Dharmabytes from Free Buddhist Audio

Suryadarshini interweaves her personal experience of turning away from suffering and towards joy, with the teaching of the spiral path. Excerpted from the talk entitled Moving Away From Suffering; Moving Towards Joy given at Norwich Buddhist Centre, 2018.

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Ordinary experience is governed by the endless round of the Wheel of Life, which can be gradually halted by treading the spiral path to Enlightenment until progress becomes irreversible. Excerpted from the talk entitled Stream Entry given by Sangharakshita in 1965 as part of the series The Meaning of Conversion in Buddhism.

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​​An alive and dynamic spiritual community is vital to the individual flourishing of those that participate in it. In this keynote talk Paramabandhu gives his reflections on over 30 years of practising within the LBC Sangha. Excerpted from the talk As Fire Tests Gold given at London Buddhist Centre, 2021.

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A thoughtful, sympathetic talk by Srivatii on the most delicate of tasks in any life - how to live in the present moment. Exploring the subtle aspects of past and present, of memory and expectation, we encounter impermanence as the touchstone of our experience through storytelling (Bahiya of the Bark Garment) and the practice of writing - especially poetry. A lovely set of challenges to become 'citizens of the present' and inhabit properly our own potential for change.Excerpted from the talk Becoming a Citizen of the Present, 2001.

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In this talk, given at a sangha retreat for the Oslo Sangha, Gunaketu gives an inspiring talk about creating spiritual community. He starts with the end in mind: Becoming our best self. Exploring and cultivating this is a prerequisite for becoming a true individual and creating a spiritual community. From the talk entitled The Meaning of Spiritual Community, 2025.

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This talk delves into the concept of 'Sangha' and its deep connections with truth and relationships. Sanghadhara shares personal reflections and experiences, emphasising the importance of community and spiritual friendships in understanding and embodying Dharma. He offers a deep dive into how interconnectedness is fundamental to understanding the nature of reality. Excerpted from the talk entitled We Are Our Relationships | Sangha As Truth given at Manchester Buddhist Centre, 2023.

Suryagupta explores how war, destruction and conflict are on the increase in the world, as are conflicted and destructive individual lives. How do we live in a way that brings about a less conflicted world and a more creative, integrated way of being? Excerpted from the talk entitled On War given at London Buddhist Centre, 2016.

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Maitrivajri explores gender and leadership under the five aspects of Sangharakshita's teaching of the true individual. Excerpted from the talk Gender, Leadership & the True Individual given in the context of Triratna Regional Order Weekend held at the London Buddhist Centre, 2014.

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On this special Dharma night, Subhadramati interviewed local Buddhist artist Amitajyoti about her work and practice. Excerpted from The Artist As True Individual - Interview with Amitajyoti, 2016. More on Amiyajyoti's work: https://www.cbarton-harvey.co.uk/

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Here, Sangharakshita emphasises the importance of distinguishing Buddhism as a universally applicable path of development from the specifically Eastern cultural forms it has been associated with in the past, and explains why an authentic, non-sectarian Buddhist movement is needed in the West. Excerpted from the talk entitled Western Buddhists and Eastern Buddhism, part of the series A New Buddhist Movement - the Meaning of the FWBO, 1979.

Rijumati explores the place of meditation in the bigger context of the growth of oneself as an individual, exploring how we can develop a coherent answer to the question "Who am I and where am I going in my life?" Excerpted from the talk Growing into Real Individuality given at Centro Budista Triratna de Barcelona, 2025.

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In this talk Vadanya explores how paying attention to reality - rather than mental or media noise - can bring our life alive and give us a vivid experience of beauty. But is "being here now" enough to bring real happiness? Or do we need a deeper idea of the meaning of awareness? Excerpted from the talk The Aware Mind Is the Happy Mind given at Sheffield Buddhist Centre, 2025.

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Peace, happiness, contentment we all want it, but where and how to find it. The Buddhist tradition would say that it is in how we relate to our experience that either satisfaction or grasping can be found. Does this stand up, how do we do it, what difference does it make in the world. Dharmashalin talks here about the essential problem of life. Excerpted from the talk Finding Peace In a Frantic World given at Birmingham Buddhist Centre, 2015.

