Free Buddhist Audio

Vajratara brings us this week's FBA Podcast entitled: "From the Bodhicaryavatara." The Mahayana emphasizes the great goal of the spiritual life – the immeasurable energy, wisdom and compassion. This is what life is about, this is what the path of the spiritual practitioner is all about. Vajratara explores Santideva's Bodhicaryavatara at Sangha Night, Sheffield Buddhist Centre on 18th March 2008. P...

Vessantara leads us on a journey to discover "Spiritual Receptivity" for this week's FBA Podcast. This is the first in a thoroughly engaging set of talks and led meditations. From beginning to end, we get to experience the full flavor of the retreat that these segments were recorded from, held at Adhisthana in 2014. Vessantara deftly weaves Spiritual Receptivity together with the greater mandala o...

This week's FBA Podcast, "Great Faith, Great Wisdom," by Ratnaguna, is from the 2014 Men's Order Convention.

This week's FBA Podcast, is another brilliant talk from the European Combined Order Convention. In "Wow! Opening to Insight," Viveka gives us much to reflect upon in our practice in a world that needs our presence. Are we ready to awaken to all sorts of astonishing things? What do you know from direct experience? What we see is pratitya-samutpada, which isn't a view, but rather a description of ho...

This week's FBA Podcast, is entitled "Singing the Song of the Order," by Jnanacandra. One of two talks on more devotional approaches to Insight, given at the European Combined Order Convention held at Wymondham College on 24 August 2014. The theme of the convention was "The Bodhisattva's Reply: Triratna Paths to Insight".

This week's FBA Podcast,   "Radical Change – Learning to Be Free ," is a talk by Sona given at the Manchester Buddhist Centre in April 2012. He explores how we can make real, even radical, changes to our lives through waking up to life with awareness.

This week's FBA Podcast,   "Padmasambhava's Advice to the Three Fortunate Women," comes to us from Glasgow Buddhist Centre, 2010. Padmolka looks at the first section of Padmasambhava's Advice to The Three Fortunate Women from The Life and Liberation of Padmasambhava. She begins by saying a bit about Padmasambhava subduing the demons of Tibet and the circumstances around the time when this teaching...

This week's FBA Podcast is a quite unusual and unexpectedly intimate talk from Sangharakshita,  "Dreams and Rebirth." Given at the wonderful old converted church that is now the resplendent Sheffield Buddhist Centre in the UK. Some lovely, evocative accounts from his personal dreamlife – tales of mediaeval monks! – and a significant and highly personal exploration of the whole area of Buddhist vie...

This week's FBA Podcast ,  "The Mandala of the Buddha," is a talk given by Kamalashila on the 2012 Triratna International Retreat, in which he explores the 'Mandala of the Buddha' – some of the Buddha's many qualities which, perhaps, gave rise to the later Mahayana 'Mandala of the Five Buddhas'.

Vajratara delivers our FBA Podcast this week, "Energy, the Tantric Precepts and Enlightenment." An exploration of what energy means in the spiritual life and how to work with it, especially referencing Sangharakshita's 'Tantric' version of the Five Precepts. Given at the 2011 National Young Triratna Buddhists Weekend retreat exploring the theme of 'Energy for Enlightenment'. See www.buddhismtoday....

In this week's FBA Podcast , "Eight Step Recovery" Vimalasara speaks on the importance of loving oneself as a part of recovery from addiction as an introduction to her new book, co-authored with Paramabandhu, entitled 'Eight Step Recovery – Using the Buddha's Teachings to Overcome Addiction'. She goes on to discuss the life conditions that she and Paramabandhu have emerged from, and how those ener...

Words are not adequate to describe things as they are, and yet Ratnaguna does a remarkable job! This week's FBA Podcast , "The Buddhas Two Great Gifts to the World" Ratnaguna explores the gifts of discourse and practice. This talk was given to to promote a new buddhist centre in Stockholm.

