These talks have all been given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre and uploaded to the Free Buddhist Audio website.
A short personal talk on the theme of discipline. Given at the Men s Event Liberation and Discipline held at Padmaloka in October 2014.
The final talk in the eight-part series entitled The Crazy Wisdom of the Mahasiddhas.
The central issue of the Dharma life, as Sangharakshita articulates, is to develop emotional equivalents to our intellectual understanding. Here Padmavajra uses the stories of Maitrigupta and the De Niro film The Deer Hunter to symbolically point towards the level of wisdom that goes beyond concept. We complete this scintillating series at the place where the path ends and the forest begins.
Talk seven of an eight-part series entitled The Crazy Wisdom of the Mahasiddhas.
Buddhism exists in relationship to, and draws from, the cultures it flourishes in. But its approach is entirely unique to other religious traditions. The world of the Mahasiddhas is no different, being a combination of cultural assimilation and critique - a world of Skull Bearers and Goddesses.
Talk six of the eight-part series entitled The Crazy Wisdom of the Mahasiddhas.
Renunciation is an important theme in Buddhism, and a successful spiritual life asks for single-minded commitment. Particularly key is our renunciation of the last bit of conceit about ourselves. Here, renunciation is given life in the stories of Luipa the Fish-Gut Eater and Darikapa the Slave-King of the Temple Prostitute.
Talk five of the eight-part series entitled The Crazy Wisdom of the Mahasiddhas.
The Buddha was the first of the Mahasiddhas, or Great Perfected Ones, and tales from the Pali Canon such as his encounter with Bahiya of the Bark Cloth demonstrate his ability to instantly wake others up to Reality. In the sixth century a new kind of Buddhist practitioner appears, picking up on these aspects of the teachings of the Buddha and opening up a new universe of myth, symbol and imagination.
Talk four of the eight-part series entitled The Crazy Wisdom of the Mahasiddhas.
In the pursuit of understanding the illusoriness and emptiness of all things, any form and any situation can be a source of liberation. In this segment Padmavajra demonstrates this through the symbolism in the stories of Thaganapa the Liar, Ajogi the Wastrel, Kankana the King and Khana and his experience of being a flawed Yogin.
Talk three of the eight-part series Crazy Wisdom of the Mahasiddhas.
The Dharma life requires us to come to terms with the jarring nature of Reality, and the Mahasiddhas unapologetically bring us right up against it, illustrated here through stories of Tigers, Taverns and Wine. We continue on with Naropa and Virupa in a series of strange encounters which challenge understanding.
In this second talk of the eight-part series Crazy Wisdom of the Mahasiddhas, we explore the wisdom of disillusionment in four stories of the Mahasiddhas.
First we hear of Yasha realizing the emptiness of sensual pleasure and his encounter with the Buddha. Then the story of the transformation of the suffering of Tantipa the Senile Weaver through the practices of the wandering yogi Jalandhara. Kankaripa, the grieving widower, opens to the reality of impermanence by meditating on his wife as a dakini. And the highly-learned Naropa meets with a frightening crone who challenges his understanding of the Dharma.
Padmavajra leads us on a journey of discovery in this eight-part series entitled The Crazy Wisdom of the Mahasiddhas.
In this first talk he introduces us to the Original Mahasiddha, the Buddha, and paints a picture of the environment in which a new kind of Dharma practitioner emerges as Buddhism nearly disappears from medieval India.
Suriyavamsa looks at the role of imagination in the way we shape our everyday world and how we can use this to bring the Buddha to life in our spiritual practice.
In this talk Alokadhara explores these beautiful verses which evoke the Buddha, his qualities and the profundity of his teaching.
This talk has been given at the beginning of the Winter Retreat 2013. It is the third of three talks given by Padmavajra on The Stages of the Path. Talk 3: Spiritual Death-Spiritual Rebirth - exploring Sangharakshita's poem 'Advent'; the contemplation of impermanence, death and our lack of any 'self-lordship' - Lahiji's vision of 'the black light'; bewilderment; becoming reborn in the Bodhisattva.
This talk has been given at the beginning of the Winter Retreat 2013. It is the second of three talks given by Padmavajra on The Stages of the Path.Talk 2: Emotional Transformation - The Vision of Najm Kobra; metta, forgiveness, gratitude, reverence and the seven 'raga moods' of the Puja.
This talk has been given at the beginning of the Winter Retreat 2013. It is the first of three talks given by Padmavajra on The Stages of the Path. Talk 1: Vigilance, Mindfulness and Awareness - The Buddha's Last Words and an exploration of Sangharakshita's Four Dimensions of Awareness
Padmavajra begins this talk with the chanting of The Karaniya Metta Sutta, in order to invoke 'the blessing power of loving kindness', which according to the sutta needs to be wielded at all times. He explores all of the stages of the metta bhavana (development of loving-kindness practice), as well as showing how metta can lead to wisdom and liberation, at the same time saying: we practice the metta bhavana to love others, Enlightenment is incidental!
In this talk Vadanya explores how we can turn the tables on pointless anxiety and limiting fears, and use these as fuel for our practice. Talk given on Men's Event at Padmaloka, June 2013.
Alokadhara's talk investigates how fear arises in dependence upon the delusion of there being a fixed, separate self and how the spell of that delusion can be broken by a clear seeing into the true nature of the five skandhas.Talk Given on Men's Event at Padmaloka, June 2013.
An exploration of the metaphor of the veil as that which prevents us from seeing how things really are. Kusalamati gives particular emphasis to the veil of the poisons (Kleshavarana), suggesting ways in which we can counteract greed, hatred and delusion through skilful action and practising the precepts. Talk given in May 2013, at Padmaloka Retreat Centre on an East Anglian Men's Event.
