The first of four talks given by Ratnaguna during the annual Padmaloka Open Retreat. The theme of the retreat was 'For Heroic Spirits Intended...' and was based around the Ratnaguna Samcayagatha-a profound Mahayana Sutra. A new translation by Sraddhapa of the text was used for the first time during the retreat. You can find this text at Sraddhapa's website where donations can be made to support this important translation work. Talk given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre in 2018 as part of the series ...
Sep 28, 2019•1 hr•Ep. 424
How do we transcend conflicts and contradictions? Vilasamani explores the conundrums of Buddhist practitioners in the Vimalakirti Sutra , and bring some of them up-to-date, in a talk to the West London Buddhist Centre Sangha night. *** Help keep FBA free for everyone! Become a supporter today. Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast - bite-size pieces of Dharma inspiration, t wo times a week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcloud...
Sep 21, 2019•59 min•Ep. 423
Touching on the themes of righteous indignation, spiritual bypassing, empathy, non-violent communication, envy and exploring apology, confession and working with betrayal, Santavajri poses the question as to whether we can forgive ourselves and move towards unconditional love for all beings. An exploration of verses 4, 5 and 6 of the Eight Verses for Training the Mind. Talk given at the Women's Area Order Weekend at Adhisthana , December 2018 as of the series Women's Area Order Weekend at Adhist...
Sep 14, 2019•48 min•Ep. 422
Amalaketu explores freedom through images and stories from the Chappanakopama Sutta, the discourse on the simile of the 6 animals, and shows how Buddhism is the way to ultimate liberation. Talk given at the East Anglian Mens Retreat, Padmaloka May 2012. *** Help keep FBA free for everyone! Become a supporter today. Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast - bite-size pieces of Dharma inspiration, t wo times a week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcl...
Sep 07, 2019•43 min•Ep. 421
Suryagupta delivers a powerful, passionate account of the figure of the Dakini who represents perfect freedom. London Buddhist Centre 's contemporary series on Sangharakshita's classic 1979 lecture ' The Taste of Freedom '. *** Help keep FBA free for everyone! Become a supporter today. Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast - bite-size pieces of Dharma inspiration, t wo times a week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcloud...
Aug 31, 2019•59 min•Ep. 420
Padmavajra visited the London Buddhist Centre to give a talk on Sangharakshita's classic 1979 lecture ' The Taste of Freedom '. Just as the mighty ocean has but one taste, the taste of salt, even so the Dharma-vinaya (Buddhism) has but one taste, the taste of Freedom. (from 'The Udana'). Talk given June 2019 *** Help keep FBA free for everyone! Become a supporter today. Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast - bite-size pieces of Dharma inspiration, t wo times a week! Follow our blog for news and ...
Aug 24, 2019•41 min•Ep. 419
Sanghadevi offers this substantial and inspiring talk on the praises of Pingiya, from the chapter entitled The Way to the Beyond from the Sutta Nipata. This is the final talk in a series entitled The Buddha in the Pali Canon given at Cambridge Buddhist Centre (UK) 2015. *** Help keep FBA free for everyone! Become a supporter today. Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast - bite-size pieces of Dharma inspiration, t wo times a week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebo...
Aug 17, 2019•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 418
Here we have Akuppa exploreing how someone practising the Dharma might respond if they found themselves in 'Hell and Other Ordinary Places' - including prison and public buses! 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. There are also very worth sharing: Shambala Warrior verses written by Akuppa, 2005. *** Help keep FBA free for everyone! Become a supporter today. Subscribe to our Dharmab...
Aug 10, 2019•51 min•Ep. 417
How can Buddhists respond to the climate emergency? Vishvapani uses the Parable of the Burning House from the Lotus Sutra to suggest our responsibilities' and finds the values we need to guide us in the Five Precepts. Given at Cardiff Buddhist Centre on Dharma Day, July 2019. *** Help keep FBA free for everyone! Become a supporter today. Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast - bite-size pieces of Dharma inspiration, t wo times a week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on ...
Aug 03, 2019•41 min•Ep. 416
Partisan politics, hurricanes and earthquakes, mass shootings, nuclear threats … our world at times feels like a living nightmare. How do we as Buddhists respond, individually and as a sangha? And how do we keep our sanity? "Practice During Times of Chaos and Uncertainty" given by Sunada on Sangha Day at Aryaloka Buddhist Center, Newmarket, NH, November 2017. *** Help keep FBA free for everyone! Become a supporter today. Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast - bite-size pieces of Dharma inspirati...
