Akuppa, John Wigham
I am a member of the Western Buddhist Order living in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Amongst other things, I teach meditation and Buddhism at Newcastle Buddhist Centre and as a chaplain to two local prisons.
Akuppa is the name given to me when I joined the Order in 2000. John Wigham is the name given to me when I arrived on the planet in 1962. I happily use both.
On this website, I write about some of the things that interest and inspire me and the ways I spend my time. One of my main interests is how Buddhism leads to a deeper care for the natural world (I was an environmentalist long before I was a Buddhist). This has led me to talk and write on the subject, and to be involved in open air retreats with Buddhafield. In recent years, I’ve been involved with friends in ‘the Work that Reconnects’ - an approach to personal and ecological change pioneered by Joanna Macy.
You can find my flickr photo page here and you can spy on what music I’m listening to at the moment courtesy of last.fm here.
“All the suffering in this world originates from a narrow wish for one’s own happiness. All happiness in this world originates from the wish for the happiness of others.”
- Santideva
Over time, what I’ve come to appreciate more and more about the Buddha’s teachings is that it is a path of personal change that also liberates one’s potential to bring about change in the world. Transforming oneself and transforming the world are essentially one path - or, to use the Buddha’s analogy - they are like the two wings of a bird.
I became interested in Buddhism because of its tolerance and radical freedom from dogma. And also because I find meditation so simply enjoyable, and it seems to do me some good too.
