I am a layperson who discovered Buddhism, and the meaningfulness of the Dharma, rather late in life after I had retired – at the beginning of 2012.
In my enthusiasm for what I was learning, I created this straightforward website, from the perspective of what I termed Buddhist spirituality.
In this context, I find the following words from the Dhammapada (verses 19 and 20) instructive:
“If a man speaks many holy words but he speaks and does not, this thoughtless man cannot enjoy the life of holiness: he is like a cowherd who counts the cows of his master.
Whereas if a man speaks but a few holy words and yet he lives the life of those words, free from passion and hate and illusion – with right vision and a mind free, craving for nothing both now and hereafter – the life of this man is a life of holiness”
(Source: Mascaró, Juan, trans. The Dhammapada: The Path of Perfection. Translated from the Pali with an introduction by Juan Mascaró. London: Penguin Books, 1973.)
In one way or another, I have been drawn to the understanding and practice of spirituality for most of my life.
In fact, in looking back, I have spent a lifetime searching for meaning. From Australia, the search led me overseas where I studied at a Christian liberal arts college both in England and the United States. For two decades I worked for a religious organization in the United States.
Later, I also had the opportunity to teach English in the Czech Republic (eight years), South Korea (four years), and for one year in Saudi Arabia.
Finally, in returning to Australia, I completed two Masters degrees with an emphasis in spirituality through two accredited institutions (Sydney College of Divinity and the University of Newcastle).
On this website, I am also indebted to the work of Neil Steven Cohen and the SourcePoint Global Outreach. Neil has graciously and generously allowed me to use the information found at this link:
https://sourcepointglobaloutreach.org/what-we-offer/
SourcePoint Global Outreach is a non-profit organization founded in 2001. Their mission is to serve the welfare and upliftment of our global community.
Through their outreach projects, they offer a variety of humanitarian services. They sponsor their own projects and they combine their efforts with other international organizations, implementing service-oriented projects that assist those in need around the globe.
During email exchanges with Neil Cohen at the end of 2012 and beginning of 2013, in one email he kindly wrote: “Please download and save any of those teachings you want and place them onto any websites you wish. Those are pristine teachings, very easy to read.”
I responded by stating that I believed a number of his beautifully written teachings would, in time, definitely have a place on my new website, dealing with “Buddhist spirituality”. And, that it would indeed be a great pleasure to each time acknowledge his Outreach ministry in the process of using them.
May what I share on this website benefit all – both those seeking a path toward enlightenment and those who may not be.
Alexander Michael Peck
(October 2020)