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Free Buddhist Audio

Mind Or Matter? Awakening and the Restructuring of Mind

Fri, 6 May, 2022 - 00:00
In this series of three workshops, Viraydeva is unpacking a fundamental Buddhist idea: the world as we know it is determined not by objective facts, but by the mind. In this final week, drawing on his recent conversation with philosopher Bernardo Kastrup, Viryadeva shows what a mind-only perspective means for practising the Buddhist path. How does the structure of consciousness need to change for a mind to "wake up"? And how does this affect our understanding of what Buddhism is really telling us about the evolution of life, the universe and everything?
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Free Buddhist Audio

Mind Or Matter? Mind-Only and the Whirlpool of the Self

Fri, 6 May, 2022 - 00:00
In this series of three workshops, Viraydeva is unpacking a fundamental Buddhist idea: the world as we know it is determined not by objective facts, but by the mind. In this second session, drawing on his recent conversation with philosopher Bernardo Kastrup, Viryadeva shows us how we can move away from thinking of everything as made of matter, towards a "mind-only" perspective. What would it be to imagine the world as made entirely of experience? Does this make the world of people and things disappear? Viryadeva draws on Kastrup's work and Buddhist philosophy to build new metaphors for answering these difficult questions, in service of the path to awakening.
Free Buddhist Audio's picture
Free Buddhist Audio

Mind Or Matter? Scientific Materialism and Its Discontents

Fri, 6 May, 2022 - 00:00
In this series of three workshops, Viraydeva will unpack a fundamental Buddhist idea: the world as we know it is determined not by objective facts, but by the mind. Drawing on his recent conversation with philosopher Bernardo Kastrup, Viryadeva guides us beyond the maze of our in-built assumptions about reality, into the heart of Buddhist wisdom. In this session, he tries to clarify and draw out the implications of our society's default view: scientific materialism. He tries to show how, while this view is powerful and compelling, it has implications - philosophical and practical - that are hard to accept... as Buddhists, but also as human beings.
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Free Buddhist Audio

An Overview of the Refuge Tree

Mon, 11 Apr, 2022 - 00:00
Marking the 55th anniversary of the founding of the Triratna Buddhist Community, Vajragupta gives a simple overview and introduction of the Triratna Refuge Tree. This is a rich image, full of inspiring figures from the Buddhist tradition. This talk, however, looks not so much at the individual figures, but how the tree is "structured" and how this symbolizes and embodies key principles behind Sangharakshita's creation of Triratna and its place in the Buddhist tradition. Examples of this include the centrality of the Buddha, understanding the unity of the Buddhist tradition, seeing its full breadth and depth, and the centrality of Going for Refuge. A talk that can help understand what's distinctive about Triratna's approach to the Dharma and Buddhism.
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Free Buddhist Audio

Mind and Cosmos Part 3

Sat, 26 Mar, 2022 - 00:00
For almost its whole history, Buddhism has presented teachings not just about the human mind, but about the whole cosmos. In this talk (the second in a series of three), Viryadeva attempts to show why an understanding of traditional Buddhist cosmology is key to an understanding of the Buddha's teachings. He also shows how it has direct, practical relevance to urgent contemporary problems.
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Free Buddhist Audio

Entertaining Cancer - Croydon Buddhist Centre Booklaunch

Mon, 14 Mar, 2022 - 00:00
Devamitra in conversation with Vajragupta, launching his new book "Entertaining Cancer". This tells the story of Devamitra's discovery that he has a life-threatening cancer, and the gruelling regime of treatment that ensues. The conversation covers topics such as hope and despair, aliveness and complacency, fear and courage, and the Buddhist view of rebirth. An inspiring evocation of how Dharma practice can help us face challenge and difficulty, and keep initiative.
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Free Buddhist Audio

Mind and Cosmos: Towards a New Buddhist Cosmology (Part 2)

Wed, 2 Mar, 2022 - 00:00
For almost its whole history, Buddhism has been not only presented teachings about the mind, but also about the whole cosmos. In this talk (the second in a series of three), Viryadeva attempts to show why an understanding of traditional Buddhist cosmology is key to an understanding of the Buddha's teachings. He also shows how it has direct, practical relevance to urgent contemporary problems.
Free Buddhist Audio's picture
Free Buddhist Audio

Mind and Cosmos: Towards a New Buddhist Cosmology (Part 1)

Thu, 24 Feb, 2022 - 00:00
For almost its whole history, Buddhism has been not only presented teachings about the mind, but also about the whole cosmos. In this talk (the first in a series of three), Viryadeva attempts to show why an understanding of traditional Buddhist cosmology is key to an understanding of the Buddha's teachings. He also shows how it has direct, practical relevance to urgent contemporary problems.
Free Buddhist Audio's picture
Free Buddhist Audio

The Alchemy of Meditation 4 - Keeping Going

Mon, 31 Jan, 2022 - 00:00
How do we keep our meditation alive and fresh - especially over the long-term? Can we get lost and bogged down in our meditation and lose connection with creativity, play, and freshness? How do we go deeper? Responding to these questions, Vajragupta looks at the Four Iddhipadas - the four 'powers' or 'means of accomplishment' taught by the Buddha. These are: desire, discernment, heart/mind, and resolve. They are both four ingredients of a creative meditation practice, and they also draw out the alchemical process of meditation, or how the transformative process of meditation works. The fourth and final talk (36 mins) explores virya - energy and resolve. In particular, Vajragupta discusses stamina, keeping going, how we sustain a practice over the long-term through all the ups and downs of life. He offers four 'paradoxes' that we need to hold skilfully to maintain our inspiration.
Free Buddhist Audio's picture
Free Buddhist Audio

The Alchemy of Meditation 3 - Heart and Mind

Mon, 31 Jan, 2022 - 00:00
How do we keep our meditation alive and fresh - especially over the long-term? Can we get lost and bogged down in our meditation and lose connection with creativity, play, and freshness? How do we go deeper? Responding to these questions, Vajragupta looks at the Four Iddhipadas - the four 'powers' or 'means of accomplishment' taught by the Buddha. These are: desire, discernment, heart/mind, and resolve. They are both four ingredients of a creative meditation practice, and they also draw out the alchemical process of meditation, or how the transformative process of meditation works. Talk three (36 mins) of four investigates citta, or heart/mind - the stream of thoughts and emotions that form our experience. How do we work with that flow and re-channel it into more helpful and expansive directions when necessary?