Dharmabytes from free buddhist audio
1,224 episodes - English - Latest episode: 3 days ago - ★★★★★ - 4 ratingsDharmabytes features bite-sized dharma, three times a week, from the Free Buddhist Audio archives. Themed in conjunction with our weekly full length talk podcast, these are inspiring short extracts from over 5,000 talks on Buddhism, meditation and mindfulness!
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Episodes
Untimely Flowers
February 20, 2020 05:00 - 8 minutes - 5.41 MBHere by Sangharakshita recounts one of the stories from the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, that of The Episode of Untimely Flowers. Reflections based around the Buddha's Parinirvana ('death'), stress the importance of impermanence. From the lecture entitled Between Twin Sala Trees as part of the series Incidents from the Pali Canon,1983. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Faceboo...
The Buddha is Eternal
February 17, 2020 05:00 - 11 minutes - 9.33 MBIn this talk on the Buddha's parinirvana, Vadanya explores how we can use our imagination to have a real living connection with the Buddha, and how we can make our own future potential for enlightenment a source of strength and guidance in our present lives. From the talk Is the Buddha Dead - For Us given at a Men's Event, Padmaloka Retreat Centre, October 2011, as part of the series entitled Parinirvana Day. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every ...
Return Journey
February 13, 2020 05:00 - 11 minutes - 6.33 MBAryajaya tells the story of The Myth of the Return Journey from the Lotus Sutra in illustrating the meaning and symbolism of Vajrasattva who is associated with purity and the time of death. From the talk entitled Vajrasattva given at Cambridge Buddhist Centre, 2019. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcloud
The Beauty of the Moment
February 10, 2020 05:00 - 9 minutes - 5.31 MBThe Buddha was a human being who by his own efforts discovered the path towards Enlightenment and was able to communicate this path for others to follow. His life is full of stories that that are of relevance for those of us today who wish to follow the path towards Enlightenment. Manjurava from a talk entitled Stories of Awakening: Parinirvana given at Cambridge Buddhist Centre, 2019, as part of Sub35s. This human life is precious an opportunity to awaken but this body is impermane...
The Buddha's Last Journey
February 06, 2020 05:00 - 17 minutes - 10.8 MBThe Maha Parinirvana Sutra contains a fairly detailed account of the Buddha’s last months of his earthly life. It follows him step by step -- where he went, who he met, how he discoursed, what teaching he gave. By the time he embarked on his last journey he knew he was going to pass away. Being the Enlightened One, he remained calm, reflecting on his last words, his last teaching. Excerpted from the talk The Tantric Symbolism of the Stupa by Sangharakshita,1972. *** Subscribe to our F...
Death is Uncharted Territory
February 03, 2020 05:00 - 10 minutes - 7.71 MBThere is something profoundly natural and ordinary about death, and yet something quite mysterious. Where do we go? What actually happens? Who or what are we when alive? Nothing changed, from the Buddha’s point of view. Vimalavajri offers reflections on the ultimate unknown, the ultimate mystery, death, inspired by the glimpses of awakening depicted in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta. Excerpted from the talk entitled The Way to the Beyond given at Bristol Buddhist Centre, 2016. *** Subscrib...
A Measuring Worm-Richard Wilbur
January 30, 2020 05:00 - 13 minutes - 8.44 MBMaitreyabandhu draws out the deeper meaning and finer detail of the poem entitled A Measuring Worm, by Richard Wilbur. In the full talk entitled A New Knowledge of Reality-Buddhism and Poetry, Maitreyabandhu discusses five different poems, each around the theme of death, with the final poem focusing on spiritual rebirth. By discussing the background of the poems and poets, the intricacies of their structure, and bringing in a Buddhist interpretation of the themes raised in the poems, Mait...
