Dharmabytes From Free Buddhist Audio

This weeks FBA Dharmabyte,and#8221;Bahiya and#8211; In the Seen Only the Seenand#8221; is a reading from the book and#8216;Gautama Buddha: The Life and Teachings of the Awakened Oneand#8217; (Quercus, 2011) by Vishvapani. The original talk, Imagining Gautama, is part of series launching the book from February 2011.

This weeks FBA Dharmabyte titled: and#8220;What is Enlightenment?and#8220;, from the talk, and#8220;Enlightenment as Experience and as Non-Experienceand#8221; by Sangharakshita exposes a modern disease of frustrated craving for experience. Sangharakshita suggests that spiritual life is better seen in more concrete ways; as growth, work, and duty.

Todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte, and#8220;Practising Purely,and#8221; by Varjadarshini, is from the third talk in a five-part series from Tiratanalokaand#8217;s retreat on the and#8220;Four Mind Turningsand#8221; of the Tibetan tradition titled: and#8220;The Transitoriness of Life and the Certainty of Death.and#8221;

Todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte, is brought to us by Maitreyi titled: and#8220;Trying to Make Samsara Workand#8220;. Another gem from the talk and#8220;The Defects and Dangers of Samsaraand#8221; where Maitreyi looks at pleasure and suffering in the context of samsara and#8211; compassionate responses to self and other, and how to loosen the bondsand#8230; Talk given at Tiratanaloka Retreat Centre, 2005 This talk is part of the series and#8220;The Four Mind-Turning Reflectionsand#8220;.

Todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte, and#8220;The Four Rivers of Samsaraand#8221; is from the second talk from the 2009 UK Womenand#8217;s Order / Mitra Event titled and#8220;Generating Bodhi Mindand#8221; by Vajratara. She guides us through the second section of Tsongkhapaand#8217;s short text on and#8220;The Three Principle Aspects of the Pathand#8221;. The verses contain some strong and striking images for what it feels like being caught in Samsara and they come to life in Vajrataraand#8217;s talk. She relates how she nearly came to death herself swept away by a Indonesian river and that was just an ordinary river current, never mind the current of Samsara!

Todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte, and#8220;Cultural, Political and Social Changeand#8220;, is an extract from a question and answer session with Sangharakshita at the Croydon Buddhist Centre in November, 2004. The full recording can be found here: and#8220;An Evening with Sangharakshita.and#8221;

Todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte, takes us right to the heart of the matter with and#8220;Samsara and Nirvanaand#8220;, by Maitreyi. From the talk and#8220;The Defects and Dangers of Samsaraand#8221; where Maitreyi looks at pleasure and suffering in the context of samsara and#8211; compassionate responses to self and other, and how to loosen the bondsand#8230; Talk given at Tiratanaloka Retreat Centre, 2005 This talk is part of the series and#8220;The Four Mind-Turning Reflectionsand#8220;.

This weeks FBA Dharmabyte, and#8220;Positive Emotion and The Spiritual Lifeand#8220;, is an extract from the legendary series by Sangharakshita, and#8220;Buddhism for Today and Tomorrowand#8221; given in 1976. From the talk and#8220;A Method of Personal Developmentand#8220;, the founder of the Triratna Buddhist Order and Community speaks eloquently about how the practice of friendliness can bring about profound change in oneand#8217;s life.

This weeks FBA Dharmabyte, and#8220;Who Benefits?and#8220;, is a revisit to last weekendand#8217;s full talk podcast, and#8220;Brahama Viharas and the Key Momentand#8221; by Kulaprabha. In this extract, Kulaprabha reflects on who benefits when we engage in a process of cultivating loving kindness through the Brahma Vihara meditation practices.

Todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte,and#8221;Samadhi and#8211; Concentration in the Highest Senseand#8221; is track from the talk and#8220;Buddhism and the Path of the Higher Evolutionand#8221; by Sangharakshita. In answering the question and#8216;What is Buddhism?and#8217;, Sangharakshita identifies higher evolution and#8211; the development of higher states of consciousness and#8211; with the twelve links in the progressive trend of the Buddhaand#8217;s teaching of conditioned co-production. Talk given in 1969 as part of and#8220;The Higher Evolutionand#8221; series.

Todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte takes us into the blissful realm of Priti from a talk on the spiral path by Sangharakshita. and#8220;Priti: The Intensity of Raptureand#8221; is a selected Dharmabyte from the talk and#8220;The Stages of the Spiritual Pathand#8221; given in 1966 as part of the series and#8220;Introducing Buddhism.and#8221;

Todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte and#8220;Virya and#8211; Energy in Pursuit of the Good,and#8221; is from an inspiring talk by Prajnadevi titled: and#8220;The Perfection of Energy.and#8221; Virya is the sort of energy that overflows and is fed by the Dharma, it is the ability to be spontaneous and in the moment in pursuit of the Good.

Todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte takes us into the fascinating world of mind and mental events. and#8220;Dhammavichaya and#8211; Introspection of Mind and Mental Events,and#8221; is a crucial stage in the spiral path of spiritual development. The full talk, titled and#8220;What is Mind?and#8221; is from a series of talks from the Order Convention in 2001 offering different perspectives on the Abhidharma and exploring from a personal perspective what the study of the 51 Mental Events can tell us about our minds and how they work.

Todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte, simply titled and#8220;Mindfulness,and#8221; by Paramabandhu, is from the comprehensive and invaluable talk titled and#8220;Mindfulness For Just About Everythingand#8221; given at the San Francisco Buddhist Center in 2006. Drawing on many years of experience as a consultant psychiatrist and Dharma teacher, he invites us to consider the lessons Buddhist techniques around meditation and mindfulness training can bring to the field of mental health and#8211; especially to problems with depression and addiction. The talk evokes the Buddha in the Satipatthana Sutta to explore the four traditional foundations of mindfulness and discuss their potential use in therapeutic contexts.

Todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte and#8220;Seven Bodhyangas,and#8221; by Sangharakshita, is an excerpt from the talk and#8220;Mind: Reactive and Creative.and#8221; Here, Sangharakshita describes in detail the Seven Factors of Enlightenment, a creative spiral path of spiritual development.

Todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte and#8220;The Golden Drum,and#8221; by Sangharakshita, is an excerpt from the talk and#8216;The Bodhisattva’s Dreamand#8217;. The Bodhisattva Ruchiraketu dreams of a golden drum radiating golden light which fills a totally transformed worldand#8230; Talk given in 1976. This talk is part of the series and#8216;Transformation of Life and World in the Sutra of Golden Lightand#8217;.

Todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte and#8220;Samsara andamp; the Three Laksanas,and#8221; by Dhammadinna, is from the first talk in a five-part series from Tiratanalokaand#8217;s retreat on the and#8216;Four Mind Turning Reflectionsand#8216; of the Tibetan tradition. This introductory talk by Dhammadinna is an ideal entry point to the world of the mind-turnings. Seen as foundations for the building of practice, the reflections encourage us to make life meaningful in the face of a relentlessly ungovernable reality. Here she explores seeing conditioned existence in terms of the three laksanas and ways of giving up craving without harmful side effects. A strong look in the mirror of the heart. Talk given at Tiratanaloka Retreat Centre, 2005

Skandha is another of those untranslated terms and#8211; it literally means a trunk of a tree! In todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte Sangharakshita offers his understanding of the and#8220;The Five Skandhas.and#8221; From the inspiring talk, and#8220;The Awakening of the Bodhi Heartand#8221;, from the 1969 series and#8220;Aspects of the Bodhisattva Ideal.and#8221;

In todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte titled and#8220;What Karma Isand#8221; Nagapriya offers a good, pithy introduction to the traditionally thorny and rather misunderstood area of karma and rebirth, teasing out its relationship to Buddhist ethics in general. This excerpt is from the talk and#8220;Understanding Karma and Buddhist Ethicsand#8221; given in Manchester, 2003

Todayand#8217;s FBA Podcast is another reading from The Perfection of Wisdom Sutras. This one, and#8220;A Hitchhikerand#8217;s Guide to the Perfection of Wisdom Sutrasand#8221; Chandana talks about the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras, a category of Sutras in the Mahayana tradition.