This week's FBA Podcast is entitled: "Make Yourself An Island." Reflecting on her favourite lines from the Paranibbana Sutta, Jvalamalini explores how to become an island in the midst of the eight worldly winds, especially how to steer through praise and blame, and fame and infamy by developing true individuality, and spiritual receptivity.

This week's FBA Podcast was given at the London Buddhist Centre's Dharma Day celebration, July 2014. "Dharma and Nature" by Dhivan, author of "This Being, That Becomes" . The word Dharma means many things, including "nature" – referring to how things work, the true nature of things. We also use the word to refer to the whole interconnected living world. The meanings of the world only partly overla...

This week's FBA Podcast comes to us from Amalaketu entitled "A Hopeful Buddhist Response to Environmental Crisis" . How, as Buddhists, can we respond appropriately to the current environmental crisis. Talk given on Sangha Night at Norwich Buddhist Centre on 1st July 2014.

We are pleased to share the three keynote talks from last month's International Retreat . Our third FBA Podcast in the series is "Altruism, Actually – Getting Out and Doing It" . Mokshini introduces us to Buddhist Action Month and asks us to consider how our actions have consequences and how we practise the precepts as consumers. Talk given at the Triratna International Retreat 2014 held at Adhist...

We are pleased to share the three keynote talks from last month's International Retreat . Our second FBA Podcast in the series is "Going Beyond Capitalism – A Buddhist Perspective" . Vaddhaka inspires Triratna Buddhists to learn more about economics and challenge the Neo-liberal economists notion that individual greed will lead to everyone benefiting. He encourages us to embrace Sangharakshitas vi...

We are pleased to share the three keynote talks from last month's International Retreat . Our first FBA Podcast in the series is "The Bodhisattvas Reply" . 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 t...

We are pleased to share a talk by Parami for our FBA Podcast today, "Buddhanussati: What Would the Buddha Do Now?" given at Manchester Buddhist Centre on 12th January 2009.

In our FBA Podcast today, "The Broken Mandala," , Maitreyabandhu talks about how we need a central mythic thread in our lives, and how without this the mandala of our life is either broken, destructive or chaotic. This personal, inner mandala is mirrored by the public outer world around us. Humanly and spiritually we live in a broken mandala. How do we make sense of our lives? What is our deeper p...

In our FBA Podcast today, "Forces That Shape the Mind," , Manjuvajra continues with his thoughts on 'Evolution and the meaning of life'. Individuals enter this path of a higher evolution by consciously cooperating with the evolutionary process to refine their self consciousness: to purifying the mind as a basis for the next evolutionary step. To purify the mind we must know the mind, so in this ta...

In our  FBA Podcast today, "Milarepa and the Yak Horn Story," , Yashobodhi tells the story of Milarepa's attempt to tackle his disciple Rechungpa's pride by singing to him from inside a Yak horn.

In our  FBA Podcast today, "The Motive (Remixed)," , Padmavajra explores a great classic of Tibetan Buddhism – Gampopa's 'Jewel Ornament of Liberation'. The work, inspired by devotion to Manjusri, is one of the key texts in the development of the Tibetan Lam Rim teachings. And Gampopa, being one of the two principle disciples of the yogi Milarepa, presents both the monastic Lam Rim approach of Ati...

In our  FBA Podcast today, "Zen Master Hakuin" , Jyotipakshini delivers a wonderful overview of Hakuin's early life and what led him to becoming a monk. She shares his strengthss and the characteristic aspects of his personality, his determination and intense dedication, as well as his highly critical nature, his struggles and setbacks. We also hear a little about the two schools of Zen and about...

In celebration of the Buddha's Enlightenment, our  FBA Podcast today is titled "Heart of Darkness" from the London Buddhist Centre's Buddha Day Festival a few years back. Inspiring stuff, despite it's title! An honest, heartfelt talk from the author, "Meaning in Life".