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In this masterly lecture to an American conference audience, Sangharakshita reminds us of the basic conceptual formulation of the Buddha's enlightenment experience. The twelve negative and twelve positive nidanas ('links') represent two trends - reactive and progressive - within the same conditionality. Excerpted from the talk entitled The Twenty-Four Nidanas given as part of the series Two Lectures to a Conference on the Nature of Reality: Buddhism as Transformation, 1994.

What does it mean to be human? Dhammadinna's gently balanced and encouraging talk explores various perspectives on one of the fundamental questions, and clearly lays out various Buddhist approaches to the nature of our existence and consciousness, especially in relation to the other realms of the Tibetan wheel of life. Cherishing the opportunities is one of the challenges of this reflection - and this is a great way to begin. Excerpted from the talk entitled The Preciousness and Rarity of Human Life, given as part of the series The Four Mind-Turning Reflections,

Bhadra describes the six realms as a mirror in which to fully know the particulars of our own self created universe. Here, we learn how the presence of Avalokitesvara in the God Realm teaches of impermanence through music.  Excerpted from the talk Wheel of Life: 3 - Practice As Knowing Where You Stand, given at Bristol Buddhist Centre, 2017.

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Maitreyi's visit to the Mid Essex Buddhist Centre, talking about communicating through symbols, this time round through the hub of the wheel of life. Excerpted from the talk entitled Communicating Through Symbols: The Hub of the Wheel of Life given at Mid Essex Buddhist Centre, 2020.

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Vishvapani talks here about the Buddha's response to society's need for protection from demons the spirit world. Excerpted from the talk The Buddha and Society, part of the series Gautama Buddha, Birmingham, 2011. This series marked the launch of Vis

Dharmacharini Vidyajyoti, who passed away in 2010, offers a sparkling talk on a key part of the Buddha's legendary life story - his encounter with Mara. She's the ideal person to introduce the figure and the seriousness of her topic comes through well amidst the laughter and the key references to art and culture. 

Mara isn't the devil but what he represents is a challenge for us all in everyday life. Let Vidyajyoti's voice from the past bring him to life and show the ways to beat him…Excerpted from the talk simply entitled Mara.

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The full moon in May is celebrated as the anniversary of the Buddha's Enlightenment and his victory over the demon Mara. Sangharakshita explains what Mara represents and how he can be overcome. As well as containing much that will fascinate experienced Buddhists, this is also an excellent introductory lecture. Excerpted from the talk entitled The Buddha's Victory given in 1987.

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Khemasuri explores the message of Transforming the World in The Sutra of Golden Light at Sangha Night, Sheffield Buddhist Centre 2008. Excerpted from the talk Transforming the World given at Sheffield Buddhist Centre, 2008.

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Here Vajratara encourages her audience to enter a Mahayana text like one would reflect on a dream. Excerpted from the talk The Sutra of Golden Light given at Sheffield Buddhist Centre, 2008.

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Taranita explores the historic and mythic origins of the Heart Sutra, the emergence of the Mahayana in the context of a Buddhist orthodoxy, emptiness, and our relationship to Buddhist concepts. Excerpted from the talk entitled An Introduction to the Heart Sutra given at Bristol Buddhist Centre 2019.

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Chandana talks about the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras, a category of Sutras in the Mahayana tradition. Exerted from the talk A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Buddhist Scriptures: Perfection of Wisdom Sutras given at Manchester Buddhist Centre, 2010.

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With his customary dry wit and sharp eye, Abhaya leads us on the crazy paving path through the Diamond Sutra - a text guaranteed to turn your world upside-down. Excerpted from the talk entitled The Diamond Sutra given at the Western Buddhist Order national Order weekend, 2003.

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The Bodhisattvas descend, the Bodhichitta is called down, and Parami is off and rolling on her favourite subject... With a thoughtful look at Padmasambhava too, and an affectionate tribute to her own teacher, Urgyen Sangaharakshita, whose poem 'The Song of the Windhorse' forms the root text for this talk. Excerpted from the talk entitled Energy At Its Most Abundant given at Windhorse Evolution, a large and successful Buddhist team-based right livelihood business, Cambridge, 2002

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Bodhilila speaks to verses from the Dana (Generosity) chapter from the Bodhicaryavatara. Excerpted from the talk Dana Paramita and the Bodhicharyavatara given at the London Buddhist Centre, 2011.

