During the 2017 'What is the Order?' Going for Refuge retreat at Padmaloka, four Order members each gave a talk on one of the four vows taken when being ordained into the Triratna Buddhist Order. The talks were given to men training for ordination and Order members.
In the fourth and final talk of the series Padmasagara speaks about the fourth orination vow, "for the benefit of all beings, I accept this ordination". With confidence and clarity he elucidates the significance and necessity of altruism in human life, what this means from the Buddhist perspective, and how the Triratna Buddhist Order can benefit others and the world.
During the second Great Gathering of 2016 at Padmaloka, 'The Buddha's Vision of Friendship', Padmavajra gave three inspiring talks on the 'Meeting Spiritual Friends' chapter of The Jewel Ornament of Liberation by the great Tibetan master Gampopa. This was the second Buddhist text that Sangharakshita taught on the first Padmaloka retreat.
In this text Gampopa reveals the Buddha's vision of the whole range of spiritual friends, from the Buddha, down to the most important of all, the spiritual friend in the form of an ordinary human being.
Suppose, bhikkhus, a man wandering through a forest would see an ancient path, an ancient road travelled upon by people in the past. He would follow it and would see an ancient city, an ancient capital that had been inhabited by people in the past, with parks, groves, ponds, and ramparts, a delightful place. Then the man would inform the king or a royal minister: ‘Sire, know that while wandering through the forest I saw an ancient path, an ancient road
During the first Great Gathering of 2016 at Padmaloka, 'The Buddha's Noble Quest', Padmavajra led three inspiring seminars on the Ariyapariyesana Sutta.
The sutta contains one of the oldest versions of the life of the Buddha, given by the Buddha himself. It was the first text on which Sangharakshita led a seminar on the first retreat held at Padmaloka.
During the third Great Gathering of 2016 at Padmaloka, 'The Perfect Wisdom of the Gentle Buddhas', Padmavajra led three inspiring seminars on the Ratnagunasamcayagatha, a Perfection of Wisdom text.
This Sunday, August 20, 10AM-12:30 PM, we will continue our summer theme, If the Buddha Lived in Portsmouth. In this series, we areconsidering how different episodes in the life of the Buddha can open the door to considering how his teachings relate to issues we are facing now in our own lives. This week, we will look at the Buddha’s advice on how to choose what path is right for us among the many different suggestions on offer for...
I have wanted to respond to your clarification about your complex personality though it’s taken me a little while to work out how to approach it, not least because I have recently finished a retreat period. Like most Order Members, I greatly value and appreciate the huge contributions you have made in your teaching and in your life. I have lived in communities and worked full time for the movement for over 20 years and, as I am now 43,...
This symbol is an archetypal representation of one of the most important Buddhist teachings, pratitya samutpada or conditioned co-production. In imagery and symbolism it can speak to us in a very direct way, more potent that words.
