Brilliant Mistake: Recent Episodes
Julius Welby
I'm Julius Welby, a Zen Buddhist, programmer and photographer. I'm podcasting about Zen while walking, usually on a nature reserve in the UK. This is a lockdown project, but it may continue after the lockdown ends. Making this podcast is a way for me to get beyond my own perfectionism, and to allow things to be just as they are. I'm using minimal equipment - currently an iPhone, no external microphone, and I typically post each episode just as I finish recording it. I am @jwelby on Twitter. I welcome feedback. The title, "Brilliant Mistake", is an Elvis Costello lyric.
I’m back on the ridge walk today. I’m getting ready for a trip up to Northumberland, to the monastery.
I’m on the ridge walk again. I’m trying to get my fitness back ready for a trip up to Throssel. This is just a quick update.
Thoughts on not rushing to try to correct everything, and how we should trust ourselves.
Back at the lake, talking about greed, including spiritual greed.
The podcast I mention is by Brad Warner - Can you be just a little bit greedy?
The quotation I give as “Now you have, so guard well” is actually “Preserve well for you now have; this is all;” and is found in The Most Excellent Mirror—Samādhi, one of the scriptures recited in the morning at Sōtō Zen temples. (The wording I give may exist in a different scripture, but I haven’t been able to find it).
Back on the Ridge walk. Today I talk a little bit about a chapter from the Shobogenzo called Kobusshin - The original, unchanging Buddha-mind.
I’m still here. An experiment in recording at home. I’ll be getting back into themed podcasts soon. Stay well.
I made a mistake in the podcast: Rev. Master Mugō’s blog is at jademountains.net.
Thoughts on time, meditation and the self.
I would strongly suggest reading “Uji”, a chapter of Dogen’s Shobogenzo.
www.thezensite.com/ZenTeachi…
I would also suggest listening to Rev. Master Daishin Morgan’s talk: Time and existence are the same thing
A brief podcast from Trafalgar Square. I talk about how compassion is to be found everywhere and in all things.
How meditation lets us see how we set up our own contexts, and allows us to let them go.
How meditation allows us to let go of undigested assumptions and find peace of mind and deep meaning.
Keeping effort at the right level.
I don’t mention it in the podcast, but the title is a reference to a piece of teaching the Buddha gave to a monk who used to be a musician before he was ordained. The monk was trying too hard in his practice, and eventually exhausted himself and became discouraged. The Buddha knew of his musical interest, and reminded him that tuning a string too tight or too slack will not produce the desired result. The monk understood, and was able to find right effort, and continued his training successfully.
I finally get round to talking about Dharma, and how we can find the capacity to deal with things which we didn’t know we could work with.
How sitting still with acceptance is deeply healing.
I mention two Dharma talks which I listened to recently:
Rev. Master Jiyu: A True Master by Rev. Master Shiko Rom
Refining one’s purpose by Rev Master Daishin Morgan
Rev. Master Shiko Rom’s talk starts with a verse, which is traditionally recited before a lecture:
“The unsurpassed, penetrating and perfect Truth is seldom met with, even in a hundred thousand myriad kalpas. Now we can see and hear it, we can remember and accept it. I vow to make the Buddha’s Truth one with myself.”
Thoughts on facing our fears and moving forward. The temple I mention is Todaiji in Nara.
Some thoughts on a well known Zen saying - When the teacher points at the Moon, only a fool looks at the finger.
How the last few days have felt like a meditation retreat, and how a retreat often feels.
I talk about one type of representation of the Boddhisatva of compassion, poised in thought.
A bit of teaching which was passed on to me in my very first introduction to formal meditation. Still true, still useful.
A brief tribute to a friend who died a few days ago.
I mention Throssel - that’s Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey.
Thoughts on emotions and being with others. There is a lot of wind noise on this recording. Sorry about that.
I’m back by the lake this morning. Today I’m talking about not wasting energy by struggling with self imposed standards.
This talk is on a line from Dogen’s Rules for Meditation.
I’m home now, so I can add some links.
Dogen’s Rules for Meditation
The other piece I quoted from is, in fact, called Genjo Koan - Realising the Fundamental Point.
This is about why I use the include.co.uk domain name for my website, and how including everything in our meditation allows us to deal with things which come up in meditation and in life.
A different walk today. I needed to exercise my legs so I drove to a nearby place where I could do a little gentle hill-walking. It’s mostly me puffing up-hill, but I do talk near the end.
This recording is with a different recording device, so it’s in stereo and has generally better sound. It does have some periods of wind noise. Sorry about that. I hope the content of the talk makes up for any annoyance.
Contact me on Twitter, @jwelby if you’d like to send any feedback.
Another podcast on the hoof. This time I talk about Indra’s Net, a reminder that all things are connected.
Another recording from the lakeside. This one is about how unsui - the term used for a novice Zen monk in Japan - inspires me in times of difficulty.
Another podcast from next to the lake. Or it may have been in the lake. The boundary got kind fuzzy while I was recording this.
Another talk made and posted while walking. I mention a particular Buddhist scripture called Sandokai. You can find the text online. It’s not very long. The talk is 25mins long, so not really a microcast this time, more of a podcast. Once again, I hope it’s of use to someone.
I’m on a walk from my house, standing by a lake. I just made a quick one-take recording to try out microcasting on-the-hoof. I mention the Three Pure Buddhist Precepts. I think most people are already in sympathy with them, so the talk is not just for Buddhists. I hope it may be of use to someone out there.