Free Buddhist Audio

In this week's FBA Podcast "The Tale of Maha-Kassapa" Amoghavajra asks us, what is it that gladdens your heart? Taking us back 2,500 years to the Kingdom of Magadha in Northern India to the birth of a boy called Kassapa, Amoghavajra tells the story of how he grows up happily and as he gets older he becomes less and less worldly. Kassapa marries Bhadda who has equally renunciant tendancies. They bo...

Be prepared for the odd surprise in our FBA Podcast today where Dhivan asks: "What Do We Really Know About the Buddha?" A lovely talk here from the excellent Dhivan. As he sifts the information that's come down to us, we meet several different versions of a human being as he blurs with the archetypal presence he has also come to represent. Yet whichever manifestation we prefer, more than anything...

Our FBA Podcast today is a wonderfully entertaining talk on Perfect Vision titled: "Welsh Bats, A Vajrasattva Drugs Mule and Spanish Insight." Here Vajrin tells a story of a wide ranging journey, including his early days at the Bristol Buddhist Centre in Long Ashton; his time as a junior doctor working in Africa; travels through India and Tibet; a visit to an Everest base camp and finally to ordin...

In this week's FBA Podcast, Manjuvajraa offers us insight into "Spontaneous Universal Compassion." The last of eight talks in the series 'Evolution and the meaning of life', here Manjuvajra shows us the next evolutionary step – purifying the mind.

In this week's FBA Podcast, Ratnaprabha gives us: "How To Have Fun" – A Look at the Buddhist path in terms of happiness, engagement, interest and delight. A new take on the positive nidanas. Talk given at the West London Buddhist Centre

In this week's FBA Podcast, "The Power of Empathy," Vajrasara explores metta (loving kindness), the subtle art of listening, and Kuan Yin, the mysterious white lady of Compassion. One of a series of talks on the theme of 'A Force for Good in the World', given in the Dharma Parlour at the 2010 Buddhafield Festival in Somerset, UK

In this week's FBA Podcast, "Empty Cave: Reflections on Life, Practice and Enlightenment," Saraha takes us on a journey into the snowy mountains of the Pyrenees where he engaged in a solitary meditation retreat. He found 'nothing but the sound of a man breathing' and hope and direction through emptiness, beauty and the Buddha's assertion that mindfulness is the way to freedom. Talk given at Birmin...

In this week's FBA Podcast, Padmavajra takes us on an amazing journey into: "The Tiger's Cave." This is the first in an excellent 8-talk sequence by Padmavajra on Zen Buddhism. The series is full of colourful stories and challenging insights from the lives of the great Masters of China and Japan. This talk introduces the basics and brings us face to face with the Great Emptiness at the heart of pr...

In this week's FBA Podcast, "Magic For the Modern World," Candradasa takes a personal look at aspects of magic in the East and West, considering its place in Buddhist history and practice and also its meeting with Christianity at the time of the Renaissance. What emerges is a picture of how magic defined in various ways can be a powerful metaphor for the everyday work of Buddhist meditation and et...

In this week's FBA Podcast, "The Blissful Mind," Vajradevi explores bliss, happiness, joy and their relationship to the Buddhist path. What stops us feeling happy more of the time? Is there a difference between freedom of desire and freedom from desire? Last of a series of four talks entitled 'The Powers of the Mind' given at the Cambridge Buddhist Centre in April 2011.

In this week's FBA Podcast, Vadanya delivers an engaging and rich talk titled: " The Great Hidden Treasures of Padmasambhava ."

In this week's FBA Podcast, we bring you a classic talk by Sangharakshita: " Art & The Spiritual Life ." "Art is the organisation of sensuous impressions that express the artist's sensibility and communicate to his audience a sense of values that can transform their lives." Using his own definition, Sangharakshita investigates the relevance of art and the artist to higher evolution. Talk given in...

In this week's FBA Podcast, " Ashvaghosha: India's Great Buddhist Poet " Dhivan introduces Ashvaghosha, the Buddhist poet of 2nd c. AD India. Two of his works survive: a poetic re-telling of the Buddha's life-story ('The Buddhacarita' or 'Acts of the Buddha'), and 'Handsome Nanda', about the conversion of the Buddha's sensuous and wife-loving cousin to the Dharma. Here Dhivan shares some of his ow...

In this week's FBA Podcast, Maitreyabandhu brings us " Poetry East: Sasha Dugdale Interview ." Sasha Dugdale is a poet and translator. She worked for the British Council in Russia in the 1990s where she set up the Russian New Writing Project with the Royal Court Theatre. Since her return in 2001 she has translated new plays for the Court, the RSC and other theatre companies. Her recent translation...

In this week's FBA Podcast " Life – For A Limited Time Only ," Suriyavamsa begins with the inevitability of death and some of our habitual attitudes to death and suffering, reading from contemporary poets. He brings out the Buddhist perspective that life and death are not separate, but parts of the same process. This talk was given at Parinirvana Day 2010 at the Glasgow Buddhist Centre.

In this week's FBA Podcast " Death And The Buddhist ," Danavira is very funny, can do poetic and profound, tends to the chaotic in his style, and has a particular genius for this kind of thing; this kind of thing being talking about death. The whole talk is a kind of respectful joyride through the hardest subject of all – sit back and enjoy a thoroughly adult treat that's likely to blow the heart...

In this week's FBA Podcast " Reflections on Vajrasattva: Purity, Confession and Death ," Dhammadinna shares her thoughts on Vajrasattva. His purity is not any sort of purity that can be attained – he is beyond space and beyond time. He is a very positive, profound, beautiful figure encouraging us to turn towards our innate purity, our Vajrasattva nature, so that we can wake up to the fact that in...

In this week's FBA Podcast " Triratna Buddhism ," Vadanya tells the story of Sangharakshita and the new Buddhist Order and movement he founded. He talks about the early days of the FWBO and demonstrates the radical nature of the movement that has now become the Triratna Buddhist Community.

In this week's FBA Podcast , " The Individual and Community " Dhammarati talks about the Order as the basis for the New Society. Basing his talk in part on the lectures where Sangharakshita originally introduced the idea of the New Society, which also includes interesting material on the Order, specifically the distinctions between Public and Private Ordination and what they represent. Dhammarati...

This week's FBA Podcast , " Dreaming Angels " is a rousing and challenging talk by Vajratara given on the December 2012 National Order Weekend for women. The full title is "Dreaming Angels Each Imbued with the Mysteries of the Other – Why the Triratna Buddhist Order is Needed and What It Can Do." Vajratara begins her talk by evoking the social revolution of Dr Ambedkar. A revolution, she says, whi...

In this week's FBA Podcast , " Buddhism: A Force for Good in the World " Vajragupta explores the potential of the Buddha's teachings to transform society, starting with seeing how the Dhamma has helped millions of people who've suffered under the Hindu caste system change their lives. He asks how we've done in bringing this part of Bhante's vision into being in the last 40 years, and encourages us...

In this week's FBA Podcast , " Buddhism and Peace " Parami thoughtfully asks: What is peace? And what does peace mean for Buddhists? Is it just the absence of war and conflict; guns and screaming? Or is it also the deep silence that arises when the mind and heart are in harmony – a positive state of mind that can be cultivated both personally and collectively, where good and evil don't exist as co...

In this week's FBA Podcast , Kamalashila introduces the fifth perfection: " Dhyana Paramita, the Perfection of Meditation ." Kamalashila is the author of 'Buddhist Meditation: Tranquillity, Imagination, Insight', an excellent manual on the practice of Buddhist meditation. Talk given at the West London Buddhist Centre, 2012.

In this week's FBA Podcast , " The Myth of Tristan and Iseult: Love, Transgression and Death ," Dhivan explores the origins and significance of the myth of Tristan and Iseult, relating it to the practise of Buddhism in the modern west. The twelfth-century Cornish story of Tristan and Iseult has captivated imaginations and inspired poets, composers and artists ever since. What is it about this tale...