Dharmabytes From Free Buddhist Audio

Our FBA Dharmabyte today is called Becoming a Sage and#8211; On Faith by Paramananda. Faith, or confidence, not in the Buddha as a supernatural power, but rather recognizing him as a human being, even on the archetypal level. The Buddha represents us and our quest for Enlightenment. From the talk Becoming a Sage and#8211; the Buddhaand#8217;s Struggle, a talk for Buddha Day at the West London Buddhist Centre, celebrating the Buddhaand#8217;s long struggle leading up to his Enlightenment.

Our FBA Dharmabyte today is called Myth as Call to Action from the talk At Home In the Cosmos; Myth, Magic and Us by Jvalamalini given at Bristol Sangha Night talk as part of the Building the Buddhaland series.

Our FBA Dharmabyte today is called The Buddha as Hero. Buddhism is sometimes seen as weak or negative. Using examples from the Pali Canon and Mahayana texts, this lecture shows that, on the contrary, heroic and positive qualities are essential in the Buddhist spiritual aspirantand#8217;s quest for Enlightenment. From the talk, The Heroic Ideal in Buddhism, given in 1969.

Our FBA Dharmabyte today is called What Should we be Doing as Buddhists? Inspired by a poem from Sangharakshita entitled The Bodhisattvas Reply, Vajragupta outlines ways in which Western religious groups have historically approached engagement with social issues. Vajragupta suggests three ways in which we can work together to transform ourselves and so create a better world. This talk, entitled, The Bodhisattvas Reply, was given at the Triratna International Retreat 2014 held at Adhisthana on 24 May 2014.

Our FBA Dharmabyte today is called Peace and Tranquillity and#8211; Upeksha from the 1968 talk, Reason and Emotion in the Spiritual Life: Right Resolve by Sangharakshita. We all need to find emotional equivalents to our intellectual understandings if our spiritual practice is to progress. The lecture outlines the positive emotions stressed in Buddhism, and concludes with a brief explanation of the stages of the Sevenfold Puja. This talk is part of the series The Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path.

Our FBA Dharmabyte today is called Bringing Together Head and Heart by Ratnavandana. Continuing the series of personal talks on each of the Brahma Viharas from the 2015 Rainy Season Retreat, Ratnavandana shares an intensely honest, psychologically intimate, beautifully forensic history of her personal relationship to the practice of upekkha (equanimity) throughout her spiritual life. We hear about ways to assess what is going on in the subtler realms of our experience and#8211; and how to look to move beyond them so we too can live like a riverand#8230; From the talk, A Personal Take On Upekkha, available in the full retreat format on The Buddhist Centre Online.

Our FBA Dharmabyte today is called What Buddhas Do. An excerpt from a talk by the same name, given by Maitreyi as part of Sangha Night and to mark the Year of the Buddha at the Cambridge Buddhist Centre.

Our FBA Dharmabyte today is called Double Vajra and#8211; Unifying Contradictions. Lokeshvara explores the symbolism of the double vajraand#8230;this excerpt is from a short talk of the same title, Double Vajra and#8211; Unifying Contradictions, the first in a series of talks on a field in Norfolk on the Green Man of Buddhism retreat.

Our FBA Dharmabyte today, entitled: Five Spiritual Faculties is from 1966. Sangharakshita points out possible potentially misleading assumptions concerning Buddhism, and describes three principal avenues to a practical spiritual life. An excerpt from the talk, The Approach to Buddhism, part of the series Introducing Buddhism.

Our FBA Dharmabyte today is entitled The Most Difficult Questions. Here Arthapriya explores the Buddhist understanding of what we call reality, and how it is less common sensical than we might imagine. In particular, he questions how much our and#8216;outside worldand#8217; is in fact so strongly conditioned by our state of mind. From the talk entitled The Nature of Reality and#8211; Covering karma, emptiness, impermanence and galaxies, this is a wide ranging talk! First talk in a series of three entitled and#8216;Reality and what to do about itand#8217;, given at the Cambridge Buddhist Centre, UK, in Nov 2010.

