Free Buddhist Audio

Today's FBA Dharmabyte explores 'Three Kinds of Faith' brought to us by Dhammadinna in a poignant talk title 'The Preciousness and Rarity of Human Life.'. Sraddha has three aspects: cognitive, emotional and volitional. Like a wish-fulfilling gem, Faith allows us to achieve unsurpassable Enlightenment. This is the second talk in a five-part series from Tiratanaloka's retreat on the 'Four Mind Turnings' of the Tibetan tradition.

Today's FBA Dharmabyte,, "Jewel as Symbol of True Self", is from the talk "The Jewel in the Lotus" by Sangharakshita, The jewel is the most precious of all material things, therefore a fitting symbol of the True Self. This jewel is consciousness itself - once it comes to light it shines forth in it's original splendor. This talk is part of the Parables, Myths and Symbols of Mahayana Buddhism in the White Lotus Sutra Series given in 1971.

Today's FBA Podcast, "Transcending the Human Predicament", Sangharakshita investigates various symbolic elements in the Parable of the Burning House and we are reminded of the importance of responding to 'the call of the Divine'. The general significance of the parable is then discussed under the headings of escapism, universalism and sectarianism.

"The White Lotus Sutra is not only a religious classic, but a masterpiece of symbolic spiritual literature." ~ Sangharakshita

From the classical ground-breaking series: Parables, Myths and Symbols of Mahayana Buddhism in the White Lotus Sutra given in 1971.

In today's FBA Dharmabyte, "The Parable of the Burning House", Sangharakshita begins by reading from the White Lotus Sutra and follows with an explanation of the symbolism of the house. We are reminded of the importance of responding to 'the call of the Divine'. The talk from which today's Dharmabyte is extracted is titled: Transcending the Human Predicament, which is part of the series Parables, Myths and Symbols of Mahayana Buddhism in the White Lotus Sutra given in 1971.

Today's FBA Dharmabyte is lovely excerpt from the talk titled "Contemplating the Suffering of Beings" by Kulaprabha, titled "Robins, Despair, Earthquakes and Other People." This is the third of four talks exploring Vasubandhu's Four Factors given on a meditation retreat for women who have asked for ordination. In his treatise Generating Bodhi Resolve, Vasubandhu describes them as able to generate the resolve to cultivate and accumulate the bases for the Arising of the Bodhicitta. You can find out more abou

In today's talk, "Anatta Made Simple", Locana provides an excellent introduction to the most subtle and complex part of the Buddha's teaching on impermanence: that all things in conditioned existence are empty of any innate self-nature. Insubstantiality might never be really 'simple' to understand – but this is a good place to start and Locana an ever-intelligent guide along the way…

Locana (Elizabeth English) is the author of 'Vajrayogini: Her Visualization, Rituals, and Forms'

Today's FBA Dharmabyte is a short talk by the lovely Jnanaketu titled "The Three Lakshanas: Anitya", part of three part series of talks given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre in 2006. All conditioned things are impermanent... Not just a truism, but the central teaching of Buddhism upon which so much else follows. Jnanaketu starts off a three-part series on the lakshanas, or 'marks' of conditioned existence, by tackling this most crucial of insights that is easy to say but a great challenge to live by. This talk

Today's FBA Dharmabyte is the classic reading of the ""The Parable of the Rain Cloud" from The White Lotus Sutra. The reading is followed by a thought-provoking and beautiful explanation of this Buddhist teaching by Sangharakshita. This talk, "The Rain of the Dharma", was given in 1994 in the USA.

Welcome to this week's FBA Podcast, "Abundant Treasures," by the wonderful story teller, Suriyavamsa. The first of a series on the parables of The White Lotus Sutra, this talk looks at the Sutra as a whole. Suriyavamsa explores the key themes as well as how best to approach a Mahayana Sutra.

Please note that there is some noise disturbance at the end of the talk due to a small and restless child!

In today's FBA Dharmabyte, "Emptiness - A Strategy for Being," Samantabhadri expertly and imaginatively tackles the theme of Wisdom, using the verses in the third section of Tsongkhapa's short text on the "Three Principle Aspects of the Path". Excerpted from the talk, 'The Path of the Buddha's Delight', this is part of a three part series all based on Tsongkhapa's text, and given on the 2009 UK Women's Order Mitra Event. Given at Taraloka, May 2009