Dharmabytes from free buddhist audio

Dhammadinna shares her thoughts on viriya/vigour as derived from Chapter 7 of the Bodhicaryavatara. The Bodhicaryavatara is an 8th century text written by Shantideva, a Buddhist monk from the monastic 'university' at Nalanda, India, and Dhammadinna presented this material over three sessions on an Order retreat called "Teaching the Bodhicaryavatara." She says at the beginning that she isn't giving...

Surata talks about the nature of Viriya, diligence to practice, to apply oneself, to engage in a steady practice, even when one doesn't quite feel like it. Calling on Shraddha (faith) we call on diligence that does not lose heart! Excerpted from the third in a series of four talks on the Bodhisattva ideal entitled Plunging Into The Positive - Kshanti and Virya , given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre,...

Kamalashila explores the nature of wind as energies moving around in the body as well as outside the body. Kamalashila has spent a lot of his adult life exploring meditation - and this talk is a lovely little foray into the whole subject as a crucial aspect in life and practice, with special consideration given to reflection on the six elements. From the talk entitled Simplicity given at Triratna...

Rijusiddha looks at how vision gives us the initial insight into truth, how that vision is a heart response and how that vision gives us energy, if maintained, through the ongoing work of transforming ourselves. From the talk entitled Vision - The Mind Thinks, the Heart Sees as part of two talks on vision and transformation at the 2018 East Anglian Men's Event at Padmaloka Retreat Centre . *** Sub...

Paramananda introduces Vajrapani and his connection to energy, specifically looking at impermanence and fearlessness when coming into relationship with death. From the talk entitled Vajrapani and Led Energy Meditation given at West London 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...

Bhante Sangharakshita talks about viriya as 'vigour' or 'energy in pursuit of the good'. Vajradevi explores this in relation to the mindfulness, including the four right efforts, wise and unwise involvement and the near enemy of viriya. Viriya allows for there to be a continuity of awareness. From the talk entitled The Spiritual Faculty of Viriya,  part of the series Pathways to the Beautiful Mind...

Sangharakshita gives us a clear look at Viriya - Energy or Vigour - from the point of view of both subject and object, contrasting with a Hindu story about Indra + a squirrel. From a talk about the Five Spiritual Faculties entitled The Pattern of Buddhist Life and Work given in 1966 as part of the series  Introducing Buddhism .   *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma tal...

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 Po...

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...

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 Fr...

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 und...

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...

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...

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 prac...

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...

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 f...

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 L ondon Buddhist Centre' s Women's Class as p...

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 spirit...

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...

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 Co...

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...

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 podc...

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 Wom...

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 Sa...

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...