Our FBA Dharmabyte today is an excerpt from Non-Self In Buddhist-Psychology by Kamalashila. The Buddha taught from his vision of interconnected conditionality which showed him that nothing is fixed or permanent. It is a radical, extraordinary vision. His way of looking at the human psyche, the mind, heart or soul, reflects this. If there is no permanent self, no lasting person, what is there, because there clearly isnand#8217;t nothing! In this talk Kamalashila will explore some new ways of looking at ourselves, others, and the world we think we live in. This Dharmabyte is excerpted from the talk by the same title, Non-Self In Buddhist-Psychology.

Our FBA Dharmabyte today is entitled Time Traveling to the Time of the Buddha. Amoghavajra takes us back 2,500 years to the Kingdom of Magadha in Northern India to the birth of a boy called Kassapa. He grows up happily and as he gets older he becomes less and less worldly. This is the beginning of the legendary tale of Kassapa, who becomes known as a superb meditator and was foremost among the bhikkus for practising austerities. From the talk and#8220;The Tale of Maha-Kassapaand#8221; given on retreat at Dhanakosa Buddhist Retreat Centre in Scotland.

OurFBA Dharmabyte today is The Story of Angulimala by Suriyavamsa from the talk, and#8220;Like The Moon Released From A Cloud.and#8221; Suriyavamsa tells us the story of the murderer Angulimala, who has a complete change of heart after trying to catch and kill the Buddha and finding it impossible. The tale illustrates how enlightenment canand#8217;t be grasped or understood by ourselves as we are; it requires a fundamental shift of quality, not quantity. Angulimala shows us a way of attaining the higher perspective of the Buddha through surrender, accepting training and service. Talk given during Padmalokaand#8217;s Summer Retreat, July 2011.

In todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte, How Can One Know the Buddha?, we here from Sangharakshita from the talk, and#8220;The Disappearing Buddha.and#8221; The Buddha adopted the appearance and speech of his different audiences, and gave discourses on the Dharma which instructed, inspired, fired, and delighted. Then he would just disappear and leave them wondering, and#8216;Who is the Buddha?and#8217; Talk given in 1994.

Todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte is brought to us by Vajratara entitled:Reality’s Unfolded, What’s Next? Vajratara condenses nearly 50 years of the Buddhas life, using stories from the Pali Canon to show how the Buddha built a spiritual community that lasts to this day. Transcending the conflict between the desire to withdraw and the desire to engage, the Buddha wanders northern India out of compassion, teaching the Dharma by his presence and his words. From the talk, and#8220;The Buddhaand#8217;s Gift To The World.and#8221;

Just how does one explain the taste of a mango? Vadanya gives us todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte entitled:Myth Evoking Inner Reality. Here, Vadanya illustrates just how rich myth and symbols are to elucidate the inner reality of the Buddha’s experience. From the talk entitled, Brahmas Request, given as part of a series of talks on Stories and Symbols at Sheffield Buddhist Centre on 31st October 2006.

In todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte Stories from the Pali Canon, Saddhaloka talks about the tradition of storytelling in Buddhism, and recounts some of his own favourites. His obvious love of the tales comes shining through and#8211; sit back and enjoyand#8230;Saddhaloka is the author of a book of re-tellings of stories from the Pali Canon, the oldest collection of texts about the life and teachings of the Buddha. Talk given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre, 2001

In todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte Six Objects of Worship, Sangharakshita explains the the first three of six garavas: Satta, Dharma, Sangha. From the talk, and#8220;Discerning the Buddhaand#8221;, given in 1986. In trying to discern the Buddha, we are trying to discern the highest kind of being: an Enlightened One. The Buddha, it seems, considered that the Dharma and#8211; the truth and#8211; is higher still. Does this mean that there were reaches of the spiral of development that he had not yet explored?

In todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte A Rung in the Ladder, Satyalila shares quite personally about her writing as spiritual practice. From the talk, and#8220;Daring to Look In the Mirrorand#8221; given on the 2014 at the European Womenand#8217;s Convention held at Adhisthana, the theme of the convention was and#8220;The Bodhisattvaand#8217;s Reply: Triratna Paths to Insight.and#8221;

Our FBA Dharmabyte today is by Saddhaloka, the new chair of the College of Public Preceptors. Much easier said then done, Entering Into a Life in the Dharma begins with a strong heartfelt response, a feeling of ‘coming home’ and is challenged by our many distractions, confusions and the pressures of our life. We keep forgetting what is most important. From the talk of the same title given by Saddhaloka at the Ordination Training Weekend in February 2015.