Dharmabytes from free buddhist audio

Partisan politics, hurricanes and earthquakes, mass shootings, nuclear threats … our world at times feels like a living nightmare. Sunada reflects: How do we as Buddhists respond, individually and as a sangha? And how do we keep our sanity? Excerpted from the talk entitled Practice During Times of Chaos and Uncertainty given on a Sangha Day celebration at Aryaloka Buddhist Center, 2017. *** Help u...

Here, Prajnamati describes how a range of dharma practices can be seen as a finding of the point of freedom where a more creative option becomes apparent as an alternative to the more familiar reactive choices. In ethical practice this is developing a sensitivity to the wholesome quality of skilful intentions, in meditation finding a way of relaxing in to the practice and in sangha engaging in a f...

The Bodhisattva called 'Never Direct' saw the Buddha in everyone, yet his practice of bowing received a mixed response. Drawing on themes from the White Lotus Sutra, Aryadasa delves into how different framings of the spiritual life can profoundly change our understanding of Buddhism and its practice. Excerpted from the talk entitled A Bodhisattva On His Knees given at Sheffield Buddhist Centre , 2...

Khemasuri introduces the Bodhisattva Ideal, central to Mahayana Buddhism, by describing the training of the novice Bodhisattva and the arising of the will to Enlightenment. Excerpted from the talk entitled Becoming a Bodhisattva given at Sheffield Buddhist Centre , 2012. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:  Bite-sized clips - Buddhist i...

Vijayasri explores confession's illuminating and transformational properties through the Mahayana sutra, The Sutra of Golden Light. Excerpted from the talk entitled the Sutra of Golden Light: What Is the Role of Confession In Buddhism? Given at Birmingham Buddhist Centre , 2023. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:  Bite-sized clips - Bu...

Nagavajri gracefully introduces some points one may find helpful before studying any Mahayana sutra, giving some context to this rich vein of the Dharma. Excerpted from the talk What Do I Need to Know Before Reading a Mahayana Sutra? Given as an introduction to the Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa (The Inconceivable Emancipation) at a sub30 Adhisthana retreat, 2025. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for every...

Akasaraja explores the nature of presence and absence in encounters between people and concludes that we can only be truly present when we are "absent", i.e. when we get out of the way. And the Buddha embodies this "presence" through "absence" in a way we cannot truly comprehend. By being "absent", he is completely and utterly present. The Buddha is the embodiment of reality itself and, as such, i...

The full moon in May is celebrated as the anniversary of the Buddha's Enlightenment and his victory over the demon Mara. Sangharakshita explains what Mara represents and how he can be overcome. As well as containing much that will fascinate experienced Buddhists, this is also an excellent introductory lecture. Excerpted from the talk entitled The Buddha's Victory given in 1987. https://www.freebud...

Nagasiddhi invites us to experience the dharma imaginatively: through art and heart. He outlines the turning points or 'rites of passage' in the Buddha's mythic life story as he introduces the In the Footsteps of the Buddha home retreat offered by the Triratna Buddhist Community . In this excerpt from the talk entitled Rites of Passage , he speaks about the numerous perspectives the Buddhas and Bo...

In this moving talk based on Sangharakshita's 1969 talk 'Breaking through to Buddhahood', Suddhaka shares some of his experience as an Order Member to illustrate how we might move beyond our unhelpful psychological conditioning. Excerpted from the talk Breaking Through Psychological Conditioning talk given at Brixton Buddhist Centre , 2017. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate n...

Dhivan considers what we can learn from the story of the noble quest of the Buddha. This story is recounted in the Discourse on the Noble Quest (Ariyapariyesana-sutta) in the Middle-length Discourses (Majjhima-nikaya). In it we can almost believe we are hearing a memory of the Buddha's own words, as he recounts his going forth, his study under great meditation teachers, his eventually leaving them...

​​How can we work with our own inner voices that undermine our practice and limit our lives? Shubhavyuha draws this out, using the stories of early Buddhist women encountering 'Mara' - the embodiment of all that holds us back. Excerpted from the talk entitled 'I See You, Mara' from the Daughters of the Buddha: Lineage of Freedom retreat at Taraloka Retreat Centre , 2026. *** Help us keep FBA Podca...

