When we pay attention to our own experiences of suffering and joy, this can be a starting point to connecting in love with others. Dayajoti offers a personal entry into recognizing and practicing the Brahma Viharas - love, compassion, joy, equanimity. Talk given during the setup for Buddhafield Festival on the theme 'Fire in the Heart', 2013. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast - bite-sized inspiration three times every week! (Apple Podcasts) Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a...
Jan 15, 2022•25 min•Ep. 544
Suryagupta explores crisis and conflict in the life of the Buddha and what we can learn when responding to conflict in our own lives. Talk given at the London Buddhist Centre , 2017. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast - bite-sized inspiration three times every week! (Apple Podcasts) Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! (Apple Podcasts) Subscribe using these RSS feeds or search for Free Buddhist Audio or Dharmabytes in your favourite podcast service!...
Jan 08, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 543
Satyapara leads us in an evocation of the alchemical Buddha drawing out the mythic dimension through receptivity and imagination. Talk given at Cambridge Buddhist Centre , 2018. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast - bite-sized inspiration three times every week! (Apple Podcasts) Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! (Apple Podcasts) Subscribe using these RSS feeds or search for Free Buddhist Audio or Dharmabytes in your favourite podcast service! Help...
Jan 01, 2022•42 min•Ep. 542
Here 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 Atisha and the Mahamudra meditation teachings of Milarepa himself. This is the seventh talk in an eight part series entitled Themes from Gampopa's Jewe...
Dec 25, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 541
After exploring the relationship between the transcendental (lokuttara) and historical time, Saccanama looks at the challenges facing us at this particular point in history. Individualism and materialism present challenges both to our society and to our practice of the Dharma. Put them together and we have a form of capitalism which is so dominant that it becomes impossible to imagine any other system. Set against this, the Dharma is always challenging. This talk is part of the series Challengin...
Dec 18, 2021•47 min•Ep. 540
Here Samantabhadri expertly and imaginatively tackles the theme of Wisdom, using the verses in the third section of Tsongkhapa's short text on the "Three Principal Aspects of the Path." Dharma themes of the laksanas, suffering, niyamas, self - and no-self - are interwoven with more personal reflections, and with thought-provoking quotations - ".... emptiness, activity and compassion are not three things, but one thing looked at from three different points of view...." This is the third of three ...
Dec 11, 2021•37 min•Ep. 539
Maitrisara explores the vipallasas , the topsy turvy views as a way to explore how our delusions inhibit our efforts in spiritual practice. She begins with an overview of what Going for Refuge to the Three Jewels means and why frameworks to explore delusion (like the topsy turvy views) can help us. She illustrates the topsy turvy views with examples from her own life. This talk was given on a retreat for women mitras in the MidWest Region , 2019. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast: On Appl...
Dec 04, 2021•47 min•Ep. 538
Viveka explores the fourth tetrad of the Anapanasati Sutta: "inquiry into the experience of wisdom" particularly applying the contemplations of impermanence, fading away, cessation and relinquishment to the experience of mind and awareness itself. This talk is part of the series Anapanasati Sutta: Instructions for Awakening given at Adhisthana , 2019. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast - bite-sized inspiration three times every week! (Apple Podcasts) Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio po...
Nov 27, 2021•23 min•Ep. 537
A personal talk where Punyamala shares her reflections on impermanence, particularly in the context of family life. Weaving in poetry and real life examples, Punyamala looks at the question of how to stay open in the midst of impermanence and death, without falling into despondency. Punyamala describes how she has sought to live a meaningful life, fully open to reality. This talk was given on an ordination training retreat at Tiratanaloka Retreat Centre , 2019. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes p...
Nov 20, 2021•28 min•Ep. 536
Prakasha takes us through the verses on transference of merit and self surrender from Shantideva's Bodhicaryavatara, and communicates the feeling of the complete letting go of a Bodhisattva. Talk given at Shrewsbury Triratna Buddhist Group , 2018. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast - bite-sized inspiration three times every week! (Apple Podcasts) Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! (Apple Podcasts) Subscribe using these RSS feeds or search for Free...
Nov 13, 2021•42 min•Ep. 535
Karunagita introduces four types of letting go - of the weight of past harmful actions, holding our conditioning lightly, of expectations and of physical holding in the body - in this talk at Dhanakosa for the 2017 New Year women mitra retreat. The retreat theme was Padmasambhava's advice to Queen Ngang Chung. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast - bite-sized inspiration three times every week! (Apple Podcasts) Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! (Ap...
