Free Buddhist Audio

Sanghadhara reflects on the Buddha's resolve to sit on the vajrasana beneath the Bodhi tree until he broke through conditioned existence and awoke. The talk explores vajrasana as the "diamond throne," drawing on an audio excerpt from Sangharakshita to unfold its meaning as the central point of the cosmos: the spiritual axis where the Buddha awakens, and where the symbolism of the vajra, the tree o...

Have we got what it takes to wake up? Sanghagita follows Siddhartha Gautama's extraordinary quest to its turning point. In him we meet a seeker who turns down power, prestige and leadership, turning his back on the received wisdom of harsh asceticism, choosing instead something far more radical: to meditate alone in the comfortable shade of a beautiful tree. Here he meets Māra: tempter, accuser, e...

Vessantara explores Sangharakshita's idea that fundamentally there is one spiritual experience, which has different aspects that we can unfold. Here he guides on how to contact and influence deeper levels of mind, culminating in the turning about of the basis, the transformation of the deepest level of mind. This talk was given at Cambridge Buddhist Centre , 2016, as part of the series Aspects of...

In this talk, Suryagupta discusses the language of the depths, which refers to communication beyond the surface level of experience. She begins by exploring the power of stories. Part of the series The Language of the Depths given at London Buddhist Centre , 2024. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now:   https://freebuddhistaudio.com/donate Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audi...

As part of Adhisthana's 2023 Triratna Day celebrations, Saddhanandi speaks to us about the 'existential communication' that can arise between a more, and a less, experienced practitioner. A communication that can take you to the limits of your own being and encourage you to stretch beyond them. Part of the series Triratna Day Weekend: Is a Guru Necessary? Given at Adhisthana , 2023. *** Help us ke...

Ratnaprabha presents traditional Buddhist advice on communicating well, in particular the images that the Buddha used to teaches own seven-year-old son about the importance of truthfulness, and the poetry of Vangisa, encouraged by the Buddha to turn his love of communication into verses. A talk to the West London Buddhist Centre , 2017. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now:...

We all need to find emotional equivalents to our intellectual understandings if our spiritual practice is to progress. Sangharakshita outlines the positive emotions stressed in Buddhism, and concludes with a brief explanation of the stages of the Sevenfold Puja. Talk given as part of the series The Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path , 1968. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now:  ...

Vishvapani explores the dynamic vision of Urgyen Sangharakshita in setting up a new Buddhist movement in the West, and asks how we might relate to him now. His central reference point in this provocative and moving talk is the Padmasambhava Abisheka - the initiation received by Sangharakshita in Kalimpong, India, in 1962 from the great Tibetan Lama, Kachu Rimpoche. The energy emanating from a simp...

Have we got what it takes to wake up? Sanghagita invites us to follow Siddhartha Gautama's extraordinary quest to its turning point. In him, we meet a seeker who turns down power, prestige and leadership, turning his back on the received wisdom of harsh asceticism, choosing instead something far more radical: to meditate alone in the comfortable shade of a beautiful tree. Here he meets Māra: tempt...

In the telling of the story of 'The Buddha's 4 Sights', Bodhinaga invites us to contemplate the people and events that have inspired us to change. What was The Buddha really like? We are told that the Buddha broke through into a radically different state of being, transcending ordinary human consciousness. What might it have been like to encounter that? There was something magnetic, awesome, myste...

Padmavajra delivers an enthralling account of the Buddha's passing into Paranirvana. Drawing on events in the Mahaparanibbana Sutta, he elucidates the perfumed chamber of the Buddha's unconditioned mind. Delivered on Parinirvana Day at the London Buddhist Centre , 2022. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now:   https://freebuddhistaudio.com/donate Subscribe to our Free Buddhis...

The Buddha's Enlightenment and his Parinirvana are the two key events in his life. But what significance do they hold for us in our approach to life - and death? Subhadramati , an experienced and engaging Buddhist teacher, will explore these profound questions. This talk was given at London Buddhist Centre , 2024. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now:   https://freebuddhista...

