Free Buddhist Audio
Free Buddhist Audio

Dharmabyte: Don't Wait Another Second to Practice

By Sadayasihi on Mon, 24 Aug, 2020 - 14:00

Surata talks about the nature of Viriya, diligence to practice, to apply oneself, to engage in a steady practice, even when one doesn’t quite feel like it. Calling on Shraddha (faith) we call on diligence that does not lose heart!

Excerpted from the third in a series of four talks on the Bodhisattva ideal entitled Plunging Into The Positive - Kshanti and Virya, given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre, March 2011, for men training to join...

Free Buddhist Audio
Free Buddhist Audio

Dharmabyte: Faith as Metta

By Sadayasihi on Mon, 19 Nov, 2018 - 13:00

Today’s FBA Dharmabyte, is called Faith as Metta by Saddhaloka from the talk entitled Amitabha. This is the fourth talk in a six-part series on the figures on the Wheel of Life. Saddhaloka introduces us to Amitabha, the red Buddha of the West who represents and inspires the highest love of all. Talk given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre, winter retreat, 1997

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Free Buddhist Audio
Free Buddhist Audio

Dharmabyte: Shradda - A Curious Intuition

By Sadayasihi on Mon, 5 Mar, 2018 - 17:25

Drawing out concepts from the Dhammapada’s verses, Padmavajra explores the qualities of faith (or shraddha) in this FBA Dharmabyte entitled “Shraddha - A Curious Intuition”.

From the talk “Changing Hatred into Love - Dhammapada Verses 3 to 6” given in 2007, and part of a larger series “The Dhammapada - The Buddha’s Way of Truth”.

Subscribe to the Dharmabytes podcast

Free Buddhist Audio
Free Buddhist Audio

Dharmabyte: Changing Faith

By Sadayasihi on Wed, 21 Feb, 2018 - 17:36

In this FBA Dharmabyte entitled ‘Changing Faith’, Sangharakshita discusses how Faith (shraddha) arises in dependence on unsatisfactoriness (dukkha). From the talk The Dynamics of Being given in 1966 as part of the series Introducing Buddhism.

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Buddhist Centre Features
Buddhist Centre Features

Reverencing the Buddha At the Place of His Enlightenment by Purna

By Free Buddhist Audio on Wed, 7 Feb, 2018 - 07:36

As his contribution to evoking the “lion’s roar” of the Buddha, Purna talks about myth and the importance of reverence in any spiritual life, regardless of temperament. We are given a faith-centered tour of the seven traditional spots around the Bodhi tree marking different aspects of the Buddha’s Enlightenment experience. And Purna enjoins us to “release faith” by following in the Buddha’s footsteps and dropping our rigid self view…

Recorded at Bodhgaya, India, 2018.

See all posts from the 2018 Convention

Buddhist Centre Features
Buddhist Centre Features

Great Faith, Great Wisdom - Complete Retreat Recordings By Ratnaguna

By Centre Team on Fri, 22 Sep, 2017 - 15:05

On this retreat, recorded during the recent Rainy Season Retreat at Bristol Buddhist Centre in the UK, Ratnaguna guides us on a journey into Amitābha’s Pure Land, Sukhāvati – a mythical realm where the ground is golden, trees are made of jewels, heavenly musical instruments play ravishing music, and magical birds sing the Dharma. It is a vast ‘illumined image’ – a symbol of the beauty and joy of the spiritual life. The three Pure Land sutras invite...

Bristol Buddhist Centre
Bristol Buddhist Centre

Great Faith, Great Wisdom, Day 6 - Rainy Season Retreat 2017 by Ratnaguna

By Centre Team on Sat, 16 Sep, 2017 - 15:23

All this week, Ratnaguna and the Bristol Triratna sangha have turned their urban Centre into a realm for exploration of Sukhavati, the Pure Land of Amitabha. Now on the last day of our retreat, we meet the Buddha. This is what the retreat has been building up to…

With readings from the Guan Jing and from the Life and Liberation of Padmasambhava.

Recorded as part of Ratnaguna’s retreat on Great Faith, Great Wisdom at Bristol Buddhist Centre, Sept 2017.

Talk 9: The Buddha Beyond the Buddha
Ratnaguna...

Bristol Buddhist Centre
Bristol Buddhist Centre

Great Faith, Great Wisdom Retreat, 2017 - day 6

By jvalamalini on Fri, 15 Sep, 2017 - 17:14

Great Faith, Great Wisdom Retreat, 2017 - day 6

By jvalamalini on Fri, 15 Sep, 2017 - 17:14

The last morning of the retreat found me with a mind full of reflections in the early morning double meditation, and a fair bit of energy released – I was dancing in my living room when I popped home for a few things after breakfast.

This was the day we’d been building up to – the day we met the Buddha! Ratnaguna introduced the Buddha Amitayus of the Guan Jing, the ‘Buddha beyond the Buddha’, the principle of Buddhahood which the Mahayana...

Bristol Buddhist Centre
Bristol Buddhist Centre

Great Faith, Great Wisdom, Day 5 - Rainy Season Retreat 2017 by Ratnaguna

By Centre Team on Thu, 14 Sep, 2017 - 22:04

On the 5th day of the Rainy Season Retreat, Ratnaguna takes us into the world of the the Sutra on the Visualisation of the Buddha Amitayus, or Guan Jing. Some wonderful guided meditations, conversation, and another excellent talk await…

The Guan Jing or Sutra on the Visualisation of the Buddha Amitayus - Introduction and Reading, Queen Vaidehi’s Predicament Followed by a Visualisation of the Setting Sun
Ratnaguna starts the fifth day of the retreat with a brief introduction to the Guan...

Bristol Buddhist Centre
Bristol Buddhist Centre

Great Faith, Great Wisdom Retreat, 2017 - day 5

By jvalamalini on Thu, 14 Sep, 2017 - 14:07

Great Faith, Great Wisdom Retreat, 2017 - day 5

By jvalamalini on Thu, 14 Sep, 2017 - 14:07

As Ratnaguna pointed out, dwelling in such an uncompromisingly bright land tends to invite one’s shadow. Every retreat brings a process for each of us, and today I knew the retreat was reaching something more in me when I found myself weeping in morning meditation. After last night’s talk, I was touching a deep grief for all the imperfection in me-and-my-sangha: the views I bring that make things hard for me; the ways interpersonal dynamics sometimes obscure our shared faith; the ways...

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