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Clarke Scott is a fully ordained Buddhist monk trained in the Tibetan tradition. A student of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Clarke has received personal instructions—direct one-to-one instructions—on Madhyamaka philosophy and meditation from His Holiness. Recently Clarke moved to Tasmania to pursue a Ph.D in Buddhist philosophy from the University of Tasmania.

News From Windy Ole Hobart

Today is a good day. If only because a book I have been waiting on has arrived ahead of time. Published in 1964 The Self in Indian Philosophy is an scholarly survey of the different notions of self according to the various schools of…well…Indian philosophy, but I guess that was pretty obvious.

As some of you may know, my thesis is focused on Personal Identity. In particular the tension between the Buddhist theory of selflessness and the givenness of first person experience. This book will help me better understand the different views on selfhood according to the non-Buddhist philosophical school of ancient India.

Talking about deconstruction. Boy, is it windy here. Hobart gets these wind gusts that I have never experienced. The other day a part of a tin roof was ripped off a building very close to the cafe. An area of the university that is generally packed with people. Luckily, it was the first day of semester break, so all the undergraduates were off doing whatever 20-somethings do. It could have been a very dark day indeed if not for this fact.

Besides the wind, Hobart is a pretty city with a population of just over 200,000. Although Hobart is the capital city of a state of Australia, it really is just a country town. Which by the way, is why I like living here. Unfortunately, however, there is not much by way of a sangha community here. Maybe this will change over time. For now though, I’m pretty much on my own. Tasmania is the ideal place for meditation retreats, and given there is basically no weekly meditation courses or classes on basic Buddhist philosophy, the people of Hobart, I feel, could really do with something that could cater for this. Perhaps, in time a monastery and dharma center can be built here.

On other news. I have moved into another room in the house that the university found for me (see the above photo). It is a great little space, with a wonderful view over the university football oval (which does get a little noisy on the weekend). I have started to do much of my writing here, as there are less distraction here, than in the university supplied office. And as you can see I’m close enough to still be in walking distance from the coffee shop.

I hope you are all doing well. Till next time…take care!

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