The Brahma Viharas or Heavenly Abodes, have been likened to a magnificent tree. The deep, far ranging roots and sturdy resilient trunk are Metta; the open arms of the branches rising up out of the fullness of Metta are Compassion and Sympathetic Joy; the tree as a whole reflects the deep peace of Equanimity. The Brahma Viharas tree provides a Heavenly Abode for the creatures who live within its realm. Come and sit for a while with Sanghagita in the shade of the tree and explore how it is possible for us to live in heaven on earth.
In a famous passage in the Itivutakka The Buddha compares Metta to the radiance of the sun and moon. He says that metta ‘shines and burns and blazes forth in surpassing all other acts of good’ and that ‘Whoever sets their mind to make goodwill grow Boundless’ ...will become Enlightened!
In this Sangha Night series we will be using another famous teaching on metta, The Karaniya Metta Sutta, to take a really good look at the Metta Bhavana practice, both on the cushion and in daily life. Over the coming weeks we will be asking ‘Can metta really be a path to Enlightenment?’ and we will come to realise that The Buddha’s path to liberation can also be seen as ‘Living with Kindness’.
We are offering a precious opportunity to join the Rivendell Team in the running and life of this successful and well-loved Triratna retreat centre. We would like to hear from Order members or TFO/GFR Mitras who are enthusiastic about Rivendell as a context in which the Dharma is communicated and Sangha is created.
Supported Roles
Our team are looking for someone who:
has a good relevant skill set or an aptitude to learn skills quickly
Over 175 Order members from around the world, excluding India, have booked for the Order Convention in India next year. We still have space for more, but time to book the inclusive hotel and Convention package is running out.
If you want to book the inclusive hotel and Convention package, we must receive your booking and £100 deposit by the 30th September.
On 26th August, 99 years ago, Urgyen Sangharakshita was born and at Free Buddhist Audio we have an extensive collection of his lectures given in his 40+ years of public teaching.
We are getting ready to celebrate his centenary next year by remastering his talks for audiences new and old! Using various remastering tools, we share these previews of a remastered talk. You can listen to the original and remastered preview of this famous talk “Who is the Buddha?”, which...
Maitrisara explores the second fetter, doubt and indecision which Bhante calls vagueness. The antidote is clarity but also faith. This wide-ranging talk weaves together both theoretical and personal themes and differentiates between wholesome and unhelpful doubt. It explores why we might get stuck in doubt, and how to work with it. The talk draws on a sutta from the Samyuta Nikaya about what feeds doubt. And what therefore counteracts it. From the talk Clarity: The Unobscured Mirror...
We are very pleased to announce that the following three women will be privately ordained during an Ordination retreat at Aryaloka Buddhist Center, New Hampshire, USA starting on 24th August.
The public ordination will be at Aryaloka Buddhist Center on Saturday 7th September at 11:30am local time.
Nancy Artz from Portland, Maine Private Preceptor Dharmasuri Public Preceptor Amalā
Laura Rivchun from New York City, New York Private Preceptor...
In his first talk on Shantideva’s Bodhicaryavatara Padmavajra speaks of Sangharakshita’s evocation of the Bodhicitta. He goes on to talk about his discovery of the Bodhicarayavatara and what is known of the life of Shantideva. The main part of the talk is Padmavajra’s discussion of some of the verses of the first chapter of the Bodhicaryavatara, especially of verse ten, in which the Bodhicitta is likened to the highly potent quicksilver elixir of the alchemist, capable of...
