A hill top view of Mike's forest, where he makes his home.
About Mike.
..About this Website.
Hi ! My name is Mike Browning of Gin Gin, south Queensland, and I wrote this website.
I had an extensive education and training in Buddhist meditation and teachings at the Buddhist Society, 1982 – 2002. Yet when I looked back on this “education” in 2010, I could not remember any useful philosophy. Sure I could remember all the significant doctrines and scriptures, almost word for word, including much Pali, and these days such doctrine is easily found in Wikipedia. Yet this formal “teaching” of the religion had little or no value to me. Nor was it a philosophy. I did not use any of it in my daily life, and certainly did not write about it to assist others. To me, the doctrine and scripture was all prescribed religious belief, something you believed in to be in it. And I need something more substantial than mere make-believe as a foundation for my spiritual practice. I had been in Buddhism because these prescribed beliefs were optional, you could be in it without any requirement to believe in it. Unlike mainstream religion in the West.
The lack of philosophy impacted on the meditation. With no useful philosophy to support it, the meditation was of little help in transcendence from suffering and moving towards Liberation. Its usefulness was limited to a brief half hour of peace each day.
These problems in Buddhist doctrines and scriptures and how they are traditionally presented, are probably better understood if we examine the problems of the religion itself, as traditionally practised in the home continent. I discuss these problems in my webpage entitled “Broken Buddhism” under “Scripture.” For all is not well in Buddhist countries, and this impacts on how Buddhist themes are traditionally presented by Buddhist monks.
These shortcomings of Buddhism were brought home to me after I had a long discussion in 2010 with a Buddhist nun, in full uniform, who I met in my sister’s living room, of all places. My sister left “those two Buddhists alone” to talk together.
So in 2010 I started the beginnings of this website : adapting the central theme of kilesa (defilements) and bodhyaṇga (spiritual Qualities). Adapting the central theme out of its origins in prescribed belief and doctrine, and into a form that worked for me, thirty years after I had first read and heard it.
In the mid tens, I returned to this exercise, adapting the following themes : nirvāṇa (enlightenment), taṇha and kāma (desire), dukkha (suffering) and samudāya dukkha (origin of suffering), sati (mindfulness), and ‘discharge of distress’ from co-counselling.
I then taught this material as a “Course in Spiritual Practice” at a Yoga center in Bundaberg from 2016 – 2018. These weekly and fortnightly classes were quite successful, and were well attended and supported from start to finish. But unfortunately an ignorant and destructive Yoga teacher there attacked us with false allegations, and we had to leave in a hurry. Our sessions did not recover from the attack, I took to writing instead, and that Yoga center had to close down soon afterwards.
I have been re-writing this material since 2017, and especially since early 2020. This means that what was on this website in mid 2019 when I first published it is probably quite different to what you will find now. I needed to improve both research (mostly in the dictionary) and the presentation, to help the people find useful guidance to their spiritual practice.
In addition, I needed to provide new word-for-word translations from the original Pali and Sanskrit for the most famous scriptures. (Pali is a less melodious accent or dialect of Sanskrit, and Pali is used for Theravadan Buddhist scriptures of south Asia.) This frees up the source material from the limitations of old religion, and the politics that insist the scriptures be interpreted, translated and presented in a certain way.
I have been familiar with Buddhist scriptures and the doctrines they define since the early 1980’s, but I first began reading Hindu scriptures in 2019. But I use the same technique for both. I copy the word-for-word translation from the net into my computer, disregarding their translation into proper English sentences. I reflect on each English word, looking for ideas that reflect the dynamics of spiritual practice and mind training. Then I put these ideas into proper English sentences. I use every Sanskrit word that is promising. For each key Sanskrit word, I carefully explore its full meaning in the dictionary, for this will reveal additional information about spiritual practice and mind training. Sanskrit words have profound meaning, because it is a sacred language.
But I leave unnecessary and unhelpful Sanskrit words on the website that I originally copied from. Some Buddhist scriptures are encumbered by a massive amount of unhelpful and unnecessary verbiage, often as repetitions.
