In today’s FBA Dharmabyte, “Just Be Friendly,” we took a sampling from a very forthright and passionate talk by Vajratara, titled “Chetul Sangye Dorje.” She may be talking about the great contemporary Tibetan teacher, but her main focus is on the need to practice the Dharma for others as part of a meaningful community. Vajratara argues her case with a balance of down-to-earth humour and uncompromising vision.

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Listen to the three part series on The Buddhist Centre Online at: http://thebuddhistcentre.com/freebuddhistaudio/interview-making-fba-0

In this fun and informal set of interview segments with Candradasa we get a front seat to the history and behind-the-scenes development of Free Buddhist Audio – from its origins as the Dharmachakra Tapes up to the present moment as an invaluable Dharma resource for thousands of Buddhist practitioners around the world.

As Dharmachakra and Free Buddhist Audio now move into a new era (and new projects with The Buddhist Centre Online), he also discusses how sangha, dharma practice, and social media could peacefully coexist online in new forms…

Reflecting on Our Community:

As you’ll hear, an enormous amount of generosity, dedication, and effort – from so many people – has gone into making Free Buddhist Audio what it is today. To begin with, we have an incredible team that pours themselves into what they do with gusto, because we understand how important a resource this is. We know that you depend on us being there for you – in your mitra studies, in preparing for talks, in your personal exploration of the Dharma, or simply in making sense of the rich and vast Buddhist tradition. We see it as a joy and a duty to be of service to you.

However, the reality is that all the effort in the world simply wouldn’t be enough without the amazing generosity and financial support of you and others like you who have made regular pledges, helped with grants, chipped in a small amount for listening to talks, or volunteered your time working on resources like transcriptions and audio recordings. You are an integral part of Free Buddhist Audio and Dharmachakra as well.

Your dana practice is quite literally what keeps us going – it makes it possible for our small team to spread the Dharma and to dream about what else we can do for you in the future, and then bring it into reality. We depend on you as much as you depend on us.

If you’ve enjoyed this interview and you love FBA as much as we do, we hope you’ll consider showing your support today by making a donation or by volunteering:

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Thank you so very much for your support and for the opportunity to be your Dharma resource for all these years!

~ The Free Buddhist Audio Team

In this week’s FBA Podcast “Triratna Buddhism,” Vadanya tells the story of Sangharakshita and the new Buddhist Order and movement he founded. He talks about the early days of the FWBO and demonstrates the radical nature of the movement that has now become the Triratna Buddhist Community.

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Today’s FBA Dharmabyte is an excerpt from a personal talk “Life as an Order Member” by Lokeshvara, the last in a series of four talks given to men training for ordination on the ‘What Is the Order’ retreat at Padmaloka, 2011.

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In this week’s FBA Podcast , “The Individual and Community” Dhammarati talks about the Order as the basis for the New Society. Basing his talk in part on the lectures where Sangharakshita originally introduced the idea of the New Society, which also includes interesting material on the Order, specifically the distinctions between Public and Private Ordination and what they represent.

Dhammarati then goes onto to explore the central importance the Triratna Buddhist Order places on communication and connection as a means of personal transformation and the basis from which we influence the world. This gives us the significance of the Triranta Buddhist Order as a community of individuals trying to change themselves and have a positive impact on society making them a nucleus of a new society.

Talk given in a seminar at Dharmapala College, 2010.

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