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This is the first in a series of talks from the Western Buddhist Order Convention in 2001 offering different perspectives on the Abhidharma and exploring from a personal perspective what the study of the 51 Mental Events can tell us about our minds and how they work. Based on the classic Tibetan text ‘Necklace of Clear Understanding’, this is a terrific, clear introduction by Dhammadinna to the whole area of how to ‘Know Your Mind’…

Tracked version includes the following detail:

1. Lineage of material on Mind; Yeshe Gyaltsen’s ‘Necklace of Clear Understanding’; Sangharakshita’s ‘Know Your Mind’; Subhuti’s talks on ‘Mind and Mental Events’

2. The Abhidharma - classification of mental events; transforming mental states and actions; sharing and confessing

3. What is ‘Mind’? Introspection - Dharma-Vichaya (dhammaviccaya); the seven ‘Limbs of Enlightenment’ (Bodhyangas); reflecting on the lakshanas and Pratitya Samutpada

4. Practical aids in working with mental events; different Abhidharma traditions; lists as tools

5. Defining and experiencing Mind; manas (state of consciousness); impossible to pin down; Milarepa and the Shepherd’s Search for Mind; mind and the subjective

6. Subjective versus objective; the Yogachara perspective; the skandhas and vijnana; the Enlightened person and non-identification with the subjective)

7. The eight vijnanas and the five Wisdoms or Jinas; Yeshe Gyaltsen’s focus on the senses

8. Characteristics of mind - i. clarity ii. cognition iii. momentary iv. conditioned v. karma

9. Primary Mind (chitta, citta); mental events as how the mind takes hold of objects; experiencing ‘Pure Mind’ through prajna; Milarepa’s list of requirements

10. A Look at the 51 mental events; six categories and two perspectives

11. Summary - transforming mental states; Padmasambhava on Mind

Talk given at Wymondham, 2001

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 Standard Podcast [48:23m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Time to bring the picture on the FWBO’s relations with other Buddhists bang up-to-date with this splendid excursion over the common ground Buddhists share in the 21st century, and also through the diverse practice landscapes they continue to explore in their own approaches to the Dharma.

As a basis Dhammarati looks at the FWBO’s own grounding in tradition, and encourages us all at root to look continually to our own practice as we make the great journey from suffering to an expansive sense of living free.

Talk given at the Birmingham Buddhist Centre, January 2009

 

 The Four Lineages of the FWBO [51:24m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Another excellent talk, from the Buddhafield project. Amaragita takes a look at Buddhist practice in the light of parenting, and has a lot of good things to say about the everyday business of staying with our experience, embracing the hard bits and releasing the joy.

As an added bonus, listen for some lovely singing throughout!

Talk given at the Buddhafield Festival in 2006.

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 Staying at Home, Dancing with the Universe [35:05m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

We’re absolutely delighted – and somewhat relieved – today to be able to announce the full launch of our new community site!

This represents a very big shift for our service: now any Fwbo centre or institution – anywhere in the world – can upload its own talks, and have its own pages on the site. We’ve already got quite a few signed up, and the first talks are appearing – in English, French and German! Come and take a look…

What’s very exciting for us is that the amount of material on the website will increase greatly over the next months, and is likely to be much more up-to-date and representative of what’s going on in our international community. It will also allow us at the archives to concentrate on getting a lot more of the older talks and special recordings online.

Watch this space for more news of new features as we roll them out in the coming months. And if your centre or Fwbo project would like to get involved, we’d be delighted if you get in touch!

One other piece of news: in April, Free Buddhist Audio had its first 20,000 visitor month! We’ve come a long way since the days of selling scratchy old cassette tapes to about 200 people a year… Thank you to everyone for their tremendous support!

A lovely talk this month, from the excellent Dhivan. Be prepared for the odd surprise as he considers the relationship between what we think we may know about the Buddha, and what the historical evidence suggests.

As Dhivan sifts the information that’s come down to us, we meet several different versions of a human being as he blurs with the archetypal presence he has also come to represent. Yet whichever manifestation we prefer, more than anything this talk brings us face to face with the rich and moving legacy of a brilliant and truly compassionate individual, changing the world he took part in, stepping out of history “with the walk of a lion, the walk of a swan”.

Talk given at the Cambridge Buddhist Centre, 2008

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 What Do We Really Know About the Buddha? [00:26:16m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download