Tag: wisdom

Bristol Buddhist Centre
Bristol Buddhist Centre

Great Faith, Great Wisdom, Day 4 - Rainy Season Retreat 2017 by Ratnaguna

By Centre Team on Wed, 13 Sep, 2017 - 20:20

Day 4 brings us a bumper crop of great Dharma exploration and evocation from Ratnaguna and friends in the Bristol sangha as they deepen into their retreat together.

Talk 6: The Sutra as a Practice of Annussati - Recollection of the Three Jewels
Ratnaguna introduces the practice of reading the longer Sukhavativuyha Sutra as a recollection of the Buddha, Dharma and arya-Sangha.

Reading from the Longer Sukhavativyuha Sutra - The Living Beings of the Buddhafield
Ratnaguna briefly recaps on how...
Bristol Buddhist Centre
Bristol Buddhist Centre

Great Faith, Great Wisdom Retreat, 2017 - day 4

By jvalamalini on Wed, 13 Sep, 2017 - 13:22

Great Faith, Great Wisdom Retreat, 2017 - day 4

By jvalamalini on Wed, 13 Sep, 2017 - 13:22

Today we focused on the very beautiful descriptions of the beings in the happy land of Sukhavati. In many ways these are my favourite sections of the sutra; I’ve spent happy meditations in the past basking in the golden light as I imagined being amidst great beings with “minds of equality, minds of loving-kindness, gentle minds, affectionate minds, diligent minds, clear minds, stable minds, unhindered minds, unshaken minds, unagitated minds, minds which practise the perfection of wisdom” who stroll around...
Bristol Buddhist Centre
Bristol Buddhist Centre

Great Faith, Great Wisdom, Day 3 - Rainy Season Retreat 2017 by Ratnaguna

By Centre Team on Tue, 12 Sep, 2017 - 21:34

Two more recordings from Ratnaguna’s beautiful retreat, going on all week in Bristol, UK, with the Triratna community in the heart of the city. A great fifth talk, and a different approach from the first day’s visualisation to imagining Sukhavati, the great jewelled realm of Amitabha.

Talk 5: The Mystery of the Pure Land
This talk corrects some common misunderstandings about the Pure Land texts. The sutras are not to be read as philosophy but appreciated as...
Bristol Buddhist Centre
Bristol Buddhist Centre

Great Faith, Great Wisdom, Day 2 - Rainy Season Retreat 2017 by Ratnaguna

By Centre Team on Tue, 12 Sep, 2017 - 21:17

A wonderful second pair of talks, bringing to life Sukhavati, the great Pure Land or Happy Land of Amitabha.

Talk 3: The ​D​eathless Buddha - Possible Roots of Sukhavati in the Pali Canon
In this fascinating talk, Ratnaguna shows us remarkable resonances between the Sukhavativuyha sutras and two late Pali suttas - the Mahaparinibbana sutta and Mahasuddassana sutta, and suggests the Sukhavativuyha sutras may have arisen from the distress of the Buddha’s followers after his Parinirvana. 

We also explored meanings of...
Bristol Buddhist Centre
Bristol Buddhist Centre

Great Faith, Great Wisdom Retreat, 2017 - day 3

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

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...
Community Highlights
Community Highlights

Great Faith, Great Wisdom Retreat Online!

By Centre Team on Mon, 11 Sep, 2017 - 16:37

Great Faith, Great Wisdom Retreat Online!

By Centre Team on Mon, 11 Sep, 2017 - 16:37

All this week we’ll be bringing you online resources and blogs from the Bristol Buddhist Centre’s Rainy Season Retreat on ‘Great Faith, Great Wisdom’ with Ratnaguna.

Follow the retreat online

On this retreat Ratnaguna will guide us on a journey into Amitābha’s Pure Land, Sukhāvati – a mythical realm where the ground is golden, trees are made of jewels, heavenly musical instruments play ravishing music, and magical birds sing the Dharma. It is...
Triratna in the Buddhist World
Triratna in the Buddhist World

European Buddhist Union Conference 2018 - call for papers

By Munisha on Wed, 6 Sep, 2017 - 12:54

European Buddhist Union Conference 2018 - call for papers
“Spreading wisdom and compassion in European societies”
April 13/14/15 
Benalmádena, Malaga, Spain

The European Buddhist Union (EBU, www.europeanbuddhism.org) organises a conference event every 2 years. Following the “Buddhism in Action” conference in Berlin in 2016, there will be the another such event in April 2018.

The theme of the conference event is “Spreading wisdom and compassion in European societies”, with their specific socio-political, cultural and economic features.

Potential speakers...

File NameSize
Conference details476.55 KB
Adhisthana
Adhisthana

The Essence of Wisdom and Compassion: Blazing in the Fires of Sunyata

By akasajoti on Tue, 13 Jun, 2017 - 23:16

The Essence of Wisdom and Compassion: Blazing in the Fires of Sunyata

By akasajoti on Tue, 13 Jun, 2017 - 23:16

The theme of today has been the connection between metta and wisdom - the realisation of metta. Saddhaloka gave a presentation this morning where he spoke of the dual aspects of the path – samata and vipassana, wisdom and compassion, merit and insight – and described how they are really a part of a single process. There is an aspect of seeing into the truth of things, where ultimately there is no knower, or known, or act of knowing, just...
Portsmouth Buddhist Center
Portsmouth Buddhist Center

The Path of Wisdom this Sunday

By shraddhavani on Fri, 19 Aug, 2016 - 01:52

The Path of Wisdom this Sunday

By shraddhavani on Fri, 19 Aug, 2016 - 01:52

Join us at the Portsmouth Buddhist Center this Sunday, August 21, 10AM - 12PM, as we continue our exploration of the Threefold Path, or Three Trainings – ethics, meditation and wisdom.  Following a period of meditation, Rijupatha will lead our discussion of Wisdom and its role in the spiritual life.  All are welcome, including newcomers to meditation and Buddhism.

Offered by donation.  $10-5 suggested.

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