Dharmabytes From Free Buddhist Audio

Our FBA Dharmabyte today, and#8220;The Wisdom Hearerand#8221;,is an excerpt from the fabulous talk and#8220;The Sound of Realityand#8221; by Padmavajra. In this section we hear Hakuinand#8217;s poem of Awakening along with Padmavajraand#8217;s reflections on the nature of sound, impermanence and insubstantiality. Vanish into emptiness and silence!

In our Dharmabyte today, and#8220;Solitude and Meditationand#8221; Paramananda introduces the challenges and rewards of solitude, meditation as a form of solitude, and how being alone can enhance the experience of connection.

Our Dharmabyte today asks and#8220;What does it mean to and#8216;knowand#8217; the Buddha?and#8221; Sangharakshita asks how, if at all, such a man can be defined or categorised.

In todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte we bring you and#8220;Face To Face With Reality.and#8221; Vadanya draws on the Pali Canon and The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy to explore how coming face to face with reality is liberating and expansive and#8211; but also very uncomfortable for our habitual small self. Our Dharmabyte is just the beginning of the talk, for the rest: and#8220;Face to Face with Reality.and#8221;

Our Dharmabyte today is titled and#8220;Symbols of Religionand#8221; from a recording of Sangharakshita in Conversation with Kathleen Raine. In this excerpt they discuss depictions of the Cross through the ages; Yakshas (kindly demons); the Renaissance, human selfhood and the spirit; Ravenna mosaics; the Stations of the Cross considered as art; and the stupa. In the 1980s, and#8216;Independent Artsand#8217; ran an ambitious and extremely impressive Arts program through the Croydon Buddhist Centre in London. Hereand#8217;s a first offering from the archive of recordings and#8211; an open conversation between Sangharakshita, founder of the Western Buddhist Order, and the renowned poet and scholar Kathleen Raine, one of the founders of the Temenos Academy. The occasion was the launch of Sangharakshitaand#8217;s book and#8216;The Religion of Artand#8217; and#8211; and the discussion ranges widely and, at times, controversially through the subject of the Arts considered as a vehicle for spiritual truths. Itand#82

Our FBA Dharmabyte today is titled and#8220;The Stupa Emerges in The White Lotus Sutra)and#8221; by Sangharakshita from the talk Five Element Symbolism and the Stupa. In this excerpt, we hear about how the and#8216;The Stupa of Abundant Treasuresand#8217; in The White Lotus Sutra emerges. Sangharakshita explains the origins of the Buddhist stupa and its connections with the five elements. Talk given in 1971. This talk is part of the series Parables, Myths and Symbols of Mahayana Buddhism in the White Lotus Sutra.

Todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte is an excerpt from the strong visionary talk by Sangharakshita, A Blueprint for a New World, given in 1976. Our Dharmabyte today is titled and#8220;Transforming the World into a Spiritual Community.and#8221; Is it possible to create a society in which all social, economic, and political arrangements will support the development of true individuality? In this lecture a number of principles essential to the successful transformation of our current society are discussed.

In todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte, we hear Aryabandhu speaking about and#8220;Life As An Order Member.and#8221; One year after ordination, Aryabandhu talks about his experience of life as an order member. The third in a series of four talks given to men training for ordination on the and#8216;What Is the Orderand#8217; retreat.

In todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte, and#8220;Aspiration and Joining the Orderand#8221;, Saddhanandi takes us through a set of very thought-provoking reflections. She is forthright indeed about the difficulties and joys of cultivating faith in the Dharma and makes very plain the consequences we can expect in our life as and when that faith arises. The full talk, entitled, and#8220;Enlightenment as Heart, Life as Wholeand#8221; is peppered with examples from her own practice. The audience clearly appreciates her sense of humour and#8211; which is often at her own expense. The event was recorded in a very large marquee on a rainy day and despite that the sound quality is still OK! One of the Lines of Acceptance of the WBO Ordination ceremony is and#8220;For the Attainment of Enlightenment, I Accept This Ordination.and#8221; We took that line as the theme of an International Sangha Gathering for women who had asked for ordination, held at Taraloka in 2005 . This was one of two keynote talks on the event.

Todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte is an excerpt from the well-loved account of Sangharakshitaand#8217;s spiritual journey entitled: and#8220;First Glimpses: Diamond Sutra and#038; The Sutra of Wei Langand#8221;. The History of My Going for Refuge is an inspiring autobiographical lecture taking up Sangharakshitaand#8217;s story from his earliest experiences of Buddhism and telling how he came progressively to understand the centrality of Going for Refuge in the Buddhist life. Talk given in 1988.

Todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte is a personal account from Padmavajra, one of the main teachers at Padmaloka Retreat Centre for men. In and#8220;Ordination Will Change Your Lifeand#8221; he evokes the Three Jewels as the great love of a life centred on the heartand#8217;s concerns. The full talk entitled, and#8220;First Loveand#8221; was given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre, 2005

In todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte, we hear and#8220;Why Ordination, Why An Orderand#8221; is from a talk given on a weekend retreat for women mitras at Tiratanaloka. In this excerpt, Maitreyi shares her personal journey of requesting ordination in the Triratna Buddhist Order. From the full talk: and#8220;Why Ordination, Why An Orderand#8221;.

Todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte is from Vishvapani entitled:and#8220;What is Mindfulness Practice?and#8221; As interest in mindfulness grows in across society, Vishvapani looks at the path beyond an eight-week course and asks, what is the real significance of mindfulness practice? He identifies the key elements that are present from the very start of mindfulness practice and describes how the same elements work at many levels and can become a path to liberation. This is an excerpt from the full talk and#8220;Mindfulness and Liberationand#8221; given at Cardiff Buddhist Centre, May 2013

Todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte titled and#8220;Body and#038; Mindand#8221; is an excerpt from Foundations of Mindfulness by Kamalashila. In this section he suggests focusing on two of the four traditional foundations: awareness of body and awareness of mind, thought, mood and mental state. This clear talk by Kamalashila is about the significance of mindfulness for the Buddhist path, from the perspective of the four foundations of mindfulness as taught by the Buddha in the Satipatthana sutta.

Todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte titled and#8220;The Nature of Otherand#8221; is an excerpt from the aptly named talk, and#8220;Awareness is Revolutionaryand#8220;, by Vajratara. Given on a Young Womensand#8217; Weekend retreat this talk explores Sangharakshitaand#8217;s aphorism and#8216;Awareness is Revolutionaryand#8217;. Exploring the revolution that greater awareness can bring to our lives:greater freedom, perspective and choice!

In todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte, and#8220;Being Present to Experienceand#8221; we have Maitreyabandhu speaking in his usual playful, engaging way on vedana, success, being present to our experience, and recognizing the gap between our thoughts and our direct experience. This is an excerpt from Week 4 of his Dharmic Receptivity Series given at the London Buddhist Centre, Monday, 17 May 2014.

In todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte we continue podcasting from the Tonglen Retreat with this excerpt from Day 3:and#8220;Turning Towards Experienceand#8221;Here Saddhanandi talks about turning towards whatever is unsatisfactory in our experience and holding that in the wider framework of spacious awareness. Excerpted from the full talk entitled and#8220;Self Tonglenand#8220;.

In todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte and#8220;Introduction to Tonglen Retreatand#8221; Saddhanandi beautifully and skilfully presents her vision for the Tonglen retreat held in March 2014 at Taraloka. Weand#8217;ve been posting all week from this Triratna Order Retreat and are pleased to share this and#8216;offering to the worldand#8217;.

For our FBA Dharmabyte today we chose an excerpt titled and#8220;Defining Imaginationand#8221; by Subhuti from the Rambles Around the Imagination 1 and#8211; Defining Imagination. Following on from a recent set of conversations with Sangharakshita, Subhuti gives the first in a series of Rambles on the important subject of Imagination. What is imagination and why is it important not just in our spiritual lives but in terms of what it means to be human.

In our FBA Dharmabyte today, and#8220;Illumined Imagination,and#8221; Maitreyabandhu shares anecdotes from his experience to draw out spiritual principles coming through ordinary experience. The full talk is about Avalokitesvara and was given on the LBCand#8217;s Winter Retreat at Sibford, Oxfordshire in December 2010.