Free Buddhist Audio
Free Buddhist Audio

Dharmabyte: Conducing to Cohesion

By Zac on Mon, 24 Jan, 2022 - 06:00

Vishangka explores the joys and challenges that arise in a spiritual community. Here we hear the retelling of the Culagosinga Sutta and the importance of cultivating skillfulness in actions of body, speech and mind.  

Excerpted from the talk Blending like Milk and Water: Sangha In the Buddha’s Time given at Manchester Buddhist Centre, 2019.

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Free Buddhist Audio
Free Buddhist Audio

FBA Podcast: The Nature of Friendship

By Zac on Sat, 22 Jan, 2022 - 06:00

Narottama delights with a very poetic and personal talk about how friendship is vital to our happiness and spiritual development as human beings.

Talk given at Aryaloka Buddhist Center, 2010.

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A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week.

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Free Buddhist Audio
Free Buddhist Audio

Dharmabyte: A Deeper Level of Happiness

By Zac on Thu, 20 Jan, 2022 - 06:00

Ratnaguna describes a level of happiness marked by stillness and calm that arises when we practice meditation. This stillness allows us to confront ourselves fully, leading to an experience of coming home to oneself. 

From the talk Stop Buying Stuff and Learn How to be Happy Instead given at Manchester Buddhist Centre, 2011.

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Bite-sized inspiration...
Free Buddhist Audio
Free Buddhist Audio

Dharmabyte: What is In This Moment?

By Zac on Mon, 17 Jan, 2022 - 06:00

Sanghadhara shares reflections on death and awareness of the present moment. How consciously are we living our life? 

From the talk entitled Happy Dying, Happy Living given at the Dharma Parlour at Buddhafield Festival, 2018, on the theme of ‘The Dance of Life and Death’.

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Subscribe to our Free...
Padmaloka Retreat Centre
Padmaloka Retreat Centre

The Mystery of Spiritual Friendship

By Free Buddhist Audio on Sun, 16 Jan, 2022 - 00:00
In the opening talk of the series, Padmasagara explores the profundity of the Buddha's statement that spiritual friendship is 'the whole of the spiritual life' or, in other words, the whole of the Going for Refuge. He emphasises the "guhya" (secret or hidden) nature of spiritual friendship and demonstrates how its emergence in the world was inseparable from the Buddha's ineffable Nirvana. The talk concludes by drawing out some important implications and challenges us to reflect on how central spiritual friendship is in our lives.
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Padmaloka Retreat Centre
Padmaloka Retreat Centre

The Dakini and the Horizontal Dimension of Spiritual Friendship

By Free Buddhist Audio on Sun, 16 Jan, 2022 - 00:00
Padmasagara invokes the Dakini to examine the horizontal dimension of spiritual friendship and encourages us to develop strong positive emotion, honesty and openness, and enter the cremation ground - or 'crucial situation' - with our spiritual friends. The talk is both mythic and practical, and provides a brilliant crescendo to his series 'Of the Mysteries of Spiritual Friendship and the Three Tantric Refuges'.
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Padmaloka Retreat Centre
Padmaloka Retreat Centre

The Yidam and the Imaginal Dimension of Spiritual Friendship

By Free Buddhist Audio on Sun, 16 Jan, 2022 - 00:00
The imagination is the faculty by which we can liberate ourselves from self-preoccupation and increasingly identify and empathise with our spiritual friends, but this is easier said than done. In the third talk of the series, Padmasagara explores the obstacles that prevent us seeing people as people and suggests ways in which they can be overcome. Replete with quotes, stories and images from the Pali Canon, the Mahayana Sutras and Sangharakshita's memoirs and lectures, this is a rich, insightful and challenging talk.
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Padmaloka Retreat Centre
Padmaloka Retreat Centre

The Guru and the Vertical Dimension of Spiritual Friendship

By Free Buddhist Audio on Sun, 16 Jan, 2022 - 00:00
In the second talk in the series, Padmasagara gets to grips with concepts such as spiritual hierarchy and offers a commentary on the Buddha's encounter with a young hedonist named Yasa to demonstrate the importance of the vertical dimension of spiritual friendship. The talk concludes with a wonderful evocation of the beauty of the path to Enlightenment and its manifestation in those we look up to as our teachers and guides.
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Free Buddhist Audio
Free Buddhist Audio

FBA Podcast: Suffering and Joy - Compost For Love

By Zac on Sat, 15 Jan, 2022 - 06:00

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.

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Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast: On Apple Podcasts  |  On Google Podcasts  |  On...
Free Buddhist Audio
Free Buddhist Audio

Dharmabyte: The Expansive Nature of Joy

By Zac on Thu, 13 Jan, 2022 - 06:00

When metta meets the good fortune of others, mudita arises, joy in others. Mudita is an antidote to depression, to boredom, and it really connects you to yourself, to others, to the world around you. A beautiful introduction by Ratnavandana to the Brahma Viharas as an integrated set of practices flowing from metta - loving kindness. 

From the talk Introduction to the Brahma Viharas (With Guided Meditation) given as part of the Brahma...