In this talk, given during the 2013 Young men's retreat at Padmaloka, Padmavajra describes the qualities of the Dharma Warrior and how Dharma Warriors are fighting in the great battle between the spiritual community and the group - fighting for the liberation of the truly human individual against the forces of mediocrity and uniformity - the battle with Mara who embodies those forces. Padmavajra concludes with David Jones' magnificent evocation of a warrior in his poem 'The Hunt'.
Last talk of a series of 8 talks and one session of Questions and Answers by Subhuti on the System of Practice retreat at Padmaloka for men who have asked for Ordination. In these talks, Subhuti delves into the fundamental principles behind Integration, Positive Emotion, Spiritual Receptivity, Spiritual Death, and Spiritual Rebirth, finding in each new and deeper significance. He invites his hearers to apply them deeply in their own lives.9. Applying these five aspects in daily life: We examine every activity of our lives to see how these five aspects are represented and to apply them more fully and deeply.
Seventh talk of a series of 8 talks and one session of Questions and Answers by Subhuti on the System of Practice retreat at Padmaloka for men who have asked for Ordination. In these talks, Subhuti delves into the fundamental principles behind Integration, Positive Emotion, Spiritual Receptivity, Spiritual Death, and Spiritual Rebirth, finding in each new and deeper significance. He invites his hearers to apply them deeply in their own lives.8. Spiritual Rebirth: we must find in our ordinary experience something that reflects transcending it. Connecting deeply with this Transcendental Object enables us ultimately to break free from the limited constructions of self.
Sixth talk of a series of 8 talks and one session of Questions and Answers by Subhuti on the System of Practice retreat at Padmaloka for men who have asked for Ordination. In these talks, Subhuti delves into the fundamental principles behind Integration, Positive Emotion, Spiritual Receptivity, Spiritual Death, and Spiritual Rebirth, finding in each new and deeper significance. He invites his hearers to apply them deeply in their own lives.7. Spiritual Death: What restricts the flow of Dharma niyama processes after all our karmic efforts is the emotio-cognitive complex of self-grasping. We must die to this illusory self.
Fifth talk of a series of 8 talks and one session of Questions and Answers by Subhuti on the System of Practice retreat at Padmaloka for men who have asked for Ordination. In these talks, Subhuti delves into the fundamental principles behind Integration, Positive Emotion, Spiritual Receptivity, Spiritual Death, and Spiritual Rebirth, finding in each new and deeper significance. He invites his hearers to apply them deeply in their own lives.6. Spiritual Receptivity: As we make an effort to cultivate skilful karma, we ourselves are transformed and we develop a new and more sensitive responsiveness to value. This sensitivity is not merely passive or reflective: it has what might be called an 'erotic force'.
A question and answer session punctuating a series of eight talks by Subhuti on the System of Practice retreat at Padmaloka for men who have asked for Ordination. In these talks, Subhuti delves into the fundamental principles behind Integration, Positive Emotion, Spiritual Receptivity, Spiritual Death, and Spiritual Rebirth, finding in each new and deeper significance. He invites his hearers to apply them deeply in their own lives.5. Questions and Answers
Fourth talk of a series of 8 talks and one session of Questions and Answers by Subhuti on the System of Practice retreat at Padmaloka for men who have asked for Ordination. In these talks, Subhuti delves into the fundamental principles behind Integration, Positive Emotion, Spiritual Receptivity, Spiritual Death, and Spiritual Rebirth, finding in each new and deeper significance. He invites his hearers to apply them deeply in their own lives.4. Positive emotion: We then work to make all our actions of body, speech and mind as skilful as possible.
Third talk of a series of 8 talks and one session of Questions and Answers by Subhuti on the System of Practice retreat at Padmaloka for men who have asked for Ordination. In these talks, Subhuti delves into the fundamental principles behind Integration, Positive Emotion, Spiritual Receptivity, Spiritual Death, and Spiritual Rebirth, finding in each new and deeper significance. He invites his hearers to apply them deeply in their own lives.3. Integration: We begin by taking fully responsibility for our karmic agency.
Second talk of a series of 8 talks and one session of Questions and Answers by Subhuti on the System of Practice retreat at Padmaloka for men who have asked for Ordination. In these talks, Subhuti delves into the fundamental principles behind Integration, Positive Emotion, Spiritual Receptivity, Spiritual Death, and Spiritual Rebirth, finding in each new and deeper significance. He invites his hearers to apply them deeply in their own lives.2. The motive force of Dharma life: We achieve this transcendence of self-clinging by means of the karma and dharma niyama kinds of conditionality.
First talk of a series of 8 talks and one session of Questions and Answers by Subhuti on the System of Practice retreat at Padmaloka for men who have asked for Ordination. In these talks, Subhuti delves into the fundamental principles behind Integration, Positive Emotion, Spiritual Receptivity, Spiritual Death, and Spiritual Rebirth, finding in each new and deeper significance. He invites his hearers to apply them deeply in their own lives. 1. The Higher Context: We practise the Dharma so that we can transcend our self-clinging, thereby resolving our own suffering and contributing to the resolution of suffering in the world. This is the fundamental purpose of the Triratna Community.
This talk is the fourth of four talks by Padmavajra on a men's Going for Refuge retreat, December 2012.Padmavajra explores some of the suttas from The Udana collection of the Pali Canon, referring throughout to Sangharakshita's seminar material.This talk is organised using the following structure: The Jatilla ascetics; how you can tell whether a man has insight; the story of Yassoja and his noisy disciples; Dabba of the Mallas; Parinibbana.
A talk given as part of the theme 'Celebrating Sangharakshita' on the Triratna Buddhist Order Men's Order Weekend (UK and Ireland Area) at Padmaloka, May 4 2013