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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 aspirant's quest for Enlightenment. Here, Sangharakshita tells the story of Devadatta who was trying to kill the Buddha. Excerpted from the talk The Heroic Ideal in Buddhism given in 19...

Padmavajra '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 practice as we can imagine, and then on beyond... Excerpted from the talk Mindfulness is the Way to the Deathless as part of the series The Dhammapada - the Buddha's Way o...

Beautifully read by Sangharakshita , these readings are taken from the oldest scriptural texts and evoke the real spirit of early Buddhism - the struggles, the joys and the triumphs of ordinary people who followed the path to Truth. Appears in Readings from the Pali Canon recorded in 2000 to mark the Digital Legacy project to begin transferring Dharmachakra's archive to digital format! *** Subscri...

Flowers naturally grow towards the light. The more we open to our true potential the more we open to the light of truth, of love, and of awareness. Our potential to grow is inherent in our very being. Here, Suryagupta shares reflections on verses from the Flowers chapter of the Dhammapada, or 'Way of Truth'. Excerpted from the talk entitled How Flowers Teach the Way to Enlightenment given at Londo...

"As many garlands are made from a heap of flowers, so one who is a mortal born should perform many ethically skilful deeds" - Dhammapada. Jvalamalini shares the effects of the story of Vasakha from the Dhammapada and draws out the significance for our sangha today. Excerpted from the talk As Garlands From a Heap of Flowers given at the Bristol Buddhist Centre , 2017. Subscribe to our Dharmabytes p...

This is an appropriately pithy talk by Surata on one of the most popular and regarded of the early Buddhist suttas, The 'Dhammapada'. The images of the verses and their direct relevance to our lives makes this sutta an indispensable aide memoire to practice – and Surata's consideration of it is a handy primer for newcomers to the text, as well as a refresher for those who've long enjoyed its simpl...

Bodhinaga picks up the theme 'Tantra for Today' by pulling out his guts and setting them alight (not literally). Exploring what it means to practice the Dharma with the whole of yourself, come and hear about transforming messy bits like secret fear and hot emotions like burning rage! Excerpted from the talk Blood, Bones, and Halos of Fire given at Sheffield Buddhist Centre , 2023. *** Subscribe to...

Moksatara introduces the dakini, the tantric embodiment of what's possible when all of our energy is completely engaged, alive and flowing. In order to meet the dakinis we must travel to where they dwell: the cremation grounds, where bodies are taken to be burnt. The deepest, darkest energies to be transformed are associated with fear. By deliberately plunging into crucial situations which mirror...

In a famous passage in the Itivutakka The Buddha compares Metta to the radiance of the sun and moon. He says that metta 'shines and burns and blazes forth in surpassing all other acts of good' and that 'Whoever sets their mind to make goodwill grow Boundless' ...will become Enlightened! Excerpted from the talk All Beings Without Exception given at Sheffield Buddhist Centre , 2024. *** Subscribe to...

Aryadasa discusses his experience of moving through fear in order to live a life more dedicated to love and friendship. He talks about the difficulties involved in this transition and the fruits that come from working through such difficulties. Excerpted from the talk Fearless Love - A Personal Talk by Aryadasa given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre , 2019, as part of the Sub35 Men's Fearless Love retr...

Fresh off a three-week solitary retreat, Vajragupta (m) shares, in a very personal and heart-felt way, what it was like, and what happened during that time. Coming to terms with his mother's slide into dementia, evoking the strangeness of dreams and memories, describing the sheer vividness of experience on retreat, and reflecting on both the joy and the fear that can result: this is a moving and i...

Sangharakshita describes how when faced with a tremendous fear, one with no apparent cause or object, how the Buddha's example of sitting with it until it subsides leads to determination, an essential heroic quality in the spiritual aspirant's quest for Enlightenment. Excerpted from the talk The Heroic Ideal in Buddhism given in 1969. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:   On Apple Podcasts |...

Fearlessness is courage in the face of fear, not the absence of fear. When we are with someone who is dying, we are confronted by our own death. Our sense of self is fundamentally brought into question as we face our core spiritual problem: the truth of insubstantiality and impermanence. Vidyamala gives a strong account of working with suffering and sorrow in life, and of transforming your experie...

