Hello and welcome to the dhamma footsteps About page. The posts in this blog are written from a Theravadin buddhist perspective, in the lineage of Ajahn Chah. There are also aspects of Advaita Vedanta – and how do these two points of view sit together? Well, you can decide. The process of sourcing the texts and writing the posts has become part of the Practice for me. The links are probably the most important part of it all – I’m glad to share these with everyone out there. Gratitude to all the Ajahns in Thailand, Switzerland and UK for their guidance.
How did I come to be doing this? Long ago and far away. I started doing publications and artwork for Non Government Organizations (NGOs) in South India. After that I was with an NGO in Thailand and support organizations working on the issue of child labour and children in hazardous situations. Around that time I met the Buddhist monks in Wat Pah Nanchat in Thailand who showed me the Buddhist Path.
“… the remainderless fading & cessation, renunciation, relinquishment, release, & letting go of that very craving. (the noble truth of the cessation of dukkha) “— SN 56.11 (dukkha nirodho ariya sacca).
The work in Thailand continued for 10 years, then it was up and running so there wasn’t much more I could do to help. I was teaching English in Japan for 3 years and continuing with publications for the NGOs. Meanwhile, the group I’d been working with in Bangkok was now supported by a UN network and I’d gotten married to a Thai along the way who became part of that network. So, off we went on our travels together and that about takes us up to the present day; situated in New Delhi and frequent visits to Thailand to visit family.
I’m originally from the UK, born in the Moray Firth in the North of Scotland where it’s cold and windy most of the year – open the door to go out in the morning and the wind is so strong it would blow you back in again. My father’s father came from Orkney, my mother came from Aberdeenshire and I studied in Glasgow. A heritage of Northern skies, a seeker who wandered away in search of the sun.
One last thing, I recently contracted Post-herpetic neuralgia on the right side of the head and neck, which means headaches all the time and many and various meds to deal with it. The blog is also a way of focusing the mind so I can deal with the pain a bit better. Please contact me about anything you see here. Click the little grey-coloured speech bubble at the top right of each post. Thanks again for all the comments and ‘likes’ and I look forward to hearing from you.
I’ve been part of the Buddhist community and a friend of the Sangha for nearly 20 years. This blog is created in the spirit of generosity, kindness, friendship, kalyanamitra. And that’s it for the moment. I hope all is well where you are.
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dhamma footsteps 
Thank you for dropping by my blog and helping me discover you and your wonderful blog. It’s lovely to discover a fellow pilgrim on ‘the path’ – which can often be lonely and sometimes misunderstood. I look forward to more interaction. Thank you!
Thanks for the visit to this page Anjali. The Path is the goal, I’ve heard some say. it’s not where it leads. All kinds of interesting things…
Thanks so much for all of your Likes on my blog. I really appreciate your attention to my posts. I value your input as you are an excellent writer and I always gain a lot from your perspective when reading your blog. And of course I’m right up in there with the Buddhist way of experiencing life.
Suzanne
How are you, by the way?
Thank you Suzanne, I enjoy reading your posts, there’s always some wisdom to be found there. I’m in Chiang Mai at the moment, taking care of my Thai niece M. I’m more like a grandfather to her than an uncle. It’s coming up for the hot season here so we don’t go out much unless it’s to a place that’s air-conditioned. This week we will go to the Aquarium one day and to see a movie another day. Next week we go to Bangkok then down south near the Malaysian border. I’ll probably write a post about that. Thanks for visiting here, please come again…
Beautiful journey…beautiful sharings…thank you…Namaste’
Thank you for these kind words…
Hi Tiramit, thanks for stopping by Beauty Along the Road today. I was in Nairn and Findhorn a few yrs ago, so I experienced the place where you grew up – luckily it was summer and easy living, so I didn’t have to get blown across the water 🙂 Looks like you have covered a lot of geographical and spiritual ground in your life so far. Pleasure to meet you…
Hi there, what a surprise! I was intereted in your post about the hummimgbirds partly because I wrote a post ‘quicker than thinking‘ about what I believed to be hummingbirds.
