If you take care of each moment, you will take care of all time.

In case you're wondering the blog title is a quotation from the Buddha and is appropriate to today as I visited the Samye Ling Tibetan Centre . This is hidden in the depths of the Dumfries & Galloway countryside and the drive to it (about 50 miles) was on another (B709) of those single track winding roads that I love so much, going up and down dale, both figuratively and literally speaking.

Driving along these hidden gems in the Scottish countryside is one of my greatest delights, even though it requires your full attention as far as the driving is concerned. Fortunately there are few cars and my main obstacles were in the shape of cattlegrids, sheep, phaesants and even a gaggle of ducks. The only other people on these lanes are also there to admire the view so everyone is going very slowly which is just as well!
I went to the Tibetan Centre to visit an artist studio, open for the Spring Fling ("Scotlands's premier art and craft open studios event", I'm quoting from the brochure here!). In this one studio 2 artists exhibited their work. One a painter (Bella Green) and the other a textile artist specializing in felt (Helen Hastings). I completely fell in love with one of Bella's paintings (a mainly red painting feauring various elements of Venice) but as it was £200 I just about managed to resist this temptation although I did buy one of Helen's felt brooches (a bargain at £5).

I then had Choco Aztec tea with a vegetarian pastie (a strange combination but both very delicious) in the Tibetan Teashop. A visit to the Tibetan shop was next on the agenda. Despite the Buddha advocating finding enlightenment within yourself, there were many, many books for sale to help you find it and I bought Buddha's Little Instruction Book from where I took the title of this blog. Various prayer flags also came home with me to hang in our courtyard. Pictures will follow once they're up. I'm strictly not religious but if I had to lean towards any of the world's religions it would be Buddhism. It is a very peaceful belief system, as opposed to most of the other ones! Also no god(s)!
More wildlife got in my way when I tried to leave as a peacock was admiring himself in the blackness (even though it was not very clean!) of my car. I shoed him away several times but he was back by the time I strapped myself in again so in the end I needed the help of a Tibetan monk before heading back!

On the way home I sort of passed a second-hand book shop. Okay, I made a point of passing it!! And peace finally descended for me when I entered the shop and set too. I know Buddha abhorred all material possessions but me, I need my books (and before I get any comments, all that other stuff I'm so happy to own!) Today the finds just kept on coming. A vintage songbook, 3 vintage newspapers (early 19th C), a 19th C. book about Venice (sorry, I can't leave these behind despite already owning one copy of this one, but the one I obtained today was older), two bound editions of magazines (The Badminton Magazine of Sports & Pastimes, 1895, and The Harmsworth Magazine, no date but my estimate is end of the 19th C).Last but by no means least I swooped down on The Imitation of Christ (very, very Catholic!!), dating from 1882 and with pictures like the ones shown above on each and every page! As I had not spend £200 on that painting I really felt I deserved to spend the £32 to obtain all these beautiful books. The mind might contain all possiblities (another quotation from the Buddha) but the outside world has quite as much to offer in my humble opinion! I scanned a random page to show you and guess what it read at the top of the page: "Of self-denial". Do I need to say more?? Good thing I'm not a Catholic!