Hello there! And welcome to freebuddhistaudio

To get the best out of this website, please read on...

Your Language

We have set your language based on your browser language settings or location. To change language use the flag above.

Finding Talks

From any small talks panel you can use the (see all) or (more) link to see a large panel with all talks in this category.
Most large panels allow filtering. For example you can view talks just in your language by using the small flag icon.

Javascript Info

We'd like you to have the best possible experience of our new site, and we noticed you're using a browser that has a feature called Javascript turned off.

We've designed things so Free Buddhist Audio will continue to work for you anyway, but the site will look and work much better if you turn Javascript on. It's very easy! See how to enable JavaScript in your browser for more information.

Your Browser

We'd like you to have the best possible experience of our new site, and we notice you're using an older browser that isn't compatible with some of the latest developments on the internet.

We've designed things so Free Buddhist Audio will continue to work for you, but we invite you to a better experience of the web now and in future if you have a few minutes to upgrade...

Install (or update from an older version) a future-friendly browser:

Tell a friend about this talk!

Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Google Buzz Tell a friend about this talk!

Dying to Live

by Vidyamala

In this talk, Vidyamala gives a strong account of working with suffering and sorrow in life, and of transforming your experience into one characterized by contentment and a sense of meaning. From her own practice of living with chronic pain comes a sane and unsentimental perspective that affords us all a measure of genuine optimism as we meet the trials of the world: bereavements and losses of all kinds can be met with a kindness and awareness that gently ease the burden, allowing something of peace to enter our lives again.

Please note that there a few introductory phrases missing from the start of this talk. Some small noise artefacts can also be heard occasionally due to a poor original recording.

Talk given at the Western Buddhist Order Women's Convention 2003

Tracks (click play to listen)

Play All

click play to listen
1. Introduction - spiritual death and finding freedom through letting go; the FWBO system of meditation as a progressive path (9:11) 
click play to listen
2. Death and fear; why are we so afraid? Being present with fear in the face of impermanence (5:14) 
click play to listen
3. Death as loss or death as gateway to freedom; insubstantiality and impermanence (4:08) 
click play to listen
4. Eternalism and nihilism, the past and the future - strategies for avoiding reality; negotiating with samsara - trying to use spiritual life as an insurance policy (9:13) 
click play to listen
5. Other reality avoidance strategies, including the dangers of checking the weather forecast! (4:42) 
click play to listen
6. Facing the truth of spiritual death (1:13) 
click play to listen
7. Group exercise - being present in the moment (3:27) 
click play to listen
8. Vidyamala and Osadhi's mindfulness-based pain management work in Manchester (2:59) 
click play to listen
9. No turning back the clock; Christopher Reeve - "pain is inevitable, misery is a choice"; the relief of no longer running away from pain; enriching life so that pain can no longer commandeer it; spiritual death as liberation (5:22) 
click play to listen
10. Death and love - the connection between spiritual death and letting go of a fixed sense of self (6:28) 
click play to listen
11. Spiritual death in the different meditation practices - mindfulness of breathing, metta bhavana, the brahmaviharas, six element practice, visualisation sadhana (9:12) 
click play to listen
12. Summing up - the FWBO's system of meditation as a way of approaching spiritual death, related to Vidyamala's own experience; (6:23) 


Total running time: 1:07:32