Bodhidasa poetically explores the image of the reclining Buddha - at his physical passing, the Buddha did not stop being a force for good, did not meet a final end in oblivion - and neither do we. The Buddha acts as an inspiration, a story, an influence, a guide, an exemplar - and that continues in the lives of those who remember him. Excerpted from the talk entitled Death Is Not the End - Parinirvana given at Sydney Buddhist Centre, 2021. ***

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A Sangharakshita lecture celebrating the anniversary of the Parinirvana or 'death' of the Buddha. It outlines six basic meditation practices crucial to the attainment of the 'Deathless': Enlightenment. Excerpted from the talk entitled The Meaning of Parinirvana given as part of the series Parinirvana Day, 1972. ***

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Here, Sraddhagita reflects on a poem by Rumi entitled On Being Woven as she explores the path of

spiritual friendship. Excerpted from the talk entitled Things You Can Learn From Geese given at London Buddhist Centre, 2016.

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Here, Vishangka explores what it means to live a full buddhist life, and the place of meditation and community within it. Excerpted from the talk entitled Awake to Life given on the Summer Great Gathering: What Meditation really is at Padmaloka Retreat Centre, 2025.

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Here Ratnaghosha explores various ways of contemplating the qualities and virtues of a Buddha. This fifth talk in the series on the Five Stages of Spiritual Life goes into the theme of spiritual rebirth and what that means for us. Given at Cambridge Buddhist Centre, 2016.

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Here, Khemasuri talks about Milarepa, the consequences of his actions and the law of karma. His understanding deeply affected his life, can it do the same for us? Excerpted from the talk Milarepa And What Karma Really Is given at Sheffield Buddhist Centre, 2011.

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Nagapriya offers a good, pithy introduction (not to say quirky - check out the football references!) to the traditionally thorny and rather misunderstood area of karma and rebirth, teasing out its relationship to Buddhist ethics in general. Instant karma is yours... Excerpted from the talk Understanding Karma and Buddhist Ethics given in Manchester, 2000.

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Here, Akasaraja reflects on the question of why the Buddha apparently left this suffering world rather than returning to lead all beings to freedom, as a Bodhisattva promises to do. In doing so, he explores the nature of presence and absence in encounters between people and concludes that we can only be truly present when we are "absent", i.e. when we get out of the way. Excerpted from the talk Why Did the Buddha Leave Us? Or Did He? Or Was He Ever Really There? given at Shrewsbury Triratna Buddhist Centre, 2025.

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Here, 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 The Heart of the Dharma given at North London Buddhist Centre, 2015.

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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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