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Dharmachakra

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787 episodes
Updated Saturday

Episodes787

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Nov 1, 2025 · 1 hr 2 min
Transforming Gods and Demons
Suryagupta explores the story of Padmasambhava, the great tantric master, who was invited to Tibet when Buddhism could not take root through reason and philosophy alone. She describes how Padmasambhava confronted and transformed the unseen forces of Maras, demons, and gods, turning their energies towards the Dharma rather than away from it. The talk urges us to face our own inner and collective forces with courage, love, ritual, and devotion, calling on Padmasambhava's blessing for personal and societal transformation. This talk was given at the London Buddhist Centre in 2025. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now: https://freebuddhistaudio.com/donate Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast: A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dharmabytes-from-free-buddhist-audio/id416832097 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UHPDj01UH6ptj8FObwBfB YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FreeBuddhistAudio1967
Oct 25, 2025 · 1 hr 20 min
The Bodhisattva's Dream
The Bodhisattva Ruchiraketu dreams of a golden drum radiating golden light which fills a totally transformed world...Classic Sangharakshita delving into one of the core texts studied in the Triratna Buddhist Order and Community. Part of the series Transformation of Life and World in the Sutra of Golden Light given in 1976. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now: https://freebuddhistaudio.com/donate Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast: A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dharmabytes-from-free-buddhist-audio/id416832097 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UHPDj01UH6ptj8FObwBfB YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FreeBuddhistAudio1967
Oct 18, 2025 · 56 min
A Straight Talk On the Heart Sutra
Ratnaprabha takes us through this great, but short, Buddhist text, using his own re-rendering, and inspired by Han Shan's commentary. This talk was given at West London Buddhist Centre, 2012. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now: https://freebuddhistaudio.com/donate Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast: A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dharmabytes-from-free-buddhist-audio/id416832097 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UHPDj01UH6ptj8FObwBfB YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FreeBuddhistAudio1967
Oct 11, 2025 · 50 min
The Diamond Sutra: Sangharakshita and Us
Bhante Sangharakshita described the Diamond Sutra as one of two books 'by which I have been most profoundly influenced.' We could see it as the keystone in the central arch of the architecture of his thinking about the Dharma. In this talk, Satyalila introduces the Sutra in its context of the Perfection of Wisdom (or Prajnaparamita) tradition and explores its significance for Sangharakshita, and for us. Talk given on a Bristol Buddhist Centre Sangha Retreat at Adhisthana, 2019. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now: https://freebuddhistaudio.com/donate Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast: A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dharmabytes-from-free-buddhist-audio/id416832097 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UHPDj01UH6ptj8FObwBfB YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FreeBuddhistAudio1967
Oct 4, 2025 · 38 min
Death and Desire
Using Shantideva's 'Bodhicharyavatara' as a root text, Padmavajra brings us face to face with the big questions implicit in any life that seeks to embrace change and impermanence as facts of Reality. An excellent, strong talk - good medicine for hard times. Talk given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre, as part of the series The Alchemy of Love, 2004. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now: https://freebuddhistaudio.com/donate Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast: A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dharmabytes-from-free-buddhist-audio/id416832097 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UHPDj01UH6ptj8FObwBfB YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FreeBuddhistAudio1967
Sep 27, 2025 · 51 min
Samadhi (Meditation)
Amala speaks here on the fifth Paramita, of Meditative Absorption. This talk was given as part of Part of the series A Koan for Our Times, a series of lectures given by The College of Public Preceptors, 2024. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now: https://freebuddhistaudio.com/donate Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast: A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dharmabytes-from-free-buddhist-audio/id416832097 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UHPDj01UH6ptj8FObwBfB YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FreeBuddhistAudio1967
Sep 20, 2025 · 40 min
Themes From The Bardo Thodol
Satyaraja offers this practical exploration of some themes from the Bardo Thodol, or the Great Liberation through Hearing in the Intermediate State. The talk was given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre, 2022. ••• Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now: https://freebuddhistaudio.com/donate Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast: A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dharmabytes-from-free-buddhist-audio/id416832097 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UHPDj01UH6ptj8FObwBfB YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FreeBuddhistAudio1967
Sep 13, 2025 · 54 min
What Is It We Are Doing with Our One Wild and Precious Life
In this talk Vajradevi reflects on our good conditions, and our own conditioning in the light of Pratitya Samutpada and relates this reflection to the Women in Early Buddhism. This talk was given on the Women's UK and Ireland Area Order Weekend at Taraloka Retreat Centre, 2018. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now: https://freebuddhistaudio.com/donate Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast: A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dharmabytes-from-free-buddhist-audio/id416832097 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UHPDj01UH6ptj8FObwBfB YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FreeBuddhistAudio1967