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Jvalamalini offers suggestions to bear in mind when reading the Bodhicaryavatara, followed by a selection of guided reflections. She begins by exploring ways into the transcendental and then describes the bodhicitta, the heart of the exposition. Excerpted from the talk Reflections From the Bodhicaryavatara given at Bristol Buddhist Centre, 2016.

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Padmavajra plunges fearlessly down into the lower realms of the wheel of life to meet the beings who inhabit - and the Buddhas who come to meet them. A sobering but strongly felt evocation of how we make the worlds with our minds - and what we might do to counteract the dangers. Excerpted from the talk On Hell and Hungry Ghosts, given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre, as Part of the series Tibetan Book of the Dead (Bardo Thodol)

Saddharaja describes the qualities of Akshobya,  the great blue Buddha of the eastern quarter of the mandala - the Unshakeable One, the Imperturbable Akshobya, with a reading from the Bardo of Thodol. Excerpted from the talk Akshobya given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre, 2001

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According to Tibetan tradition, in the bardo, an 'intermediate state' in the endless round of birth and death, we are free for an instant from that round. The Tibetan book of the Dead (Bardo Thodol) describes six of these opportunities for escape from reactivity. From the talk Psycho-Spiritual Symbolism in the Tibetan Book of the Dead given by Sangharakshita as part of the series Aspects of Buddhist Psychology, 1967.

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Here Candradasa shares Ted Hughes’ rendering of the Bardo Thodol, Tibetan Book of the Dead. He uses Buddhist scripture, vision literature, and poetry to tease out a sense of the Buddha's awesome vision of what life is, and how that might affect our ideas of what happens after death. Big ideas, big questions to sit with - all pointing to a practically beautiful experience of seeing things clearly in this life… From the talk Death and the Biggest Questions of All, part of the series Religion Without God, given at Portsmouth Buddhist Centre

Bhadra takes us through the myth of Persephone and an experiential exploration of awareness to celebrate the vital contribution the bardo; the in-between state, makes towards the spiritual life. Excerpted from the talk Celebrating the In-Between given at Bristol Buddhist Centre, 2016.

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Vidyamala offers ways to approach higher states of concentration in meditation and how they bloom out of paying attention to pleasant vedana that has a felt quality of openness within it. Dhyana is not random but a result of where we place our attention in each moment. Excerpted from the talk Introduction to Citta and Dhyana with Guided Meditation given at Taraloka Retreat Centre, 2019.

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Here, Jnanavaca explores the Bardo of Life. Excerpted from the talk entitled Root Verses of the Six Bardos: Life given at Vajrasana Retreat Centre, 2023.

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Vijayasri describes the Eight Freedoms and the Ten Endowments described in Gampopas teachings in the The Jewel Ornament of Liberation on the importance of a human birth. Excerpted from the talk entitled This Precious Human Life given  at Croydon Buddhist Centre, 2015.

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Arthaketu reflects on the Bardo Thodol, or Tibetan Book of the Dead, Here, he describes the hidden teachings, or termas, of Padmasambhava and how they are found. From the talk entitled Reflections on the Bardo Thodol given at Manchester Buddhist Centre, 2013.

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Parami describes Avalokiteshvara; her relationship to the figure, his origins and mythology. In this talk, she helps listeners connect with his compassion and find meaning in his example of skilful action to end suffering of all beings. Excerpted from the talk Introducing Avalokiteshvara given at Glasgow Buddhist Centre, 2023.

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Vishvapani has been studying, reflecting upon, and living out the Dharma life as presented by Urgyen Sangharakshita, Triratna’s founding teacher, for over 40 years. To mark the fourth anniversary of “Bhante” Sangharakshita’s death in 2018, this new audio essay delves deep into the heart of what Vishvapani calls a “unique and strange” intuitive approach to Buddhism that, at its best, seems to capture and vibrate with the essential vital energy of the universe. Excerpted from the essay The Organic Core of Sangharakshita's Teaching given at Triratna Buddhist Community, 2022.

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Saddhanandi offers reflections on creating sangha through meaningful, authentic friendships and communication. The talk includes references to her interviews about poetry with Sangharakshita. Excerpted from the talk A Vision of Communication given at Cardiff Buddhist Centre, 2023.