Jul 27, 2019•43 min•Ep. 415
It's often very difficult to keep up with the challenges of a Buddhist practice. If we are truly to make progress in our Buddhist practice, we have to take into account our surroundings, our environment, where we live, where we work, where we socialize. Transforming our own lives and minds is at the core of our practice, but to do that effectively we also need to look at transforming, remaking, rebuilding the world and communities around us. Taking inspiration from The Vimalakirti Nirdesa, Padma...
Jul 20, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 414
Subhuti shares his reflections on Urgyen Sangharakshita in the days following his death and funeral ceremony. He explores the double response to Sangharakshita as an effective Dharma teacher and former of Sangha alongside the various difficulties and paradoxes in his life. The two last papers Sangharakshita wrote, completed just over two weeks before he died, examine the three main paths of Buddhism, among other things, and thereby offer three different ways of understanding his own role as teac...
Jul 13, 2019•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 413
Here is a talk by Punyamala on Dilgo Khyentse Rimpoche, (1910-1991) one of Sangharakshita's main eight teachers. Forced to flee Tibet in 1959, Dilgo Khyentse Rimpoche was an accomplished meditation teacher, scholar and holder of the Nyingma lineage, the oldest school of Tibetan Buddhism. Punyamala offers a brief history of his life, his connection with Sangharakshita and a set of reflections on his teachings. Talk given at Sheffield Buddhist Centre, 29th August 2006, as part of a series on the R...
Jul 06, 2019•43 min•Ep. 412
Here's a forthright and passionate talk by Vajratara , taking as its starting point the great contemporary Tibetan teacher (sometimes also written ' Chatral Sangye Dorje ') and his relationship to practice in Triratna, rooted in his giving of the Green Tara practice to Sangharakshita. The main focus, however, is the need to practice the Dharma for others as part of a meaningful community, and Vajratara argues her case with a balance of down-to-earth humour and uncompromising vision. Talk given a...
Jun 29, 2019•47 min•Ep. 411
A lovely talk given by Nagabodhi on Triratna Day at Aryaloka Buddhist Center , with an introduction by Dayalocana. Here, Nagabodhi recounts his favorite memories of his time with Dhardo Rinpoche in Kalimpong, expresses his feelings about the strengthening power of stupa building for centers, and ties it all together with a reminder of the central role of sangha in the Triratna Community. Lovely introducation and conclusion by Dayalocana. Talk given on Triratna Day, April 2014 at Aryaloka Buddhis...
Jun 22, 2019•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 410
Part 5 in the Faces of Enlightenment Sangha night series at the Sheffield Buddhist Centre . Bodhinaga gives a talk on the Buddha Amitabha and the Metta Bhavana loving-kindness meditation. Recorded at Sheffield Buddhist Centre, 21/05/19 *** Help keep FBA free for everyone! Become a supporter today. Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast - bite-size pieces of Dharma inspiration, three times a week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcloud...
Jun 15, 2019•45 min•Ep. 409
Our FBA Podcast this week is entitled Forgiveness and Happiness. Santavajri explores verses 4, 5 and 6 of the Eight Verses for Training the Mind. She begins with her realisation that a motivator for her spiritual practice has been a quest for happiness. Touching on the themes of righteous indignation, spiritual bypassing, empathy, non-violent communication, envy, and exploring apology, confession and working with betrayal, Santavajri poses the question: can we forgive ourselves and move towards ...
Jun 08, 2019•48 min
Here Padmavajra speaks about the stages of spiritual death and rebirth. How to prepare for them, how they can be seen in all the stages of the path, as well as where they lead. Talk given on a Kula Gathering at Padmaloka, 2012. Subscribe to the FBA Podcast!
Jun 01, 2019•1 hr 3 min
Check out this week's FBA Podcast : What's Race, Gender, Sexuality and Skin Color Got to Do with Non-Self by Vimalasara. A timely and thought-provoking talk given at a People of Color (POC) day-long retreat at San Francisco's East Bay Meditation Center 2019. The East Bay Meditation Center hosts teachers from all lineages to teach the Dharma to their POC, LGBTQI2, Differently Abled and Scent Free Communities. Talk given February 2019 in San Francisco....
May 11, 2019•38 min
In today's FBA Podcast this week: 21st Century Bodhisattva Saravantu explores the role of active engagement in the world's problems, and the various pitfalls along the way, into which activists can so easily fall. This talk launches a series of talks entitled "The 21st Century Bodhisattva", inspired by Akuppa's module in the Dharma Training Course....
