About me and why this website?

For those curious to know why I have set up this website here is a little background information which I hope might be useful for you.

I live with my wife Fran, an environmental activist, in Dublin, Ireland. I have had a long-term interest in spirituality and the search for meaning. My background is in Catholicism but for many years now I have been exploring mindfulness and the Buddhist approach to life. The Buddhist philosophy seems to me to be universal in its appeal and relies on the individual to apply its teachings to the best of his or her ability.

There are no absolutes in Buddhism and indeed the Buddha himself urges those who explore his teachings to try them out, and see if they make sense and if any do not make sense they should be ignored. “Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it unless it agrees with your reason and your common sense”  – the Buddha.  In a world where religious absolutes seem to cause friction and division turning people away from the very idea of God, I think this is a refreshing approach.

My introduction to meditation in the sense that we understand it today was through the reading in 1994 of the wonderful Mindfulness Meditation for Everyday Life by the renowned Jon Kabat-Zinn, Professor of Medicine Emeritus and creator of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Centre for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Through membership in a mindfulness sangha here in Dublin, I found help and support in the effort to live in a mindful frame of mind.

I have attended retreats in Plum Village near Bordeaux in southwest France, a mindfulness centre founded by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, Dzogchen Beara, a Tibetan Buddhist Retreat centre on the Beara Peninsula in south-west Ireland, and Jampa Ling a retreat centre in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition situated in County Cavan, Ireland and which is under the spiritual direction of Venerable Panchen Ötrul Rinpoche.

In December 2013, I founded a monthly Meetup for Mindfulness group in Dublin dedicated to the practice of applying Buddhist ethics in everyday life. The practice of this group has been expanded to take inspiration from the religious, philosophical, and scientific traditions of the world and not simply Buddhism. All are welcome in our group which now meets online with an international attendance. We rejoice in diversity.

I contribute audio meditations and reflections to the Insight Timer Meditation Community of meditators across the world. These contributions have had two million+ listens to date. You will find a link to my meditations along with instructions on how to access the Insight Timer Meditation App HERE.

I hope you will find something interesting on this site that will help you in your search for meaning. I invite you to take what seems to help and to leave what does not appeal to you at this time.  But please do not judge mindfulness based on my performance or my failings with it. We are all in this together as we seek meaning in this amazing world.

Tony Brady