Poems On Impermanence
January 27, 2020 05:00 - 35 minutes - 16.5 MBA well read poem can help us deepen our understanding of Buddhist principles. Achala shares his practice of reflecting on impermanence through poetry. In this Dharmabyte we hear two poems. The first is entitled “Life” by Sangharakshita, the second entitled “Letter to a Nobleman in Kyoto” by Kukai, (774-835 CE), Japanese poet, scholar, painter, engineer, and great Buddhist teacher. Translated into Marathi by Amitayush. Excerpted from the talk entitled Poems On Impermanence given at Bordo...
Jellyfish and Kindness
January 23, 2020 05:00 - 8 minutes - 7.12 MBWe want to be free from suffering and to become free we need to transform ourselves. How do that? Singhamati describes three paths for transformation: self development, self discovery and self surrender. Each path helping us to turn towards and transform different parts of ourselves. In this track we hear about the path of Self-Development. Excerpted from the talk entitled Three Paths to Transformation: Self Development, Self Discovery, Self Surrender given at Sangha Night at the Birmingha...
Understanding Anatta
January 20, 2020 05:00 - 11 minutes - 7.07 MBClassic Sangharakshita from the Aspects of the Higher Evolution of the Individual series given in 1970. Tackling such terms as self, I, individual, and ego, reveals that each can have both a positive and a negative connotation. What is the self, and how can we cultivate true Individuality? Excerpted from the talk Individuality , True and Self. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitte...
Remembering to Remember
January 16, 2020 05:00 - 12 minutes - 7.29 MBAmaragita offers three principles for considering the possibilities of deepening into the Dharma in any situation, and they are are worth remembering - or as she says, remembering to remember! Great, gently radical words that are bold enough to imagine and even assume the possibility of a more compassionate future for all beings. From the talk entitled The Possibility of Practice given as part of the 2015 Mothers Retreat at Taraloka Retreat Centre, 2015. *** Subscribe to our Free Bu...
Pursuing Purity
January 13, 2020 05:00 - 16 minutes - 13.8 MBWorking in the world is a game, and like any game, we need to know the rules in order to play it. In this talk, Arthavadin presents his personal experience of working in the world, from a Buddhist perspective, using a series of clear models and vivid images. From the talk entitled Getting Real given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre, Men's Event, January 2012. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma ...
It's Not Fair!
January 09, 2020 05:00 - 15 minutes - 8.96 MBLife's unfair, what can we do about it? We can practice the Dharma and follow the Buddha's teachings. Kalyanaprabha's sober yet uplifting talk encourages us to do just that. Excerpted from the talk entitled What to do in an Unfair World given at Birmingham Buddhist Centre, 2013. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcloud
Ill-Fitting Wheel
January 06, 2020 05:00 - 12 minutes - 10.5 MBSaddhanandi reads the episode of the Buddha working out whether or not he will teach the Dharma. From the talk entitled Dukkha and the Unbiased given as a series of talks and led meditations from a retreat at Adhisthana on Dukkha and the Unbiased. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcloud
Turning Towards Suffering
January 02, 2020 05:00 - 10 minutes - 8.07 MBExcerpted from the talk The Cloud of Suffering by Vessantara as part of a series of talks and led meditation from a retreat at Adhisthana on Dukkha and the Unbiased. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcloud
We Are All Dreaming
December 30, 2019 05:00 - 11 minutes - 7.71 MBJnanavaca offers a far-reaching and uncompromising vision of human fellowship based on transcendental ideals: Sangha. With reference to terrorism, romance, consumerism and Star Wars.... This FBA Dharmabyte is from the talk called What The World Knows Now, part of the series Where do we go from here? given at the London Buddhist Centre Winter Retreat, 2016. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FB...
Cracks in the Ice
December 26, 2019 05:00 - 22 minutes - 18.7 MBThis is a gem of a talk, with a wintery theme. Parami starts by singing 'In the Bleak Midwinter' by Christina Rossetti. She then goes on to bring out the underlying meaning of some of the imagery in the poem. The first metaphors are about bleakness, with the earth as hard as iron and water like a stone, times when we struggle and it seems as if no growth is possible. She talks about her early experience of doing the metta bhavana and what a radical practice it is. Transformation is pos...
