Dharmabytes from free buddhist audio

In a sutta from the Udana, Meghiya overestimates his spiritual development and sees the goal in terms of his own individual, personal development. Vadanya shares some reflections on the Meghiya Sutta on the theme of learning about yourself in solitude as well as in relationship to others in the Sangha. From the talk Meghiya and The Path - Beyond Individualism given at Sheffield Buddhist Centre , 2...

Ratnaprabha is a brilliant storyteller. Here, he shares the Alavaka Sutta where an troll tries to trick the Buddha with a series of spiritual questions, which the Buddha answers with calmness and clarity, converting the troll to become a Dharmapala, a protector of the Dharma.  From the full talk entitled The Story Hatthaka given at Stockholm Buddhist Centre , 2007, as part of a two-part series wit...

What does it mean to be in harmony with others in the spiritual community? Dharmamayi tells the story of the Shorter Discourse from Gosinga from the Pali Canon. From the talk entitled Living in Harmony given at Sheffield Buddhist Centre, 2018. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:   On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts Bite-sized inspiration three times every week. Subscribe to...

Shantiprabha gives a Sangha night talk exploring Perfect Speech through the lens of myth, deep listening and communication. Excerpted from the talk Perfect Speech given at Birmingham Buddhist Centre , 2021. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:   On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts Bite-sized inspiration three times every week. Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast:   On...

Vishangka explores the joys and challenges that arise in a spiritual community. Here he explores the story of Anguillamala and what we can learn from this sutta.  From the talk Sangha In the Buddha's Time given at Manchester Buddhist Centre , 2019. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:   On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts Bite-sized inspiration three times every week. Subscrib...

The Buddha famously said that fellowship is the whole of the spiritual life. Is that really true?! Abhayanandi has been following this teaching notably by living in a residential Buddhist community and working in a team-based right-livlihood business. Hear her inspirational and hard-won reflections from the talk entitled Living Sangha given at London Buddhist Centre , 2016. *** Subscribe to our Dh...

Jayaraja 's take on the connection between traditional Dharma practice and non-violent communication as taught by Marshall Rosenberg. From the talk Buddhism and Non-Violent Communication (NVC) given at the Triratna [Western] Buddhist Order Convention, 2005. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:   On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts Bite-sized inspiration three times every week....

Jnanavaca weaves magic and myth with the day to day practice of the Dharma in this talk From the talk entitled Freedom Or Death given on Buddha Day at the London Buddhist Centre , 2019. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:   On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts Bite-sized inspiration three times every week. Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast:   On Apple Podcasts | On...

Does my life matter? Can I really say that actions have consequences? In this short talk Kavyamani explores the Yogacara teaching of the Alaya Vijnana, commonly referred to as the storehouse consciousness, reflecting that all our actions are like seeds and at some point they will bear fruit.  Excerpted from the talk 'Everything Matters and Nothing Is Lost' given in the Dharma Parlour tent at Buddh...

Speaking from his heart, Satyadaya encourages us to make good use of those moments of inspiration and bliss which can often arise at the festival. It is so easy for us to get home afterwards and forget, falling back into old habits, losing sight of the potential for growth and community that we experienced. And, though he admits he's no gardener, Satyadaya goes on to suggest a thing or two about h...

Sangharakshita goes to Buddhafield ! A first for him, and a first for the fabulous Buddhafield Festival that takes place each year at the height of the English summer. This talk was given in a tent in Devon - and the sounds of this great Dharma celebration are everywhere around as Sangharakshita marks his entry to the 'Dharma Parlour' with a rolling set of thoughts and reminiscences and encouragem...

Here Yashobodhi describes one of a list of five forces you use in Dharma practice to move towards awakening in life and also on approaching death, that of familiarization. From the talk Point 4 Using the Practice In Whole Life, part of the series Training the Mind in Bodhichitta given at Aryaloka Buddhist Center, 2017. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:   On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On...

