Underneath a skyscraper city, there is little time for patience, and few spaces for contemplation. But today in the shade of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney’s own bonsai master is giving a lesson in the quiet art of the bonsai.
Continue reading ““The bonsai responds to our heart” – meeting Sydney’s bonsai master, Megumi Bennett”
Underneath Sydney’s glowing night sky, we almost forget that above us hang a million billion stars, galaxies, comets and nebulas, their sparkle dulled by the towers of light we built to out-do the heavens.
Continue reading “Admiring the heavens in a city of light”
Australian mining company Kingsgate Consolidated has started the year with a spring in its step thanks to a clause buried in the Thailand-Australia Free Trade Agreement.
Continue reading “Riches for Australian miner equals misery for Thai villagers”
Un nuevo horizonte político ya ha amanecido en Australia: una democracia multipolar. Durante décadas, el bipartidismo ha reinado en el parlamento australiano, y durante los años más recientes parecía que nunca llegaría al país el fenómeno del declive en el voto tradicional que derrotó a los partidos históricos de Europa, tan profundas eran las trincheras políticas, tan estables eran las pautas electorales.
Continue reading “La democracia multipolar amanezca en Australia”
Whether in a walk in the park, a hike through the bush, or a countryside stroll, people have always taken to the outdoors to breathe, think and feel. We enjoy the warmth of the sun, the shade of a tree, a cool breeze, because it is instinctual: our bodies have always known the benefits of nature.
Continue reading “Sensing the forest through shinrin-yoku (or forest bathing)”
Across Australia’s eastern ranges, Australia’s forests are beginning their long recovery. This year’s autumn rains have been heavier and temperatures lower than in years past, when hellish mega-fires burnt a million hectares of bushland across the continent.
Continue reading “Autumn in Australia’s eastern ranges”
In contemplation and tranquillity, in thought and bliss, the five hundred faces of the arhats of Changnyeongsa are fixed in an eternal meditation. For a millennium they have turned their mind inward and closed their eyes to the changing world.
Continue reading “The Eternal Meditation of the Arhat”
In religion and in gardening, in art and lore, the waterlily (Nymphaeaceae) has long been revered for its beauty, with its vibrant yellows, whites, pinks, and purples capturing our eye and imagination.
Continue reading “Adoration of the Waterlily”
Dear Mr. Gorbachev,
Many years and miles lie between you and I, and we do not share language or culture. We are not compatriots, nor was I an anonymous face in the crowds that met you in the world’s capitals. I am, however, both a beneficiary and admirer of your attempt to bring into existence a more peaceful world. So I write to you today, to congratulate you on ninety-one years of life, work, and thought.
Continue reading “Happy Birthday, Gorby!”
Lives and Times 