Dharmabytes from free buddhist audio

Indra, the King of the Gods in Hindu Mythology, possesses a number of treasures, one of which is a net made entirely of jewels. According to the Buddha in the Gandavyuha Sutra, "All the Jewels shine in each, and each of them shine in all." The universe is just like this. As such, o ne cannot fully understand any one part of the Dharma unless one understands the whole. Excerpted from the talk " The...

The spiritual life is about giving up the advantages of the 'Power Mode' in exchange for the completely non-violent spiritual quality of the 'Love Mode.' Kulanandi offers beautiful and engaging reflections drawing inspiration from the book The Ten Pillars of Buddhism, by Sangharakshita. From the talk entitled The Power of Love, the Love of Power given in Stockholm Buddhist Centre, 2014. *** Subscr...

Ultimately, one is freed from the state of hatred with a heart of loving kindness. Vidyavachin   offers reflections on the Metta Sutta. Excerpted from the talk entitled Radiate Love given at the annual sub35 men's weekend at Padmaloka Retreat Centre in November 2018. This talk is part of the series  Radiate Love . *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Fo...

Suryagupta shares the story of Shantideva, the monk who gave us the exposition of the Bodhicaryavatara, The Way of the Bodhisattva. Born of his direct experience this text is the basis of our Sevenfold Puja where we ritually evoke the many qualities of the Enlightened mind. From the talk entitled Rejoicing in Merits given at London Buddhist Centre (2019) during a six-week drop-in seminar exploring...

Ratnavandana  shares an intensely honest, psychologically intimate, beautifully forensic history of her personal relationship to the practice of upekkha (equanimity) throughout her spiritual life. We hear about ways to assess what is going on in the subtler realms of our experience - and how to look to move beyond them so we too can live like a river... Excerpted from the talk A Personal Take On U...

The Dharma is the greatest gift we can give. Ratnaghosha encourages us to face our fears to develop confidence and courage to communicate the Dharma with clarity and ease. From the talk Skilful Means of the Bodhisattva exploring another aspect of Skilful Means, the little known teaching of the four Analytical Knowledges or Pratisamvids. Given at Cambridge Buddhist Centre , 2017. ***   Subscribe to...

Singhamati  invites us to put on Dharma tinted glasses as she explores the very famous summary of the Buddha's Teaching, found in verse 183 of the Dhammapada , and draws on Sangharakshita's wisdom as found in the Dhammapada seminars from the 1980's. It's a simple, clear teaching offering us the possibility of taking it to heart, living from a more Dharmic perspective with less suffering and greate...

Vidyamala explores the crucial place of awareness of vedana if we are to move from reactive states to more creative ones. From the talk Vedana and Growth  given on 'Gravity and Grace' Retreat, 2018, at Rivendell Retreat Centre. This talk is part of the series An Exploration of the Satipatthana Sutta . *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog...

Confession in the Buddhist tradition is a very positive practise. Its about opening oneself up to big mind, opening oneself up to wise conduct.  Dassini  looks at the individual nature of practising ethics, the need for metta in response to guilt, how to make a confession effective. From the talk entitled Confession given at Glasgow Buddhist Centre  April, 2018. ***   Subscribe to our Free Buddhis...

Here  Padmavajra  discusses the Sangharavastus and the Pratisamvids - a compassion aspect and a wisdom aspect of the Bodhisattva's aspiration to create community as a condition for Enlightenment. From the talk  Freedom From Polarization  given at the Croydon Buddhist Centre in January 2019. ***   Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news...

Here Vidyamala gives a rich and personal talk on the Citta section of the Satipatthana Sutta. She introduces the key aspects of this part of the Sutta and then speaks of the importance of allowing for growth and integration in our practice. She speaks of the twin pillars of awareness and love and how mindfulness can lead to a deeper and deeper sense of connection with all of life and how kindness...

Vidyatara was one of the forces behind the development of the Triratna International Council after its foundation in 2011. Here she talks about the structure of the International Council as a bottom-up organization upholding an aspect of the Lineage of Responsibility. Exerted from the talk Co-Creating Structures That Serve the Arising of the Bodhicitta given at the Triratna Buddhist Order Womens U...

Dhammadinna  speaks about Sangharakshita and his emphasis on imagination as a key to the spiritual life. From the talk entitled Bhante - Poetry, Myth and Imagination given on the Rainy Season Retreat at Manchester Buddhist Centre,  February 2014. *** 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...

