In today’s FBA Dharmabyte, “The Third Great Stage of the Path”, Sangharakshita talks about the process of spiritual death as the cultivation of unselfishness. This talk, titled, “The Path of Spiritual Development” is a book launch for ‘The Essential Sangharakshita’ published by Wisdom Publications.

Recorded 2009 at Essen, Germany. Talk translated in German.

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Today’s FBA Podcast, “The Transitoriness of Life and the Certainty of Death”, is by Vajradharshini who brings us a beautiful piece on the hardest of subjects. The third talk in a five-part series from Tiratanaloka’s retreat on the ‘Four Mind Turnings’ of the Tibetan tradition.

Using zen poetry and a happily wide-ranging series of quotations (from Tibetan lamas to Ezra Pound), Vajradarshini explores her own father’s death as a way to approach attitudes to death and dying. She considers death in the light of the four mind-turning reflections of Atisha: the result is an inspiring, funny, truly challenging look at the heartbreak of our mortality, and how the Dharma helps us to meet and be present with the ultimate experience.

Talk given at Tiratanaloka Retreat Centre 2005.

This talk is part of the series The Four Mind-Turning Reflections.

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In today’s FBA Dharmabyte, “What is Gratitude?”, Sangharakshita reflects on the Buddha’s achievement of Enlightenment, drawing our attention to an often overlooked feature of this great event – the Buddha’s expression of gratitude to the tree that sheltered him. A timely look at ways to cultivate this essential positive emotion.

This is an excerpt from the talk Looking at the Bodhi Tree given in 1999.

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Today’s FBA Dharmabyte, “Death & Clarity”, by Vajradharshini brings us a beautiful piece on the hardest of subjects. Using zen poetry and a happily wide-ranging series of quotations (from Tibetan lamas to Ezra Pound), Vajradarshini explores her own father’s death as a way to approach attitudes to death and dying. This excerpt, from the talk: “The Transitoriness of Life and the Certainty of Death,” focusses on practice, a sense of urgency and being in the moment, she asks us: how do we want to spend our time?

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Today’s we introduce Atula in our weekly FBA Podcast with “Mending the Broken Ladder” a very thoughtful talk long-time by this practising Buddhist and psychotherapist. The nature of the ‘psyche’ and our sense of self-view is explored with reference to the Fourfold Vision of William Blake, T.S. Eliot, Charles Bukowski, Edward Conze, and Humpty Dumpty! Expect some stimulating words around the role of myth, metaphor and all our ways of cognizing, thinking about and expressing experience in what we call ‘spiritual life’ – and a clear encouragement to see that process as one that is profoundly relational.

Talk given Monday 8th March 2010.

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