Articles in Buddhism
Buddhist Retreat Centre: flavour and mindfulness
Fruitful days and mindful nights at the BRC. Photo Wanda Hennig
Too many chefs. Zen food. Monkey thieves. Ensconced. Sangoma recipes. …
The CBT mouth orgasm scale
Eating mindfully is the key to healthy eating and no-diet weight loss. Zen memoir, Cravings, inspires CBT expert Helen Perry to share her unique and effective ‘conscious eating’ tool: the mouth orgasm scale.
SAfm Otherwise: Shado Twala speaks to Wanda Hennig about Cravings (Podcast)
‘Shado’s interviews are more of a conversation than a straight Q&A. The interview will be about the book; how it came about and what it deals with. From depression to social phobia to meditation, celibacy, etc,’ SAfm Otherwise producer Hazel Makuzeni said. I was blown away that Otherwise host Shado Twala had read my book (Cravings: A Zen-inspired memoir…)—and liked it. And, might I say, ”got it”—in the sense that one writes memoir (“one” meaning “I”, natch…) to reach and express one’s truths. Knowing that it will speak to some people. Not to others. Hoping it will speak to “the right people” in an affirming, empowering way…
Cravings: A Zen-inspired memoir…
In this insightful gem, journalist and life coach Wanda Hennig writes wisely, hilariously and sometimes poignantly about sex and food; living for three-and-a-half years at the San Francisco Zen Center; moving solo from one continent to another; meditation; creative mindfulness strategies and more. Cravings: A Zen-inspired memoir about sensual pleasures, freedom from dark places, and living and eating with abandon (Say Yes Press). Edition Two (Mouth Orgasm edition) published August 2017 (ISBN 9780996820523 paperback; ISBN 9780996820523 eBook).
Zen, mindfulness and overcoming depression
Current brain research and the discovery that neurons that fire together, wire together is producing concrete evidence for something Buddhist practitioners have maintained for centuries: the sustained practice of mindfulness can change the workings of the brain at a molecular level and allow people to achieve different levels of awareness. In light of this the San Francisco Zen Center has been offering mindfulness and depression workshops for the past ten years.
Plentiful: The Big Book of Buddha Food launch notes
Plentiful: The Big Book of Buddha Food (Jacana) is the Buddhist Retreat Center’s third cookbook. Plentiful was launched at Adams Bookstore in Durban by journalist and longtime Zen student Wanda Hennig. Plentiful’s chef is Paul Atkinson. Editor is Chrisi van Loon. Photographer is Angela Shaw.
Foodies and yogis head for South African Buddhist Retreat
Pudding and Prana had us do a lot of yoga with Amy Best and cooking demos (followed by eating) with Paul Atkinson. Vegetarian curries and a Moroccan stew. A beet and feta salad. A “bejeweled’ cous cous. Poached pears in a yummy rich chocolate baked pie topped with whipped cream blended with double-cream yogurt. All were recipes he had perfected while working in the Buddhist Retreat Center kitchen and were destined for Plentiful: The Big Book of Buddha Food (Jacana).
Thailand travel 27: Wat Plai Laem, Mr Pong and the Big Buddha
My outsize shibori scarf is the most useful item in my luggage. You can use it to cover your shoulders at the Big Buddha temple in Koh Samui, sit on it on grubby bus seats, keep the sun off your arms and shoulders with it, don it in the evening to add a touch of elegance, dry yourself with it, wipe your hands on it when you’ve eaten, use to to keep you warm when the breeze comes up of an evening and lots more.
Laos travel 24: Laung Prabang alms parade and morning market
The morning market opens at 6am, just after Sai Bat. To quote from the official Luang Prabang website: Lao cuisine draws almost exclusively on fresh foods. Few homes traditionally have refrigerators and modern supermarkets are rare. So at this market, you’ll find every possible type of food regionally available, including an amazing mushroom selection. Everything fresh is seasonal.
Laos 23: Massage and monk chat
When I see a young monk sitting at a little table inside a temple ground reading, I smile and he smiles and says Hello across the short distance and the wall. And tells me he is practicing his English and invites me to come and check the book he’s taken from the library. His English is good and his name is Bakh and he says he became a monk to get an education and he is turning 19 the next day. He is from a Mekong village where they had no high school.
