Urthona – Buddhism & art

Ronald Corp has written a magical sacred choral setting of the Dhammapada

The Dhammapada is one of the most sacred texts of Buddhism, it contains pithy sayings of Gautama the Buddha. Composer Ronald Corp has written a wonderful sacred choral setting of some verses from the Dhammapada. Not himself a Buddhist Corp was clearly deeply inspired by these ancient verses and has written a piece very much in the tradition of British sacred choral music. I was reminded somewhat of the work of the celebrated Scottish Catholic composer James MacMillan. I was inspired and uplifted by these contemplative settings of a key Buddhist text.

The Inklings, that informal but highly influential Oxford literary group, has had many books written about it. These days it is fairly well known that as well as J. R. R. Tolkien & C. S. Lewis it contained such luminous figures as linguistic philosopher Owen Barfield and the poet and arthurian visionary Charles Williams. Easily forgotten however is C. S. Lewis’s brother major W. H. (Warnie) Lewis. He was a talented writer, on French cultural history, though not by any means a genius. More importantly he attended the Inklings for many years and kept a beautifully written diary.

A new book of strange and marvellous poems from Ananda / Stephen Parr

The Alchemical Island: Poems 2106 – 2017 pb, 250 pp, £12 – to order email the poet on moon@wolfatthedoor.org

Ananda (Stephen Parr) has brought out another poetry collection, his first since the 2015 collection The Paths Between. The Alchemical Island says on the cover that it covers the years 2016 and 2017. Given the great variety and high quality of the work in this volume one can  only wonder and anticipate what richess the poet has up his sleaves from subsequent years. Years, by the way, during which he moved from Bristol back up to his beloved North (Sheffield in fact) so it will be interesting to see what that move has brought to his work.

A new online gallery of my landscape photography is now live. Also includes geopoetic blog posts / photo essays

geopoeticblog.wordpress.com/

TOLKIEN AND BUDDHISM

Has this topic been explored yet by anyone? Urthona will be doing so in our next issue (summer 2024).

Meanwhile here is an article that opens up many interesting parallels with Tolkien and western estotericism. Many Buddhists I imagine would focus more on Tolkien’s moral vision, but there is much to think about in this rich essay written by a traditionalist writer in the lineage of Rene Guernon.

Essay: Tolkien and the Primordial tradition

Joscelyn Godwin does mention Buddhism however…

Paul Hart is an exceptionally fine English nature photographer. He finds haunting, poetic images in neglected corners of small towns and the countryside. Many of the images convey a sense of desolation and paralysis, and the partial capture of nature in industrial farm landscapes.

Buddhist choral music

Sarvadarsin introduces a new web resource of Buddhist choral music: In recent years, Buddhism has spread to the West, becoming the fastest growing religion in some countries, its teachings and practices striking a chord with individuals seeking spiritual growth and inner peace. Previously, as it reached new parts of the world, Buddhism had a transformative effect on the cultures it encountered, as new Buddhists share and communicate the Buddha Dharma in ways informed by their own traditions.

Although he is now settled in Cambridge, landscape painter Jonny Church grew up on the Welsh borders and studied at Aberystwyth School of Art, surrounded by mountains and wild seascapes.

His evocative semi-abstract works seek to convey intangible atmospheres in nature while referring always to the actual physical presence of mountains, fells and fields in different weathers.

Two Rivers

Poetry by Simon Millward – Mudlark Press, £12, pb, pp 68

Cover painting by Ruth Bateman

To purchase e-mail s.d.millward@googlemail.com

Two Rivers is a new book of poems by Simon Millward – a long time Buddhist meditator based in North Devon. Simon Millward is a predominantly a poet of nature, pure and simple, in the best sense. He resists the siren calls of ‘pressing issues’, and writes with strong, direct feeling – for the elemental presences in our world, and also the poignancies of human relationships.