Triratna
LiteratureNovels, poetry, and other creative works by members of the Triratna Buddhist Order
Buddhists are probably better known for meditation, for Dharma talks – perhaps for poetry, even social activism…
But not detective stories, surely, or science fiction? Scroll on to discover how wrong you are!
We’re delighted to present a selection of poetry by members of the Triratna Buddhist Order, followed by novels further down the page…
Poetry by members of the Order
amazing – and unexpected!
No Toast, No Marmalade - poems by Srimala
Deft, shrewd, deeply-felt, comic and painful poetry by Srimala, written mostly from Maes Gwyn, her hermitage in North Wales. Available direct from Srimala, srimalabooks@gmail.com.
Rites of Passage
Poems by Vidyavajra. Paperback, available from the author via Triratna InHouse.
Rilke in translation
Rilke’s Duino Elegies and Sonnets to Orpheus, translated by Satyadaka. Paperback, available from the author via Triratna InHouse.
Sitting On - poems by Amaya
Poetry by Amaya, a Buddhist writer who lives and works in Cambridge and has been writing poetry since his early twenties. Available in paperback.
An Average Morning in the Galaxy
A collection of transformative poetry by a leading exponent of the genre (who also happens to be Triratna’s longest-standing Order Member!) Poems have been called urgent, loving and shadowed by death; visionary, finely crafted, they come from moments of deep awareness, and touch the heart. Unlike anything else you will find in contemporary writing.
Ananda, 234 pages, available in paperback.
The Crumb Road
Maitreyabandhu’s thematically varied debut collection includes poems of spiritual transcendence as well as meditations on love, memory and sexuality. A Poetry Book Society Recommendation.
80 pages, available in paperback.
Yarn
Maitreyabandhu
Yarn is about the stories we tell. Collected around three dramatic monologues – The Cattle Farmer’s Tale, The Travellers from Orissa and Aaron’s Brother – Yarn includes an extended sequence of elegies, an account of a Warwickshire childhood and two stories about the Buddha.
112 pages, available in paperback.
Te Ao Hurihuri
An Ancestral Mosaic – glimpses of a New Zealand war bride’s stolen world, by Satyadevi. This imaginative cultural memoir uses scattered time frames and shifting voices to evoke war-torn themes: love, loss, redemption, forgiveness, and above all, the courage vital to survive our own human error. Available in paperback.
Whatever Happened to Harold Absalon?
One of the strangest novels you’re likely to read in a very long time – and the first in this extraordinary trilogy. Harold Absalon, the Mayor’s Transport advisor, has gone missing. Down-at-heel detective Marguerite is trying to find him. Aware that his every action is being monitored by those reading the novel, Marguerite’s mind and world is at constant risk of disintegration. Disturbed by attempts to understand himself and the nature of the objects he encounters, Marguerite’s minute and comically digressive inquiries threaten his very existence… Manjusiha, 212 pages, available in paperback and kindle.
Followed by…
In the Absence of Absalon
Green Eros
A delightful novel about love, philosophy and men. Dhivan, 216 pages. Available in paperback.
Eglantine Dream
Dhivan’s second novel, Eglantine Dream, is an intriguing symbolic fantasy, set in a world of denial. “A highly original and well-worked symbolic exploration of dualism”.
Available in paperback.
An Amber Lamp
In this collection of selected poems & stories, Dhivan shares a decade of creative writing – on landscape and forest, friendship and meditation, bird-watching and love – including a sequence written in the voice of Milton’s Satan.
Available in paperback.
The Deal Runner
Manjusvara is better-known for his poetry and leadership of the Wolf in the Door writing retreats. But there was always more: The Deal Runner is his posthumous novel, published by his friend Amalavajra. Read on… Having left the police force under a cloud, Gist struggles to make his living as a private detective in Bristol. A photograph of a glamorous blonde, his house trashed and £10,000 stuffed in a brown envelope set him on a trail at last. But to where? Is this woman really asking him to bring back her dead brother? Gist is soon embroiled with Bobby Marks – a rich-kid with a seeming taste for the low-life – and a local cop, Di Fisher, who may or may not be corrupt. He will need poetry, an ancient Buddhist parable, and an honest look into his own heart to solve this case.
Available in paperback.
The 'Blue Walls of Heaven' trilogy, Volume I: Error Message
Triratna’s longest-ordained member, Ananda, is also a poet and novelist, creator of the ‘Blue Walls of Heaven’ trilogy… In Error Message, the first volume, Adam Stone hears unearthly voices in his head, which turn out to be highly intelligent aliens from the distant Owl Nebula. The aliens intend to reconfigure human DNA with non-violent pathways, and so render humanity peaceful and fit to join the cosmic community of civilized races. But they make a huge mistake in asking Adam to be their ambassador. For one thing, he has fallen in love with his best friend’s wife…
Available in paperback.
Volume II: Egg Man
Volume II, Egg Man. Available in paperback.
Volume III: The Seventh Angel
Volume III: The Seventh Angel, available in paperback.