The Dharma In Dickens
December 23, 2019 05:00 - 13 minutes - 7.28 MBIt may be Christmas Day but it is also Sangha Night and Ratnaghosha takes the opportunity to explore the Buddhist themes in 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens. This talk, The Dharma in Dickens, was given at Cambridge Buddhist Centre, 2019. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcloud
Our Shared Predicament
December 19, 2019 05:00 - 11 minutes - 9.54 MBDassini takes us into the Parable of the Burning House from the White Lotus Sutra. Through readings from the sutra and retelling of the parable the main themes of the story are brought out, and the problem at the heart of the parable is revealed, that of unawareness or heedlessness. From the talk Housebuilder, Now You Are Seen given at Glasgow Buddhist Centre, 2009. The talk concludes with some suggested practices for how to address this problem. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist...
5000 Arahants
December 16, 2019 05:00 - 3 minutes - 3.04 MBIn a talk looking deeply at the many manifestations, contexts, and practices of ksanti, patience, here Satyaraja shares a story from The White Lotus Sutra about 5000 arahants walking out of the assembly as they believed they had nothing more to learn. On the theme of spiritual receptivity, from the talk entitled Ksanti – Patience given at Stockholm Buddhist Centre, 8 February 2010. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for...
Seated Upon the Vulture's Peak
December 12, 2019 05:00 - 12 minutes - 7.59 MBSangharakshita takes us to the Vulture's Peak, the summit of earthly existence, where the Buddha begins the White Lotus Sutra by speaking on infinity. With his words, (and the forthcoming myths, symbols and parables of the sutra), we are entreated to go beyond into the purely spiritual world of the transcendental. From the talk The Drama of Cosmic Enlightenment, 1971, part of the series Parables, Myths and Symbols of Mahayana Buddhism in the White Lotus Sutra. *** Subscribe to our Fre...
Indra’s Net
December 09, 2019 05:00 - 11 minutes - 7.82 MBIndra, the King of the Gods in Hindu Mythology, possesses a number of treasures, one of which is a net made entirely of jewels. According to the Buddha in the Gandavyuha Sutra, “All the Jewels shine in each, and each of them shine in all.” The universe is just like this. As such, one cannot fully understand any one part of the Dharma unless one understands the whole. Excerpted from the talk "The Universal Perspective of Mahayana Buddhism" by Sangharakshita, 1971, as part of the series Pa...
What is in my heart when I act?
December 05, 2019 05:00 - 12 minutes - 7.56 MBThe spiritual life is about giving up the advantages of the ‘Power Mode’ in exchange for the completely non-violent spiritual quality of the ‘Love Mode.’ Kulanandi offers beautiful and engaging reflections drawing inspiration from the book The Ten Pillars of Buddhism, by Sangharakshita. From the talk entitled The Power of Love, the Love of Power given in Stockholm Buddhist Centre, 2014. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blo...
Delighting in the Mystery of Others
December 02, 2019 05:00 - 11 minutes - 7.15 MBUltimately, one is freed from the state of hatred with a heart of loving kindness. Vidyavachin offers reflections on the Metta Sutta. Excerpted from the talk entitled Radiate Love given at the annual sub35 men's weekend at Padmaloka Retreat Centre in November 2018. This talk is part of the series Radiate Love. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on So...
Cultivating A Mind of Faith
November 28, 2019 05:00 - 13 minutes - 11.8 MBSuryagupta shares the story of Shantideva, the monk who gave us the exposition of the Bodhicaryavatara, The Way of the Bodhisattva. Born of his direct experience this text is the basis of our Sevenfold Puja where we ritually evoke the many qualities of the Enlightened mind. From the talk entitled Rejoicing in Merits given at London Buddhist Centre (2019) during a six-week drop-in seminar exploring the Sevenfold Puja and the Heart Sutra. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podca...
