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Helen Burns

Goodreads Author

Born

in Australia

Website

https://www.authorhelenburns.com/

Genre

Travel, Memoir, Fiction

Member Since

May 2013

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/heleneburns

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Helen Burns’ interest in Eastern traditions turned serious in 1975. She devoted three years to Asian Studies with a major in Hindi at The Australian National University, until the call to venture deeper overtook the need for a degree. India beckoned.

Time in Sarnath and Bodh Gaya, where it is said Gautama the Buddha gave his first teachings, led her on a path of inquiry. Sitting at the feet of lineage holders and teachers she has practiced within the three Buddhist traditions: Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana. Extended silent meditation retreats in Myanmar and Australia provided a foundation for living, working and relationship over the next decades. Toward the end of this period she began writing. An early draft of a travel manuscript abo Helen Burns’ interest in Eastern traditions turned serious in 1975. She devoted three years to Asian Studies with a major in Hindi at The Australian National University, until the call to venture deeper overtook the need for a degree. India beckoned.

Time in Sarnath and Bodh Gaya, where it is said Gautama the Buddha gave his first teachings, led her on a path of inquiry. Sitting at the feet of lineage holders and teachers she has practiced within the three Buddhist traditions: Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana. Extended silent meditation retreats in Myanmar and Australia provided a foundation for living, working and relationship over the next decades. Toward the end of this period she began writing. An early draft of a travel manuscript about the pilgrimage to Santiago do Compostela was awarded a Byron Bay Writers Festival Residency in 2004 and later selected for a Varuna LongLines Residency at Australia’s National Writers’ House. Close to completion, in 2009, it was shortlisted for the annual Varuna Harper Collins Award. The Way is a River of Stars was published in 2013. https://www.facebook.com/The-Way-is-a...

Through all these years the pulse of India kept on. In 2009, with one book completed and no intention for another, it was time to return. Descending through the clouds into the smoky night sky of Chennai felt like coming home. Little did Helen know the circuitous path awaiting her. She encountered the teachings of Indian saints, living and dead, from tombs within temples and mosques, to ashrams where the world flocked; from all-night qawwalis at the feet of Sufi saints in Rajasthan, to lone sadhus in mountain caves. And then, one day, entering the gates of a temple to a goddess where Araiyers dance past midnight and divine with pearls as they chant her name, the seeds for Andal’s Garland were sown. A novel that has taken its own good time; now due for release by Odyssey Books in November, 2020 .

Helen has practiced as a Herbalist and Iridologist and created several businesses catering for what was once known as the New Age. She now divides her time between a tiny house in Byron Bay, a slightly larger abode in Far North Queensland, and India wherever it takes her. ...more

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Helen Burns’s books

Average rating: 4.11 · 54 ratings · 16 reviews · 3 distinct works

	The Way Is a River of Stars: A Buddhist's Journey Through Northern Spain on the Camino Pilgrim Route 4.35 avg rating — 34 ratings — published 2013 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Andal's Garland 3.79 avg rating — 19 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Garland of Love by Helen Burns (Goodreads Author), Alison Taylor it was ok 2.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Helen is Currently Reading

Helen Burns is currently reading

Love Marriage

by V.V. Ganeshananthan (Goodreads Author)

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Aug 30, 2025 11:24PM

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The Toss of a Lemon: A Novel

by Padma Viswanathan

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Apr 21, 2022 04:32AM

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We Were the Mulvaneys

by Joyce Carol Oates

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Mar 26, 2022 04:04AM

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Helen Burns wants to read Things I Don't Want to Know by Deborah Levy	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Helen Burns and 5 other people liked Lisa's review of A Piece of Red Cloth: "A Piece of Red Cloth is said to be a ground-breaking work of historical fiction for two reasons: partly because of the way it has been written and partly because it is a story based on Australia's pre-colonial history. The novel was written collaborat" Read more of this review »
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Helen Burns wants to read Always Coming Home by Ursula K. Le Guin	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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“I have always felt safe in bookstores. As in the proverbial Tiffany’s, I sincerely believe that nothing really bad can happen in a place full of books.”
― M. K. Haka

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