Dharmabytes From Free Buddhist Audio

Bodhidasa discusses the Metta Bhavana and the way it is taught in the Triratna system of meditation. Reflecting on the Karaniya Metta Sutta and Buddhaghosha's 5th century text the Visuddhimagga, Bodhidasa explores how this core practice relates to the Bodhisattva ideal, and how we can expand, refresh and enrich our metta practice in all its stages by re-visiting the structure. From the talk entitled Beyond Boundaries given at Sydney Buddhist Centre, 2018. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcloud

This is an exploration by Saddhaloka of the distinguishing role of Sangha, spiritual community, in the development and life of the Triratna (formally Western) Buddhist Order, and, in fact, in any kind of Buddhist spiritual life. Saddhaloka here is steady and thoughtful as ever... From the talk entitled Creating Sangha and Changing the World given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre, 2002.   *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcloud

Munisha talks about insights gained from traveling in her early life, including realizing she didn’t know how to get along well with others. Some years later, she discovered the Triratna Buddhist Community where friendship is a basic organizing principle around which everything is based. From the talk entitled A Life in the Sangha given on Zoom to the Stockholm Sangha to celebrate Sangha Day, in the context of the Covid 19 pandemic, November 2020. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcloud

Kuladharini reflects on the life of the sangha at the start of the Glasgow Buddhist Centre’s annual rainy season retreat. Here she explores the cosmic and mythic significance in their current work and their approaching going forth from the city premises they have been teaching from for almost 50 years. Excerpted from the talk of the same title, Growing Very Deep Roots In the Sky, 2021. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcloud

With a magician-like quality, Jnanavaca introduces us to the pure white Vajrasatva with a talk ranging from Carl Sagan to childhood magic sets, rainbow men in the sky to the moment of death; Jnanavaca offers a vision of reality that transcends time and space. From the talk Vajrasatva, Time, Space & Rainbows, part of the series The Symbolic World of the Five Buddha Mandala given at London Buddhist Centre’s Winter Retreat 2019.   *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcloud

Vajradevi reminds us that the word indriya ('faculty') applies to both spiritual and sense faculties and that we can use the latter to strengthen the former. Delighting in the word 'moha' sounding like 'a soft fluffy cloud', Vajradevi draws out the fact that it is the most difficult of the poisons to recognise - greed and aversion being much louder and more colourful. It's also 'a natural state of affairs' until we can create and support conditions to help wisdom flourish. She gives us tips for doing this, reminding us (in the words of Sayadaw U Tejaniya) that 'assumption, presumption and speculation are always the work of moha'. Excerpted from the talk entitled Moha (Delusion) as a Way of Exploring the Spiritual Faculty of Wisdom, part of the series Pathways to the Beautiful Mind, given at Bristol Buddhist Centre, 2019. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcloud

We want things to be different, that is the force that drives growth but can also be a source of pain. How does the Dharma help us relate to our experience, including the difficult aspects, and help us transform those difficulties into wisdom. Excerpted from the talk Alchemy of the Heart - Transforming Poison Into Wisdom by Dharmashalin given at Birmingham Buddhist Centre, 2014. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcloud

Satyalila gives us a clear and practical guide to how our spiritual journey can consist in transforming the 'poisons' (greed, hatred, delusion, pride and envy) with (and ultimately into) the five spiritual faculties (faith, wisdom, mindfulness, samadhi and energy-in-pursuit-of-the-good). It concludes with a look at how the five Buddha mandala offers an imaginative representation of the faculties as qualities of the Buddha's Enlightened mind. Excerpted from the talk entitled Let Your Poison Be Your Cure given at the Bristol Sangha Retreat at Adhisthana, 2017. The title is a reference from a poem by Louis MacNiece, Thalassa. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcloud

Here Sangharakshita orientates us to Vajrasattva, the primordial Buddha of Innate Purity. He introduces the Vajrasattva practice as part of the four indispensable preparatory practices (mula-yogas) of the Vajrayana devotee. From the talk entitled The Four Foundation Yogas of the Tibetan Buddhist Tantra, part of the series An Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism, 1968.     *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcloud

