NEWS
BRIDGETOWN-GREENBUSHES STAR SEPTEMBER 2023
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“The Four Noble Truths are the essence of Buddhism. They are that suffering exists; that it has a cause; that it has an end; and that there is a path to the end of suffering. Buddhists see this as a pragmatic perspective on life, rather than a negative or fatalistic one.”
Bridgetown’s Buddhists are listening to the sound of silence A group of Bridgetown people are following an ancient path to wisdom. Every Friday evening a small group of people gather at Henri Nouwen House in Bridgetown to listen to ancient wisdom, sit quietly in the dark, concentrate on their breathing, and attempt to silence their minds. They’re practicing Buddhism, a godless religious practice grounded in philosophy that predates Christianity by some 500 years. At its heart Buddhism centres on the universal nature of suffering, and the path in life that frees you from it. Bridgetown’s Buddhist Collective was founded by Paul Hodgkinson, a local music teacher who was a monk in the Theravada tradition at the Buddhist Monastery in Serpentine, Sri Lanka, and Burma. The group has been going for several weeks after Mr Hodgkinson placed an advertisement in The Mailbag. It’s attracted meditators, philosophy students, and spiritual searchers who listen to Dharma, or Buddhist teaching, have a chat, and meditate in silence. The Buddha stressed that wisdom, kindness, patience, generosity and compassion were all important virtues to be nurtured. The Four Noble Truths are the essence of Buddhism. They are that suffering exists; that it has a cause; that it has an end; and that there is a path to the
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end of suffering. Buddhists see this as a pragmatic perspective on life, rather than a negative or fatalistic one. Buddhists believe that an end to suffering could be gained by following an eightfold path of right understanding; right thought; right speech; right action; right livelihood; right effort; right mindfulness; and right concentration. Paul Hodgkinson’s motivation for establishing a group was to build a Sangha, or community, of Buddhist followers to help support his own religious practice, and he’s keen to protect the central tenets of Buddhism from what he sees as the Western tendency to “water it down”. But that doesn’t mean he’s at all dogmatic about it. “It doesn’t mean I would ram anything down anyone’s throat at all,” Mr Hodkinson said. “I want to portray the authentic teachings of the Buddha as taught by the Thai Forest Tradition, and the Sri Lankan Tradition, and the Burmese Tradition.” He doesn’t have a long-term vision for the group, but is content to just see where it goes. “It’s lovely to see it germinate, and it’s starting to take off a little bit I think, and I’m committed to it. “I’ll be there every week and I’m just going to continue it.” “We’ll see where it goes, you never know, if there’s the right intention and the right conditions, anything could happen, anything’s possible.”