Living Like a River
November 25, 2019 05:00 - 6 minutes - 6.3 MBRatnavandana shares an intensely honest, psychologically intimate, beautifully forensic history of her personal relationship to the practice of upekkha (equanimity) throughout her spiritual life. We hear about ways to assess what is going on in the subtler realms of our experience - and how to look to move beyond them so we too can live like a river... Excerpted from the talk A Personal Take On Upekkha given as part of the series Brahma Viharas - Bristol Rainy Season Retreat 2015. **...
Communicating the Dharma
November 21, 2019 05:00 - 12 minutes - 7.16 MBThe Dharma is the greatest gift we can give. Ratnaghosha encourages us to face our fears to develop confidence and courage to communicate the Dharma with clarity and ease. From the talk Skilful Means of the Bodhisattva exploring another aspect of Skilful Means, the little known teaching of the four Analytical Knowledges or Pratisamvids. Given at Cambridge Buddhist Centre, 2017. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog f...
Making an Effort
November 18, 2019 05:00 - 11 minutes - 9.91 MBSinghamati invites us to put on Dharma tinted glasses as she explores the very famous summary of the Buddha’s Teaching, found in verse 183 of the Dhammapada, and draws on Sangharakshita’s wisdom as found in the Dhammapada seminars from the 1980’s. It’s a simple, clear teaching offering us the possibility of taking it to heart, living from a more Dharmic perspective with less suffering and greater freedom! From the talk Skillful Action: "Cease to Do Evil, Learn to Do Good, Purify the Heart...
Catching the Arising of Vedana
November 14, 2019 05:00 - 10 minutes - 8.06 MBVidyamala explores the crucial place of awareness of vedana if we are to move from reactive states to more creative ones. From the talk Vedana and Growth given on 'Gravity and Grace' Retreat, 2018, at Rivendell Retreat Centre. This talk is part of the series An Exploration of the Satipatthana Sutta. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcloud
The Training of Confession
November 11, 2019 05:00 - 9 minutes - 7.88 MBConfession in the Buddhist tradition is a very positive practise. Its about opening oneself up to big mind, opening oneself up to wise conduct. Dassini looks at the individual nature of practising ethics, the need for metta in response to guilt, how to make a confession effective. From the talk entitled Confession given at Glasgow Buddhist Centre April, 2018. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dhar...
Coming Together in Community
November 07, 2019 05:00 - 9 minutes - 7.45 MBHere Padmavajra discusses the Sangharavastus and the Pratisamvids - a compassion aspect and a wisdom aspect of the Bodhisattva's aspiration to create community as a condition for Enlightenment. From the talk Freedom From Polarization given at the Croydon Buddhist Centre in January 2019. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcloud
Mindfulness is Transformative
November 04, 2019 05:00 - 11 minutes - 7.33 MBHere Vidyamala gives a rich and personal talk on the Citta section of the Satipatthana Sutta. She introduces the key aspects of this part of the Sutta and then speaks of the importance of allowing for growth and integration in our practice. She speaks of the twin pillars of awareness and love and how mindfulness can lead to a deeper and deeper sense of connection with all of life and how kindness is a natural expression of that. She also speaks of her own practice after the recent death of h...
The Lineage of Responsibility
October 31, 2019 04:00 - 10 minutes - 6.85 MBVidyatara was one of the forces behind the development of the Triratna International Council after its foundation in 2011. Here she talks about the structure of the International Council as a bottom-up organization upholding an aspect of the Lineage of Responsibility. Exerted from the talk Co-Creating Structures That Serve the Arising of the Bodhicitta given at the Triratna Buddhist Order Womens UK and Ireland Area Order Weekend at Adhisthana on February 28, 2014. The theme for the weeken...
