Excerpted from the talk, “A Method of Personal Development,” given in 1976 as part of the series “Buddhism for Today and Tomorrow.”

In this talk, Padmavajra takes us into the strong experience of Going Forth into homelessness. Through personal reminiscence and classic Zen poetry that evokes a truly rich awareness, we see the Buddha, Hakuin, Dogen and Ryokan as they struggle to make sense of this fleeting world of form.

This talk is part of the series “Tangling Eyebrows with Zen Masters.”

This is an excerpt from the talk titled  “The Diamond Sutra” given at the Triratna Buddhist Order National Order weekend 2003

This excerpt is from the talk “The Buddha, Hakuin, Birth and Death” given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre, 2004

This talk is part of the series “Tangling Eyebrows with Zen Masters.”

This talk was given on retreat at Taraloka Retreat Centre in 2008.

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

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.

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

Talk given Monday 8th March 2010.

Talk given in 2001.

Talk given at Taraloka Retreat Centre, 2005

Talk given in 2001.

This talk was given in December 2010 at the Glasgow Buddhist Centre.

In Buddhist practice, the traditional method of choice for effecting positive change in one’s life is meditation. Here Sangharakshita takes a closer look, focussing on the ‘superconscious states’ (characterised in turn by integration, inspiration, permeation, and radiation), the practice of developing universal friendliness, and the distinction between calm and Insight.

From the talk “A Method of Personal Development” given in 1976 as part of the series Buddhism for Today and Tomorrow.

This is ‘Eight Verses for Training the Mind’: Talk 1 from the four-part series on this Tibetan text attributed to Kadampa Geshe Langri Tangpa.

First talk in a series of 4 talks on ‘Milarepa’.

Talks given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre, Winter Retreat 2010.

In the full talk, “Western Buddhists and Eastern Buddhism” Sangharakshita emphasizes the importance of distinguishing Buddhism as a universally applicable path of development from the specifically Eastern cultural forms it has been associated with in the past, and explains why an authentic, non-sectarian Buddhist movement is needed in the West.

Talk given in 1979.

This talk is part of the series “A New Buddhist Movement – the Meaning of the FWBO.”

Talk given in 1967.

This is the first of three talks given on the 2009 UK Women’s Order / Mitra Event. It’s based on the first section of Tsongkhapa’s short text “The Three Principle Aspects of the Path”.

The other talks in the series are “Generating Bodhi Mind” by Vajratara, and “The Path of the Buddha’s Delight” by Samantabhadri.

Given at Taraloka, May 2009.

Talk given at the Western Buddhist Order National Order Weekend, Wymondham 2006

Talk given in 1987

Talk given at Taraloka Retreat Centre, Great Gathering 2000

Talk given in 1971.

A fascinating look at doubt in spiritual life in general, and in the lives of some of the most celebrated practitioners of Zen. Uncompromising stuff towards a more profound level of awareness – steer to the deep!

Talk given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre, 2004

This talk is part of the series Tangling Eyebrows with Zen Masters.

FBA Dharmabyte from the full talk, “Great Doubt,”, featured in this Saturday’s full podcast.

This is another in the series of talks from Taraloka inspired by Gampopa’s text – ‘The Jewel Ornament of Liberation’, December 2007

Please note this talk is a led meditation.

Talk given in 1986.

This summer, Mary Salome and a group of volunteers from the San Francisco Buddhist Center started up a DIY fundraiser with a dual purpose: raising funds is one, the other is to make more talks from the FBA archives available online.

As an avid user of Free Buddhist Audio Mary once inquired as to why there weren’t more talks by women available online. She expressed an interest in wanting to help with this, and a project was born. We selected a handful of cassette tapes and MiniDiscs from our archive and sent them along to Mary.

She shared with us, “Originally we thought we would not be able to restore the audio to broadcast quality and so wanted to provide transcripts alongside the audio.  I knew that it would not be possible for me to do this all on my own so I saw it as an opportunity to engage with other people around the work.”

Mary enthusiastically organized the tapes and put a call out for more volunteers from the San Francisco Buddhist Center sangha, naming the project: “Dharma Tape History Detectives.”

“The process itself has been meaningful as a way to make what could be very solitary work into community work. Just speaking for myself, I find it inspiring that people are spending time writing out the words to a talk with a very dedicated and committed practice of mindfulness”

***

Check out the list of talks they are preparing:

Six Part Series on the Five Buddha Mandala, given on a women’s summer retreat, August 1985 (location as yet unknown – may be revealed on the tapes)

Transformation: Creating the Mandala of the Five Buddhas, Vidyasri
Akshobya, Vimala
Amitabha: The Buddha of Infinite Light, Padmasuri
Amogasiddhi: The Lord of the Dance, Sridevi
Ratnasambhava, Parami
Vairocana: The Illuminator, Anoma

The Four Right Efforts – four talks by Sridevi, Vimala, Sanghadevi and Ashokasri (on two cassettes)