Sep 6, 2025 · 53 min
Tibetan Book of the Dead - The Six Bhardos
Padmavajra explores the great text that reveals the realms between death and new life, where anything is possible in the Bardo - the 'intermediate state'. This is also an excellent introduction to the recent history of the text itself as it has come into the West and influenced practitioners and cultural figures in many significant ways. Overall, this is a challenging and insightful series looking at how a true classic of spiritual literature has relevance to our modern ways of living and dying. Talk given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre, 2005, as part of the series Tibetan Book of the Dead (Bardo Thodol) *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now: https://freebuddhistaudio.com/donate Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast: A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dharmabytes-from-free-buddhist-audio/id416832097 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UHPDj01UH6ptj8FObwBfB YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FreeBuddhistAudio1967
Aug 30, 2025 · 35 min
Gifts From My Teachers
A personal talk about gifts and teachings that Satyaraja has received from his Teachers, from the first retreat with S. N. Goenka in India early 1970's, to his first contact with Triratna and meeting Bhante Sangharakshita a few years later, to several very significant meetings with Bhante, and concluding with what his two kalyana mitras, Kamalashila and Padmavajra, have given and what they mean to him. Given at Stockholm Buddhist Center, 2025. *** This month's FBA Podcasts and Dharmabytes celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of Sangharakshita's birth, founder of the Triratna Buddhist Community and Order. Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now: https://freebuddhistaudio.com/donate Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast: A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dharmabytes-from-free-buddhist-audio/id416832097 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UHPDj01UH6ptj8FObwBfB YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FreeBuddhistAudio1967
Aug 23, 2025 · 28 min
The Boy, The Monk, The Man
Nagabodhi's book : The Boy, the Monk, the Man examines the life of Sangharakshita - audacious reformer, and for some a deeply controversial figure. In an absorbing narrative, Nagabodhi takes us on a journey through the twists and turns of Sangharakshita's life; the experiences, insights, and reflections that nurtured his approach as a teacher; and the legacy he left behind. Here, Padmasuri interviews Nagabodhi - two long time friends in conversation and exploration. Recorded at Cambridge Buddhist Centre, 2024. *** This month's FBA Podcasts and Dharmabytes celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of Sangharakshita's birth, founder of the Triratna Buddhist Community and Order. Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now: https://freebuddhistaudio.com/donate Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast: A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dharmabytes-from-free-buddhist-audio/id416832097 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UHPDj01UH6ptj8FObwBfB YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FreeBuddhistAudio1967
Aug 16, 2025 · 54 min
A Power that is Greater
Subhuti gives us an early sight of the developing vision behind the Sangharakshita Library and Study Centre at Adhisthana, via a stirring evocation of the need for a deep knowledge of the Dharma strong enough to meet the considerable challenges of the modern world. In recalling Sangharakshita's conviction that something was working through him, Subhuti suggests that we cannot hope to understand the depth of vision available to us without fully immersing ourselves in the study of our teacher's emerging, unfolding understanding of just what it is he–and we–are trying to channel. In hearing of the different potential ways to take our own knowledge deeper via the Sangharakshita Library and Study Centre, we are challenged to engage with our faith and with our doubt, and encounter the work of our founding teacher anew. A talk given at Adhisthana on the men's UK & Ireland area Order weekend, 2022. *** This month's FBA Podcasts and Dharmabytes celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of Sangharakshita's birth, founder of the Triratna Buddhist Community and Order. Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now: https://freebuddhistaudio.com/donate Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast: A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dharmabytes-from-free-buddhist-audio/id416832097 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UHPDj01UH6ptj8FObwBfB YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FreeBuddhistAudio1967
Aug 9, 2025 · 36 min
Bhante and the Bodhisattva Spirit
Dayanandi shares how she was encouraged and inspired by Bhante's teachings on the Bodhicitta spirit. "Bhante encouraging shared collective community the creative conditions challenged us to go beyond us. As we were young and had a lot of energy, we took on Bhante's task of creating the conditions for the Bodhicitta to arise. It was spiritually nurturing to attend Bhante's lectures. They were very strong. It was through Bhante's dedicated, clear mind and friendliness, by him sharing his heartfelt inspiration, that contributed to the energy and spark in our dedication to his vision." This talk was given at Dharmadhara in California, USA, on a women's ordination training retreat as part of the series The Bodhisattva Path for the Triratna Buddhist Community, 2019. *** This month's FBA Podcasts and Dharmabytes celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of Sangharakshita's birth, founder of the Triratna Buddhist Community and Order. Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now: https://freebuddhistaudio.com/donate Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast: A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dharmabytes-from-free-buddhist-audio/id416832097 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UHPDj01UH6ptj8FObwBfB YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FreeBuddhistAudio1967
Aug 4, 2025 · 4 min
The Dukkha of Change