Imagination as a Key
October 28, 2019 04:00 - 15 minutes - 9.72 MBDhammadinna speaks about Sangharakshita and his emphasis on imagination as a key to the spiritual life. From the talk entitled Bhante - Poetry, Myth and Imagination given on the Rainy Season Retreat at Manchester Buddhist Centre, February 2014. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcloud
Great Art and Literature in the Modern West
October 24, 2019 04:00 - 7 minutes - 6.1 MBIn the 1980s, 'Independent Arts' ran an ambitious and extremely impressive Arts program through the Croydon Buddhist Centre in London. Here's a first offering from the archive of recordings - an open conversation between Sangharakshita, founder of the Western Buddhist Order, and the renowned poet and scholar Kathleen Raine, one of the founders of the Temenos Academy. The occasion was the launch of Sangharakshita's book 'The Religion of Art' - and the discussion ranges widely and, at times,...
A Dharma That Includes Passion and Beauty
October 21, 2019 04:00 - 10 minutes - 6.88 MBHow can we have a whole life of value and of meaning? Subhadramati explores the essential integration of arts and asceticism that Sangharakshita struggled to find in his early years as a monk. From the talk Beauty and Discipline, part of a series for Dharma Night focusing on Urgyen Sangharakshita's unique contribution to Buddhism. London Buddhist Centre, 2015. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma...
A Single Slash of Anger
October 17, 2019 04:00 - 10 minutes - 6.76 MBHatred or ill-will arises when something gets in the way of something we desire. From a mild irritation at being inconvenienced, to violent anger, competitiveness, jealousy, all are forms of ill-will. Khemasuri explores the theme of anger in Santideva's Bodhicaryavatara at Sangha Night, Sheffield Buddhist Centre. Excerpted from the talk entitled Gratitude to Everyone given on 15th April 2008. Part of a series on Great Buddhist Texts. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - ...
Patience, Pride and Evil Actions
October 14, 2019 04:00 - 6 minutes - 4.4 MBHere Vairocana shares thoughts on patience, pride and evil actions as described in the Bodhicaryavatara, verse 21. Shantidevi reflects that compassion arises upon seeing the suffering of the world and that this manifests in one loosening ones pride. This leads to a fear of the consequences of evil and a delight in Enlightenment itself, or as Shantideva puts it, delight in the Conquerors. From the talk The Section on Evil from the Dhammapada given at Glasgow Buddhist Centre, 2009. *** ...
Making the Darkness Conscious
October 10, 2019 04:00 - 7 minutes - 4.7 MBSuryadarshini takes us into the forest to meet our shadows, drawing on traditional Buddhist sources and popular cultural references. Her personal approach to the Dharma accesses its universal aspects, and she navigates the darker parts of our experience with curiosity and kindness. From the talk Shadows in the Forest given at Norwich Buddhist Centre, 2017. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA...
Walking Through a Wall of Fire
October 07, 2019 04:00 - 6 minutes - 3.67 MBUsing the aphorism of Sangharakshita, Peace is a Fire, Sujayini takes us on a journey of personal growth and transformation. From the talk Peace is a Fire given on a retreat for Young Women at Taraloka Retreat Centre, 2015. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for news and new Dharma FBA on Twitter FBA on Facebook FBA on Soundcloud
Love When There is No Reason to Love
October 03, 2019 04:00 - 5 minutes - 3.73 MBSatyajyoti gives a talk on Ksanti, the patient forbearance that is the true antidote to anger and ill-will. She shares Santideva's advice on learning to endure pain and discomfort so we can respond with an attitude of love in difficult circumstances. From the talk Make Your Own Sandals, Part 6 in the 'Path to Awakening' Sangha Night series at Sheffield Buddhist Centre, 2019. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharma talk every week! Follow our blog for n...
Being More in Tune with the Middle Way
September 30, 2019 04:00 - 6 minutes - 4.91 MBHere Samantabhadri expertly and imaginatively tackles the theme of Wisdom, using the verses in the third section of Tsongkhapa's short text on the "Three Principle 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 ...
