A bit about Me:
At the young age of 16 for 4 years I got actively involved in left-wing politics
but in 1988 a deep personal crises forced me to re-evaluate my beliefs,
values and priority in life. During my university (polytechnic) years from
1988 to 1991, during which I got a Social Science degree, I was much more
interested in learning from the inside than learning from the outside. I
took up meditation practice in 1988, and in that year as a direct result
of this new found ‘tool’ I had some wonderful experiences of joyousness,
inner vitality and a sense that I was somehow intimately connected to the
rest of life. I’ve been practising meditation ever since, almost half my
life.
I first made contact with the London Buddhist Centre in
December the same year. I was very interested in the meditation but was
strongly resistant to the Buddhism as I was still heavily influenced by
left wing politics. It was only after a lengthy study group focusing on a
book on Buddhist ethics called “The Ten Pillars of Buddhism” by
Sangharakshita led beautifully by my (now) friend
Ratnaghosa that
I had to face the fact that I had infact become a Buddhist! This dawning
happened in late 1990 and as a result of the study, which was really more
of the nature of exploration and investigation, and the wonderfully loving
example of Ratnaghosa, that I felt deeply attracted to increasingly living
by the principles of non-violence and loving-kindness in body, speech and
mind.
In 1997 in the context of a 16 week retreat
in the midst of Spanish mountains I got ordained into the Western Buddhist
Order and was given the name, ‘Vajracaksu’, a Sanskrit name which can be
translated as ‘he who sees the truth’ or ‘diamond vision’; though I myself
am making no claims! Another major turning point for me was having the
great privilege of doing an excellent 6 months solitary retreat in north
Wales in 2001, these were the richest, happiest and most meaningful 6
months of my life. It was on this retreat as a result of a dream that I
had that I set my sights on Istanbul in order to teach and share my
experience and understanding of meditation practice and Buddhism. Since
August 2003 I’ve been living in Istanbul and I earn my living mainly by
teaching English and partly by teaching meditation.
“I have known Vajracaksu for about 20 years. I have always been struck by his integrity, energy and enthusiasm. He is a very honest man – honest with himself and honest with others. He does not pretend to be anything other than what he really is. He is authentic.
He loves to find the truth, whether it is the truth about himself and his motivations or the truth about the meaning of life. He is a determined and persistent seeker after truth.
He also loves to share his enthusiasm for truth with others and is a very open, honest and effective communicator and teacher.
He has been meditating and practising Buddhism for as long as I have known him and he has gradually become imbued with the beauty and clarity that comes from those practices.
I recommend him to anyone who is keen to explore the deeper meaning behind the everyday facades or anyone who wants stimulating and challenging teaching and discussion.”
Dharmachari Ratnaghosha (Ben Murphy)
“WINDHORSE: EVOLUTION” Director and writer. Author of “Dana: from Confidence to Compassion” (1995); “Kshanti: the perfection of patience, tolerance and receptivity” (1997) “The Power of the Precepts” (1997), and “Just a word……” (2002).
“I have known Vajracaksu for at least 16 years. I have found him to be exemplary in his reliability in maintaining his word. He is a warm, friendly, enthusiastic, thorough and determined man who has the courage of his convictions. Vajracaksu is often a man of the heart and has the facility to care deeply about others; as well as the truth. I am confident that Vajracaksu will bring great diligence and care to any meditation and mindfulness teaching that he does.”
John Linney, Director of “BODYWISE” Yoga and Natural Health Centre (London)
