In giving, we receive
We can’t change reality, but we can change the way we experience it. This gentle but powerful insight abides at the heart of the Buddha’s teachings.
It’s a wisdom that has always resonated with me, especially the paradoxical notion that the surest way to find happiness is to give it to others.
During the past twenty years I have tried to share such inspiration through The Dalai Lama’s Cat series of books, The Magician of Lhasa series, Instant Karma: The day it happened, and a number of non-fiction books, now published in over 30 languages and 50 countries.
The Dalai Lama’s Cat & Other Intrigues
I launched this newsletter on Substack in March 2022 to share the same inspiration in a different format.
What you get
If you sign up as a reader, my commitment to you is that you will receive an email once or twice a month when I share a public post or news update.
If you decide to become a paying subscriber, you’ll receive a fresh story or article every Saturday. These include mouse-size musings ‘by’ the Dalai Lama’s Cat which you won’t find anywhere else; stories from my evolving Africa Buddha book; a Buddhist Advice Column where I respond to reader questions about how to apply Buddhist teachings to real life problems; favourite teachings from the Buddhist tradition; weekend contemplations; book recommendations and many other intrigues as well.
What you give
For our little virtual community of animal-loving, spiritually aware people that has grown around this newletter, what we give is as important as what we get. I offer around 40% of my Substack income to four charities - two that support animals in Africa, and two for the benefit of Himalayan Buddhist causes. In 2022 this amounted to around $25,000. This year (2023) we have collectively donated $35,000.
Nothing gives me greater pleasure than being able to share the informal impact reports on the difference that your subscription money makes to people who live in very challenging circumstances. In the case of all four charities, I personally know their founders, so am confident that they make every dollar we give them stretch!
The cost of a paid subscription is just US$7 a month, or is 16% lower if you choose the annual rate of US$70.
The Dalai Lama's Cat & Other Intrigues by David Michie is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
The Dalai Lama's Cat & Other Intrigues by David Michie is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
About me
I was born and brought up in Zimbabwe, Africa, lived in London for ten years and have been based in Perth, Australia since 1998. I always felt a closeneness to animals and when I was young I read every book I could find by Gerald Durrell and James Herriot.
Most of my professional life was spent doing communications work for financial services companies. I began meditating for stress management reasons in my 30s. Without knowing it at the time, this started me on a journey which connected me to Tibetan Buddhism.
As a communicator, I wanted to share my wonder at all the insights I was learning from my teachers. This led to my first book in the genre: Buddhism for Busy People. While promoting it, and subsequent books like Hurry Up and Meditate I found that many people interested in these subjects often don’t read non-fiction in their spare time.
Hence the novels which I so enjoy writing: The Dalai Lama’s Cat series, thrillers like The Magician of Lhasa, and most recently Instant Karma: The day it happened. I believe that fiction is an ideal medium to engage readers’ hearts and imaginations as well as their intellects. What’s more, storytelling is part of a long tradition of spiritual teaching, where inner, subtle process become easier to understand when externalised in metaphors and parables.
Since 2015, I have been returning home to Africa with groups on Mindful Safaris, combining my love of animals, meditation and the extraordinary natural vistas of my homeland, including Victoria Falls.
Supported charities
As a paying subscriber, you will be supporting the following four charities. To read more about them, click on the hyperlinks (underlined names):
Wild is Life - home to the Zimbabwe Elephant Nursery, which rescues and rewilds baby elephants who have been orphaned, often in the most traumatic circumstances.
Twala Trust Animal Sanctuary - supporting indigenous animals as well as free food and vet care to over 600 dogs living in extremely disadvantaged communities.
Dongyu Gyatsal Ling Initiatives - supporting Buddhist nuns in the Himalaya regions, who traditionally receive far less financial help than their monastic brothers.
Gaden Relief - supporting Buddhist communities in need personally known to my lama, Zasep Tulku Rinpoche. Active in India, Nepal, Mongolia and Tibet.
If you’d dearly love to become a paid subscriber but can’t afford to, please email me at: safari@davidmichie.com
Please consider becoming part of our growing, virtual community at The Dalai Lama’s Cat & Other Intrigues.
Together, readers around the world are building something that really matters. I hope you join us!
May all beings have happiness and the true causes of happiness.
May all beings be free from suffering and the true causes of suffering.
May all beings never be parted from the happiness that is beyond suffering.
May all beings abide in peace and equanimity, their minds free from attachment, aversion and free from indifference.
May love, compassion, joy and equanimity pervade the hearts and minds of all limitless beings throughout universal space.