In July 2021, I managed to find time, energy and inspiration to provide new word-for-word translation for two of the shortest Upanishads. This is a big leap forward for progressive Dharma, for the Upanishads have big influence in Hindu philosophy, and help explain much of their teachings.
My teachings at the Yoga center in Bundaberg also included Kirtan sessions, using recorded music by renown Kirtan musicians. The mantras are nearly all from Hinduism, and therefore I had to study Hindu material and introduce it into my writings on spiritual practice. The historical Buddha Siddhatta Gotama lived 2500 years ago in what is now northern India, where early Hinduism was the prevailing religion. This accounts for the similarity between Hindu and Buddhist themes, and I look for the common ground between these two Eastern religions, so that both may make their separate contribution to the common understanding.
In 2019 I adapted Buddhist themes on meditation to suit the new approach. In October 2021 I had opportunity, after very extensive delays, to rewrite this material to properly express the themes of mantra-translate.
The major deficiencies of this website are now rectified, and the minor ones that still remain can remind us that writings about Dharma will never be “perfect”. However, I often revisit the material, and usually find something that needs improvement. Then I make small but important corrections and additions. This means that this website is not static, but slowly developing in quality rather than quantity. I have written only two new webpages since early 2021, and two more pages in 2024, for mantra-translate.
I am very glad I have invested so much time and energy on this re-writing, for visits leaped from 10 – 20 visits per week in early 2020 to 150 visits per week in mid 2021 ! By early 2022 it had risen yet further to 300 visits per week, and to 350 people per week by late 2022. Now 400 people visit per week, in mid 2024. Most people visit only page per visit, and I encourage this. Please do not be tempted nor driven to rush hurriedly thru the Dharma. Please allow your mind to slow down, take rest, and move towards refreshing and rejuvenating inner peace. The rest of the material on this website can wait until another time.
Hi ! My name is Mike Browning of Gin Gin, south Queensland, and I wrote this website.
I had an extensive education and training in Buddhist meditation and teachings at the Buddhist Society, 1982 – 2002. Yet when I looked back on this “education” in 2010, I could not remember any useful philosophy. Sure I could remember all the significant doctrines and scriptures, almost word for word, including much Pali, and these days such doctrine is easily found in Wikipedia. Yet this formal “teaching” of the religion had little or no value to me. Nor was it a philosophy. I did not use any of it in my daily life, and certainly did not write about it to assist others. To me, the doctrine and scripture was all prescribed religious belief, something you believed in to be in it. And I need something more substantial than mere make-believe as a foundation for my spiritual practice. I had been in Buddhism because these prescribed beliefs were optional, you could be in it without any requirement to believe in it. Unlike mainstream religion in the West.
The lack of philosophy impacted on the meditation. With no useful philosophy to support it, the meditation was of little help in transcendence from suffering and moving towards Liberation. Its usefulness was limited to a brief half hour of peace each day.
These problems in Buddhist doctrines and scriptures and how they are traditionally presented, are probably better understood if we examine the problems of the religion itself, as traditionally practised in the home continent. I discuss these problems in my webpage entitled “Broken Buddhism” under “Scripture.” For all is not well in Buddhist countries, and this impacts on how Buddhist themes are traditionally presented by Buddhist monks.
These shortcomings of Buddhism were brought home to me after I had a long discussion in 2010 with a Buddhist nun, in full uniform, who I met in my sister’s living room, of all places. My sister left “those two Buddhists alone” to talk together.
So in 2010 I started the beginnings of this website : adapting the central theme of kilesa (defilements) and bodhyaṇga (spiritual Qualities). Adapting the central theme out of its origins in prescribed belief and doctrine, and into a form that worked for me, thirty years after I had first read and heard it.
In the mid tens, I returned to this exercise, adapting the following themes : nirvāṇa (enlightenment), taṇha and kāma (desire), dukkha (suffering) and samudāya dukkha (origin of suffering), sati (mindfulness), and ‘discharge of distress’ from co-counselling.
