Text below is provisional

All about us

This site is “Mostly Theravada” because that’s an apt description. We respect the wisdom of the Mahayana and Vajrayana and choose to use their teachings here and there. But mostly what you’ll find here are very traditional teachings of Theravada Buddhism, the “way of the elders”.

Every Tuesday we publish a Dharma Talk on our Home page. This talk will be placed permanently on the site under the All About Us label located here. You’ll learn more about the site itself here. More about Buddhism and Theravada in particular are here.

We’re a small group of practitioners in a small city in southern Ontario, Canada who are devoted to the practice of meditation, particularly those within Theravada. We meet for pujas and discussion with Dharma Dorje, our lay teacher. We’re a diverse group, all laypeople; some of us are new to the practice, others have been practising for 30 plus years.

This site arose out of Dharma Dorje’s desire to write a book setting out the fundamentals of combining Theravada insight and serenity practice for laymen. As we helped him with the editing the idea arose the material was too valuable to wait upon book publication. Gradually the concept for this site evolved. 

Most Buddhist websites are calling cards for retreat centres (sometimes with lectures, blogs and photos). Or they’re vast compilations of Buddhist teachings from many sources and traditions. Yet more and more the Internet is becoming a great teaching/learning/research tool. At the same time the Internet is global in scope, not local. 

On this site you’ll find digestible teachings suitable for almost anyone with no prior training in Buddhism or any other teaching. This is a good place to start, but we believe Buddhism can only be mastered through a solid meditation practice. Our writings here bend in that direction. For that reason we highly recommend having a live fact-to-face teacher. You’ll find some thoughts on that here. 

There are lengthy segments of Dharma Dorje’s yet-to-be-published book in progress here. And bite-sized elements in the form of a weekly Dharma Talk published on our Home page. Other resources are here.

Not everything is written solely by Dharma Dorje. But he has reviewed, amended and touched up everything. The site has unity of point of view through his focus. 

Yes, Dharma Dorje’s name is Tibetan but he is not. The name was given by his teacher Kema Ananda. An example of how this site is mostly Theravada. 

Since we are a group of friends practising, there is no monastery and no formal organization either. And no benefactor. However, we do have a Dana Bowl, where you can give your support for what you find here.

Use this link to send us your comments and to ask questions. Dharma Dorje travels to give teaching when asked.