Buddhist Revival in India, Padmasuri

Coursing Through the Worldly Winds, Dayanandi 1999

On Atisha: A Life in the Service of Compassion, Dayanandi 1999

A Future in the Dharma: Enjoying Meditation, Dayanandi 1999

Order Puja, Led by Bhante Sangharakshita, Sangharakshita 1983

Open Up The Thatched, Dayanandi

Standing Steady as a Mountain, Mahamati

Chapters: Principles, Practice and Potential, Ratnadharani 2007

One Great Glorious Mistake, Vajradharshini 2005

In Harmony with Friends and Brethren, Srivati 2002

***

You can make a donation to the Dharma Tape History Detectives fundraiser on First Giving or Just Giving. If you see a talk in our archive list that you’d like to sponsor, email Mary@freebuddhistaudio.com when you make your donation. Each audio recording undergoes a process of digitizing, transcribing, & copy editing that will take about ten hours per talk. They suggest a donation of $50 (that’s $5 an hour — quite a bargain!) but any amount will start the process. You’re also welcome to sponsor the general effort rather than a specific talk.

The Free Buddhist Audio Team would like to thank the San Francisco Buddhist Center Volunteer Detectives for taking on this project. We are looking forward to discovering and sharing what’s on they discover and to increasing the number of talks in our archive by women. Many Sadhus to all of you!

Talk given at the Sheffield Buddhist Centre, 2007

Spreading the Dharma

Sharing our Practice

Connecting our Community Worldwide

This summer Viriyalila caught up with Dayanandi, one of the early community members at Taraloka Retreat Centre, to talk about preparing and giving Dharma talks, creating supportive conditions for women to practise, and sharing our stories.

Dayanandi lived and worked at Taraloka for 16 years, arriving in 1986 directly after her ordination.

VL: On the first retreat after your ordination, you were asked to give a talk on the topic of Perfect Speech. What was it like for you to prepare and give that talk as a brand new Order Member?

DN: I remember it was really sunny and I was sitting out at a table in the barley fields.  There were several women preparing talks to give on that retreat. I was reflecting on Sangharakshita’s description of having to dive deep to find the truth, like diving for pearls at the bottom of the sea, that is how you find the truth, by diving deep within yourself.

VL: What brought you to Taraloka?

DN: I asked to join the project because I loved being on retreat so much, but also because I saw how beneficial the project would be for women. But then the irony was that what was needed was an architect and not a meditation teacher! I was mostly happy to help with that, it was needed, but sad too when I couldn’t go on retreats due working on the building. That was the primary focus for about four years, though retreats continued on side by side with the work. It was a growing period, very challenging but satisfying.

VL: What did you gain from living and working together in a community?

DN: I think its been through living and working together that my deepest friendships were formed. It was difficult to do what we were doing, we didn’t really know how to do building work, but we had to just get on with it. Sometimes it was exciting, giving us lots of confidence. People came in to help from all over the country, enjoying doing their part renovating a section of brick work or something. They’d come back on another retreat and say – “That’s the bit I did!”

VL: How did you get more involved in leading retreats?

DN: After the lounge was built, that was my last big project, I wanted to focus on meditation and leading meditation retreats. But my friend Sanghadevi, who was the Chair at the time, knew me well and thought it would be good for me to lead retreats where I needed to express myself more. She suggested that I give Dharma talks and meet with people in groups, so I got channeled that way as the building work finished. Then I discovered that I really loved meeting people, and was very inspired to write and give the talks on retreats.

VL: So during that time, Taraloka was really blooming – in what ways did Taraloka influence the growth of the sangha?

DN: Thousands of women have come on retreat at Taraloka. I noticed what a difference it made to the women’s wing, suddenly having a focus, an inspirational focus, for our practise, a place where the mythic dimension was alive, there was a deepening practice going on in the shrine room. People built up their associations with the place, by coming on retreats. Each time they came back they immediately felt like they were slotting back in to their practise. It felt like the women’s wing of the Order was building more confidence and experiencing more joy – we could see each other grow and develop. Before that our energy was scattered by not having our own place.

VL: Taraloka has been going strong for over 25 years. Were you recording yourselves during the early days?

DN: Yes, there is a whole archive still at Taraloka of talks given on Order days and retreats. I sent you a few tapes from there earlier this summer. There are quite a lot of talks on tapes at Taraloka. I’m not sure if they know what to do with them!

Dayanandi on Sharing our Stories

Viriyalila wondered what sort of advice Dayanandi would give to women new to Buddhism. She readily recommends asking other women to share their stories.

“People’s wisdom comes from thinking through and facing their difficulties in our daily lives, our work, our friendships, our relationships, and trying to do that with mindfulness and metta… that’s how we live and grow… we learn a lot from each other.”

Dayanandi on Sharing our Stories from free buddhist audio on Vimeo.

