Bristol Buddhist Centre
Bristol Buddhist Centre

Great Faith, Great Wisdom Retreat, 2017 - day 3

By jvalamalini on Tue, 12 Sep, 2017 - 09:04

Great Faith, Great Wisdom Retreat, 2017 - day 3

By jvalamalini on Tue, 12 Sep, 2017 - 09:04

Another beautiful day in the pure land!  On my way home, I sighed - “oh it’s all so lovely!”.

Today our sutra reading was sections of the text describing the land of Sukhavati, which is the Dharma aspect of the text. (Yesterday focused more on the Buddha - including beautiful descriptions of bodhisattva activity)

I found the description of the river particularly beguiling - the sound of the river is both soothing, and conveys the Dharma. It conveys the Dharma by murmuring the only,...

Bristol Buddhist Centre
Bristol Buddhist Centre

Great Faith, Great Wisdom - Rainy Season Retreat 2017 by Ratnaguna, Day 1

By Centre Team on Mon, 11 Sep, 2017 - 20:54

Here are the two wonderful Dharma talks by Ratnaguna from the first day of the retreat this weekend, along with a led visualisation bringing the Pure Land of Sukhavati, made of all precious things, to life. As a treat to conclude, we also get the Bristol sangha chanting a beautiful, resonant version of Amitabha mantra.

OM AMIDEVA HRI

Talk 1: Why hear the Pure Land Sutras?

An introduction to the three Pure Land sutras and to understanding the practice of Mahayana sutras in general. Other...

Bristol Buddhist Centre
Bristol Buddhist Centre

Great Faith, Great Wisdom Retreat, 2017 - day 2

By jvalamalini on Mon, 11 Sep, 2017 - 08:27

Great Faith, Great Wisdom Retreat, 2017 - day 2

By jvalamalini on Mon, 11 Sep, 2017 - 08:27

My day started with double meditation by our very golden shrine. I appreciated the time to just sit with some of the phrases which resonated with me from yesterday’s readings of the shorter Sukhavativuyha sutra. Sitting with “heartfelt desire”, exploring the associated sensations, and ‘objects’ of desire; and with a sense of “embraced by all the Buddhas”; and the connection between the two. It felt rich and fruitful.

Ratnaguna gave a fascinating talk, showing us resonances between the Sukhavativuyha sutras and two late Pali suttas...

Triratna News
Triratna News

Drumroll please for the latest edition of Urthona Buddhist Arts Magazine

By Aryanisha on Mon, 17 Apr, 2017 - 09:10

Drumroll please for the latest edition of Urthona Buddhist Arts Magazine

By Aryanisha on Mon, 17 Apr, 2017 - 09:10

Make sure you get your hands on the latest edition of Urthona Buddhist Arts Magazine, to be released in May. Issue 33, The Friendship Issue, is set to be a real delight - with treats from Sahajatara, Maitreyabandhu, Ratnagarbha, Amitajyoti and more.

Editor Ratnagarbha writes “Friendship is being talked about again. But do we really know what it is? And what really has it got to do with the arts – for haven’t artists, after all, always been eccentric loners who bordered...

Bristol Buddhist Centre
Bristol Buddhist Centre

Imagine! Notes from Sangha Night Series

By jvalamalini on Sun, 19 Feb, 2017 - 18:51

Satyalila’s notes from a series of talks on imagination, January 2017

Triratna Resources
Triratna Resources

Dharma Teaching: Imagination, Beauty, and Ritual in the Spiritual Life - course, (Padmavajri)

By mokshini on Mon, 28 Nov, 2016 - 13:13

Imagination, Beauty and Ritual (Padmavajri, 8 weeks)

This course over eight weeks on The Place of Imagination, Beauty, and Ritual in the Spiritual Life was provided by Padmavajri from the Brighton Buddhist Centre.

Padmavajri says: “I led two groups on this. The course was aimed at any Mitras and it turned out I had a group of experienced Mitras, and a group of newer Mitras (one or two years old). … The two groups here loved it, enjoyed it, were challenged by it, and also were...

Triratna International Council
Triratna International Council

Day 7 Summary - Imagining A Vision Into Being

By Dassini on Tue, 9 Aug, 2016 - 16:05

Dassini asks Viveka and Maitrisara, our amazing facilitators, what kinds of growth they see emerging from the 2016 International Council. And Viveka touches on how the spirit of friendship and imagination play a part in enriching our vision and the effectiveness of what we can offer the Triratna community around the world.

Get the podcast (iTunes) | Get the podcast (other services)

See all posts from the International Council 2016

Online Meditators
Online Meditators

Imagining The Word

By Candradasa on Mon, 13 Jun, 2016 - 16:18

Imagining The Word

By Candradasa on Mon, 13 Jun, 2016 - 16:18

This week we’ll be continuing our informal exploration of the role of imagination in Dharma practice - in meditation itself, and in looking at how we respond to whatever arises via the mind and the five senses through the course of our days.

As ever we’ll sit together, we’ll talk and share what moves us. You’re also invited to bring with you any piece of writing that has inspired your own spiritual life. It could be a poem, a passage from literature, a...

Portsmouth Buddhist Center
Portsmouth Buddhist Center

Imagining The Word - Sangha Morning June 12th at the PBC

By Candradasa on Wed, 8 Jun, 2016 - 19:39

Imagining The Word - Sangha Morning June 12th at the PBC

By Candradasa on Wed, 8 Jun, 2016 - 19:39

This Sunday – 10am-12pm – at the Portsmouth Buddhist Center we’ll be continuing our informal exploration of the role of imagination in Dharma practice - in meditation itself, and in looking at how we respond to whatever arises via the mind and the five senses through the course of our days.

As ever we’ll sit together, we’ll talk and share what moves us. You’re also invited to bring with you any piece of writing that has inspired your own spiritual life. It...

Portsmouth Buddhist Center
Portsmouth Buddhist Center

Community Sundays - Imagining Your Practice

By Candradasa on Fri, 3 Jun, 2016 - 21:54

Community Sundays - Imagining Your Practice

By Candradasa on Fri, 3 Jun, 2016 - 21:54

The role of imagination in our Dharma practice is crucial but can generally be under-explored and even under-appreciated in the face of all the things we think we’re supposed to be doing. Whether you’re meditating, or trying to engage with the thorny issues that arise in just trying to apply mindfulness and loving kindness in your life every day, bringing an active imaginative element to practice can make all the difference when it comes to keeping things vital and deeply inspiring. 

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