Dharmabytes From Free Buddhist Audio

Satyalila offers 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). This excerpt is focussed on cultivating Wisdom to transform Anger and Hatred. From the talk entitled “Let Your Poison Be Your Cure” rom the Bristol Sangha Retreat at Adhisthana in May 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

Siladevi reflects on an aspect of Buddhism that is often played down, but is nonetheless an organic part of Buddhism – that of working together with others to effect change in the world. From the talk The Ideal Society and the Ideal Individual given at Manchester Buddhist Centre during a day in commemoration of the death of Sangharakshita, 30 October 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

The Buddha's lone voice of sanity once prevented a war. Modern warfare is on a far larger scale, and could involve nuclear weapons. As we are faced with a choice between world peace and eventual disaster, Sangharakshita discusses realistic courses of action for peace activists and others. Excerpted from the talk entitled Buddhism, World Peace, and Nuclear War given in 1984. *** 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

Vishvapani gave a series of talks in 2011 to promote his book 'Gautama Buddha: The Life and Teachings of the Awakened One' (Quercus, 2011). Here we have a glimpse into the Buddha’s ability to dialogue with kindness and curiousity as he radiated a force field of loving kindness in a society full of debate and discourse. Rather than getting involved in a tit-for-tat argument, the Buddha tried to understand how others think and what is of value to them.  From the talk entitled The Buddha's Personality, given at London Buddhist Centre as part of the series Gautama Buddha, 2011. *** 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

What if everyone could see the enormity of their potential and be able to grow into that potential? What if those people then created a community... and that community becomes more & more a force for good in the world? Buddhism teaches us that it is possible to transcend the notion that I exist as a fixed and separate entity in the world and in doing so release a force of unbounded, unconditional love. Jnanavaca explores these questions and more in this thoughtful and thought-provoking talk entitled 'Buddhism & World Problems' (The Bi-Tendential Value of Being & The Greater Mandala - Week 3) 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

Spreading Our Goodness Into the World Sunada shares her personal reflections on simple down home ways to be an activist in a world that at times feels like a living nightmare. How do we as Buddhists respond, individually and as a sangha? And how do we keep our sanity? . Excerpted from the talk Practice During Times of Chaos and Uncertainty given on Sangha Day at Aryaloka Buddhist Center, USA, 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  

Padmavajra calls on the radical early teaching of the Buddha to activate love as skillful and wise response to those we perceive as causing us harm. The second talk in Padmavjara's wonderful series on the Dhammapada, the most popular of early Buddhist texts. All of the Buddha's core teachings are here - held in heart and mind there's more than enough in the Dhammapada to take us as far in our practice as we can imagine, and then on beyond... From the talk Changing Hatred into Love - Dhammapada Verses 3 to 6 recorded at Padmaloka Retreat Centre, 2007, as part of the series Where do we go from here?. *** 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

The Buddha and Ananda once tended a sick monk, neglected by his companions because of his 'uselessness'. Sangharakshita shows that people cannot be treated as 'things' in the spiritual community. From the talk entitled A Case of Dysentry given in 1982 as part of the series Incidents from the Pali Canon. *** 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

It is possible to move our sense of who we are, our stories are changeable. Vidyamala invites us into the world of myth, symbol and poetry to challenge our fixed sense of self. Wouldn’t it be amazing to have a fluid sense of oneself? Responding to whatever arises with kindness, with love, with compassion, with infinite creative potential. She finishes emphasising kindness with a wonderful quote from Patrul Rimpoche: "Have a good heart and act with kindness. There is no higher teaching" *** 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

The Perfection of Wisdom literature is filled with paradox. Santavajri shares her reflections on the rather baffling concepts presented in The Diamond Sutra and The Heart Sutra. Both relevant and incomprehensible, the true meaning goes well beyond the words themselves. Excerpted from the talk entitled Approaches to the Perfection of Wisdom given at the London Buddhist Centre’s Women's Class as part of their exploration of the Bodhisattva Ideal, 2011. *** 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  

In describing the qualities of patience, Sangharakshita calls on a story from the Saddharma-Pundarika (The Lotus Sutra) to illustrate the necessity of spiritual receptivity. From the talk Masculinity and Femininity in the Spiritual Life as part of the series Aspects of the Bodhisattva Ideal, 1969. The full talk explores the third and fourth Perfections: kshanti (forbearance, tolerance or spiritual receptivity) and virya (energy in pursuit of the good). *** 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