Bodhidasa shares ways we can touch the transcendent in simple, everyday moments of devotion. Looking at the works and life of Milarepa for inspiration and guidance, the session will help us go beyond what we might understand the Dharma Path to be. Excerpted from the talk entitled Mending the Broken Crown given at Auckland Buddhist Centre , 2019. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Don...

Balajit explores how working with emotion can be a radical process for transformation. Excerpted from the talk entitled Perfect Emotion given at Birmingham Buddhist Centre , 2021. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now:   https://freebuddhistaudio.com/donate Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:  Bite-sized clips - Buddhist inspiration three times a week. Apple Podcasts:  http...

A fascinating lecture, previously unreleased. It was given on WBO Day on the 20th anniversary of the Order's foundation and sees Sangharakshita reflecting in an intimate, impromptu mood on impermanence and his own thoughts and hopes for the future. Excerpted from the talk entitled The Next Twenty Years, 1988.  *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now:   https://freebuddhistaudio...

Here, Sanghagita introduces Avalokitesvara, he who hears the cries of the world. This Bodhisattva is the embodiment of the myth of the Triratna Buddhist Order. Through the image of Avalokitesvara's thousand compassionate hands, we'll explore how our community can become a single Bodhisattva—responsive, open-hearted, and alive to suffering in the world. Excerpted from the talk entitled Sangha As Go...

Here, Vishvapani   focuses on the Buddha's experience before, during and after Enlightenment, bringing his nuanced, perceptive reading to the words the Buddha himself is said to have employed in order to best evoke his experiences as he struggled to give voice to them. Excerpted from the talk entitled The Buddha's Vision given as part of the book launch for 'Gautama Buddha: The Life and Teachings...

In this lecture Sangharakshita shows how the symbolism of ritual offerings originated in the Hinayana and Mahayana, and later flowered with the Tantric offerings, particularly the offering of the Mandala. Excerpted from the talk entitled The Symbolism of Offerings and Self-Sacrifice as part of the series Creative Symbols of the Tantric Path to Enlightenment , 1972. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts fr...

Karunagita , author of A Path For Parents, offers some key practical insights for anyone trying to figure out how to go deeper with their practice while raising children. We get a moving evocation of parenting as a distinct context for working with our conditioning, our views, and for learning to break our habits in order to cultivate ever deeper levels of awareness and love. And as you might expe...

Upayavira was ordained in 2000, and became a parent soon after. Since then he has been exploring, often through necessity, ways to meditate with children around. He has led Meditation for Parents workshops at the Buddhafield Festival and at the Buddhafield Village retreat, as well at some local Buddhist Centres; with the aim of demonstrating that practicing with your young children present is not...

Amaragita takes a look at Buddhist practice in the light of parenting. Tranquillity is difficult to find when raising children, but it is possible! Our path of practice is getting enough perspective to see things differently. Excerpted from the talk entitled Staying at Home, Dancing with the Universe given at Buddhafield , 2006. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now:   https:...

This is the first in a five part series by Padmavajra on all aspects of the Metta Bhavana practice and 'The Great Love' in Buddhist discourse and practice - from metta (loving kindness) itself to Bodhichitta. His starting point here is to source notions of love in traditional teaching from the Pali Canon and in the great Mahayana sutras. A refreshing take on metta and how to cultivate it in your l...

In this short talk, Sanghamani reflects on the magic of transformation, her mythic connection with her preceptors and with Sangharakshita as a mythic guide. The imperfections of their humanness give her faith in her own process as it unfolds in the context of collective practice. Excerpted from the talk Discipleship, Magic and Myth given at Adhisthana as part of a Women's Area Order Weekend, 2014....

  Vajratara explores discipleship as a living, relational practice rooted in faithfulness rather than idealism. Discipleship is presented as a steadfast gaze on what we most deeply value, and a shared understanding of Going for Refuge that orients a whole life and is handed on through friendship, practice, and devotion. Excerpted from the talk entitled The Mysteries of Discipleship: Flowers and Ga...

There's a story about the Buddha bowing to the tree under which he has just gained Enlightenment. Inspired by this this story, Vajragupta sees the whole path to Awakening in terms of gratitude. The grasping mind cannot feel grateful. But the Awakened know and feel just how deeply they are supported and enabled by other people, other life, and conditions in the world around them. Excerpted from the...