These wonderful photos, so much going on in and around you in Virginia USA. I don’t remember much about the Moray Firth although I went to Findhorn recently. Nice to meet you…
Lovely post – I left a comment there.
Thanks for visiting…
feeling blessed to follow your blog brother..much love and respect..
Nice to know you Alisha, I see you are the 650th. Are you in Kathmandu or overseas? I was wondering if your family had been affected by the earthquake…
Luckily I was in Dubai when earthquake hit Kathmandu. My family are fine though there are minor cracks in their building which is nothing compare to other people loss. thanks for your concern brother. much respect and lots of love.. 🙂
Glad to hear you were not seriously affected by the disaster, as others were. Things can be repaired, rebuilt, but sometimes there is loss. And the Buddha’s teachings tell us we have to bear in mind that the world is impermanent.
yes brother you are right, most of the times I used to meditate on impermanent, this has help me to realize that everything keeps on changing.. 🙂
So nice to meet you. My ancestors came from Scotland too but I’m a 4th generation American, raised in the Golden State but miles from there in the northeast now. It will be a pleasure to follow your blog.
Good to know you too, I wonder when you last visited Scotland. I feel a bit removed from it now after more than 30 years, have to stay in hotels because nearly everyone is gone. Such a small country packed with history and imagery…
I’ve never been there, sad to say. It’s ironic. It was always so costly to travel, but now that it’s feasible for us my husband hates to travel, so we stay closer to home. I feel that way about California. Everyone is gone so when I travel to LA for conferences, I stay in hotels. We’re getting ready to sell our New York apartment and get a condo in Florida, and spend the summer in the mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania. That feels almost as overwhelming as moving across the globe!
Thank you for being the first one who put like on my blog. Your cover picture(lots of flags) is beautiful. And I respect Ajahn Chah too.
Thanks for visiting, good to hear from a Thai blogger!
my pleasure!
I’ve nominated you for a blogging award tiramit. Don’t ask me why. I’m just that kind of guy.
Well… this is unexpected. Thanks, don’t quite know what else to say
I was thrilled to read your about.
Migrating from oneplace to the other I mean from countries to continents.
That’s real fine, one can go to any extent to find his path.
Its all cause of the blessings and past life traits.
I am very happy you have settled in India and are close to me.
Lets begin one more chapter (Aadhyaya) of friendship.
Here I press the Follow button for YOU.
Fondest Regards,
Shiva
Thank you Shiva and apologies for the late reply. I’m not often in the About page these days. It’s nice to have you on board. I see your icon popping up on a few blogs and I’m reminded to reply, then get lost in a wave of karmic events. ‘It’s all the cause of the blessings snd past life traits’, I often pause and consider how things have turned out the way they have. Thank you again and I hope we run into each other some time…
Hi Tiramit, thank you for stopping by last week and liking my nascent blog. I’m really pleased to have come across yours. It would seem we have a few things in common. Apart from Buddhism I was amused to find that you are originally from the Moray Firth. My family and I will be moving from Valencia to Forres next April for a year. I haven’t lived in the UK for 17 years and I’m not sure how I’m going to hold up in those long dark Northern winters. I suspect that the Med has spoiled me.
May you be well and happy on your travels.
Abhayaka
Thanks for dropping in, I shall be looking to see what’s happening in your blog. Moving from Valencia to Scotland? usually it’s the other way round. But I think you’ll find the dark winters are quite magical, there’s a lot you can do with interior lighting and warmth around the fireside. The summer is the opposite, trying to get used to sleeping in broad daylight, you need thick curtains. It depends where you are in the Moray Firth but it is a very sheltered place, even warm! Let us know how it goes, I’ll be looking to see what you’re writing about it…
I’ve been going up to Nairn for years to visit the ‘good friend’ mentioned in my about page. I love the Highlands and you’re right, the Moray Firth is a very sheltered place, though not warm by Mediterranean standards 😉 That said the beaches and surrounding countryside are fantastic. My family and I are very much looking forward to our adventure.
