Dharmabytes from free buddhist audio

Our FBA Dharmabyte today is entitled 'Not to be Defined' by Jnanavaca. Excerpted from the talk Is A Guru Necessary? Jnanavaca revisits one of Sangharakshita's classic talks from 1970 and gives his contemporary reflections on its abiding relevance. This was given as part of the London Buddhist Centre Dharma Night Series, Bhante Classics, September 2012.

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We are pleased to present today's FBA Dharmabyte entitled 'Engaging with Sangha as Teacher', excerpted from Saddhanandi's talk Spiritual Transmission and Lineage given at the Triratna Buddhist Order Women's Convention, Wymondham 2007. Here Saddhanandi revisits Sangharakshita's own take on the problems faced by practitioners in a contemporary spiritual community. And, with the help of a good sprinkling of quotes and stories from other traditions, she explores the nature of the Sangha as the possible ground for insight itself to arise.

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In today's FBA Dharmabyte, 'These Texts Were Meant to be Understood', Shraddhapa talks about his work translating the Ratnaguna Samcayagatha, a profound Mahayana Sutra from Sanskrit into English.

You can find this text at Shraddhapa's website here.

If you want to financially support Shraddhapa's important work you can donate here.

From the talk For Heroic Spirits Intended - Translating Sanskrit Texts as part of the series For Heroic Spirits Intended given at the annual open retreat at Padmaloka Retreat Centre in 2018.

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Today's Dharmabyte is 'Offering your Life' by Yashobodhi. In this personal talk Yashobodhi goes into the aspiration to be of benefit to all beings, the pitfalls an aspiring bodhisattva can come across and about the journey from concept to experienced reality and back again. From the talk, Who Wants to Become a Bodhisattva? given at Aryaloka Buddhist Center in the USA, 2016.

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Our FBA Dharmabyte today is An Inner Journey. This is a fascinating introduction to the mandala from Garava - the idea, the myth, the image, the symbol, the experience. His own practice as an artist affords him a respectful and generous perspective, from which we are able to simply sit back and learn.

From the talk Entering the Mandala given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre, 2001

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Today's FBA Dharmabyte is Knowing Our Patterns by Karunavapi.

We live by patterns, mostly unconsciously. Using personal reflections, poetry and imagery of the Five Buddha Mandala, Karunavapi talks of mandalas as patterns of the unenlightened and enlightened mind. 'Personal mandalas' as the patterning of our own, unenlightened minds and the Five Buddha Mandala as the pattern of the Buddha's enlightened mind. To appreciate the qualities of the Buddha, we can see them like light through a prism splitting into the colours of the five Buddhas of the Mandala.

Excerpted from the talk Mandalas: Mythic and Personal given at Bristol Buddhist Centre during a year long series on the System of Practice.

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Today's FBA Dharmabyte, is Expanding Views by Nandaraja. How to step outside of polarisation and find freedom of heart and mind. From the talk Empathising with the Enemy given on a People of Colour Sangha Day retreat.

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In today's FBA Dharmabyte, Sangharakshita discusses The Four Limitless States.

In Buddhist practice, the traditional method of choice for effecting positive change in one's life is meditation. Here Sangharakshita takes a closer look, focussing on the 'superconscious states' (characterised in turn by integration, inspiration, permeation, and radiation), the practice of developing universal friendliness, and the distinction between calm and Insight. Talk given in 1976.

From the talk, A Method of Personal Development, given as part of the series Buddhism for Today and Tomorrow.

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Today's FBA Dharmabyte is Turning Towards by Saddhanandi. How do you make a meaningful practice of loving kindness in a difficult world? How do we turn towards, rather than away...? This is excerpted from the brilliant talk given on the Metta and Insight Retreat, 2015.

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Our FBA Dharmabyte today brings us face to face, as it were, with "our root fear", that of selflessness.

From the talk Ethics as Insight Practice by Guhyavajra.

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