Vessantara reflects on ways we create suffering through the tension of resistance and anticipation. Excerpted from a talk called Dukkha of Resisting and Anticipating Change given at Adhisthana as part of the series Dukkha and the Unbiased, 2018. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now: https://freebuddhistaudio.com/donate Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast: Bite-sized clips - Buddhist inspiration three times a week. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dharmabytes-from-free-buddhist-audio/id416832097 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UHPDj01UH6ptj8FObwBfB YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FreeBuddhistAudio1967
Aug 2, 2025 · 43 min
Last Glimpses of Sangharakshita
In the weeks following Urgyen Sangharakshita's death in 2018, Mahamati, one of his secretaries and companions, spoke informally at a number of Order gatherings about the experience of working closely with him during the last fifteen or so years of his life. Here, Mahamati reflects on aspects of their time together, and on aspects of Sangharakshita's personality and character which were not always visible publicly. We are afforded a series of glimpses into the concerns of his final years and those of his last days. A moving, very personal account of connection, duty, love and faith from a disciple about his teacher, which also opens out into something bigger and potentially more collective, founded on gratitude and a sense of fundamental relationship to the Dharma itself. Talk given at Vimaladhatu, Germany for the Triratna Buddhist Order, December 2018. *** This month's FBA Podcasts and Dharmabytes celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of Sangharakshita's birth, founder of the Triratna Buddhist Community and Order. Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now: https://freebuddhistaudio.com/donate Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast: A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dharmabytes-from-free-buddhist-audio/id416832097 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UHPDj01UH6ptj8FObwBfB YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FreeBuddhistAudio1967
Jul 26, 2025 · 1 hr 1 min
Dukkha - Individual and Collective
Saccanama explores the First Noble Truth of dukkha or unsatisfactoriness. Through looking at incidents from the life of the Buddha, he explores not just the individual aspect of dukkha but also the collective or social aspects of dukkha which are often overlooked or downplayed in Buddhist tradition. He also explores the traditional descriptions of dukkha before going on to examine what Joanna Macy calls apathy or our disconnection from the world. Through emphasising the collective and social aspects of dukkha, we have a motive for practice that doesn't buy into the danger of individualism. This talk was given at Nottingham Buddhist Centre as part of the series Challenging Dharma for Challenging Times, 2020. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now: https://freebuddhistaudio.com/donate Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast: A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dharmabytes-from-free-buddhist-audio/id416832097 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UHPDj01UH6ptj8FObwBfB YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FreeBuddhistAudio1967
Jul 19, 2025 · 40 min
A System of Training
Dhammarati explores Triratna's system of practice - its background in practice, its relationship to tradition, and its implications for the very nature of spiritual life. An encouraging, grounded, flexible take on the rigorous, meaningful, and rewarding challenges of a lifetime of working with the mind and the heart. Talk given at the national Triratna Buddhist Order weekend, February 2008. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now: https://freebuddhistaudio.com/donate Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast: A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dharmabytes-from-free-buddhist-audio/id416832097 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UHPDj01UH6ptj8FObwBfB YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FreeBuddhistAudio1967
Jul 12, 2025 · 57 min
The Eight Worldly Winds and the Law of Karma
Dassini looks at the Eight Worldly Winds and the Four Right Efforts, relating them back to the Four Mind Turning Reflections. This talk was given as part of the series Rainy Season Retreat, Glasgow Buddhist Centre, 2017. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now: https://freebuddhistaudio.com/donate Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast: A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dharmabytes-from-free-buddhist-audio/id416832097 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UHPDj01UH6ptj8FObwBfB YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FreeBuddhistAudio1967
Jul 5, 2025 · 58 min
The Meaning of the Dharma
Dharma is the experience of reality, and also the expression of that experience in the form of the Buddha's teaching, especially the law of conditionality. It is the raft that carries you to Enlightenment, the further shore; it is whatever helps you to develop spiritually. This classic talk by Sangharakshita was given in 1968 as part of the series Introducing the Three Jewels of Buddhism. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now: https://freebuddhistaudio.com/donate Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast: A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dharmabytes-from-free-buddhist-audio/id416832097 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UHPDj01UH6ptj8FObwBfB YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FreeBuddhistAudio1967
Jun 28, 2025 · 1 hr 9 min
Philosophising As the Earth
What is 'animism' and what kind of philosophy does it entail? Dhivan considers how animism rests on an intuition about the aliveness of the world, and how this intuition can inform a mode of philosophy that does not bypass the earth as the living presence behind all thinking. This talk was given at Adhisthana as part of the series Wisdom of the Earth: Philosophy and the Climate Crisis, 2023. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now: https://freebuddhistaudio.com/donate Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast: A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dharmabytes-from-free-buddhist-audio/id416832097 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UHPDj01UH6ptj8FObwBfB YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FreeBuddhistAudio1967