I then taught this material as a “Course in Spiritual Practice” at a Yoga center in Bundaberg from 2016 – 2018. These weekly and fortnightly classes were quite successful, and were well attended and supported from start to finish. But unfortunately an ignorant and destructive Yoga teacher there attacked us with false allegations, and we had to leave in a hurry. Our sessions did not recover from the attack, I took to writing instead, and that Yoga center had to close down soon afterwards.
I have been re-writing this material since 2017, and especially since early 2020. This means that what was on this website in mid 2019 when I first published it is probably quite different to what you will find now. I needed to improve both research (mostly in the dictionary) and the presentation, to help the people find useful guidance to their spiritual practice.
In addition, I needed to provide new word-for-word translations from the original Pali and Sanskrit for the most famous scriptures. (Pali is a less melodious accent or dialect of Sanskrit, and Pali is used for Theravadan Buddhist scriptures of south Asia.) This frees up the source material from the limitations of old religion, and the politics that insist the scriptures be interpreted, translated and presented in a certain way.
I have been familiar with Buddhist scriptures and the doctrines they define since the early 1980’s, but I first began reading Hindu scriptures in 2019. But I use the same technique for both. I copy the word-for-word translation from the net into my computer, disregarding their translation into proper English sentences. I reflect on each English word, looking for ideas that reflect the dynamics of spiritual practice and mind training. Then I put these ideas into proper English sentences. I use every Sanskrit word that is promising. For each key Sanskrit word, I carefully explore its full meaning in the dictionary, for this will reveal additional information about spiritual practice and mind training. Sanskrit words have profound meaning, because it is a sacred language.
But I leave unnecessary and unhelpful Sanskrit words on the website that I originally copied from. Some Buddhist scriptures are encumbered by a massive amount of unhelpful and unnecessary verbiage, often as repetitions.
In July 2021, I managed to find time, energy and inspiration to provide new word-for-word translation for two of the shortest Upanishads. This is a big leap forward for progressive Dharma, for the Upanishads have big influence in Hindu philosophy, and help explain much of their teachings.
My teachings at the Yoga center in Bundaberg also included Kirtan sessions, using recorded music by renown Kirtan musicians. The mantras are nearly all from Hinduism, and therefore I had to study Hindu material and introduce it into my writings on spiritual practice. The historical Buddha Siddhatta Gotama lived 2500 years ago in what is now northern India, where early Hinduism was the prevailing religion. This accounts for the similarity between Hindu and Buddhist themes, and I look for the common ground between these two Eastern religions, so that both may make their separate contribution to the common understanding.
In 2019 I adapted Buddhist themes on meditation to suit the new approach. In October 2021 I had opportunity, after very extensive delays, to rewrite this material to properly express the themes of mantra-translate.
The major deficiencies of this website are now rectified, and the minor ones that still remain can remind us that writings about Dharma will never be “perfect”. However, I often revisit the material, and usually find something that needs improvement. Then I make small but important corrections and additions. This means that this website is not static, but slowly developing in quality rather than quantity. I have written only two new webpages since early 2021, and two more pages in 2024, for mantra-translate.
I am very glad I have invested so much time and energy on this re-writing, for visits leaped from 10 – 20 visits per week in early 2020 to 150 visits per week in mid 2021 ! By early 2022 it had risen yet further to 300 visits per week, and to 350 people per week by late 2022. Now 400 people visit per week, in mid 2024. Most people visit only page per visit, and I encourage this. Please do not be tempted nor driven to rush hurriedly thru the Dharma. Please allow your mind to slow down, take rest, and move towards refreshing and rejuvenating inner peace. The rest of the material on this website can wait until another time.
The Buddhist Society and Monastery.
My Training in Meditation.
I trained at the Buddhist Society of Victoria in the 1980’s, and the Buddhist Society of Western Australia in the 1990’s. These Buddhist Societies are Theravadan Buddhism, whose scriptures are in Pali, not Sanskrit. pāỊi is a less melodious accent or dialect of Sanskrit. So most of my Buddhist references are from this Theravadan Pali Canon, where Buddha is the historical sage who lived 2500 years ago in what is now northern India. He is called Siddharta Gautama in Sanskrit, and Siddhatta Gotama in Pali.