Maintaining Inspiration and Deepening One’s Practice

Viriyalila and Dayanandi continued to talk about changes in Dayanandi’s life after she left Taraloka taking on the responsibility of International Women’s Order Convenor, moving to a community in Birmingham, experiencing a large dry spell in her practise, going on annual month-long solitaries and her move to a new community and urban setting in Manchester.

VL: After such an intensive period living and working at Taraloka, how did you continue to deepen your practise?

DN: My life has had a lot of out-going in the Order. I’ve just been realizing that solitary retreats has been where i have deepened my meditation practice and study. Solitary retreats have been the real basis of my spiritual development over the years. Since 2000 I’ve been going on meditation retreats at Vajrakuta and I’d often do a solitary after those retreats – and that’s been extremely transformative having that sort of input. My practise was quite challenged after moving to Birmingham – I had to find a new way of practising after leaving Taraloka and no longer having the structure of retreats and a focussed community.

VL: And then you how did you come to the decision to move to Manchester?

DN: I decided to move there out of friendship. The community in Birmingham was beginning to phase down and for a short period I was living on my own. I really wanted to live in a bigger community. So I went to visit two good friends who lived together with others in Manchester and eventually moved in to join them.

VL: It seems as though you are working through the Manchester Buddhist Centre, would you say a bit about that?

DN: I’m just wanting to be around to share my experience. I’m also working with the public preceptors and private preceptors, I’m just wanting to share my experience of the Dharma. It just makes such a difference for people to have someone that people can talk about their practice with. We started a monthly meditation club where people can just come, get a little input regarding their meditation practise. The main thing really is a chance to talk and listen to each others experience about meditation.

VL: It seems many people aren’t accustomed to talking about their meditation practices. Lately it feels like there is shift  to talk more about what we are doing in our spiritual life. How are we taking 20, 30, 40 years of experience and giving that expression? Which leads me to this recent series of talks that you gave in Manchester. This seemed like an important undertaking for you – would you share a bit about your experience of this?

DN: I offered to give the series of talks after going on a two month solitary when I studied every thing I could find on Sangharakshita’s System of Meditation. I wanted to understand it more deeply for myself from my own experience, particularly the stages of Spiritual Death and Spiritual Rebirth. What does the stage or process of Integration really mean and how do they all relate to each other? I was studying and thinking a lot about the Five Great Stages of the Path which the System of Meditation is based on. I became really fascinated with that and how the actual five-fold Path ends up with Spontaneous Compassionate Activity. I can see how that five-fold path really illustrates how the spiritual life unfolds, I see it in my own experience.

The Five Great Stages of the Path is a six-part series of talks given by Dayanandi at the Manchester Buddhist Centre, available on Free Buddhist Audio.

Encouraging Exemplification

Viriyalila concluded their time together by asking Dayanandi to share any encouragement she may have for her fellow women practitioners in the Order in sharing their stories, their experiences, their practise of the Dharma.

DN: What I enjoy most is a Dharma talk illuminated by that person’s own experience…it’s really inspirational, enjoyable and humbling to be on the receiving end of someone’s experience. Just sharing what you do do in your practice…. “All we have to do to be effective as Bodhisattvas, we just need to exemplify our own level of practice. Just be really honest, that is what inspires, that helps other people.”

Dayanandi on Exemplification from free buddhist audio on Vimeo.

Many thanks to Dayanandi for her time giving this interview, and for her many years of service to the Dharma. Her encouragement to fellow women practitioners to “Share their Stories” is deeply inspirational… May all beings be free from suffering.

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FBA Dharmabyte from the full talk, “Out of Compassion for the World,” given at the Triratna International Retreat at Taraloka, May 2008

Talk given at the Glasgow Buddhist Centre.

FBA Dharmabyte from the full talk, “The Nature of Existence: Right Understanding,” given in 1968 as part of the series “The Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path.”

From the talk: “Spiritual Death, Fear and Fearlessness” given at the Taraloka, May 2008 as part of the System of Meditation retreats.

Spreading the Dharma

Sharing our Practice

Connecting our Community Worldwide

Spreading the Dharma

Sharing our Practice

Connecting our Community Worldwide

Dhammarati on Free Buddhist Audio from free buddhist audio on Vimeo.

Recorded at the 2009 Buddhafield Festival.

Visit the EcoDharma website – www.ecodharma.com

From the talk: “Buddhism and Ecology” given at the Triratna [Western Buddhist Order] Convention, 2005

This Dharmabyte is from the talk “The Defects and Dangers of Samsara,” given at Tiratanaloka Retreat Centre, 2005 and is part of the series “The Four Mind-Turning Reflections.”

This talk was given on Parinirvana Day 2010 at the Glasgow Buddhist Centre.

From “Changing Hatred Into Love – The Dhammapada Verses 3 to 6,” part of the series “The Dhammapada – The Buddha’s Way of Truth”