Ayya Khema (August 25, 1923 - November 2, 1997) was a profoundly gifted teacher. Born in Germany to Jewish parents, she survived the Nazis, travelled the world until in Sri Lanka she became a Buddhist nun. She later survived cancer and taught tirelessly until her death.  Dhamma talk from Buddhist Summer School 1991. Recorded on cassette tape  -  repaired & remastered by Metta Bhavana 2013. Free distribution only. May all beings prosper!

A Brief Introduction To Meditation - Ayya Khema

Part two. To read more Dhamma talks from Ayya Khema , go here: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/khema/herenow.html

Introduction To Meditation 2 - Calm and Insight: a method is a method by any name

My father used to sing this song to me.  As a Fallon, only two removes from Ireland, I can claim it is part of my cultural inheritance. I even find myself staggeringly veering towards the lost accent of my grandfather when I sing it. This is the original Galway Bay written by Dr Arthur Colahan and made popular in 1949 by Bing Crosby and more recently Dolores Keane.  My arrangement rejects the sickly Englishness of the usual chords and seeks out something more Gaelic or modal.  It is played in DADGAD tuning with some drop-in fills towards the end. 

Galway Bay

"It is just as if a man, traveling along a wilderness track, were to see an ancient path, an ancient road, traveled by people of former times. He would follow it. Following it, he would see an ancient city, an ancient capital inhabited by people of former times, complete with parks, groves, & ponds, walled, delightful. He would go to address the king or the king's minister, saying, 'Sire,  I saw an ancient city... complete with parks, groves, & ponds, walled, delightful. Sire, rebuild that city!' The king or king's minister would rebuild the city, so that at a later date the city would become powerful, rich, & well-populated, fully grown & prosperous." 

The ancient city is a simile for awakening.

 http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn12/sn12.065.than.html#city

Ancient City-Metta Bhavana

Haven of Peace is a continuation of a series of technically generated atmospheres arrived at through spontaneous composition. Recorded on Ardour and compressed and prepared for release on Audacity.  

Joy of Friendship is a non-technical atmosphere arrived at through spontaneous interplay of Tim Brosnan's 12-string improvisation and Metta Bhavana's 6-string evocation of ancient Raga forms.