The Dharma is only truly meaningful if it allows us to live more fully and if we are able to take it with us into the final moments before our death. There is nothing more practical than this. Mahasraddha explores what this means for us. From the talk The Dharma as Context for Living and Dying given at Manchester Buddhist Centre , 2016. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:   On Apple Podcasts...

In this talk, Khemabandhu takes us on a journey into the terrifying cremation grounds which Padmasambhava deliberately sought out. The facing of our deepest fears presents us with and incredible opportunity for spiritual development, but how do we summon up the courage necessary to do so? This talk was given during a young men's retreat held at Padmaloka as part of the series Entering the Realm of...

In Mahasraddha talks about the act of going for refuge by way of taking a good, hard look at our lives and the experience of dukkha, aka suffering, in light of the Buddha's teaching.  From the talk ​​ The Sevenfold Puja: Going For Refuge , given at Manchester Buddhist Centre , 2010. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:   On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts Bite-sized inspirati...

When one approaches the transcendental, one approaches the three transcendental samadhis, which Sangharakshita describes as three doors of liberation - namely as that of emptiness, signlessness, and directionlessness.  From the talk The Rain of the Dharma given in the USA, 1994. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:   On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts Bite-sized inspiration t...

A recording of the salutation to the Three Jewels, the Tiratanavandana, chanted in the Padmaloka Retreat Centre , 2020. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:   On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts Bite-sized inspiration three times every week. Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast:   On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts A full, curated, quality Dharma talk,...

Vishvapani looks behind the veils of history, legend and the texts themselves to conjur a vivid, felt image of the Buddha's personality. In a series of beautifully observed close-up drawings from the Pali Canon we are left with a portrait of spiritual genius that is both enigmatically distant and thoroughly human. From the talk The Buddha's Personality, part of the series Gautama Buddha , given at...

Elucidating the fifth stage of purification, Nagapriya shares a favored teaching to differentiate what helps us progress spiritually, and what does not.  Excerpted from the talk Cherish the Doctrine given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre , 2002. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:   On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts Bite-sized inspiration three times every week. Subscribe to our...

Ratnaprabha recounts the seven ways the Buddha advises on how a sangha is created and supported. From the talk Saluting the Sangha given at West London Buddhist Centre , Nov 2011, in which the speaker goes through the Sangha Section of the TiratanaVandana. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:   On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts Bite-sized inspiration three times every week....

Punyamala illustrates the nature of the fetters - habit, superficiality and vagueness - and gives clear, practical guidance, in a gently encouraging way, about how to weaken the fetters and develop spiritually.  From the talk From Enchantment to True Delight - Reflections On Stream Entry given at the Triratna (Western) Buddhist Order Convention , 2009. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:   O...

How do we retain our individuality while practicing with other people? Are we true individuals, or are we rebels, and are the two really that different? Karunadevi   explores the dangers and benefits of practicing within a sangha using the Buddha's teaching on the mental fetters and various commentaries by Sangahrakshita. From the talk The Individual, the Group and the Spiritual Community given at...

Vajragupta draws out aspects of aloneness and connectedness of this being human. From the talk Sangha and Commitment given at Shrewsbury Triratna Buddhist Group , 2016. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:   On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts Bite-sized inspiration three times every week. Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast:   On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Goog...

Abandoning Our Wrong Ideas About the Path More poetry, more Rumi, more listening joy from Vajradarshini . And what a title! In fact, this is another splendid journey around the idea of Enlightenment, using the languages of surrender and discipline from the Sufi context. It's as heady as a sumptuous wine, but also sobering and down to earth, whether we're "following a railing in the dark" or "wande...

The Mystery of Spiritual Friendship In the opening talk of the series, Padmasagara explores the profundity of the Buddha's statement that spiritual friendship is 'the whole of the spiritual life' or, in other words, the whole of the Going for Refuge. He emphasises the "guhya" (secret or hidden) nature of spiritual friendship and demonstrates how its emergence in the world was inseparable from the...