Oh yes, around that time I also heard one of the last Sydney talks by Lama Yeshe, who was an electrifying presence, and who I think had a big influence on my subsequent development (even though only saw him once - salutations to him also.) At this time I was enrolled as a mature-age student at the University, studying Comparative Religion, Philosophy, Anthropology, Psychology and History, eventually graduating with an Hons in comparative religion, which was a superbly useless degree to get, and left me casting about for what to do for a living for years afterwards. (I eventually found my way into the technology industry and am now a tech writer.)
From that time on I carried on a daily meditation practice, albeit fitfully at times. Got married in 1983. Next milestone was getting To Meet the Real Dragon by Nishijima-roshi (salutations to him.) I even wrote to Nishijima-roshi, way back before there was email, and got a nice reply from him (I never did get the follow-up he mentioned, although I'm still up for it).
Anyway I've stayed with the daily practice since then (actually my 'meditation app' tells me I have had a session on 69% of days since I first downloaded it in 2013) and continue to learn through it. In 2007 or so I started going to an informal 'dharma sharing group' which is now based at the Buddhist Library in Sydney; we meet every second month on a Sunday and someone does a presentation. (Our blog is here.) And I did a Master of Buddhist Studies at the University of Sydney in 2011-12 under the able guidance of Mark Allon (salutations to him.)
I have a lot of interest in traditional (as distinct from modern!!) philosophy and have a strong affinity for what is called 'neo-platonism', which is mainly only understood by academics and Eastern Orthodox monastics nowadays. But there are many parallels between neo-platonism and Mahayana Buddhism, as discussed in books such as the Tibetan Book of the Great Liberation and also Thomas McEvilly's The Shape of Ancient Thought.
But my daily practice is very simple, based on Nishijima-roshi and Suzuki-roshi's guidelines: bow, chant, sit. And repeat.....Curiously, if I just do that, everything just works. The only obstacles are inevitably those which I create.
Thanks for reading.