Nov 06, 2021•51 min•Ep. 534
Padmavajra offers a deep set of reflections on these aspects of the Spiritual Path using Sangharakshita's poem 'Advent'; the contemplation of impermanence, death and our lack of any 'self-lordship'; Lahiji's vision of 'the black light'; bewilderment; and the concept of becoming reborn in the Bodhisattva. Talk given at Padmaloka Buddhist Centre , 2013, as part of a series of three talks entitled The Stages of the Path. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast - bite-sized inspiration three times ...
Oct 30, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 533
Parami urges us to embrace loss, because it is inevitable, but equally so, don't close yourself off to love. Accepting that everything that arises will pass, and yet everything that arises is precious that will give rise to a love that spreads throughout the cosmos. Talk given at the Newcastle Buddhist Centre , 2021. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast - bite-sized inspiration three times every week! (Apple Podcasts) Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every we...
Oct 23, 2021•46 min•Ep. 532
Nagasiddhi takes us into the mind and heart of the new Buddha after his awakening – as he explores this new territory within, and with others he encounters setting out on the next stage of his journey into liberation. Talk given as part of the series 'In the Footsteps of the Buddha' during the April 2021 home retreat from Rivendell Retreat Centre hosted by The Buddhist Centre Online . *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast - bite-sized inspiration three times every week! (Apple Podcasts) Subsc...
Oct 16, 2021•50 min•Ep. 531
Dayajoti explores the hindrance of self-doubt, including seeing it as an expression of fundamental delusion, addressed by the clear seeing of reality. This talk is part of the series Body of Bliss: Ways into Samādhi , hosted online by Buddhafield , 2021. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast - bite-sized inspiration three times every week! (Apple Podcasts) Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! (Apple Podcasts) Subscribe using these RSS feeds or search f...
Oct 09, 2021•48 min•Ep. 530
There is no insight without compassion, and no compassion without insight. Ratnaghosha elucidates the path of transformation as one of expanding more and more into embodying love in all its forms. This talk was given at the Mid Essex Buddhist Centre , 2021. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast - bite-sized inspiration three times every week! (Apple Podcasts) Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! (Apple Podcasts) Subscribe using these RSS feeds or searc...
Oct 02, 2021•47 min•Ep. 529
Samantabhadri speaks on ritual and its place and potential within the Triratna Community. She explores ritual as personal experience and in relation to going beyond a fixed self, to the collective, to the imagination, to compassion and to our longing for the transcendental. Samantabhadri, visiting from Taraloka Retreat Centre , gave this keynote talk at Nottingham Buddhist Centre , 2016. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast - bite-sized inspiration three times every week! (Apple Podcasts) Su...
Sep 25, 2021•34 min•Ep. 528
The Four Noble Truths contain the whole of the Buddha's teaching. They set out a clear and direct vision of the true nature of Reality. In this talk, Jnanadhara unfolds the meaning behind these seemingly simple four pithy teachings. With poetry and personal anecdotes, he draws us into the immense depth and mystery behind these teachings and shows us a glimpse of what the Buddha was communicating 2,500 years ago. Given in the Dublin Buddhist Centre , January 2020. *** Follow our Dharmabytes podca...
Sep 18, 2021•57 min•Ep. 527
Do we reflect on the Bodhicitta? Is it optional, a mystical goal we can take or leave? How does it become a motivating force in our lives? Sangharakshita has described the Bodhicitta as a myth or symbol that galvanises our energies, something that makes sense of our lives, something emotionally moving that stirs us on a deep level. How are we to connect with that myth? Vajratara takes us on a journey of a deepening engagement with the Bodhicitta, evoking the Bodhicitta through 3 myths. Talk give...
Sep 11, 2021•53 min•Ep. 526
Karunavajra gives a talk at the about Vajrasattva, and how he can help and inspire us in these times of transition. Vajrasattva is a beautiful Buddha figure embodying essential Dharma truths. He symbolises the teaching that we are in possession of enormous riches and we don't realise it. Given at Birmingham Buddhist Centre for Dharma Day, July 2021. *** Follow our Dharmabytes podcast. Bite-size Dharma twice a week! Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Subscribe using these RSS feeds or search for F...