Although neither Buddhist society provides meditation teacher training, they do offer a really solid foundation to meditation training. The emphasis is on taking personal responsibility to still and train the mind. We always entered the meditation hall in silence, then sit in silence for 30 to 60 minutes with the other meditators. There was no leader constantly reminding you to set aside thought and return to the meditation object.
I decided from the start to train to become a meditation adept. There was something about these Buddhist societies that encouraged such commitment.
Now I have 39 years of daily meditation practice since 1982, to the extent that meditation consciousness is as familiar as normal consciousness.
Both these Buddhist societies have owned their own center or vihāra = sacred space, since the early 1980’s. They had two sessions per week for people to meditate together in the meditation hall.
They also offered weekend and week long retreats, several per year. I would go every week to the Vihara and attend all retreats offered, in addition to retreats by other Buddhist groups.
These were silent, residential, rural meditation retreats. Typically we would all start meditating at 6 am and finish around 9 pm. There would be one or two talks per day by the leader, plus breaks for breakfast and lunch. Meditation sessions would last 90 to 120 minutes, of sitting meditation in the hall alternating with walking meditation outside. No one would speak at all for the entire retreat, apart from the teacher and retreat manager. This Noble Silence was lifted 2 hours before we left to go home.
The silence of Mind that we could achieve on these retreats was really profound, and very healing.
My training in meditation culminated in 500 days and nights of intense meditation training while staying in their monastery near Perth, WA, 1999 to 2001.
For me, this meant meditating all day and all night, every day and every night, with only 6 hours nightly sleep. I had quite minimal monastic and personal duties. For Bodhinyana monastery is a forest meditation training monastery. Only at such a place could I achieve such long hours of meditation training.
I developed a system to evaluate the depth of stillness of my own meditation. This showed that I could meditate twice as deeply for twice as long in the monastery, compared to meditating in ordinary forest not far from the monastery. It would be many times deeper and longer compared to meditating in the flats I have rented in Perth. This shows the very important resource that Bodhinyana monastery offers to the committed meditator.
My Training in Buddhist Themes.
I attended some 150 talks by some of the best Buddhist speakers who taught in Australia at that time. Some were visitors from overseas. There were about 20 speakers in all. These Dharma talks were always listened to with deep respect, with no interruptions by the audience. They were 40 – 60 minutes long, delivered without haste.
We always had a 30 to 60 minute silent meditation preceding these talks.
No one took written notes during these talks. Consequently, it was quite difficult to recall the actual topics talked about, even at the time, let alone 20 to 30 years later.
Nor did any of these speakers have any written notes to guide their talk. The purpose of these Dharma talks is not to learn the doctrine and scriptures of the Religion. That could be obtained by privately motivated study of the books in the library of the Buddhist Society, now online.
These Dharma talks were an opportunity to hear talk that takes the mind to healing stillness and refreshing inner Peace, and to develop a respect for Peace and to value it. We would hear themes that supported inner peace, clarity, good will, determination and respect for people.
These speakers were Buddhist monks or nuns, or ex monks. This branch of Buddhism is cleriocentric. The role of the “lay people” is to listen to and support the monks, not give talks themselves nor discuss the Dharma. With rare exception.
Consequently, if there was no monk staying at the Buddhist Society of Victoria, there was no Dharma talks, and quite low attendance.
Before the Buddhist Society Days.
I studied medical science at the University in Melbourne from 1977 to 1980, and left school in 1975. These studies developed the analytical mind and probably improved his ability to write stuff like this.
It also greatly aggravated compulsive thinking. I had my first experience of the Silent mind on my first meditation retreat in 1982. It lasted an entire minute. Up to that point, my mind thought all the time, all day every day, with very little break at all.
The relief from such a burden of compulsive thinking was incredibly profound. It was the critical experience that led to a lifetime commitment to daily meditation training.
Now much of my time is spent in the Silent Mind, free from all thought. Clear, bright, still, alert, and Awake. And very happy to be like this. Such refreshing and rejuvenating inner peace has a value beyond measure.
My Training in Meditation.