Lokeshvara shares how the impact of fear and anxiety led him to learn to meditate. Fear is a universal emotion that can be quite debilitating, but seen in another way, it's like a little mini-death and an opportunity for Dharma practice. Excerpted from the talk Gesture of Fearlessness given at Buddhafield East , 2010. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:   On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On...

Vajragupta shares how her creativity and devotion flow to (and from) her collection of Barbies. Drawing on the imagery, chakras and mantras of the Five Wisdom Queens, she leads a meditation evoking each of their qualities in turn. Excerpted from the talk Barbies As the Five Wisdom Queens given at Norwich Buddhist Centre , 2024. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:   On Apple Podcasts | On Spo...

Ratnaprabha tells the story of Queen Vaidehi languishing in prison and longing for a better world. The Buddha teaches her to meditate on the land of Bliss, Amitabha's Pureland. What is the significance of Pureland Buddhism? Excerpted from the talk Birdsong Dharma given at West London Buddhist Centre , 2018. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:   On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podc...

In answering the question 'What is Buddhism?', Sangharakshita identifies higher evolution - the development of higher states of consciousness - with the twelve links in the progressive trend of the Buddha's teaching of conditioned co-production. Here he defines the second link, that of faith, translated from the sanskrit shraddha. Excerpted from the talk entitled Buddhism and the Path of the Highe...

Here Paramartha shares a story illustrating Milarepa as teacher, master, vertical kalyana mitra, in relation to Rechungpa, known as his 'moonlight disciple'. A young but seasoned practitioner, a cotton-clad yogi, devoted to his teacher, but who was a bit head-strong and stuck in his practice. Excerpted from the talk Rechungpa's Unusual Faith given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre , 2010. *** Subscribe...

Faith is the sort of emotional response that you have when you are confronted by the embodiment of Enlightenment. Vajragupta shares a story from the life of Milarepa. Excerpted from the talk Faith: the Emotional Response That You Have When You Are Confronted by the Embodiment of Enlightenment given at Mid Essex Buddhist Centre , 2021. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:   On Apple Podcasts |...

A lover of chocolate, trees and poetry, Jayaraja explores how to make the Buddha's teaching real in our lives by looking at the connection between courage and shraddha, commonly translated as 'faith'. Excerpted from the talk Courage, Vulnerability and Healing Our Tempestuous World given as part of the series Seeds of the Heart given in the Dharma Parlour tent, Buddhafield , 2022. *** Subscribe to...

Suryadarshini retells the story from Sangharakshita's Know Your Mind about staying in contact with faith in the midst of a desert of suffering. She exhorts us to continue to turn towards our experience, even in the absence of pleasure or inspiration. Excerpted from the talk Faith and Doubt In Ten Minutes given at Norwich Buddhist Centre , 2018. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:   On Apple...

Here Akashamitra takes us through the first of the five spiritual faculties, shraddha, often translated as faith or confidence. Excerpted from the talk entitled Confidence , part of the series The Five Powers of the Mind given at London Buddhist Centre , 2024. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:   On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts Bite-sized inspiration three times every we...

Vajradevi explores aspects of faith, including faith and receptivity, the relationship of confidence and doubt in our own practice. She goes on to look at how 'faith is wisdom, but not fully realised.' Excerpted from the talk entitled Exploring the Faculty of Faith , part of the series Pathways to the Beautiful Mind given at Bristol Buddhist Centre , 2019. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:...

The jewel in Buddhism represents the deepest nature of our being. Punyamala explores the symbol of the jewel in the lotus as evoked in the White Lotus Sutra. Excerpted from the talk entitled Jewel In the Lotus given at Sheffield Buddhist Centre, 2007. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:   On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts Bite-sized inspiration three times every week. Subsc...

Just as plants need soil, warmth, light, and rain to grow, so humans need health and leisure, spiritual friendship, intellectual clarity, and the 'Rain of the Dharma'. Sangharakshita draws out the White Lotus Sutra's 'Parable of the Rain Cloud', in a talk entitled The Rain of the Dharma given in the USA, 1993. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:   On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google P...