Eleventh and last talk of Padmaloka's 2012 Winter Retreat. Once again at the Centre of the Mandala, Vairocana, how do we balance the teachings of effort and openness. One way is through the image of the Sun and relaxed being, the practice of the Dharma is simply to come back. Yet of course this requires effort.

Another question is the balance between practical and mythical approaches : can we hold both at once? What do we give significance to ? what do we make real ? can we open to a world of richer and deeper meaning ?

Art East with Abhayavajra - Painting the Void. What happens when Buddhist practice meets contemporary western art? Art East presents an evening with Abhayavajra at the London Buddhist Arts Centre, exploring how the Dharma life is expressed in art practice. Interviewed by Maitreyabandhu.

The fifth in a series of eight talks given at the LBC's Dharma Night. An eight-week seminar exploring a practical path to Enlightenment using the five stages of spiritual life: integration, positive emotion, spiritual death, rebirth and spiritual receptivity. We'll be dedicating ourselves to day-to-day practice inspired by the Buddha's example.

Seventh talk of Padmaloka's 2012 Winter Retreat and the beginning of the second time round the mandala, this time, we focus more on the symbolism of the Vajra and the mirror-like wisdom of Akshobya. This wisdom is an invitation to get beneath the story; what do we really know about the situations we find ourselves in, how much of it is our interpretation ? Can we drop the stories and find freedom? One approach we can apply is that of 'unhooking', listen to find out more.

Sixth talk of Padmaloka's 2012 Winter Retreat and last talk on the first circuit of the Mandala. We enter the centre, come to a realm of light and openness. We hear about the importance of boredom as a means of cultivating spiritual receptivity and ensuring that we have a balanced approach to our spiritual lives.