I trained at the Buddhist Society of Victoria in the 1980’s, and the Buddhist Society of Western Australia in the 1990’s. These Buddhist Societies are Theravadan Buddhism, whose scriptures are in Pali, not Sanskrit. pāỊi is a less melodious accent or dialect of Sanskrit. So most of my Buddhist references are from this Theravadan Pali Canon, where Buddha is the historical sage who lived 2500 years ago in what is now northern India. He is called Siddharta Gautama in Sanskrit, and Siddhatta Gotama in Pali.
Although neither Buddhist society provides meditation teacher training, they do offer a really solid foundation to meditation training. The emphasis is on taking personal responsibility to still and train the mind. We always entered the meditation hall in silence, then sit in silence for 30 to 60 minutes with the other meditators. There was no leader constantly reminding you to set aside thought and return to the meditation object.
I decided from the start to train to become a meditation adept. There was something about these Buddhist societies that encouraged such commitment.
Now I have 39 years of daily meditation practice since 1982, to the extent that meditation consciousness is as familiar as normal consciousness.
Both these Buddhist societies have owned their own center or vihāra = sacred space, since the early 1980’s. They had two sessions per week for people to meditate together in the meditation hall.
They also offered weekend and week long retreats, several per year. I would go every week to the Vihara and attend all retreats offered, in addition to retreats by other Buddhist groups.
These were silent, residential, rural meditation retreats. Typically we would all start meditating at 6 am and finish around 9 pm. There would be one or two talks per day by the leader, plus breaks for breakfast and lunch. Meditation sessions would last 90 to 120 minutes, of sitting meditation in the hall alternating with walking meditation outside. No one would speak at all for the entire retreat, apart from the teacher and retreat manager. This Noble Silence was lifted 2 hours before we left to go home.
The silence of Mind that we could achieve on these retreats was really profound, and very healing.
My training in meditation culminated in 500 days and nights of intense meditation training while staying in their monastery near Perth, WA, 1999 to 2001.
For me, this meant meditating all day and all night, every day and every night, with only 6 hours nightly sleep. I had quite minimal monastic and personal duties. For Bodhinyana monastery is a forest meditation training monastery. Only at such a place could I achieve such long hours of meditation training.
I developed a system to evaluate the depth of stillness of my own meditation. This showed that I could meditate twice as deeply for twice as long in the monastery, compared to meditating in ordinary forest not far from the monastery. It would be many times deeper and longer compared to meditating in the flats I have rented in Perth. This shows the very important resource that Bodhinyana monastery offers to the committed meditator.
My Training in Buddhist Themes.
I attended some 150 talks by some of the best Buddhist speakers who taught in Australia at that time. Some were visitors from overseas. There were about 20 speakers in all. These Dharma talks were always listened to with deep respect, with no interruptions by the audience. They were 40 – 60 minutes long, delivered without haste.
We always had a 30 to 60 minute silent meditation preceding these talks.
No one took written notes during these talks. Consequently, it was quite difficult to recall the actual topics talked about, even at the time, let alone 20 to 30 years later.
Nor did any of these speakers have any written notes to guide their talk. The purpose of these Dharma talks is not to learn the doctrine and scriptures of the Religion. That could be obtained by privately motivated study of the books in the library of the Buddhist Society, now online.
These Dharma talks were an opportunity to hear talk that takes the mind to healing stillness and refreshing inner Peace, and to develop a respect for Peace and to value it. We would hear themes that supported inner peace, clarity, good will, determination and respect for people.
These speakers were Buddhist monks or nuns, or ex monks. This branch of Buddhism is cleriocentric. The role of the “lay people” is to listen to and support the monks, not give talks themselves nor discuss the Dharma. With rare exception.
Consequently, if there was no monk staying at the Buddhist Society of Victoria, there was no Dharma talks, and quite low attendance.
Before the Buddhist Society Days.
I studied medical science at the University in Melbourne from 1977 to 1980, and left school in 1975. These studies developed the analytical mind and probably improved his ability to write stuff like this.
