I am a happily married English Buddhist, 67 years old, living these past 37 years in Slovenia. I was raised a Catholic and attended a Jesuit school but lost my faith in God when I was 15. After graduating in Industrial Engineering I traveled overland along the old hippie trail to India in search of answers to the pain I felt in the world. I encountered Buddhism in Dharamsala, home-in-exile of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Back in London I joined Sogyal Rinpoche's Rigpa group in 1981 and started practicing the Dharma.
I have been a production assistant in London, bartender in Hong Kong, English teacher in South Korea, planning engineer in London and Fife, Scotland, and a development engineer, planner, import-export agent and translator in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Besides being interested in living mindfully and preserving the Buddha Dharma, I am also an advocate of democracy, peace, non-violence, human and animal rights, a free Tibet, a democratic Burma, the right of Palestinians to a homeland, the prevention of human trafficking, gender equality, LGBTQI rights worldwide, veganism, the abolition of capital punishment, amnesty to prisoners of conscience, etc. I am also interested in supporting poverty alleviation and humanitarian work of any kind as well as sustainable development, education, protection of the environment and mental health and other health issues.
My Dharma practice comprises keeping the five precepts (mind trainings) for a lay Buddhist and practicing the six perfections (far-reaching practices) of Mahayana Buddhism - generosity, ethical conduct, forbearance, perseverance, concentration and, wisdom - as an aspiring Bodhisattva. I also like to consider myself a "socially engaged Buddhist" with my principle outlet being a keyboard campaigner for human, animal and environmental causes on social media and a vegan/animal rights activist locally. As a part of keeping the five precepts, I practice veganism to the best of my ability and to the forefront of my practice I try to generate beginner's mind (don't know mind) as well as loving kindness and compassion both towards self and others. My meditation these days is primarily of the analytical kind but always includes understanding that firstly, everyone wants to be be happy and avoid suffering and secondly, everyone has shown kindness to me in this life and past lives.
Politically I support The Green Party of England and Wales, the European Greens, American Democratic Socialists and the Levica (Left) Party in Slovenia I am a vegan and don't smoke, drink alcohol or do drugs. With my Slovene wife, Mojca, we have a son, Tom, now aged 36.
