Free Buddhist Audio

Today's FBA Podcast is a tribute to our teacher, Bhante Sangharakshita, given by Parami entitled "Revisiting the New Society", the third talk of The Order as Practice – Shifting Paradigms retreat. Parami talks about the first verse of the Dasadhamma Sutta – "I am no longer living according to worldly aims and values." She revisits Bhantes vision of the New Society, sharing her inspiration and love for the radical and transformative power of the Dharma.

Today's FBA Podcast is a tribute to our teacher, Bhante Sangharakshita, given by Padmavajra entitled "Glimpses of the Mythic Life of Sangharakshita". Urgyen Sangharakshita, the founder of the Western Buddhist Order, is many things to many people. Yet all inspiration and controversies aside, he is first and foremost a follower of the Buddha's way and his own evocations of his personal practice give many clues as to the nature of a committed Dharma life. Here Padmavajra, one of his closest disciples, offers his own perspective on Sangharakshita as a practitioner with a rich sense of the mythic context pervading all his thinking about the Buddha and his teaching. Talk given in 2008.

We've been inspired to share writings and poems by Bhante Sangharakshita this month. Our FBA Podcast today, "Sangharakshita – Facing Mount Kanchenjunga", is a delightful talk from 1991. Sangharakshita starts by reading an extract from the new volume of his autobiography, Facing Mount Kanchenjunga. He follows this by talking about and reading eight poems that he composed in Kalimpong which give a real feel for his appreciation of the place but also for his worries about the effect of logging in the mountains. The talk was given on November 28, 1991, in Croydon Buddhist Centre as part of the book launch for his autobiography. Croydon has been home to FWBO or Triratna Buddhist communities and centres since 1968. Many early talks by well known speakers were recorded, both at Aryatara, since 1979, and at the new Croydon Centre from 1981. These are now being transferred from their crumbling cassettes to digital format, as part of the Croydon Digital Archive Project, and are being made available to everyone.

We've been inspired to share poems by Bhante Sangharakshita this month. Our FBA Podcast today is an unusual, early, talk from Sankharakshita which will be new to most people. "Sangharakshita – Reading Poems About Friendship". Bhante was invited by the Croydon Arts Centre, in 1990, to choose, discuss and read poems about friendship. His selection ranges from the Epic of Gilgamesh to 20th century poets and clearly shows Sangharakshitas love of poetry and his desire to share this with other people. The tape begins with an introduction by Dharmaruci, includes the Pearl Fishers friendship duet sung by Jussi Bjorling and Robert Merril and concludes with a personal reflection on Sangharakshita by Nagabhodi, as a book launch for A Taste of Freedom. Croydon has been home to FWBO or Triratna Buddhist communities and centres since 1968. Many early talks by well known speakers were recorded, both at Aryatara, since 1979, and at the new Croydon Centre from 1981. These are now being transferred from their crumbling cassettes to digital format, as part of the Croydon Digital Archive Project, and are being made available to everyone. The tape quality reflects its age, the sound is slightly distorted, but clear, during the readings and more distorted during the duet.

This week's FBA Podcast features Ratnaghosha in a talk entitled "An Ever Widening Circle". Given as the key note talk at Sangha Day at the Cambridge Buddhist Center, launching the Year of Spiritual Community for 2014 and laying out a vision for the Sangha.

This week's FBA Podcast features Vajratara in a talk entitled "Buddhism and the Modern World". Given on a retreat for young women training for Ordination, Vajratara describes the topical issues of the time and asks what the Buddhist response is. The refugee crisis, the rise of Jeremy Corbyn, the effects of neo liberal capitalism and environmental denigration; all point to a change in the way we see each other and the world. We live at a time where the world is opening to a new way of living. This new way of living is indicated both by the Buddha and, in modern times, by Sangharakshita.

This week's FBA Podcast features Jnanavaca in a talk entitled "Mind Over Matter". Most people think of science as insisting that only dead matter really exists as a substrate of everything in the universe, and that mind is something that does not have the same reality as matter. However modern physics shows that matter itself is not made up of definite things, and that it may even be influenced by being observed by a conscious mind. Jnanavaca describes evidence from the double slit experiment, and draws lessons for seeing through the illusion of personal separateness and discovering the imperative of kindness.

In the final installment of our long-running series on the Six Emphases of Triratna, this week's FBA Podcast features Padmakumara in a talk entitled "What is Triratna Buddhism?". Padmakumara wraps it all up neatly with his own perspectives on what Triratna's approach to Buddhist principle and practice is.

In his typical engaging speaking style, Padmavajra illuminates the Triratna emphasis on spiritual friendship in this week's FBA Podcast, with "Triratna Emphases – Spiritual Friendship". Wrapping up the last of the Six Emphases of Triratna that we've been featuring over many weeks, Padmavajra gives a through overview of the importance of companions on the Buddhist path.

In this week's FBA Podcast, Dayabhadra is the distinguished speaker with "Triratna Emphases – The Arts". Dayabhadra gives us a comprehensive look at the importance of the arts in the spiritual life, one of the Six Emphases of the Triratna Buddhist Community.