I lived in Nairn when I was a child, but no memory of it. I’ve been back to the area and Findhorn of course I stayed there for a week. Also there’s a blogger friend who lives up that way I plan to visit next summer, who knows maybe we’ll run into each other?
We should be newly installed in or around Forres by next Summer. Please feel free to get in touch.
Ok I will, when it gets to be nearer the time…
Ajahn Chah: much appreciated.
Good to make the link through Ajahn Chah
Thanks for stopping by my PhotoBlog today – (Living in Nature) – not my B & W blog linked to my Gravatar. I was just thinking what a serendipitous moment to find another chronic pain sufferer and kindred spirit interested in Buddhist perspectives.
I’m a big admirer of Ajahn Brahm (originally a student of Ajahn Chah) who is now the Abbot in a monastery near Perth in Western Australia. His 2 books and cockney humour have got me through several tedious and debilitating hospital visits/surgeries.
Wishing you peace and happiness in your travels.
Vicki
Thanks Vicki, I like your photos and the feeling of the East coast of Australia. I went there many times Brisbane, Cairns. My father lived there. He passed a few years back and there’s no reason for me to go back now. So I followed your Living in Nature blog to remind me of that feeling. Also to make that link with someone following the Buddhist Path who’s coping with discomfort every day – 1st Noble Truth. Not wanting it to be anything other than what it is, helps to ease the pain. I know Ajahn Brahm and his sense of humour, I have a couple of his books here.
I liked the picture of the dove on the wire looking up at the sky. I used to have them nesting on my balcony in Switzerland, wrote a couple of posts about that: Birds on the Balcony. Thanks for visiting and please be in touch about anything.
Thank you again for visiting my blog. I appreciate the attention! 🙂
Thank you Daniel and you’re welcome here any time
Hello!
I’ve nominated you for the “Champion Award”. You can find out more and pick it up here: https://danicapiche.wordpress.com/2016/01/31/the-champions-award-thank-you-the-health-wellness-edition/
If you are unable to accept this award for any reason please accept this nomination as a gesture of my appreciation.
Hi DanicaPiche thanks for thinking of me I’ll need to see what I have to do about this award before accepting but thanks agin and best wishes to you
T
That’s understandable, T. I approach awards with flexibility and view rules as guidelines or suggestions. The point, for me, is to highlight and celebrate blogs, while hopefully encouraging some new readers to visit and enjoy. 🙂
Hello Tiramit,
Thank you for stopping by my blog and liking a few of my posts. It enabled me to find your blog, which I really like, and all those blogs that you follow. I’m glad you listed them as I have had trouble finding Zen, Buddhist, and Taoist blogs to follow and like. I will enjoy many hours perusing all of them.
Live long and prosper.
Monica
Thanks Monica, and welcome. Your pages are so neat and minimalist compared with mine. Easy to read I like it…
Scotland is very scenic, I wrote a poem a few weeks ago set to Grimshaw’s Shipping on the Clyde:
https://purelandsutras.wordpress.com/2016/10/14/prose-poetry-set-to-grimshaws-shipping-on-the-clyde/
I think you might like it.
Thanks for this. The poem suggests you know Glasgow, you’ve visited more than once, maybe? Thanks too for the Grimshaw painting, the rainy docks and masts and rigging are wonderful…
Thanks for dropping by, actually, I’ve never been to Glasgow, but I just love the beauty of the Northern European countries.
I’ve nominated you for the inaugural Treasure Trove Award! There are no rules or tasks involved. You can find your award here: https://danicapiche.wordpress.com/2016/11/19/treasure-trove-award/
If you prefer not to be involved with awards, please accept this as a gesture of my appreciation.
Your wisdom is both calming and motivating. I, too, get almost daily headaches – have my entire life. Buddhism and mindfulness bring me respite from the pain. Thank you for visiting my blog and feeling like a friend.
I think we met at Harnham this summer. I’ve enjoyed reading your blog in what little internet time is allowed in monasteries. Wishing you the best, Khemiyā.
We did, I remember you… so much energy. Good to have you over here!
T