Our FBA Dharmabyte today is a beautiful short talk by Aryashila of the Croydon Buddhist Centre. In “The Dharma is Everywhere” she uses the challenging poetry of Leonard Cohen and others, as well as her own deep life experience, to show that reality does not conform to ordinary wishes, but yet facing it squarely can be supremely uplifting, not sad.

Talk given at the Sangha evening of the West London Buddhist Centre.

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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:

Make a donation

Volunteer with Free Buddhist Audio

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

Amidst the complexity of Buddhist teachings, we can discern a distinctive essence lying behind the various historical forms which developed to convey the Buddha’s oral message. In today’s FBA Dharmabyte, “Parable of the Raft” Sangharakshita describes the essence of Buddhism: the parable of the raft and the advice to Mahaprajapati Gotami. Excerpted from the talk “The Nature and Development of Buddhism.”

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Today’s FBA Dharmabyte, “Salutation to the Three Jewels – The Tiratana Vandana” is a classic Buddhist salute to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. This is chanted every day the world over by practitioners from different Buddhist communities – a true touchstone for practice. Chanted by Vipulakirti

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Spreading the Dharma

Sharing our Practice

Connecting our Community Worldwide

Dharmachakra (‘The Wheel of the Dharma’) is the name of the charity behind Triratna’s Free Buddhist Audio service. And at the full moon in July Buddhists around the world will celebrate ‘Dharmachakra Day’, the festival day that marks Buddha’s first teaching…

So this summer, let’s all work together to Turn the Wheel the Dharma!

Listen to ‘The Word of the Buddha’ to learn more about why we celebrate Dharmachakra Day. In this great talk Sangharakshita – founder of the Triratna Buddhist Order and Community – describes the meaning of the Buddha’s words, and also what lies behind those words: the Enlightened Consciousness itself.

Will you help share the teachings of the Buddha with countless people, now and in the future? Your gift – of just a little every week – will make a tremendous difference in the lives of so many people searching for peace and a clear, radical set of compassionate values to live by. See how lives have been changed by Free Buddhist Audio.

Help Turn the Wheel of the Dharma with a supporting donation to Free Buddhist Audio: just visit freebuddhistaudio.com/donate

“The gift of the Dharma excels all gifts; the taste of the Dharma excels all tastes; delight in the Dharma excels all delights…”
- The Dhammapada

Dharmachakra: Taking the Dharma into the World!