Free Buddhist Audio
Free Buddhist Audio

Dharmabyte: We Are Beautifully Flawed

By Zac on Thu, 15 Dec, 2022 - 06:00

Life is a delightful, complex, messy business. How do you respond to the existential human predicament? Do you wonder how best to balance your spiritual longings while honouring our ordinary human life? Here, Manjunaga offers reflections on the tendency to skip over the messy bits of ourselves (aka spiritual bypassing) as occupational hazard in the spiritual life.

Excerpted from the talk The Universe Is Expanding: Soulful Reflections On the Human Predicament given at...

Free Buddhist Audio
Free Buddhist Audio

Dharmabytes: Take Notice of Inconsistencies

By Zac on Wed, 13 Jul, 2022 - 06:00

Magical Aspects of Emptiness

Kamalashila looks at our whole relationship to nature and the elements: how the artificiality in our lives can get in the way of seeing what things are actually like - and what we might do about that in practice! Kamalashila uses these reflections as a way into evoking a more natural, deeply encouraging perspective, one that allows us to open up to the reality the Buddha pointed to under the tree and let the Dharma transform...

Free Buddhist Audio
Free Buddhist Audio

Dharmabyte: Dukkha as Compost

By Zac on Thu, 23 Jun, 2022 - 06:00

Dayajoti explores the metaphor of ‘sh*t happens’ - it’s what you do with it that matters! Turning towards your poo as a reflection on the process of transformation. 

From the talk Bodies of Earth - Beyond Me and Mine - Dukkha from a two-week women’s retreat at Eco-Dharma Retreat Centre, 2012.

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Free Buddhist Audio
Free Buddhist Audio

Dharmabyte: What's Calling?

By Zac on Mon, 13 Jun, 2022 - 06:00

Atula, a long-time practicing Buddhist and psychotherapist, offers 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. 

In this excerpt we hear about the tendency to polarize and project onto others. From the talk Mending the Broken Ladder, London...

Free Buddhist Audio
Free Buddhist Audio

FBA Podcast: Living with Loving Kindness

By Sadayasihi on Sat, 7 Aug, 2021 - 06:00

The Buddha was a problem solver looking at suffering and the release from suffering. Here, Vijayasri introduces us to metta, the basic teaching of the Buddha, by exploring the first chapter of Living with Kindness by Sangharakshita. She considers the Karaniya Metta Sutta, looks at the work of Buddhaghosa, and investigates the ideas of metta as a strongly positive emotion, a rational emotion and as wisdom. The session finishes with some questions...

Free Buddhist Audio
Free Buddhist Audio

FBA Podcast: Thank God It's Empty!

By Sadayasihi on Sat, 27 Feb, 2021 - 06:00

What memories stay with you year after year? Which breath do you wish you could take again? Whose smile is the most beautiful? What is this love that you talk about?

Saraha returns to Birmingham to speak at Sangha Night, having taught the Dharma there previously for over a decade before moving to Ecodharma in Spain a few years ago. In this talk he speaks with his usual passion and inspiration, illuminating many questions for...

Free Buddhist Audio
Free Buddhist Audio

Dharmabyte: A Man in Rags

By Sadayasihi on Thu, 10 Dec, 2020 - 06:00

This is a quietly passionate talk by Jinapriya on the quicksilver nature of the Enlightenment experience - impossible to pin down, utterly transformative. His main theme within the frame of such a big question - ‘What is Enlightenment?’ - is the struggle to live our lives in the present moment, especially in the face of pain. We are met with a thoughtful series of reflections, stories and images that all look to open up the gates of perception, and...

Free Buddhist Audio
Free Buddhist Audio

FBA Podcast: Impermanence of This Body

By Sadayasihi on Sat, 25 Jan, 2020 - 14:00

Punyamala explores the Buddhist teachings of impermanence and shares reflections on how to live with the fact of death, using her recent experience of death.

This is the Second in a series of four talks given on the four reminders given at Taraloka Retreat Centre called Reflection: A Path of Wisdom.

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Dhanakosa Buddhist Retreat Centre
Dhanakosa Buddhist Retreat Centre

This Being, led meditation 4

By Yashobodhi on Wed, 9 Apr, 2014 - 09:57
Yesterday afternoon, Nayaka led a beautiful reflection on the five kandhas (or skandhas in Sanskrit). I thought his exploration was very clear, interesting and insightful.. A particular interesting part for me was that he had us playing with the skandha of cogntion, saññā. Thoroughly recommended.
Dhanakosa Buddhist Retreat Centre
Dhanakosa Buddhist Retreat Centre

This Being, led meditation 1

By Yashobodhi on Tue, 8 Apr, 2014 - 10:24
A led reflection by Dhivan on the first day of the retreat.