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An exploration of Sangharakshita's poem 'Padmaloka' in which he looks forward to his own death. It's a poem about death, rebirth and nature, and Vishvapani connects it to other poetry which it echoes. The talk was given a week after Sangharakshita's death. Excerpted from the talk Sangharakshita Foresees His Death In 'Padmaloka' given at Cardiff Buddhist Centre, 2018.

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In this lovely talk following Sangharakshita's death, Ratnaguna urges us to get to know Bhante through his poetry. He then gives us a commentary on some of his favourite poems. Excerpted from the talk Getting to know Urgyen Sangharakshita through his Poetry given at Manchester Buddhist Centre, 2018.

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Urgyen Sangharakshita - Bhante - who died last year, is not only the founder of the Triratna Buddhist Order and Community, but also teacher and spiritual friend to Padmavajra. Padmavajra first met him when he was 17 and in this talk he shares some of his own most cherished memories of Bhante, including his experiences of being with him in India when he returned there in the 1970's to found the Order there. Excerpted from the talk entitled Urgyen Sangharakshita: The Bodhisattva's Reply given at Sheffield Buddhist Centre. 2019.

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Aryajaya explores Sangharakshita's relationship to his teachers, who form the lineage for the Triratna Buddhist Order. A lovely exploration of the experience of relationship to the Bodhisattvas of Buddhist tradition via meditations passed from teacher to disciple, evoking a wide open sense of connection to the great beauty they represent. Excerpted from the talk Sangharakshita’s First Connection with His Teachers and Receiving Practices given as part of the series Themes from the Dharma Life of Urgyen Sangharakshita (Triratna International Council 2019).

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Saddhaloka explores the key aspects of any practitioner's commitment, Going Forth and Going for Refuge to the Three Jewels, evoking how Sangharakshita engaged with these formative acts as foundations of his own practice in India at the end of the Second World War. With an introduction by Dhammarati.Excerpted from the talk Going Forth And Going For Refuge as part of the series Themes from the Dharma Life of Urgyen Sangharakshita (Triratna International Council 2019).

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Balajit gives the second of a two-part talk on the 3rd and 4th of the Noble truths. The Buddha said that the whole of his teachings fits within the footprint of the four noble truths. Balajit explores the ways in which we can change our relationship to contraction and suffering by getting to know the deepest longing of the heart Excerpted from the talk In the Footsteps of the Buddha: A Noble Path (Part II) given at Birmingham Buddhist Centre 2023.

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Taranita discusses the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path and the Twelve Nidanas; relating them to our own experience. Excerpted from the talk entitled Heart Sutra 5 - The Four Noble Truths and the Twelve Nidanas given at Bristol Buddhist Centre, 2007.

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Saraha is clear as ever in this exploration of the Four Levels of Awareness. In this excerpt, we hear about the Awareness of Reality - the awareness of things, self and people as they truly are. Excerpted from the talk entitled Introducing Buddhism the Four Levels of Awareness given at Birmingham Buddhist Centre 2015.

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In this talk, Dharmaprabha explores conditioned co-production through her personal experience of living with a chronic illness. She traces the early formulations of pratitya samutpada back to the Pali canon and discusses how the four noble truths and the spiral path can guide our practice in challenging times. Excerpted from the talk entitled The Heart of the Dharma given at North London Buddhist Centre 2015.

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Saddhanandi explores the effect of the Worldly Winds in our lives, and the need to know what are susceptible to. Then the need for personal instructions in the area of Dharma Practice, and where we might get that input from: reflection, a Kalyana Mitra, Reaction Practice. Excerpted from the talk entitled Milarepa: Inspiration From the Lineage Retreat (5 of 6) given at Taraloka Retreat Centre as part of the series Milarepa: Inspiration From the Lineage Retreat

Here Subhuti expounds on the analogy of the three lakshanas as like a magical show. Using opportunities that difficulties present us with along with meditation evokes a transcendent response within us. Excerpted from the talk entitled Eight Verses for Training the Mind: Talk 4, part of the series Eight Verses for Training the Mind given at Madhyamaloka, Birmingham, 2004.

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Reflecting on her favourite lines from the Paranibbana Sutta, Jvalamalini explores how to become an island in the midst of the eight worldly winds, especially how to steer through praise and blame, and fame and infamy by developing true individuality, and spiritual receptivity. Excerpted from the talk Make Yourself An Island - A Talk On the Parinibbana Sutta given at Bristol Buddhist Centre 2011.

