Free Buddhist Audio

Today's we introduce Atula in our weekly FBA Podcast with "Mending the Broken Ladder" a very thoughtful talk long-time by this practising Buddhist and psychotherapist. The nature of the 'psyche' and our sense of self-view is explored with reference to the Fourfold Vision of William Blake, T.S. Eliot, Charles Bukowski, Edward Conze, and Humpty Dumpty! Expect some stimulating words around the role of myth, metaphor and all our ways of cognizing, thinking about and expressing experience in what we call 'spiritual life' – and a clear encouragement to see that process as one that is profoundly relational.

Talk given Monday 8th March 2010.

Today's FBA Dharmabyte, "The Dharma is Everywhere, is a beautiful short talk by Aryashila of the Croydon Buddhist Centre exploring impermanence. She uses the challenging poetry of Leonard Cohen and others, as well as her own deep life experience, to show that reality does not conform to ordinary wishes, but yet facing it squarely can be supremely uplifting, not sad. Talk given at the Sangha evening of the West London Buddhist Centre.

Today's FBA Dharmabyte, "What Can We Be Sure Of?" is a taste of Jnanavaca's fabulous take on Einstein, Schroedinger, and all that stuff you wished you understood about quantum physics but despaired of ever knowing so as to impress at parties... Well, now you can learn all about it — as well as how it relates to Dharma practice and the Buddha's view of a truly luminous Reality. Very classy stuff from a great speaker with the most infectious laugh on the planet! We won't give any more away here — settle

Welcome to this weeks FBA Podcast, "Fields of Creativity", a sparkling talk by Sangharakshita on a theme close to his heart. Full of warmth, wit and stimulating ideas.

Talk given in 2001.

More listening joy from Vajradharshini in today's FBA Dharmabyte, "Enlightenment is Different for Each of Us." From the talk "We Have a Huge Barrel of Wine But No Cups", this is another splendid journey around the idea of Enlightenment, using the languages of surrender and discipline from the Sufi context. It’s as heady as a sumptuous wine, but also sobering and down to earth, whether we’re “following a railing in the dark” or "wandering inside the red world”. Drink up! Talk given at Taraloka Ret

Today's FBA Dharmabyte, "On Creativity", is from a sparkling talk by Sangharakshita titled "Fields of Creativity" on a theme close to his heart. Full of warmth, wit and stimulating ideas. Talk given in 2001.

Today's FBA Podcast, "In the Bleak Midwinter", Parami delivers a gem of a talk, with a wintery theme. With a song to open followed by metaphors on bleakness, with the earth as hard as iron and water like a stone, times when we struggle and it seems as if no growth is possible. She talks about her early experience of doing the metta bhavana and what a radical practice it is, leading to beauty, magic and angels.

This talk was given in December 2010 at the Glasgow Buddhist Centre.

Today's FBA Dharmabyte, "Positive Change" is brought to us by Sangharakshita himself, founder of the Triratna Buddhist Order and Community. 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

In today's FBA Dharmabyte, "The Greatest Tragedy", Subhuti invites us to look into the tragedy of not knowing what we want. He shares his thoughts on the nature of Samsara, contact with the Dharma and realisation as the deepest happiness. This is 'Eight Verses for Training the Mind': Talk 1 from the four-part series on this Tibetan text attributed to Kadampa Geshe Langri Tangpa.

In today's FBA Podcast, we are taken deep into the mythical magical world of Milarepa, Tibet's great yogi saint, in "The Life of Milarepa," by Paramartha.

First talk in a series of 4 talks on 'Milarepa'.

Talks given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre, Winter Retreat 2010.