Nagasiddhi traces the period after the Buddha’s going forth: as he masters meditation then turns towards extreme asceticism in his quest to overcome dukkha. Having taken himself to the brink of death, the Buddha-to-be finally realises that he must find his own ‘middle way’ to liberation. This talk is part of the series In the Footsteps of the Buddha given during a Buddhist Centre Online home retreat, 2021. This magical week-long...
Sangharakshita tells the story of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha-to-be, up to the time of his Enlightenment, drawing out the significance of some of the key events. Here we encounter the Buddha receiving help on the path to Enlightenment. Excerpted from the talk The Way to Enlightenment given in 1972.
By Free Buddhist Audio on Wed, 15 May, 2024 - 00:00
The human body, at peace with itself, Is more precious than the rarest gem. Cherish your body - it is yours this time only. The human form is won with difficulty, It is easy to lose. All worldly things are brief, Like lightning in the sky; This life you must know As the tiny splash of a raindrop; A thing of beauty that disappears Even as it comes into being. Therefore set your goal; Make use of every day and night To achieve it.
With these inspiring words as a starting point, Sanghagita will be exploring how they support our practice of The Four Reminders, the preliminary practice of the Mind Training. How wonderful it would be to live like this! If only we could remember…
How would we act in every ordinary moment if we were Enlightened? How can we act to be more Enlightened? In this series we will be exploring a powerful, pithy teaching that tells us how to do just that.
According to the Buddha we see permanence where there is impermanence, substantiality where there is insubstantiality, see the unlovely as beautiful and the unpleasant as pleasant. How does this affect us? And even more importantly, what can we do about this? Yashobodhi makes the simple yet profound connection between ignorance and suffering. Excerpted from the talk Distortions of the Mind given at West London Buddhist Centre, 2017.