In the 1980s, 'Independent Arts' ran an ambitious and extremely impressive Arts program through the Croydon Buddhist Centre in London. Here's a first offering from the archive of recordings - an open conversation between Sangharakshita, founder of the Western Buddhist Order, and the renowned poet and scholar Kathleen Raine, one of the founders of the Temenos Academy. The occasion was the launch of...

How can we have a whole life of value and of meaning? Subhadramati  explores the essential integration of arts and asceticism that Sangharakshita struggled to find in his early years as a monk. From the talk Beauty and Discipline, part of a series for Dharma Night focusing on Urgyen Sangharakshita's unique contribution to Buddhism. London Buddhist Centre, 2015. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist A...

Hatred or ill-will arises when something gets in the way of something we desire. From a mild irritation at being inconvenienced, to violent anger, competitiveness, jealousy, all are forms of ill-will. Khemasuri explores the theme of anger in Santideva's Bodhicaryavatara at Sangha Night, Sheffield Buddhist Centre. Excerpted from the talk entitled Gratitude to Everyone given on 15th April 2008. Part...

Here Vairocana shares thoughts on patience, pride and evil actions as described in the Bodhicaryavatara, verse 21. Shantidevi reflects that compassion arises upon seeing the suffering of the world and that this manifests in one loosening ones pride. This leads to a fear of the consequences of evil and a delight in Enlightenment itself, or as Shantideva puts it, delight in the Conquerors. From the...

Suryadarshini  takes us into the forest to meet our shadows, drawing on traditional Buddhist sources and popular cultural references. Her personal approach to the Dharma accesses its universal aspects, and she navigates the darker parts of our experience with curiosity and kindness. From the talk Shadows in the Forest given at Norwich Buddhist Centre , 2017. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audi...

Using the aphorism of Sangharakshita , Peace is a Fire,  Sujayini  takes us on a journey of personal growth and transformation. From the talk Peace is a Fire given on a retreat for Young Women at Taraloka Retreat 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  

Satyajyoti gives a talk on Ksanti, the patient forbearance that is the true antidote to anger and ill-will. She shares Santideva's advice on learning to endure pain and discomfort so we can respond with an attitude of love in difficult circumstances. From the talk Make Your Own Sandals , Part 6 in the 'Path to Awakening' Sangha Night series at Sheffield Buddhist Centre , 2019. ***   Subscribe to o...

Here  Samantabhadri  expertly and imaginatively tackles the theme of Wisdom, using the verses in the third section of Tsongkhapa's short text on the "Three Principle Aspects of the Path". Dharma themes of the laksanas, suffering, niyamas, self - and no-self - are interwoven with more personal reflections, and with thought-provoking quotations - ".... emptiness, activity and compassion are not thre...

  Vasubandhu lived in northern India and Nepal in the 4th century CE. He was a renowned teacher in the Sarvastivadin School of Buddhism but later converted to Mahayana Buddhism under the influence of his brother Asanga. In this talk  Kulaprabha  introduces us to a work of his dealing with the conditions necessary for the arising of the Bodhicitta - here translated as Bodhi Resolve. In particular,...

With his customary dry wit and sharp eye Abhaya leads us on the crazy paving path through the Diamond Sutra - a text guaranteed to turn your world upside-down. Some very funny parts to this talk - and some excellent evocations of rigorous Dharma practice as part of the everyday business of life. In this excerpt we hear readings from the sutra about how merit is not enough for insight to arise. Fro...

The nature of ignorance and the nature of wisdom are the same. How do the Bodhisattvas enter the Dharma door of non-duality? Sangharakshita explains some of the dualities listed in the Vimalakirti Nirdesha Sutra, gives some examples of his own (with tips on how to transcend them), and concludes with Vimalakirti's 'thunder-like silence'. From the talk entitled The Way of Non-Duality  part of the se...

This is one of a series of talks on the Therigatha, the songs or poems of the nuns at the time of the Buddha. Gunasiddhi begins by saying that the songs are trying to communicate a level of spiritual experience to the hearer. The talk contains three themes: Going Forth, Friendship and Impermanence. In this Dharmabyte we hear about the topic of Going forth which happened in a variety of ways for di...