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Vajragupta introduces the 'Eight Worldly Winds' and how we can recognise and work with them. He's the author of the popular book 'Sailing the Worldly Winds' which explores the same territory. Excerpted from the talk entitled Introducing the Worldly Winds given at Oxford, 2012.

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Shantigarbha explains the parable of the Burning House, from the White Lotus Sutra, and explains what he sees as the cry of inspiration it holds for taking action on climate change. Excerpted from the talk A Cry of Inspiration In the Parable of the Burning House given at Cardiff Buddhist Centre 2024.

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The scholarly monk Analayo says it is important for us, as Buddhists, to take care of nature as we take care of our own body. We have a responsibility, he says, to cause no harm and to respond to the climate crisis with mindfulness, ethics and compassion. Saddhavasini introduces a guided Karuna Bhavana for the natural world designed to bring you close to the suffering of our natural world and to cultivate the metta and compassion needed to meet and address that suffering with skillful action. Excerpted from the talk Karuna Bhanva For the Natural World, as part of...

How might we respond, as Buddhists, to the emerging environmental crises facing the planet? Gunopeta explores the implications of what happens when we open our hearts to our deep emotional response to these crises. With the aid of guided meditation, poetry, ritual, and our felt connection to nature and the holiness of place, we can learn to "touch the Earth with love." Excerpted from the talk Touching the Earth with Love given at Aryaloka Buddhist Center 2020.

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One of the contradictions of modern environmentalism is that a concern for ‘nature’ embodies a separation between humans and the living world. Ketumati develops a profound critique of our usual assumptions and a revised version of holistic thinking. Excerpted from the talk From the 'Nature' Delusion to the Wisdom of the Earth given at Adhisthana as part of the series

Shraddhavani invites us to engage with the facts about our contributions to climate change through basic activities such as eating, living in our homes and travel. She then asks us to get in touch with those seemingly simple, everyday feelings that tend to govern our choices in these areas –– the feelings of wanting, resistance and not knowing, which we as Buddhists can relate to the poisons of greed, hatred and delusion. Excerpted from the talk Transforming Our Poisons - Liberating Our Choices, which was followed by a led meditation. Part of Touching Earth: Buddhist Approaches to Care of Nature retr...

How can Buddhists respond to the climate emergency? Vishvapani uses the Parable of the Burning House from the Lotus Sutra to suggest our responsibilities' and finds the values we need to guide us in the Five Precepts. Excerpted from the talk Climate Precepts In The Burning House given in Cardiff, 2019.

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Dayajoti offers a short talk on climate change, relating it to basic buddhist teachings, followed by a guided 'climate' meditation. From the talk entitled Consensus Trance - Climate given at Bristol Buddhist Centre, 2015.

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Lokabandhu introduces the American Buddhist activist Joanna Macy and her teaching of the 'Work That Reconnects', part of the Southampton Buddhist Centre's series on 21st Century Bodhisattvas. Excerpted from the talk Introduction to Joanna Macy and the Work That Reconnects given in Southampton, 2018.

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Vaddhaka introduces David Loy and his thoughts about how to bring our Buddhist practice out into the streets and engage with the world. In the full talk he also introduces Bhikkhu Bodhi, a prolific translator of the Pali Canon and respected teacher in the East, deeply rooted in the Buddha's teachings, who returned to the USA and re-engaged with his activist roots challenging a self-oriented and withdrawn mode of Buddhist practice. From the talk entitled David Loy and Bhikkhu Bodhi, given on the World on Fire retreat at Adhisthana, 2015.

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How ethically sensitive are we? Could we rejoice in our ethical behaviour? Ratnaghosha gives a short talk reflecting on the practices described in the Dasadhamma Sutta: Discourse on the Ten Dhammas. Excerpted from the talk Going Forth, Going Beyond: Short Talks that was given at the Triratna Buddhist Order convention on the theme

How can we, in our busy, everyday lives, transform our awareness and turn our minds towards awakening? Paranita talks about the practice of the 'Four Mind Turning Reflections', the four reminders that work on our minds to turn them towards liberation. We will hear about how to reflect on the preciousness of our human life, the inevitability of death, the truth of karma and the dangers of samsara, to bring about a radical shift in awareness. Excerpted from the talk Ready Or Not, One Day We Shall Die given at Sheffield Buddhist Centre, 2025.

