Three short talks on the theme of spiritual friendship that flow beautifully into one another: beginning with the Buddha and Kalyana Mitrata, moving on to our horizontal friendships and our working ground for self-transcendence, through to the arising of the Bodhicitta through collective spiritual practice.

Talk given at Aryaloka Buddhist Center, November 2010

The Buddha as Spiritual Friend: Enlightenment to old age. Vajratara condenses nearly 50 years of the Buddhas life, using stories from the Pali Canon to show how the Buddha built a spiritual community that lasts to this day. Transcending the conflict between the desire to withdraw and the desire to engage, the Buddha wanders northern India out of compassion, teaching the Dharma by his presence and his words.

Going Forth: Khemasuri talks about the 'turning around' of the Buddha's Going forth, Sangharakshita's and her own.

In an evening at the North London Centre Subhuti talks about the Pali canon and one sutta in particular which provides a very practical list for reflection. The emphasis of the sutta is the facts of life; we will age, sicken and die - however Subhuti brings a very positive outlook to this by strongly expressing the values that lie behind a Buddhist life and that by facing these facts we can live truly human and fulfilled lives.

In his fourth talk on the theme of the Imagination Subhuti enters the world of art and aesthetics. Of course based on what Sangharakshita says in the 'Religion of Art' he is however keen to emphasis the natural and uncomplicated aspects of art - it doesn't need to be Shakespeare and Bach; Art can touch us on many levels, although the best does have a touch of transcendence.