Dharmabytes from free buddhist audio

Fear is the great modern disease. Helping to create the conditions of fearlessness is one of the greatest gifts we can give. Today's FBA Dharmabyte podcast is entitled"The Gift of Fearlessness" by Sangharakshita from the talk Altruism and Individualism in the Spiritual Life Talk given in 1969 as part of the series Aspects of the Bodhisattva Ideal.

Today's Dharmabyte podcast is aptly named"It’s Not Fair!" by Kalyanaprabha. Life's unfair, what can we do about it? We can practice the Dharma and follow the Buddha's teachings. Kalyanaprabha's sober yet uplifting talk encourages us to do just that. Excerpt from the talk: What to Do In An Unfair World.

In today's Dharmabyte podcast entitled, "Karma with a Twist", Subhuti clearly describes how unwholesome mental states influence how we interpret our experience. This is why we begin with sila (ethics) on the path. From the talk, Rambles Around the Yogachara: Talk 1, part of the series Rambles Around the Yogachara by Subhuti. the Yogachara school of Buddhist philosophy, which provides a comprehensive psychological overview of the workings of 'consciousness'. This talk introduces the whole (complex!) subject with an admirable easy humour, leading us through the mazy twists and turns of the mind. We won't even try to sum it up here - listen and marvel in an appropriately bewildered kind of way... Please note, theses 'rambles' were given without notes and may contain quotational misrememberings and inevitable slips of the tongue! Talk given at London Buddhist Centre, 2003

In today's Dharmabyte podcast entitled, "Breaking Through with Awareness", we are reminded that awareness is the great dissolver of negative emotions. At times in the spiritual life we may need considerable energy to overcome obstacles, such as negative emotions, psychological conditionings, rational thinking, and even the sense of 'time' itself. How, when, and where can we break through? From the talk Breaking Through into Buddhahood by Sangharakshita given in 1969.

Today's Dharmabyte podcast is a short talk by Nityabodha given as part of the LBC's Urban Retreat in June 2009 entitled "Glimpses of Vision".

We've titled today's FBA Dharmabyte podcast, "Fluidity in Our Nature: The Sea". In this gentle talk, Arthabandhu gives us the image of the sea and the raft. We hold onto our raft, but this brings suffering - can we let go, enter the sea and become spiritually reborn? This is the question Arthabandhu asks us. Spiritual death does not only mean esoteric meditation practices, it means confronting the vagaries and difficulties of life with honesty and courage and seeing what we can learn from them. By opening up to new experiences life becomes more vivid and enjoyable - if we can just face the fear. From the talk, The Sea As Spiritual Death, given at Young Men Retreat, Padmaloka 2012.

In today's Dharmabyte podcast, "A Conversation About Poetry ", from Maitreyabandhu's Book Launch of his two new books: The Journey and the Guide; and Yarn, a new collection of poems. In conversation with Visuddhimati, he discusses his life, his writing, and stresses the importance of making time to do nothing. At the North London Buddhist Centre, 28th September 2015.

We've titled today's FBA Dharmabyte podcast "A Darkness Was Ripped From My Eyes", a line from the poem, Singapore, by Mary Oliver, recited with commentary offered by Ratnaguna. As our eyes open to the lives of others, we try to run away from what we do not like. We think there is nothing we can do, or is there? From the talk, The Tender Gravity of Kindness, by Ratnaguna, a commentary on two poems: Singapore by Mary Oliver and Kindness by Naomi Shihab Nye. Talk given by Ratnaguna on Sangha Night at Stockholm Buddhist Center the 26th of October 2015.

Today's Dharmabyte podcast is called "The Tree is Teaching Us" by Suchitta. The birth of a tree is no different from our own - dependent on conditions and the elements. Every part of the body changes according to it’s nature, no different from the tree. From the talk The Defects of Samsara and Cultivating the Desire For Enlightenment.

In today's Dharmabyte podcast Vadanya gives us "Tangled Up in Sorrow", an excerpt from the talk Wisdom In The World. It’s through not knowing the truth about the way things are that we create all sorts of destruction, unhappiness and sorrow for ourselves and those around us.

In today's Dharmabyte podcast, "What is Insight?" Dayajoti and Saddhanandi talk about Metta as an ungraspable co-arising, inseparable from mindfulness, which expresses itself in different ways. What is Metta, What is Insight is the final talk in a series from a 12 day meditation retreat on metta as a path to insight from May 2015.

In today's Dharmabyte podcast, "What is Metta?" Dayajoti and Saddhanandi talk about Metta as an ungraspable co-arising, inseparable from mindfulness, which expresses itself in different ways. What is Metta, What is Insight is the final talk in a series from a 12 day meditation retreat on metta as a path to insight from May 2015.

Our FBA Dharmabyte podcast today is entitled "Awareness of Self" by Sangharakshita. Forgetfulness and distraction are the rule in ordinary life, but awareness and a 'fullness of mind' is at the heart of human growth and development. Sangharakshita distinguishes four dimensions of awareness, each with its own qualities: awareness of things, self, others, and reality. From the talk Levels of Awareness: Right Mindfulness given in 1968 as part of the series The Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path.

In today's Dharmabyte podcast Sangharakshita reminds us that real transformation begins with the dawn of insight or clear vision. In this excerpt entitled "The Process of Transformation" Sangharakshita describes the opening of the Dharma Eye in terms of seeing things as they really are - upturning the four topsy turvy views. From the talk The Transcendental Eightfold Path given in 1994 as part of the series Two Lectures to a Conference on the Nature of Reality – Buddhism as Transformation.

In today's Dharmabyte podcast, Parami gives us "'Knowing' as a Lived Experience" from the talk Living In The Greater Mandala. A bodhisattva is a being intent upon awakening for the sake of all beings. Most of us, most of the time, are not as awake as we could be. We create suffering by trying to fit reality into our picture of how we think things should be - the bodhisattva helps us see how unhelpful this is. This was the introductory talk for the 2015 Triratna International Urban Retreat.