Vasubandhu's Four Factors
September 26, 2019 04:00 - 10 minutes - 6.33 MBVasubandhu lived in northern India and Nepal in the 4th century CE. He was a renowned teacher in the Sarvastivadin School of Buddhism but later converted to Mahayana Buddhism under the influence of his brother Asanga. In this talk Kulaprabha introduces us to a work of his dealing with the conditions necessary for the arising of the Bodhicitta - here translated as Bodhi Resolve. In particular, she compares and contrasts Vasubandhu's Four Factors as they are described in this text with S...
Merit Does Not Equal Insight
September 23, 2019 04:00 - 4 minutes - 3.85 MBWith his customary dry wit and sharp eye Abhaya leads us on the crazy paving path through the Diamond Sutra - a text guaranteed to turn your world upside-down. Some very funny parts to this talk - and some excellent evocations of rigorous Dharma practice as part of the everyday business of life. In this excerpt we hear readings from the sutra about how merit is not enough for insight to arise. From the talk entitled The Diamond Sutra given at the Triratna (Western Buddhist Order) National ...
The Dharma Door of Non-duality
September 19, 2019 04:00 - 9 minutes - 7.25 MBThe nature of ignorance and the nature of wisdom are the same. How do the Bodhisattvas enter the Dharma door of non-duality? Sangharakshita explains some of the dualities listed in the Vimalakirti Nirdesha Sutra, gives some examples of his own (with tips on how to transcend them), and concludes with Vimalakirti's 'thunder-like silence'. From the talk entitled The Way of Non-Duality part of the series The Inconceivable Emancipation - Themes from the Vimalakirti Nirdesha, given in 1979. **...
A Garland of Going Forth
September 16, 2019 04:00 - 13 minutes - 15.1 MBThis is one of a series of talks on the Therigatha, the songs or poems of the nuns at the time of the Buddha. Gunasiddhi begins by saying that the songs are trying to communicate a level of spiritual experience to the hearer. The talk contains three themes: Going Forth, Friendship and Impermanence. In this Dharmabyte we hear about the topic of Going forth which happened in a variety of ways for different reasons for these nuns. For us, we don't go forth in the same way, but there is a hu...
Bringing Things to Light
September 12, 2019 04:00 - 9 minutes - 7.68 MBHere we have Kusalasara speaking about the fetter of vagueness, distinguishing it from negative types of doubt. Doubt can be used to challenge our assumptions, and has a quality of discovering what’s most positive. Vagueness is a force guaranteed to prevent progress. Excerpted from the talk Breaking the Fetter of Vagueness given as part of the series ‘The Taste of Freedom’ Revisited at the London Buddhist Centre, 2019. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast - a full Dharm...
A Completely Different Level of Commitment
September 09, 2019 04:00 - 7 minutes - 6.07 MBIt’s very hard for us to imagine vimutti, (freedom), in it’s fullest and perfect sense. Sharing a funny story about watching ants from his ordination retreat, Akashamitra evokes a delightful analogy about making a commitment on a complete different level when we aspire to enlightenment. From the talk entitled Breaking the Fetter of Superficiality from the series ‘The Taste of Freedom’ Revisited given at London Buddhist Centre, 2019. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcas...
Finding Freedom in Meditation
September 05, 2019 04:00 - 15 minutes - 16.3 MBHere Prajnamati offers gentle guidance for meditation inspired by the Anapanasati Sutta. In meditation we choose to center our attention on what arises – initially we may tighten or harden or contract which is movement out of meditation towards hindrance. There is another direction we can go, alternatively we can relax into our experience and move into the point of freedom. From the talk entitled The Point of Freedom given at Bristol Buddhist Centre, UK, March 2017. *** Subscribe to o...
The Art of Disappearing
September 02, 2019 04:00 - 9 minutes - 7.75 MBHow free would your life be if you gave up unreal expectations? Try to remember something too important to forget. Renunciation is where you are allowing yourself to be obedient to the call of the heart – what do you really want to say ‘yes’ to? One of her telling quotes is " ... there is no spiritual development without renunciation, and no renunciation without spiritual development ..." Saddhanandi begins this Dharmabyte with a poem by Naomi Shihab Nye called The Art of Disappearing. Fro...