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Smritiratna portrays rejoicing not as a mood but as a choice: a deliberate act. At least potentially we all have the power to rejoice, even when we are in the pits of despair. In this excerpt, he reflects on Beethoven who chose not to give in to deafness but to end his last symphony with an ode to joy. He sings the fifth section of the Sevenfold Puja ‘Rejoicing in Merits’ to Beethoven’s familiar tune. Excerpted the from the talk The Power of Rejoicing given at Dhanakosha Retreat Centre, 2024.

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Jvalamalini shares personally about her ‘quest for love’ in the Buddhist life, specifically what does Mara say to her to divert her from the path? And is it true? Excerpted from the talk 'I Am a Serious Dharma Practitioner Dedicated to Love' given at Taraloka Retreat Centre as part of the series Daughters of the Buddha

We are continually being bombarded with news about world problems including war, starvation, violence, inequality, climate destruction etc. One response is to just ignore these problems. Sangharakshita argues that ‘an attitude of withdrawal from public concerns to purely personal ones is not worthy of a human being’. Vimaladasa explores how we as Buddhists can bring a voice of sanity and compassion into the world and act accordingly. Excerpted from the talk entitled A Buddhist Perspective On World Problems given at Sheffield Buddhist Centre, 2025.

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In the fourth part of a series of talks about the 'Going for Refuge and Prostration Practice of the Buddha Shakyamuni', Vajratara shifts the perspective from us contemplating the Refuge Tree, to the figures on the Refuge Tree contemplating us. Blessings or adhisthana is the way the Buddha responds to us, and all we have to do is tune in. How do we remain receptive? What does it feel like to be blessed and purified? What are we purified of? From the talk Contemplating the Refuge Tree 4: The Sprinkling of the Deathless given at Tiratanaloka Retreat Centre, 2022.

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When we interact with others, do we truly see them as they are, beyond the stories we have built around them? Or are we often lost in our assumptions, judgments, and preconceived notions about who they are, based on our own views and experiences. Sanghagita explores how we can really learn to see others and discover that when we truly pay attention, there we find love. Excerpted from the talk Have We Ever Really Looked At Someone? Given at Sheffield Buddhist Centre, 2025.

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A Spiritual Community consists of Individuals; a group does not consist of Individuals. What is individuality? How can an ordinary group support our efforts to transcend the group?

Excerpted from the talk The Individual, the Group, and the Community by Sangharakshita given in 1971.

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Adityadasa delves into the Parable of the Jewel in the Robe from the White Lotus Sutra. He evokes the timeless wisdom of this story, highlighting its profound relevance to our modern conditions and culture. Through his exploration, Ādityadāsa reveals how we can shift from a mindset of scarcity to one of abundance, both within ourselves and in the world around us. Excerpted from the talk Living From Enough given at Worcester Buddhist Centre, 2025.

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Parami explores themes of friendship through poems by Robert Burns and quotes from Sangharakshita and from the Pali Canon. Excerpted from the talk Burns, Bhante and the Buddha: Themes of Friendship and Solidarity given at Glasgow Buddhist Centre as part of the series Burns, Bhante and the Buddha, 2024.

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Colour has an important place in Buddhism, for example as a way to express different aspects of the Enlightened mind in the Five Jinas. This symbolism can open the imagination to new depths of understanding. As an artist and former art teacher, Ahimsaka has studied colour extensively and helps us explore the deeper significance of colour in Buddhist practice. Excerpt from the talk entitled Tantric Path - The Symbolism of Colour given at Cambridge Buddhist Centre, 2017.

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Ksantikara gives a Sangha night talk exploring what constitutes Perfect Livelihood. What are the conditions that most encourage our Buddhist practice to come alive when it comes to the work we undertake? Excerpted from the talk Buddhism and the 9-5 given at Birmingham Buddhist Centre, 2021.

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Pasannamati gives a Sangha night talk exploring Perfect Livelihood. How can our livelihood and our networks be a doorway to leading our lives in a way in which our eyes can be wide open rather than our eyes being wide shut? Excerpted from the talk Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy…reflections of Livelihood and the Networks That Sustain Us given at Birmingham Buddhist Centre, 2021.

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Vishvapani's usual good-natured and reflective approach is just the thing to start us off as he looks at how Sangharakshita's initiative in founding the FWBO might be viewed in terms of the unity of Buddhism.

