Free Buddhist Audio

In this week’s FBA Podcast we hear from Parami in the LBC series: “Women Elders of the Triratna Buddhist Community” Parami, ordained in 1980, and one of our International Order Conveners, gives a talk about her spiritual life.

In this week’s FBA Podcast, “How the Buddha Taught Mindfulness,” Ratnpaprabha explains this practice and understanding of the Sutta of ‘Being mindful of the in- and out-breaths’ (Anapanasati). He talks about how mindfulness connects with body-awareness, how t takes you into rapture and happiness, and thus into ‘sensitivity to the whole mind. He also explores how one calms and focuses the mind in mindfulness meditation, and how this can lead to ‘gladdening’, ‘concentrating’ and ‘liberating’, and finally to full Insight.

Our FBA Podcast this week, “Metta Blazing Like the Sun,” is Vajratara’s talk from the young people’s retreat at Adhisthana – ‘the big one’. Starting with a world on fire, Vajratara strips down what metta actually means in our experience: an awareness that discerns what is positive and stops it slipping from our minds. This is the seed of liberation, the cry of sunyata ‘unconditioned and unconfined’. Metta as a special quality of awareness radiating into four directions: our environment, our selves, others and Reality.

Our FBA Podcast this week, “Remembering the Bodhichitta In Everyday Life ,” is a talk from the recent Tonglen Retreat for Triratna Order Members by Yashobodhi. In this dynamic talk, Yashobodhi shares her personal connection to the ton glen practice, the seven point mind training and about practising tonglen in each moment.

Our FBA Podcast this week, “Bhante – Poetry, Myth And Imagination,” is a talk by Dhammadinna given on the Rainy Season Retreat at Manchester Buddhist Centre on Wednesday 19th February 2014. Dhammadinna speaks about Sangharakshita and his emphasis on Imagination as a key to the spiritual life.

In our FBA Podcast this week, “Make It So – Imagining The Buddha,” Suriyavamsa looks at the role of imagination in the way we shape our everyday world and how we can use this to bring the Buddha to life in our spiritual practice.

In our FBA Podcast this week, “Entering The Realm Of Perfect Wisdom,” Santavajri shares her connection with the Heart Sutra at Sangha Night, Sheffield Buddhist Centre. Talk given on 5th May 2008. Part of a series on Great Buddhist Texts.

Our FBA Podcast this week, “Dharmic Receptivity,” launch of the London Buddhist Center theme for the year by Jnanavaca. Talk given at the LBC’s Dharma Night Class, Monday January 20th 2014

Vessantara has been on a three year long retreat and as he emerges he has many insights to share. Our FBA Podcast this week is filled with deep reflections marked by clarity and a brilliance we are excited to make available. In “Karma, Rebirth and the Deep Boundless Dharma,” Vessantara offers a concise explanation of karma as he explores the concepts of rebirth. Given at the Triratna Buddhist Order UK and Ireland Men’s Order Weekend at Adhisthana on 1 February 2014.

Our FBA Podcast this week, “Freedom of Heart,” a talk by Dhivan as part of the International Urban Retreat, the theme of which is metta ‘blazing like the sun’.

We are delighted to bring you “The Power of Love” in this week’s FBA Podcast. Padmavajra begins this talk with the chanting of The Karaniya Metta Sutta, in order to invoke ‘the blessing power of loving kindness’, which according to the sutta needs to be wielded at all times. He explores all of the stages of the metta bhavana (development of loving-kindness practice), as well as showing how metta can lead to wisdom and liberation, at the same time saying: we practice the metta bhavana to love others, Enlightenment is incidental!

In our FBA Podcast this week, Parami offers a delightful retrospect while looking forward in “Business As Usual – Adhisthana and the Bodhichitta.” Reflecting on the history of the Order, Bhante’s teachings, listening to the Dharma, developing our system of practice, and gathering together in large numbers. Inspiring as ever, Parami seeds the conversation about ‘commonality of practice’ as we move forward into a new era. From the UK and Ireland Area Order weekend for women at Adhisthana on 7th December 2013.

This week for our FBA Podcast we offer a key in accessing the potentiality of consciousness in: “Consciousness Unfolds”. In this first talk from a series of three, Subhuti continues his well-known Rambles Around Reality at the LBC, this time enquiring into the nature of consciousness from the point of view of Urgyen Sangharakshita’s particular presentation of the Dharma.

This week’sFBA Podcast“Spiritual Transmission and Lineage” is a detailed, intimate and heartfelt talk from Saddhanandi looking at the relationship between a Dharma follower and her/his teacher. The talk takes as its lead-off point, David Smith’s criticisms of the FWBO as lacking relationship with a ‘vertical dimension’ in its systems of practice. It’s a sympathetic and open response, but one that is also happy to have confidence in an inside experience of practice that arrives at different conclusions. Saddhanandi revisits Sangharakshita’s own take on the problems faced by practitioners in a contemporary spiritual community, and, with the help of a good sprinkling of quotes and stories from other traditions, she explores the nature of the Sangha as the possible ground for insight itself to arise. Please note, this talk has variable sound quality throughout. Talk given at the Tiratna [Western] Buddhist Order Women’s Convention, Wymondham 2007

We are graced with Dhammadinna’s wisdom in this week’sFBA Podcast“The Richly Endowed Buddha of the Southern Realm” Third in a series of talks given on the 2012 Triratna International Retreat, Dhammadinna evokes the Buddha Ratnasambhava. For more talks, videos, photos etc from the retreat see www.thebuddhistcentre.com and navigate to page ‘internationalretreat.’

For this week’s FBA Podcast we have Kamalashila speaking on the occasion of relaunching his book Buddhist Meditation. In “Tranquility, Imagination and Insight” he beautifully reveals his thoughts on how the Buddha was imbued with confidence without conviction. He seemed completely at peace with himself which lead to friendliness in all his communications. His life, his example, the embarkment on the three trainings of behavior, meditation and wisdom combine in the practice of satisampajana – mindfulness and clear comprehension. Mindfulness was the Buddha’s core practice – Cultivating the Way of Awakening.

In this week’s FBA Podcast we picked one of Subhuti’s “Rambles Around Reality – The 5 Niyamas.” Here Subhuti talks about the fundamental basis of Buddhism’s conception of reality; Pratitya Samutpada. He introduces it in the form of the 5 niyamas, in the course of his ramble he emphasises that these are forces, or the way things are rather than ‘laws’. The talk culminates in the Karma and Dharma niyamas and particularly emphasising the importance of the Dhamma niyama, which is that in the universe that makes enlightenment possible. However to philosphise or abstract from it is to miss the point, in the end it must remain a mystery that we must experience for ourselves.

In this week’s FBA Podcast we hear another take on a famous Bodhisattva: “Vajrasattva: Not About Purity” by Jnanavaca given on Vajrasattva Festival Day at London Buddhist Centre on June 2009.

In this week’s FBA Podcast “Vajrapani The Dharma Protector,” Vadanya introduces us to this Bodhisattva of Energy given as part of a series of talks on Stories and Symbols at Sheffield Buddhist Centre on 3rd July 2007.

The fires that can consume our old selves also release a new potential, the image of the phoenix evokes this transformation. In this week’s FBA Podcast “Amitabha and the Phoenix,” Vessantara explores Amitabha’s emphasis on meditation and his wisdom of discrimination. Amitabha is also associated with spiritual death. How do all these associations come together? One point of connection is the Bodhicitta. The reorientation of self and a letting go which allows for something vaster and more beautiful to inform our lives. In the first place, this might be expressed through being more empathic and compassionate to others.