Sep 04, 2021•35 min•Ep. 525
Here Jnanavaca discusses how Tantric Buddhism is concerned with the direct experience of who we are and what we can become. Its aim is to help us realize our potential by transforming the energy locked in by old habits, fears, and views. Talk given at London Buddhist Centre , 2020. *** Follow our Dharmabytes podcast. Bite-size Dharma twice a week! Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Subscribe using these RSS feeds or search for Free Buddhist Audio or Dharmabytes in your favourite podcast service! ...
Aug 28, 2021•58 min•Ep. 524
A very intriguing trip by Satyanandi through the myriad worlds of consideration that arise when view, experience and reality meet. Her starting point is science and its various models for how the universe works - from mechanism to quantum physics. But soon we are in wider territory, looking at radical interconnectedness and the nature of mind as it meets the world. Talk given at the Cambridge Buddhist Centre , 2005. Follow our Dharmabytes podcast. Bite-size Dharma twice a week! Apple Podcasts | ...
Aug 21, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 523
What does Buddhism have to say about death and dying? How can this be applied to life? Prasannavira shares how he has been influenced by the Root Verses of the Six Bardos from the Bardo Thodol, the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Talk given at Windhorse:Evolution , once a large Buddhist team-based 'right livelihood' business based in the UK, 2013. *** Follow our Dharmabytes podcast. Bite-size Dharma twice a week! Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Subscribe using these RSS feeds or search for Free Budd...
Aug 14, 2021•31 min•Ep. 522
The Buddha was a problem solver looking at suffering and the release from suffering. Here, Vijayasri introduces us to metta, the basic teaching of the Buddha, by exploring the first chapter of Living with Kindness by Sangharakshita. She considers the Karaniya Metta Sutta , looks at the work of Buddhaghosa, and investigates the ideas of metta as a strongly positive emotion, a rational emotion and as wisdom. The session finishes with some questions for reflection. This talk was given at Croydon Bu...
Aug 07, 2021•25 min•Ep. 521
Kamalashila explores the centrality of mindfulness to the Buddhist path. He discusses the concept of intoxication, with reference to the 5th Precept and the Sutra of Golden Light. Kamalashila then considers the four foundations of mindfulness from the Satipatthana Sutta and concludes that mindfulness is the basis of metta and allows us to embrace the realm of truth and beauty. This talk was given at Croydon Buddhist Centre , 1996. This talk was made available by the Croydon Digital Archive Proje...
Jul 31, 2021•47 min
Sahajatara gives an honest and enthusiastic exploration of the speech precepts. This talk is down-to-earth and with humour! This talk was given on a retreat for Mitras at Taraloka Retreat Centre , 2018 and is part of the series entitled Ethics: Resonating with Reality . *** 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...
Jul 24, 2021•43 min•Ep. 519
Vimalasara gives a thorough talk on the third precept, exploring some of the issues we all need to reflect on if we are to live life more fully with simplicity, contentment and stillness. Relevant to modern day living, this talk also signposts some of the issues that women and queer people have to contend with when reflecting on this precept. Talk given at Taraloka Retreat Centre , 2013. *** Help keep FBA free for everyone! Become a supporter today. Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast - bite-si...
Jul 17, 2021•36 min•Ep. 518
Buddhist generosity is ideally ongoing all the time, a simple application of our ethical principles - a flow of time, energy, money, and so on, in the direction of your heart-felt values. Giving is one of the key practices of a Buddhist, and one of the delights of the Spiritual Community. Ratnaghosha evokes how this is an area of activity that is crucial to an effective practice of the Dharma and the living of the Bodhisattva life. This talk was given at Cambridge Buddhist Centre , 2018. *** Hel...
Jul 10, 2021•42 min•Ep. 517
With his usual warmth, clarity and good humour, Prajnaketu explores the mental events of hatred and love with great detail and personal reflections. "Not by hatred are hatreds ever pacified in the world, by love are they pacified, this is the eternal law." ~ Dhammapada In the presence of suffering or pain, our sense of self is often diminished as we come to realize our efforts to control our experience to avoid pain don't work. On the contrary, wishing ourselves and others well in the ups and do...
Jul 03, 2021•45 min•Ep. 516
What are the particular challenges we face in the 21st Century? There are many, and Vajradevi focuses on the mind precepts and our use of technology. This talk is linked with Akuppa's talks on ' 21st Century Bodhisattva ' and drawing on the book '21 Lessons for the 21st Century' by the historian Yuval Noah Harari. This talk was given as part of a series at Shrewbury Triratna Centre , 2019. *** Help keep FBA free for everyone! Become a supporter today. Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast - bite-...
Jun 26, 2021•48 min•Ep. 515