Excerpted from the talk Three Jewels Buddhism - Finding the Heart of the Dharma Traditions given at the Triratna Buddhist Order Weekend, Wymondham College, March 2008.

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Vajradevi leads a beautiful sevenfold puja compiled by Maitrisiddhi from the Pali Canon. Here, we participate in verses expressing our Going for Refuge through verse and the chanting of the Refuges and Precepts. Excerpted from Puja to the Buddha drawn from the Pali Canon, part of the series Pathways to the Beautiful Mind: Bristol Rains Retreat given at Bristol Buddhist Centre

Padmasagara explores the awe-inspiring vision behind the image of the Refuge Tree, connecting it to Sangharakshita's great insight into the centrality of Going for Refuge. Excerpted from the talk The Refuge Tree As a Vision of Existence given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre as part of the series The Cosmic Refuge Tree, 2019.

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In his first public appearance since his eyesight began to deteriorate, Sangharakshita begins this new talk with reflections on his blindness, displaying remarkable equanimity and humour in the process. His main subjects, however, are six particular aspects of Buddhist life and practice which are given distinctive emphasis in the spiritual movement he has founded. Here, he defines the ecumenical approach to Buddhism that our practicing spiritual community takes. Excerpted from the talk The Six Distinctive Emphases of the FWBO [Triratna], previously released under the title, 'An Informal Talk at Padmaloka', given in 2002.

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In exploring the nature of tradition in Buddhism, from the Kalama Sutta to the modern day, and the tension between tradition and adaptation in an every-changing world; Taranita discusses how the Triratna came to have its distinctive ecumenical nature. Excerpted from the talk entitled The Six Distinctive Emphases - An Ecumenical Movement given at Bristol Buddhist Centre, 2015.

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Kulaprabha explores death of our fixed, bounded self, the self that is made up of bundled habits and preferences and views - especially views about existence and non-existence. Excerpted from the talk System of Meditation Retreats - Spiritual Death, Fear and Fearlessness given at Taraloka Retreat Centre, 2008.

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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 aspirant's quest for Enlightenment. Here, Sangharakshita tells the story of Devadatta who was trying to kill the Buddha. Excerpted from the talk The Heroic Ideal in Buddhism given in 1969.

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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...

Excerpted from the talk Mindfulness is the Way to the Deathless as part of the series The Dhammapada - the Buddha's Way of Truth given at

Beautifully read by Sangharakshita, these readings are taken from the oldest scriptural texts and evoke the real spirit of early Buddhism - the struggles, the joys and the triumphs of ordinary people who followed the path to Truth. Appears in Readings from the Pali Canon recorded in 2000 to mark the Digital Legacy project to begin transferring Dharmachakra's archive to digital format!

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Flowers naturally grow towards the light. The more we open to our true potential the more we open to the light of truth, of love, and of awareness. Our potential to grow is inherent in our very being. Here, Suryagupta shares reflections on verses from the Flowers chapter of the Dhammapada, or ‘Way of Truth’. Excerpted from the talk entitled How Flowers Teach the Way to Enlightenment given at London Buddhist Centre as part of the series The Dhammapada, 2022.

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"As many garlands are made from a heap of flowers, so one who is a mortal born should perform many ethically skilful deeds" - Dhammapada. Jvalamalini shares the effects of the story of Vasakha from the Dhammapada and draws out the significance for our sangha today. Excerpted from the talk As Garlands From a Heap of Flowers given at the Bristol Buddhist Centre, 2017.


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This is an appropriately pithy talk by Surata on one of the most popular and regarded of the early Buddhist suttas, The 'Dhammapada'. The images of the verses and their direct relevance to our lives makes this sutta an indispensable aide memoire to practice – and Surata's consideration of it is a handy primer for newcomers to the text, as well as a refresher for those who've long enjoyed its simple message about our living and dying in a world we make with our minds. Excerpted from the talk The Dhammapada - Letters of Gold.

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Bodhinaga picks up the theme 'Tantra for Today' by pulling out his guts and setting them alight (not literally). Exploring what it means to practice the Dharma with the whole of yourself, come and hear about transforming messy bits like secret fear and hot emotions like burning rage!

Excerpted from the talk Blood, Bones, and Halos of Fire given at Sheffield Buddhist Centre, 2023.

