Dharmabytes from free buddhist audio

Our FBA Dharmabyte today is called The Buddha as Hero . Buddhism is sometimes seen as weak or negative. Using examples from the Pali Canon and Mahayana texts, this lecture shows that, on the contrary, heroic and positive qualities are essential in the Buddhist spiritual aspirantand#8217;s quest for Enlightenment. From the talk, The Heroic Ideal in Buddhism , given in 1969.

Our FBA Dharmabyte today is called What Should we be Doing as Buddhists? Inspired by a poem from Sangharakshita entitled The Bodhisattvas Reply, Vajragupta outlines ways in which Western religious groups have historically approached engagement with social issues. Vajragupta suggests three ways in which we can work together to transform ourselves and so create a better world. This talk, entitled, T...

Our FBA Dharmabyte today is called Peace and Tranquillity and#8211; Upeksha from the 1968 talk, Reason and Emotion in the Spiritual Life: Right Resolve by Sangharakshita. We all need to find emotional equivalents to our intellectual understandings if our spiritual practice is to progress. The lecture outlines the positive emotions stressed in Buddhism, and concludes with a brief explanation of the...

Our FBA Dharmabyte today is called Bringing Together Head and Heart by Ratnavandana. Continuing the series of personal talks on each of the Brahma Viharas from the 2015 Rainy Season Retreat, 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...

Our FBA Dharmabyte today is called What Buddhas Do . An excerpt from a talk by the same name , given by Maitreyi as part of Sangha Night and to mark the Year of the Buddha at the Cambridge Buddhist Centre.

Our FBA Dharmabyte today is called Double Vajra and#8211; Unifying Contradictions . Lokeshvara explores the symbolism of the double vajraand#8230;this excerpt is from a short talk of the same title, Double Vajra and#8211; Unifying Contradictions , the first in a series of talks on a field in Norfolk on the Green Man of Buddhism retreat.

Our FBA Dharmabyte today, entitled: Five Spiritual Faculties is from 1966. Sangharakshita points out possible potentially misleading assumptions concerning Buddhism, and describes three principal avenues to a practical spiritual life. An excerpt from the talk, The Approach to Buddhism , part of the series Introducing Buddhism .

Our FBA Dharmabyte today is entitled The Most Difficult Questions. Here Arthapriya explores the Buddhist understanding of what we call reality, and how it is less common sensical than we might imagine. In particular, he questions how much our and#8216;outside worldand#8217; is in fact so strongly conditioned by our state of mind. From the talk entitled The Nature of Reality and#8211; Covering karm...

Our FBA Dharmabyte today is an excerpt from Non-Self In Buddhist-Psychology by Kamalashila. The Buddha taught from his vision of interconnected conditionality which showed him that nothing is fixed or permanent. It is a radical, extraordinary vision. His way of looking at the human psyche, the mind, heart or soul, reflects this. If there is no permanent self, no lasting person, what is there, beca...

Our FBA Dharmabyte today is entitled Time Traveling to the Time of the Buddha . Amoghavajra takes us back 2,500 years to the Kingdom of Magadha in Northern India to the birth of a boy called Kassapa. He grows up happily and as he gets older he becomes less and less worldly. This is the beginning of the legendary tale of Kassapa, who becomes known as a superb meditator and was foremost among the bh...

Our FBA Dharmabyte today is The Story of Angulimala by Suriyavamsa from the talk, and#8220;Like The Moon Released From A Cloud.and#8221; Suriyavamsa tells us the story of the murderer Angulimala, who has a complete change of heart after trying to catch and kill the Buddha and finding it impossible. The tale illustrates how enlightenment canand#8217;t be grasped or understood by ourselves as we are...

In todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte , How Can One Know the Buddha?, we here from Sangharakshita from the talk, and#8220;The Disappearing Buddha.and#8221; The Buddha adopted the appearance and speech of his different audiences, and gave discourses on the Dharma which instructed, inspired, fired, and delighted. Then he would just disappear and leave them wondering, and#8216;Who is the Buddha?and#8217;...

Todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte is brought to us by Vajratara entitled: Reality's Unfolded, What's Next? Vajratara condenses nearly 50 years of the Buddhas life, using stories from the Pali Canon to show how the Buddha built a spiritual community that lasts to this day. Transcending the conflict between the desire to withdraw and the desire to engage, the Buddha wanders northern India out of compas...

Just how does one explain the taste of a mango? Vadanya gives us todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte entitled: Myth Evoking Inner Reality. Here, Vadanya illustrates just how rich myth and symbols are to elucidate the inner reality of the Buddha's experience. From the talk entitled, Brahmas Request , given as part of a series of talks on Stories and Symbols at Sheffield Buddhist Centre on 31st October 2...

In todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte Stories from the Pali Canon, Saddhaloka talks about the tradition of storytelling in Buddhism, and recounts some of his own favourites. His obvious love of the tales comes shining through and#8211; sit back and enjoyand#8230;Saddhaloka is the author of a book of re-tellings of stories from the Pali Canon, the oldest collection of texts about the life and teachings...

In todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte Six Objects of Worship, Sangharakshita explains the the first three of six garavas: Satta, Dharma, Sangha. From the talk, and#8220;Discerning the Buddhaand#8221;, given in 1986. In trying to discern the Buddha, we are trying to discern the highest kind of being: an Enlightened One. The Buddha, it seems, considered that the Dharma and#8211; the truth and#8211; is h...

In todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte A Rung in the Ladder, Satyalila shares quite personally about her writing as spiritual practice. From the talk, and#8220;Daring to Look In the Mirrorand#8221; given on the 2014 at the European Womenand#8217;s Convention held at Adhisthana, the theme of the convention was and#8220;The Bodhisattvaand#8217;s Reply: Triratna Paths to Insight.and#8221;

Our FBA Dharmabyte today is by Saddhaloka, the new chair of the College of Public Preceptors. Much easier said then done, Entering Into a Life in the Dharma begins with a strong heartfelt response, a feeling of 'coming home' and is challenged by our many distractions, confusions and the pressures of our life. We keep forgetting what is most important. From the talk of the same title given by Saddh...

In todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte , Setting Intention for Equanimity , 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#8211; and how to look to move beyond them s...

In todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte , The Boundlessness of Metta , Jvalamalini gives a very personal and helpful take on the metta bhavana (loving kindness) practice, recounting her history with it and the kinds of areas she has worked with over the years in order to learn to love herself and others as deeply as she can. Here she speaks on an initial experience of vision that arose of profound well-...

In todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte , Seeing Beauty in Nature , Jnanavaca continues the seminar series exploring Eros and Beauty, drawing inspiration from Keats on the ascent of beauty. From the talk and#8220;Eros and Beauty and#8211; Jnanavaca On Fireand#8221; given at the London Buddhist Center, 9th March 2015.

In todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte , The Perfectly Enlightened Mind , Padmavajra offers a beautiful reading of the opening verses of Bodhicaravatara and#8211; the Entry of the Way into Enlightement, by Shantideva. The Bodhicitta is one of those terms that you need to get a feeling for and#8211; translating it as 'the enlightened mind' doesn't quite do it justice. From the talk and#8220;Eros and Bea...

In todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte , Transforming the World , Khemasuri explores the message of Transforming the World in The Sutra of Golden Light at Sangha Night, Sheffield Buddhist Centre 2008. Talk given on 17th June 2008 as part of a series on Great Buddhist Texts.

In todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte , Buddhism and Culture , Sangharakshita illustrates how it is only possible to change the world fundamentally when we are receptive to the influence of higher spiritual dimensions. From the talk of the same name, Buddhism and Culture , given in 1976 as part of the series Transformation of Life and World in the Sutra of Golden Light.

In todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte , Gathering Wisdom , we hear from Vidyadevi during the opening of the new Sangharakshita Library at Adhisthana. Sangharakshita, founder of the Triratna Buddhist Order, has long dreamed of starting a new library to house his collection of 11,000 books on Buddhism, the Dharma and literature (including extensive reference and poetry collections). Vidyadevi, one of th...