Untangling our Views Amaragita explodes and expands notions around the practice of paying attention via awareness of the breath, using the deceptively simple exercise of taking just five breaths through the day. We hear how the practice relates to the theory of Buddhist meditation and are encouraged to choose and learn from our direct experience of how we respond to our breath in the moment. There is also a chance to try it out as you listen - and we highly recommend that you do! A moving, quietly revolutionary take on practice for parents, and for anyone who has a full, busy life and needs some tools to take on anxiety and stress. Just five breaths... Recorded on a Five Breaths Meditation Workshop recorded on the Mothers Retreat at Taraloka Retreat Centre, 2015. As a companion to her talk, The Possibility of Practice and her guided Meditation on the Three Bodies (physical, emotional, and mental) this workshop is indispensable. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every we

Sanghadevi shares a story on the development of enlightenment through tales of pilgrimage from the Avatamsaka Sutra, known as the Flower Ornament Scripture. This story illustrates the art of engagement and the art of letting go, combining activity with receptivity, which supports the arising of the unbounded energy of the creative mind. From the talk entitled Spiritual Receptivity and Spiritual Community given with a series of talks organised by the Cambridge Buddhist Centre, 2014, called A Year of Spiritual Community Talks. *** 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  

Dhatvisvari shares her personal journey of relating to the Mandala of the Five Buddhas. We hear about the dream she had on the eve of her ordination in which she met the white Buddha in the centre of the mandala, Vairocana. From the talk entitled Vairocana 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

When the whole of oneself is present, something new comes into play - we become more than the sum of our parts. Here we have Ratnaguna describing the stages of integration and positive emotion in the Triratna system of practice. From the talk entitled The Underlying Pattern of the Spiritual Life given at Manchester Buddhist Centre on 14th April 2012.   *** 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  

Subhadramati delivers in this exposition on the aspect of ethics that springs out of empathy. As you reflect on others’ their suffering starts to become your suffering – it’s important to find that responsiveness and encourage it to flourish. From this, compassion bursts forth from the heart like a rose. From the talk entitled Ethics As a Path to Insight given on August 30 2014 at the European Women's Convention held at Adhisthana. The theme of the convention was "The Bodhisattva's Reply: Triratna Paths to Insight." *** 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  

In this talk Shakyapada introduces the Buddha as a historical figure living in inspiring and uncertain times. He explores the culture and environment through which the Buddha travelled as he was teaching the Dharma and how his teachings were revolutionary. From the talk Spiritual Fire In the Ganges Valley given at the Croydon Buddhist Centre in March 2018 as part of our regular Saturday morning Sangha class.   *** 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 explores the glimpses of the Buddha's liberating vision found in the Ariyapariyesana sutta, focussing on the Buddha's description of Reality in terms of pratitya samutpada (conditionality) and his response to Brahma Sahampati's request to teach the Dhamma. The talk also explores how we can begin to realise this vision for ourselves by responding to the Buddha's exhortation: 'let those who have ears release their faith'. From the talk The Buddha's Liberating Vision given on the Great Gathering at Padmaloka in February 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

“You don’t have to justify yourself by being useful. You yourself are the justification for your existence.” Sangharakshita, Wisdom Beyond Words In this talk, Vajrapriya explores how this quote by Sangharakshita might affect our spiritual life and practice. Using the terms doing and being, he suggests how we can bring greater stillness into activity, and vibrant energy into calm. From the talk The Greater Mandala of Uselessness given at Manchester Buddhist Centre, 2018. *** Help keep FBA free for everyone! Become a supporter today.  Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast - bite-size pieces of Dharma inspiration, two times a week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcloud

Nirvana is described as great bliss, that arises when grasping at self and other has vanished. A stream of uninterrupted creative activity, the Buddha is the supreme example of this. Here Padmavajra offers a deep dive into the Dhammapada, verses 277-279, on impermanence, dukkha and insubstantiality. From the talk entitled Seeing with Insight - Dhammapada Verses 277 to 279 which is part of the series The Dhammapada - the Buddha's Way of Truth given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre, 2007. This is the fourth talk in Padmavjara's wonderful series on the Dhammapada, the most popular of early Buddhist texts. All of the Buddha's core teachings are here - held in heart and mind there's more than enough in the Dhammapada to take us as far in our practice as we can imagine, and then on beyond... *** 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