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Moksatara introduces the dakini, the tantric embodiment of what's possible when all of our energy is completely engaged, alive and flowing. In order to meet the dakinis we must travel to where they dwell: the cremation grounds, where bodies are taken to be burnt. The deepest, darkest energies to be transformed are associated with fear. By deliberately plunging into crucial situations which mirror these burning grounds, old ways are forced to change and we are compelled to grow. From the talk The Burning Ground given at Sheffield Buddhist Centre, 2019, as part of the series

In a famous passage in the Itivutakka The Buddha compares Metta to the radiance of the sun and moon. He says that metta ‘shines and burns and blazes forth in surpassing all other acts of good’ and that ‘Whoever sets their mind to make goodwill grow Boundless’ ...will become Enlightened! Excerpted from the talk All Beings Without Exception given at Sheffield Buddhist Centre, 2024.

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Aryadasa discusses his experience of moving through fear in order to live a life more dedicated to love and friendship. He talks about the difficulties involved in this transition and the fruits that come from working through such difficulties. Excerpted from the talk Fearless Love - A Personal Talk by Aryadasa given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre, 2019, as part of the Sub35 Men's Fearless Love retreat.

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Fresh off a three-week solitary retreat, Vajragupta (m) shares, in a very personal and heart-felt way, what it was like, and what happened during that time. Coming to terms with his mother's slide into dementia, evoking the strangeness of dreams and memories, describing the sheer vividness of experience on retreat, and reflecting on both the joy and the fear that can result: this is a moving and inspiring talk about the potential richness of solitude. Excerpted from the talk What I Did On My Solitary Retreat given at Croydon Buddhist Centre, 2023.

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Sangharakshita describes how when faced with a tremendous fear, one with no apparent cause or object, how the Buddha’s example of sitting with it until it subsides leads to determination, an essential heroic quality in the spiritual aspirant's quest for Enlightenment. Excerpted from the talk The Heroic Ideal in Buddhism given in 1969.

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Fearlessness is courage in the face of fear, not the absence of fear. When we are with someone who is dying, we are confronted by our own death. Our sense of self is fundamentally brought into question as we face our core spiritual problem: the truth of insubstantiality and impermanence. Vidyamala gives a strong account of working with suffering and sorrow in life, and of transforming your experience into one characterized by contentment and a sense of meaning. Excerpted from the talk Dying to Live, 2003.

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Lokeshvara shares how the impact of fear and anxiety led him to learn to meditate. Fear is a universal emotion that can be quite debilitating, but seen in another way, it’s like a little mini-death and an opportunity for Dharma practice. Excerpted from the talk Gesture of Fearlessness given at Buddhafield East, 2010.

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Vajragupta shares how her creativity and devotion flow to (and from) her collection of Barbies. Drawing on the imagery, chakras and mantras of the Five Wisdom Queens, she leads a meditation evoking each of their qualities in turn. Excerpted from the talk Barbies As the Five Wisdom Queens given at Norwich Buddhist Centre, 2024.

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Ratnaprabha tells the story of Queen Vaidehi languishing in prison and longing for a better world. The Buddha teaches her to meditate on the land of Bliss, Amitabha's Pureland. What is the significance of Pureland Buddhism? Excerpted from the talk Birdsong Dharma given at West London Buddhist Centre, 2018.

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In answering the question 'What is Buddhism?', Sangharakshita identifies higher evolution - the development of higher states of consciousness - with the twelve links in the progressive trend of the Buddha's teaching of conditioned co-production. Here he defines the second link, that of faith, translated from the sanskrit shraddha. Excerpted from the talk entitled Buddhism and the Path of the Higher Evolution, part of the series The Higher Evolution, given in 1969.

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Here Paramartha shares a story illustrating Milarepa as teacher, master, vertical kalyana mitra, in relation to Rechungpa, known as his ‘moonlight disciple’. A young but seasoned practitioner, a cotton-clad yogi, devoted to his teacher, but who was a bit head-strong and stuck in his practice. Excerpted from the talk Rechungpa's Unusual Faith given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre, 2010.

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Faith is the sort of emotional response that you have when you are confronted by the embodiment of Enlightenment. Vajragupta shares a story from the life of Milarepa. Excerpted from the talk Faith: the Emotional Response That You Have When You Are Confronted by the Embodiment of Enlightenment given at Mid Essex Buddhist Centre, 2021.

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