Dhammadinna explores the various meanings of purity associated with Vajrasattva, including the aspect of innocence as well as authentic, unadulterated consciousness. From the talk entitled Reflections On Vajrasattva - Purity, Confession and Death given as part of the Vajrasattva Festival Day at the London Buddhist Centre, 2010. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcloud

Suryagupta shares a personal and significant story of opening up into a moment of uncertainty, and in it, learning to love, learning to give, later connecting this experience to the Buddha Vairocana. This is conclusion of the talk entitled Vairocana & the Sunlight of the Enlightened Mind, part of the series The Symbolic World of the Five Buddha Mandala at the London Buddhist Centre, 2019. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcloud

Taranita discusses myth and archetype in relation to our lives, our practice, and building relationships with the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Excerpted from the talk entitled Myth & Archetype given at Bristol Buddhist Centre, 2018 as part of a series on Vairocana and Spiritual Regeneration. This talk follows on from the previous talk on the Dhamma Niyama. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcloud

“Absolute fearlessness is synonymous with Enlightenment.” -Sangharakshita Here Aryadhi introduces Amoghasiddhi, the green Buddha of the North, through the Buddha’s quality of fearlessness as illustrated by the story of Angulimala. Excerpted from the talk entitled Amoghasiddhi - Journey Into Fearlessness given at Norwich Buddhist Centre, 2017.   *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcloud

Evoking the mystery, power and courage of the deep-green Buddha Amoghasiddhi, Ksantikara extols us to be brave enough to encounter the depths of our being. And from the depths to gather the power to act, to move towards enlightenment and set ourselves free. Excerpted from the talk entitled Amoghasiddhi & The Call of the Forest, part of the series The Symbolic World of the Five Buddha Mandala given at London Buddhist Centre's 2019 Winter Retreat. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcloud

Suryagupta calls to mind the the deep red Buddha of love and meditation, Amitabha. Traversing the myth and symbolism of the Buddhist tradition with tales from her own childhood and dream-life, Suryagupta offers up a talk that truly evokes the warm love of the Buddha of the Western realm. Excerpted from the talk entitled Amitabha & The Infinite Light, part of the series The Symbolic World of the Five Buddha Mandala given at London Buddhist Centre's 2019 Winter Retreat. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcloud

Padmasagara draws out the boundless radiant love of Amitabha and the inconceivable nature of true compassion. Excerpted from the talk Amitabha's Infinite Light given as part of the series Faces of Enlightenment at Sheffield Buddhist Centre, 2019. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcloud

Ratnaghosha shares a personal devotional prayer to the Buddha Ratnasambhava, the golden Buddha of the South. Excerpted from the talk entitled Ratnasambhava given at Cambridge Buddhist Centre, 2015. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcloud

Ratnasambhava, the 'Jewel-Born' Buddha of the Southern realm, exemplifies generosity and abundance. In this talk Moksatara expands upon this theme, looking at how living with an attitude of generosity can create community, bestow abundance and lead to a sense of fearlessness. Excerpted from the talk entitled The Wish-Fulfilling Jewel given at Sheffield Buddhist Centre (2019) as part of the series Faces of Enlightenment. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcloud

Paramabandhu introduces some of the symbolism of Akshobhya - the deep blue Buddha of the Eastern realm, particularly emphasizing patience (ksanti) and how it can help us overcome our own anger. Excerpted from the talk entitled The Patience of the Deep Blue Akshobhya as part of the series The Symbolic World of the Five Buddha Mandala given at London Buddhist Centre, 2019. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcloud

Bodhilila introduces the characteristic wisdom of the blue Buddha of the Eastern quarter of the mandala, a wisdom that undistortedly reflects experience just as it is. Excerpted from the talk entitled Akshobhya and the Mirror-Like Wisdom given at West London Buddhist Centre, 2018.   *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcloud