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In the weeks following Urgyen Sangharakshita's death in 2018, Mahamati , one of his secretaries and companions, spoke informally at a number of Order gatherings about the experience of working closely with him during the last fifteen or so years of his life. Here, Mahamati reflects on aspects of their time together, and on aspects of Sangharakshita's personality and character which were not always...

Saccanama explores the First Noble Truth of dukkha or unsatisfactoriness. Through looking at incidents from the life of the Buddha, he explores not just the individual aspect of dukkha but also the collective or social aspects of dukkha which are often overlooked or downplayed in Buddhist tradition. He also explores the traditional descriptions of dukkha before going on to examine what Joanna Macy...

Dhammarati explores Triratna's system of practice - its background in practice, its relationship to tradition, and its implications for the very nature of spiritual life. An encouraging, grounded, flexible take on the rigorous, meaningful, and rewarding challenges of a lifetime of working with the mind and the heart. Talk given at the national Triratna Buddhist Order weekend, February 2008. *** He...

Dassini looks at the Eight Worldly Winds and the Four Right Efforts, relating them back to the Four Mind Turning Reflections. This talk was given as part of the series Rainy Season Retreat , Glasgow Buddhist Centre , 2017. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now: https://freebuddhistaudio.com/donate Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast: A full, curated, quality Dharma t...

Dharma is the experience of reality, and also the expression of that experience in the form of the Buddha's teaching, especially the law of conditionality. It is the raft that carries you to Enlightenment, the further shore; it is whatever helps you to develop spiritually. This classic talk by Sangharakshita was given in 1968 as part of the series Introducing the Three Jewels of Buddhism . *** Hel...

What is 'animism' and what kind of philosophy does it entail? Dhivan considers how animism rests on an intuition about the aliveness of the world, and how this intuition can inform a mode of philosophy that does not bypass the earth as the living presence behind all thinking. This talk was given at Adhisthana as part of the series Wisdom of the Earth: Philosophy and the Climate Crisis , 2023. ***...

Tejopala likens the current global climate crisis to a village with a fire that threatens everyone in it and asks what a community of monks living in such a village might do in such circumstances. He also draws on the advice given by Urgyen Sangharakshita in his talk given in 1984 called 'Buddhism, World Peace and Nuclear War' as to how Buddhists should act to address an overwhelming existential t...

Referencing Sangharakshita's teaching on personal responsibility, Khemasuri shows how, through self-development and sangha, we can make a radical difference in the world. This talk was part of a two talk series entitled The Lion's Roar by Shakyapada and Khemasuri given at Triratna Buddhist Community York , 2019. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now: https://freebuddhistaudio...

Bhadra gave this talk as part of BAM 2018. He references David Loy's two icebergs and explores how we might revise the Triratana mandala of practice to strengthen our sense of interconnectedness with the world. Given at Bristol Buddhist Centre, 2018. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now: https://freebuddhistaudio.com/donate Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast: A ful...

Saraha addresses the UK & IE Triratna Buddhist Order convention, exploring the collective practice of taking part in Order chapters. The Buddha went forth to seek an end to suffering, to go beyond what binds us to the samsaric world. The theme of this event also encompasses 'going beyond' and the ways in which we are approaching that as an Order. This talk was given at the Triratna Buddhist Order...

Prajnahridaya explores Awareness of Reality, but not in a way you might expect. What if seeing the truth were less about 'understanding' reality, and more about coming into relation with and opening up to what we might experience as a living spiritual force? Through the course of the evening we will be becoming more aware of the Buddha, who is himself reality. Prajnahridaya will be speaking quite...

Let's hear it for the early Buddhist women! Mahajapapati was the first Buddhist nun and leader of the women's ordained sangha, and her two chief disciples were Khema and Uppalavanna. Maitrisiddhi explores some challenging material - and also very inspiring texts around the beginning of the bhikkhuni sangha. The talk also features Mara - the embodiment of everything that holds us back. How do we fr...

In this talk Suddhayu explores images from the Fire Sermon and the Parable of the Burning House in relation to the current political climate in the USA. From a Buddhist perspective, the world is always on fire — and sometimes it feels like the heat gets turned up. He uses the theme of 'Going Forth from Samsara' to speak about personal transformation and a compassionate response to the suffering of...

What is the spiritual community and how does it differ from the group? Why is it important? How does the spiritual community come into being? How can I be part of the conditions for it to arise? Kalyacitta takes us on a heart-felt and imaginative exploration of the spiritual community, drawing on her own experience of bringing about a true Sangha. Talk given on a retreat for women who have asked f...

Communication with another can be a wonderfully connecting and liberating experience or it can destroy us. Recognising the mystery and interconnectedness of all things we find the uncanny ability to communicate meaningfully. Mindfulness, courage and renunciation are essential. Saraha invites us all, with practical steps, to notice and live freedom in Shunyata, connection in aloneness and the mutua...

Satyaraja begins the series of talks on the four acceptance verses with an inspiring, careful, and systematic exploration of the verse 'With Loyalty to my Teachers, I Accept this Ordination'. He investigates the centrality of the relationship with Bhante Sangharakshita, our own preceptors and the world and culture which we join at the sacred moment of ordination. This talk was given as part of the...

Subhadramati gives a talk for Cambridge Sangha night as part of a series on the Six Distinctive Emphasis of the Triratna Buddhist Community. A talk full of energy, insight and inspiration on Ordination within Triratna. Given at Cambridge Buddhist Centre ,  2016. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast:   On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts A full, curated, quality Dharma t...

Nagabodhi interviews Sangharakshita in a wide-ranging discussion about the FWBO's history and the continuing process of translating the Buddha's Dharma for the West. At times the exchanges are more personal than is common as we listen in to questions and answers regarding a variety of historical features of the personal and public life of the founder of a new, radical spiritual community. What eme...

Punyamala explores how we can bring our mindfulness to the crucial juncture in our experience, the gap between feeling and craving. This point - the point of freedom, also sometimes referred to as the battleground of the spiritual life - is where we can start to change the habits that bind us to the Wheel. It's the point where we can move from the reactive mind to the creative mind, move closer to...

Awareness, or mindfulness, is the keystone of the Buddhist path and of any truly human life. The Buddha's teaching on what awareness is and how to practise it is vast, and profound, and takes us far beyond what we might usually associate with the word 'mindfulness'. It requires a willingness to open our hearts and a good deal of courage to enter upon this way. Are you up for the challenge? Prajnah...

Ratnaghosha explores the Buddha's vision of spiritual community as it is expressed in verses 197, 198 and 199 of the Dhammapada. This is a comprehensive survey of the Buddha's teaching but is also replete with practical advice about how we might apply this to our lives today - and finishes on a very encouraging note. Recorded at the Dublin Buddhist Centre , 2024. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist...

In this talk Padmavajra explores the first two verses of the Dhammapada and their far reaching implications. He explores how we create not only our own happiness or suffering through our actions but also how we create worlds, worlds of suffering or worlds conducive to human growth and even freedom. He then describes how the Bodhisattva works tirelessly and heroicly to create a Buddha field for the...

Kusalasara explores the opening verses of the Dhammapada, or 'Way of Truth' showing a path of discovery of the pure mind and the impure mind. Excerpted from the talk entitled The Essential Revolution given at  London Buddhist Centre as part of the series The Dhammapada , 2022. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:   On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts Bite-sized inspiration thr...

The Buddha's wisdom can be summarised by the three lakshanas, this is not nihilistic, but an honest recognition of the way things are. Change is inherent in life, the only choice we have is whether we change for the better! To open to this change we need confidence, which we can find in the dharma and the sangha. Jnanadhara gave this talk at a Young Mens Retreat, at Padmaloka Retreat Centre , 2012...

Subhadramati starts with the story of the Snow Queen and takes us on an exploration of imagination and Dharmic responsiveness, faith and wisdom. She shows how it is imagination that removes the twin thorns of ignorance and craving, that allows us to ascend towards the beauty of the Three Jewels. This talk was given on a Mythic Context Retreat at Tiratanaloka Retreat Centre , 2024, as part of the s...