May 04, 2019•53 min
Enjoy our FBA Podcast this week: Communicating the Dharma Through the Arts – Show Don't Tell by Sarvananda. Be prepared for the unexpected in this very funny – and by turns wrongfooting – personal exploration of why the Arts are vital to the development of a genuine Buddhist community. Sarvananda discusses as background his attempts to find a synthesis between the Arts and spiritual life, leading to his current work as a successful playwright. But it is in the three departures from a traditional...
Apr 27, 2019•47 min
Our FBA Podcast this week is an important talk entitled Mindfulness and the Creative Disruption of Bias by Viveka. Viveka explores the theme of racism from the perspective of the Dharma and what the Buddha had to say about complex conditionality. A timely look at understanding – and ultimately undoing – the patterns that lead to prejudice and bias, of all kinds. Specifically, this talk investigates: - Opening to the inter-personal, organizational, and societal conditioning that perpetuates racia...
Apr 20, 2019•44 min
This week's FBA Podcast is a talk on Radical Inclusivity by Singhashri. What does Buddhism have to do with belonging? What does belonging have to do with Buddhism? We live in a pluralistic society, where many cultures coexist while maintaining their cultural differences. One of the main concerns of our day is how we continue to create a sense of belonging, amid so much difference. For Triratna, we might ask ourselves, how do we create spaces where all feel welcome, regardless of age, race, natio...
Apr 13, 2019•1 hr 8 min
Speaking in a marquee on the June 2012 Women's National Order Weekend at Taraloka and in a landscape dedicated to the Five Jinas, Samantabhadri explores positive emotion in our system of practice. Her themes are: pliancy and loosening boundaries; the imagination; insight; our collective life; the shade and the light of our spiritual lives. Subscribe to the FBA podcast
Apr 06, 2019•37 min
Delve into the fundamental principles behind Integration in Triratna's System of Practice with this week's FBA Podcast entitled The Five Aspects of Dharma Life - Integration by Subhuti. With integration we begin by taking fully responsibility for our karmic agency. This is the third talk in a series of eight from the System of Practice retreat at Padmaloka for men who have asked for Ordination. Subhuti invites his hearers to find new and deeper significance with the fundamental principles behind...
Apr 06, 2019•1 hr 6 min
Our FBA Podcast this week is a rousing, uncompromisingly radical talk from Maitriveer-Nagarjuna entitled The Lion's Roar Of Doctor Ambedkar (with translation in Hindi). Taking up the theme of the Convention, the great "Lion's Roar" of the Buddha, Maitriveer-Nagarjuna evokes the fire that drove Doctor Bimrao Ambedkar to work tirelessly on behalf of the so-called Dalit "Untouchable" people in order to free them from the evils of the Hindu caste system. He reframes Doctor Ambedkar as a radical for ...
Apr 06, 2019•1 hr
Our FBA Podcast this week is by Vajratara entitled Dr Ambedkar and His Importance For the Future of Buddhism . Vajratara argues that Dr Ambedkar is not just relevant for India or for the oppressed, but essential for modern Buddhism all over the world, challenging us to move beyond a comfortable Buddhism that fits neatly into modern consumer society. The talk was given at a retreat at Rivendell for young people comparing the teachings of Dr Ambedkar and Sangharakshita, 2014....
Mar 30, 2019•48 min
In a celebration of the 60th anniversary of the mass conversion to Buddhism of Dr Ambedkar and thousands of his followers, Nagabodhi tells the story of Ambedkar and the role that Sangharakshita was to play in supporting the nascent Buddhist movement of ex-Untouchables. This week's FBA Podcast by Nagabodhi, Dr Ambedkar and Sangharakshita , was given at North London Buddhist Centre, 2016....
Mar 23, 2019•42 min
In this week's FBA Podcast Subhuti offers The Significance of Dr Ambedkar In the West . Speaking during a festival day in 2010 held to celebrate the life of Dr Ambedkar, Subhuti speaks about what significance Dr Ambedkar has outside India. The main thrust of the talk is a list of three reasons why someone might convert to Buddhism, enumerated by Dr Ambedkar but applied to our situation in the West. Perhaps the most important is Dr Ambedkar's insights into the need for society to be grounded in E...
Mar 16, 2019•59 min
All bona fide Buddhism is Activism. We want to make the world better right? The issue is energy; how can we cultivate energy in pursuit of the good. In this week's FBA Podcast , entitled The 4 Gifts , Padmavajra considers 5 fundamental aspects of Virya – known as Energy for Enlightenment.
Mar 09, 2019•1 hr 3 min
