I’m still recovering from the flu at the moment; getting my energy back slowly. It was the worst I’ve had in a decade and really made me appreciate peoples’ anxieties over the chances of a near-future pandemic and also the annual toll it takes on the elderly and infirm. Anyway I’m on the mend now but still haven’t had much strength to spare on writing and musing here. Mainly I’ve just been vicariously enjoying the vigour of spring; watching the plants emerging from the ground afresh, leaves budding and unfurling on the trees, and the lively nest-building and courtship of starlings, chaffinches, robins and long-tailed tits. And, starting back at work after my sick leave, I was joyful to be greeted by the sight of one of our local sparrowhawks gliding low over the high street.

Having had to cancel my trip to the temple last weekend I had a chat with Sensei over the phone and found out he is giving a talk at the Founder’s Day of the London Buddhist Society on Saturday 12th April (event starts at 1pm). Apparently several speakers from different Buddhist traditions are all giving their individual perspectives on the concept of ‘Buddha-nature’ which sounds very interesting.

For various reason my blogging is likely to continue to be very occasional this month so I should mention that Eitaikyo is coming up, from 16th - 19th April, which is the memorial festival for those who helped lead us to the Dharma. This might initially seem a little irrelevant to those of us who are converts but it is worth reflecting that even if our ancestors were not Buddhists their lives are an intrinsic part of who we are and have contributed to leading us to the Dharma way. It is also an opportunity to think about the legacy that we will leave to our children and/or future generations.

Aside from Level 8 Buddhist’s ongoing introductions to various aspects of Buddhism the Shinshu blogosphere has been pretty quiet. A few things I noticed though are as follows … For those interested in Hongwanji history Rev. Harry Gyokyo Bridge has posted on his LiveJournal about some documents he dug up in his temple’s archives. Dave F. is back from India and offers an appreciation of how the Tannisho is helping him get through a transitional phase in his post-conversion experience. Ray posted the following quotation which, in a comment here, he related to my recent post on Amida’s Compassion.

I hope all of you are keeping well and will aim to get back into more regular correspondence by the start of next month. Gassho with namuamidabutsu …