.
So I checked everywhere else.
In the glow of my phone at 3 a.m.,
scrolling past other people trying to make sense of things—
their grief, their questions, their small, bright distractions.
Still nothing.
They said You’re always there.
Closer than breath.
But some nights, even breathing feels like an effort
no one is helping you carry.
I said Your name once—out loud.
Not dramatic. Not holy.
Just… to see.
No answer.
And maybe that’s the hardest part—
not the silence itself,
but how everything keeps moving through it.
The world doesn’t pause.
People laugh.
Lights change.
Another day begins like nothing’s missing.
So here we are.
Still asking.
Still listening.
Still waiting—maybe.
Or maybe just learning how to live
in the quiet
where something used to be.
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So this is it in a nutshell. Buddhist teaching says in a synopsis that the path is through Renunciation, Compassion, an a correct view. The first two are easy to figure out and map onto Christian practise quite perfectly. In this episode I'm going to delve into Correct View and how it maps onto christian faith.
in buddhist terms, the act of faith must avoid substantialism, ( like imagining the buddha as a literal fleshy manifestation, like a ghost in the room. ) and nihilism, ( like dismissing the story of the buddha as merely a story.)
And this too maps very well onto Christian experience. So for today, Good Friday and Easter Sunday it might be fun to reflect a bit on this mysterious balance.
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Yes I know this is blunt. But I'm trying to ensure that the podcast continues, I know people like it and I love it. But lots of people listen but don't subscribe. so I'm asking , a few euros each month, to keep things going, and you get 4 hours per month of freestyle reflections and mediations from my heart to yours. You go to.
https://www.patreon.com/c/hardingmichaelHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The mystery of our death is the mystery of that death on Calvary. The mystery of Calvary is the mystery of all death and all suffering and all pain. Here's how I see the architecture of this event and how it sustains me in my ordinary human life, and allows me to endure disturbing emotions with equanimity.
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Karma is a notion we associate with the east. Art is something that in modernity has liberated itself from religious devotionalism. But here I want to meditate on how all these things are unified. Liberation from Karma, attention devoutly to the great work of art, are unified in that God is a word for that which runs through all things, and all times, and all beings. God is a word we use as a cradle to hold the unnamable mystery of being. And there is no limit to this abundance even when we are exhausted by our own negative energies.
It is now the moment of the Equinox. I'm doing last night's podcast, and this today, and perhaps another one or two in the coming days to celebrate this fact. Because I've always been excited by the Equinox, the dramatic transition that we in Ireland experience from the dark brooding world of winter, to the dizzy light of Summer. And here we are, on the edge of lengthening days, long days, and summer days not far away not. Talk to you son.
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I did an episode during the week focusing on the Equinox. And then when I was cleaning out files and arranging all sorts of stuff on hard drives I seem to have deleted the episode. This I discovered at the last minute. And the only thing left in the folder was a podcast from September 22. Now that's the autumn Equinox. And now we're at the Spring Equinox. And I have a lot to say yet, so much to share with you. But I thought it suitable that the only episode I could get my hands on was this. So I'm going to put it out for now, for the weekend and then on Monday I'll be back again with one about the Spring Equinox. We're in the run up to Easter, and then we move towards midsummer. I'm working on a book entitled Midsummer, and I'll post a reading of the first draft also over this weekend. So that will be a new episode on Monday and somewhere in between a reading from my new book. And for now, enjoy this reposting of a mediation which is very personal and reflects on why I practice. Thank you for being here. Listen. Listen.
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You're trying to be authentic. But knowing you never will be is not failure. it's ok that you're not authentic. And where will that lead us. Well I begin the podcast today by reading a text, a memory from 18 years go. So let's begin there.
Now go listen to that podcast! And thank you for your support. And if you are one of the many folk who are enjoying the podcasts but don't subscribe, I'm really pleading with you, please, go to Patreon.com/hardingmichael and subscribe for about €7 a month. about 70% of followers don't actually subscribe, so if you can manage the monthly subscription you'll be helping me greatly to continue sharing these podcasts with the world.
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Well as promised I've put together a meditation on this extraordinary woman of the 13th century. This is special, so I'm doing no explaining. Just trust yourself and delve right in and keep with it to the end. And enjoy the blessings of life in every minute of the day; or as we say nowadays, have a great weekend.
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I'm here at the kitchen table, rather confused about who is here with me. And I"m wondering how do I contextualise this moment. Not as an ordinary or mundane wakening but as radiance. And how do I put that in a modern way. So it kind of dawned on me that there is one basic step, and one basic starting point for everything. And in coming episodes I'll be from time to time coming back to this; The spirituality of Saint Clare. I think it's amazing and easy to get your hands on. But she is from a different age, and her language is sometimes florid. Ok. So there's one place to begin. And it's here, now, in the presence of the divine being. Every spiritual path is complex, with lots of ideas. But only if you miss the first step. It's the access moment. And if you begin here, then all spiritual teachings will make sense.
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What links random events. How do we see the cosmos, at the surface or by what is beneath. If there are two hundred and sixty five lakes in Cavan, how many moons are there when the full moon shines. These and other questions will never be answered. But lovely to ponder them and let the silence inside the heart resonate with the wonder of it all. Come to my podcast and subscribe on patreon.com so I can survive and continue doing them. Please. Patreon.com. Michael Harding. Podcast. Do it.
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Yes I am excited about this. I'm always looking for the bridge, or lens, or icon, that takes me from the mundanity of my own self to the ineffable beauty of God's presence. Is it not just amazing me that I could find such an instrument in the lens of a camera. So here's a new direction in my meditations. On the way of seeing the world we belong in.
“No matter how slow the film, Spirit always stands still long enough for the photographer It has chosen.” (A recurring favorite highlighting the idea of Spirit actively participating in the creative act.)“Be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence.” (Often extended to emphasize capturing essence through receptive stillness and meditation.)“One should not only photograph things for what they are but for what else they are.” (Core to his philosophy of equivalence and seeing beyond the literal.)“To see through, not merely with, the eye, to perceive with the inner eye, and by an act of choice to capture the essence of that perception. This is the very core of the creative process.” (Emphasizing mystical perception and inner vision.)“The state of mind of a photographer while creating is a blank… It is a very active state of mind really, a very receptive state of mind, ready at an instant to grasp an image, yet with no image pre-formed in it at any time. Such a state of mind is not unlike a sheet of film itself – seemingly inert, yet so sensitive that a fraction of a second’s exposure conceives a life in it.” (Describing the meditative, ego-less receptivity akin to Zen mindfulness.)“When the photograph is the mirror of the man, and the man is the mirror of the world, then the Spirit might take over.” (Reflecting photography as a path to spiritual unity and transcendence.)“I seek out places where it can happen more readily… get myself ready through meditation. Through being quiet and willing to wait, I can begin to see the inner man and the essence of the subject in front of me…” (On seeking solitude and meditative preparation to access inner essence.)“While we cannot describe its appearance (the equivalent), we can define its function. When a photograph functions as an Equivalent we can say that at that moment, and for that person the photograph acts as a symbol or plays the role of a metaphor for something that is beyond the subject photographed.” (His concept of photographic equivalents as spiritual symbols.)“I strive to undo my reactions to civilization’s syncopated demands and hope that inner peace, quiet, and lack of concern for specific results may enable a stance of gratitude and balance—a receptiveness that will allow the participation of grace.” (On cultivating receptivity and grace through inner peace.)“I’m always and forever looking for the image that has spirit! I don’t give a damn how it got made.” (Expressing his relentless pursuit of images infused with spiritual presence.)Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- Visa fler