It also greatly aggravated compulsive thinking. I had my first experience of the Silent mind on my first meditation retreat in 1982. It lasted an entire minute. Up to that point, my mind thought all the time, all day every day, with very little break at all.
The relief from such a burden of compulsive thinking was incredibly profound. It was the critical experience that led to a lifetime commitment to daily meditation training.
Now much of my time is spent in the Silent Mind, free from all thought. Clear, bright, still, alert, and Awake. And very happy to be like this. Such refreshing and rejuvenating inner peace has a value beyond measure.
These Days.
Now I am (semi) retired in my mid sixties, and the body is not what it used to be. I live in my beautiful home in my secluded forested valley, 25 km from Gin Gin, south east Queensland. This is a home-without-walls – just roofs except where walls are needed for the store rooms and the bedroom. It is the most practical home design, to access the full healing power of time spent with the Ancient Mother, and for reasons of money and the time needed to build. It’s also nice and simple.
As I sit here in my dining room, I have a full 180 degree view of the surrounding forest and valley, with the nearest trees only meters away. The forest continues throughout my home without break. I just fitted in with the existing trees when I came here 10 years ago. No need to repeat the forest destruction of men of my own language group.
I am very grateful that my income is now good and provides abundance, for the first time in my life. Accommodation, food and other necessary costs are all covered. In addition, I can now afford to pay for car repairs by proper mechanics, replace my deep cycle batteries when they fail, and buy crafted new musical instruments for concerts in Gin Gin.
Due to chronic illness throughout my thirties, I learned long ago to train the palette and preference for food to eat only what my body needs for its nourishment. I simply cannot afford to eat pseudo food, or even the wrong food types and meals. My digestion will immediately rebel, and what little strength I have will simply vanish from my body.
So proper eating is an essential part of purification practice for me. It’s simple really - just eat real food and more alkalining food. Leave the junk on the supermarket shelves, where it belongs.
My Work in Recent Years.
After completing mantra-translate.org, I immediately started another massive research-and-writing project on climate issues. I have laboured long and hard on this project, to the point of exhaustion, for protection of Mother Nature is an essential part of spiritual practice of these times.
I explored all technologies that can play a critical role in a Climate Responsible future, primarily for our country of Australia where many of our talented Kirtan musicians come from. I read numerous technical articles by engineers, and tried to present the technology so that ordinary non-engineers might understand them. Understand their potentials and their limitations, so that we may identify false claims about these technologies. These are either new technologies, often at experimental level, or existing technologies used in new ways. I used only technologies of mainstream acceptance.
I am currently exploring just how serious the climate disasters will be for Australia and globally, by this time next century, should we continue our fossil fuel dependency unchanged. “State of the Climate” by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology is easy to read, but only says that climate change that has already happened will continue into the future. The politics in the BOM are not favourable to provide detailed projections.
IPCC, the international scientific body on climate change, does provide detailed projections to 2100, with clear statements on how likely or unlikely these projections are. But the supporting information for these projections is buried in IPCC technical reports, which are thousands of pages long, and are very difficult to read. A fast skim through is likely to reveal no understanding at all. Very many hours of quality time must be allocated to discover clear proof of these IPCC projections. I hope to complete this task by late 2024, so I can write them up for my new website.
But the most exhausting part of this climate work is the attitude of the people. Much can be done to achieve a climate responsible future, but little or none will be done until the common people see the need for it.
I regret to report that most people I have spoken to are already under the influence of anti-climate forces, bent on preserving selfish unsustainable fossil fuel privileges. At the expense of survival chances of future generations, in future centuries. And most of these people are in the ‘alternative’ scene, in my local town of rural Queensland, in urban Brisbane and even northern NSW. Whether they broach the topic or I broach it. And I have discovered, from this experience, that I do not suffer fools gladly. I have been forced to avoid the topic, until I know for sure what these lengthy IPCC reports actually say.
I regret to say that the power of anti-climate forces, who exploit the information vacuum generated by Government Ministers, has taken real toll on my peace of mind, and my enjoyment of life. Now, in mid 2024, my priority is on healing and recovery, not getting more work done.
Best wishes fr Mike B.
