A bit about me and how I became the phantom planter.

A bit about me and how I became the phantom planter.

I grew up in a Loyalist housing estate, my father a Protestant and my mother was a Catholic from Ardyone, that had it's complications in itself but I always knew I was a mongrel, a bit different.

My dad was a delboy and from I could walk he had me a mini delboy, from selling round the doors to off loading lorries, street trading and playing part in his delboy tricks to help him sell his dodgy goods. I learned fast how to make money. When I left school I was financially embarrassed for a small time, 1000 pupils to me was 1000 people with a pound in their pockets. I then became a chef for 1 year to keep my wee mum happy but I made more money selling my dads dodgy stuff out the back door, I left and went on my journey to get rich. From then I had chippies, mobile pound shops(great deals on wheels) glow sticks at raves, king Billy kebabs cooked by Pakistani prods on the twelfth, even put red, white and blue food colouring stripes on them, markets, carboots, house clearance, cash for gold, furniture shops, Mattress manufacturing, importing and lots of other stuff.

I was rich by the time I was 21 and when I was 25 had more money than I could ever spend in a lifetime. From 25 till about 35 life was a blur, more money bought me more problems, more addictions and more people around me just for my money. I got fat, unhealthy, angry, unhappy, I was a lost mess, i then hit rock bottom and lost the lot!

I rowed this Viking boat down the river Shannon for a bit of craic one day, I was still an alcoholic mess and was drunk on the boat and when my beer ran out I wanted off, I jumped off like a maniac, knocked on a farmers house for help and a girl answered the door and said something like my god we just seen you walk out of the river, she brought me in and gave me a hot whisky and then asked me was I a Buddhist, I looked at her and said Buddhist? what makes you say that? I was bald but a drunken Buddhist, strange thing to ask. She said there was a Buddhist monastery down the road and she thought I could have been lost. For some reason something sparked in me, like I had to go there. Her uncle give me a lift to get my bags and I went there a drunken mess and stayed with the monks for 3 days, they welcomed me in with a smile, my life changed that day!

The Buddha provided me with all the tools I needed to change my life, Made me realise that everything was my own fault, we make our own problems in life, no one else is to blame but us!

My mind was blown by how these monks can live so simply and happily!

The rat race was no longer for me, how I was living was not in harmony with nature and our world, I was a parasite, using mother nature like filth, take, take, take without even thinking of the impact I was having, all for what, so I could get my next illusionary fix, desire, selfish passion!

Buddhism has open my eyes and mind massively, our world is a mess with greed and self gratification, all in a rush to go where? Buzzing around with no sense at all of the damage we are doing to our souls and our planet, Feeding our ego with meaningless crap which are of no benefit to anyone but our own selfish self.

I set this page up to share my journey and the way of the Buddha, I'm not here to make money or sell anything, my days of selling the earths resources to feed my habits and ego are well gone!

Buddhism is a beautiful way of life, it's brought me to a place no money ever could have bought and when your thoughts and actions are of benefit to the world in return the world and everything in it will benefit you. No one has ever became poor by giving. Love all equally without attachment. Be of service to your community and the world around you. It's not what life can give you it's what you can give life.

Thats what Buddhism has taught me.

As big D says the world has enough successful people, we need more lovers and peacemakers!