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The Highly Potent Elixir of Transformation (FBA Podcast)

By Centre Team on Sat, 24 Aug, 2024 - 11:00

 In his first talk on Shantideva’s Bodhicaryavatara Padmavajra speaks of Sangharakshita’s evocation of the Bodhicitta. He goes on to talk about his discovery of the Bodhicarayavatara and what is known of the life of Shantideva. The main part of the talk is Padmavajra’s discussion of some of the verses of the first chapter of the Bodhicaryavatara, especially of verse ten, in which the Bodhicitta is likened to the highly potent quicksilver elixir of the alchemist, capable of...

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FBA Podcast: Meeting Spiritual Friends

By Centre Team on Sat, 18 Nov, 2023 - 11:00

Speaking personally about stepping onto the Buddhist path, Padmavajra shares stories of spiritual friendship in the context of his own life and reflected in the work of Gampopa’s Jewel Ornament of Liberation. The work, inspired by devotion to Manjusri, is one of the key texts in the development of the Tibetan Lam Rim teachings. And Gampopa, being one of the two principle disciples of the yogi Milarepa, presents both the monastic Lam Rim approach of Atisha and...

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Dharmabytes: Wisdom Comes Through Silence

By Zac on Mon, 16 Jan, 2023 - 06:00

The final talk in Padmavajra’s wonderful series on the Dhammapada, the most popular of early Buddhist texts. All of the Buddha’s core teachings are here - held in heart and mind there’s more than enough in the Dhammapada to take us as far in our practice as we can imagine, and then on beyond…

From the talk Flowers - Dhammapada Verses 44 to 59, part of the series The Dhammapada - the Buddha’s...

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FBA Podcast: Ultimate Freedom

By Zac on Sat, 10 Sep, 2022 - 06:00

The Buddha said that just as the taste of the ocean has but one taste, the taste of salt, so the Buddha’s teaching has one taste, the taste of freedom. Liberation, freedom or emancipation are the essence of the Buddha’s vision. In this wide ranging talk Padmavajra explains the conditions necessary to secure this heart’s release.

This talk is part of the series ‘The Taste of Freedom’ Revisited given at ...

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FBA Podcast: Perfecting Generosity, Ethics and Patience

By Sadayasihi on Sat, 25 Dec, 2021 - 06:00

Here Padmavajra explores a great classic of Tibetan Buddhism – Gampopa’s ‘Jewel Ornament of Liberation’. The work, inspired by devotion to Manjusri, is one of the key texts in the development of the Tibetan Lam Rim teachings. And Gampopa, being one of the two principle disciples of the yogi Milarepa, presents both the monastic Lam Rim approach of Atisha and the Mahamudra meditation teachings of Milarepa himself.

This is the seventh talk in an eight part series entitled ...

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FBA Podcast: Spiritual Death - Spiritual Rebirth

By Sadayasihi on Sat, 30 Oct, 2021 - 06:00

Padmavajra offers a deep set of reflections on these aspects of the Spiritual Path using Sangharakshita’s poem ‘Advent’; the contemplation of impermanence, death and our lack of any ‘self-lordship’; Lahiji’s vision of ‘the black light’; bewilderment; and the concept of becoming reborn in the Bodhisattva.

Talk given at Padmaloka Buddhist Centre, 2013, as part of a series of three talks entitled The Stages of the Path.

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FBA Podcast: Fearless Creativity

By Sadayasihi on Sat, 19 Jun, 2021 - 06:00

Bodhisattvas work tirelessly and heroically to create a Buddhafield for the benefit of all beings. Padmavajra explores the opening verses of the Dhammapada and their far reaching implications including how we create not only our own happiness or suffering through our actions, but also how we create worlds, worlds of suffering or worlds conducive to human growth and even freedom.

Talk given during the February Great Gathering weekend at Padmaloka Retreat Centre, 2020.

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Dharmabyte: Great Love as Emptiness

By Sadayasihi on Thu, 4 Feb, 2021 - 06:32

Here we have Padmavajra talking about the importance of bhavana in our metta practice –  the growing of friendly feelings, friendly responses, slowly, gently, like a garden. What you attend to, you become. It is vital that we engage with the practice honestly, starting where we actually are and gradually moving towards non-dual loving kindness, maha maitri, the Great Love that has dissolved the distinction between self and other.

From the talk entitled Introducing the Great Love...

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FBA Podcast: Lightning Flashes From the Realm of Pure Beauty

By Sadayasihi on Sat, 19 Dec, 2020 - 06:00

In this talk Padmavajra contemplates Beauty in different areas of Dharma life, including the beauty of people, of ethics, of friendship, community and ‘institutions’, and of wisdom. He also looks at the relationship between metta, formless beauty and the yidam, as well as knowing what beauty really is and ‘the pregnant man’.

This talk was given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre during the Spring Short Order retreat in March 2019.

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FBA Podcast: The More They Beat Us, The Louder We Sang

By Sadayasihi on Sat, 7 Nov, 2020 - 05:15

‘Serenity, freedom from disease, joy and long life, the happiness of an emperor, prosperity; these the patient person receives while continuing in cyclic existence.

Padmavajra’s sixth talk on the Bodhicaryavatara explores Shantideva’s thorough exploration of the perfection of patience. In this chapter, Shantideva brings our attention to the seriousness of the faults of hatred and anger.

He shows how such states of mind arise and gives a number of ways in which...

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