This is pretty fantastic in its way. Danavira is one of the best speakers we know - he is very funny, can do poetic and profound, tends to the chaotic in his style, and has a particular genius for this kind of thing; this kind of thing being talking about death. The whole talk is a kind of respectful joyride through the hardest subject of all - sit back and enjoy a thoroughly adult treat that's li...

Ratnaghosha commemorates the death of the Buddha not by focusing on death, but rather by focusing on the Buddha's early life and the myriad manifestations of impermanence. Talk given by Ratnaghosha at the London Buddhist Centre 's Parinirvana Day Festival, 2008. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now:   https://freebuddhistaudio.com/donate Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio...

Ratnadeva traces the significance and depth of the Buddha's teaching of karma, as well as addressing the complexities and common misconceptions that can often arise when we approach the topic. Having a clear understanding of the law of karma is vital if we are to transform our desires to be more in line with reality. We realize that on a path of training old habits run deep, and that we cannot con...

Dhivan talks about the spiral path and emphasises how it naturally unfolds. This talk was given at Dhanakosa Retreat Centre , 2014. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now: https://freebuddhistaudio.com/donate Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast: A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dharmabytes-from-fre...

Through the lense of Upaya 'the skilful means' of the Bodhisattva, Parami explores the seemingly contradictory themes of withdrawal and engagement on the Bodhisattva path. She demonstrates how they are synthesised by drawing on the last four stages of the spiral / transcendental path and how they culminate in the arising of the bodhicitta. Glasgow Buddhist Centre , 2023. *** Help us keep FBA Podca...

In this talk Bhadra describes the six realms as a mirror in which to fully know the particulars of our own self created universe. This talk was given at Bristol Buddhist Centre, 2017. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now: https://freebuddhistaudio.com/donate Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast: A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. Apple Podcasts: https:...

Vadanya explores three great Buddhist symbols that describe the way things are: the wheel of life, the spiral path and the ultimate goal of Enlightenment. Together they form a guide to escape from the ultimate vicious circle into the complete freedom and fulfilment of Awakening. This talk was recorded at Sheffield Buddhist Centre , 2020, as part of the series The Wheel, The Spiral and The Goal . *...

In this talk, Dharmasara relates the story of how Padmasambhava subdued the demons of Tibet to build Samye monastery. The monastery works as a symbol for a flourishing spiritual community which is not affected by the destructive forces in the world but instead puts them to the service of the Dharma. To subdue our own gods and demons, we have to become true individuals, and true individuals are wha...

In this talk, given during the 2013 Young men's retreat at Padmaloka, Padmavajra describes the qualities of the Dharma Warrior and how Dharma Warriors are fighting in the great battle between the spiritual community and the group - fighting for the liberation of the truly human individual against the forces of mediocrity and uniformity - the battle with Mara who embodies those forces. Padmavajra c...

Mahasraddha speaks about becoming a true individual to the Oslo Sangha. He starts with the importance of being in touch with the bodhisattva ideal and the dangers of losing this connection. He then explores the relationship between the true individual, the positive group and the unhealthy group. This leads to an awareness of values and the importance of forgiving both ourselves and others when we...

How do we listen to the 'voice within'? How do we become an individual? How can imagination free us? Satyalila weaves together Sangharakshita's teachings on the True Individual with Blake to show us how to follow our golden thread towards greater clarity, receptivity and awareness. Talk given on a retreat for women who have asked for ordination as part of a series on 'The Group, the Individual and...

Vajragupta offers a Buddhist reflection on the social and political times we are living through. The talk takes the myth of the asuras (the Titan realm on the Wheel of Life) as a way of seeing and understanding the kind of world we are creating. In that myth, the Buddha appears in the realm of the asuras holding a sword. What does that symbolise? Vajragupta suggests it can be seen as a sword of fe...

In the game of life we wander between realms, moving from lower states to higher as our actions affect the state of our mind. Pradaya tours of the third ring of the wheel of life, the six realms of worldly existence which depict the kinds of world we can live in according to our state of mind. His talk focuses on the worlds of animals, gods and humans, informing us on how to recognise which realm...