Sunday, June 14, 2015

Meet Don Anderson


 Greetings to Everyone,
My name is Don Anderson and now Live on the Central Coast, NSW, Australia where I moved in 1995 after I returned to Australia having lived and worked overseas for over twenty years. I became interested in Zen originally in the 1970’s while studying karate in the UK with a traditional teacher who emphasised meditation as a key factor in the training. I then read books by Allan Watts and Christmas Humphreys which cultivated my interest in Buddhism further.

A busy time with a family and career which included time in the military, motorsport and later the directorship of several companies meant I lost touch with my studies and it was only my continued participation in martial arts that drew me back to meditation from time to time.

After I returned to Australia I became CEO of a large firm but always felt that there was something missing from my life. The corporate world was stressed and I always felt uncomfortable with the pressure and the effect on myself and my colleagues. Deciding to work overseas again I then spent two years working in the Middle East and Africa in many interesting but often dangerous places but that along with overwork left me more stressed and generally unhappy with life.

Luckily I found a local meditation group and started regular meditation which turned things around for me in a very short time and soon I was happy and enjoying life again. I began attending other schools of Buddhism and their classes and after a time was asked to teach meditation to beginners and courses on using Buddhist practice to deal with stress, anxiety and depression. I also taught general subjects relating to Buddhism as I had taken the precepts and further vows. I am thankful that the teaching made me understand so much about myself and Buddhism in general and helped others but I still felt that something was missing for me personally and I also struggled to accept some of the more traditional teachings and philosophy I heard.

I then heard of and attended the Silky Oak Zendo and met our teacher Hoka Matt Lawther and felt at home and among friends immediately. To me Zen is about the experience and not just the philosophy and I soon realised that Silky Oak Community provided me with the spiritual path I was seeking and I soon committed myself to further practice as a student.

I am very happy to have finally found the type of teachings I was seeking and needed and to be part of the Boundless Mind Zen School.

Yours in Dharma

Don Anderson     

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