Vajrasana, the Tree of Life and the Revolution of Consciousness
Release Date: 05/09/2026
Enlightenment As Experience and Non-Experience
Free Buddhist Audio
Here, speaks about the nature of enlightenment, as experience and as non-experience, based on Bhante's lecture of the same name, given to the Buddhist Society in 1975. Given on retreat at , 2022. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now: Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast: Bite-sized clips - Buddhist inspiration three times a week. Apple Podcasts: Spotify:
info_outline
Vajrasana, the Tree of Life and the Revolution of Consciousness
Free Buddhist Audio
reflects on the Buddha’s resolve to sit on the vajrasana beneath the Bodhi tree until he broke through conditioned existence and awoke. The talk explores vajrasana as the “diamond throne,” drawing on an audio excerpt from Sangharakshita to unfold its meaning as the central point of the cosmos: the spiritual axis where the Buddha awakens, and where the symbolism of the vajra, the tree of life, and the Bodhi tree all meet. From there, the talk evokes Buddhist cosmology, the six elements, and the emergence of life and consciousness as part of a vast evolutionary movement that culminates in...
info_outline
Encountering Mara - Enlightenment Under Attack!
Free Buddhist Audio
Have we got what it takes to wake up? follows Siddhartha Gautama’s extraordinary quest to its turning point. In him we meet a seeker who turns down power, prestige and leadership, turning his back on the received wisdom of harsh asceticism, choosing instead something far more radical: to meditate alone in the comfortable shade of a beautiful tree. Here he meets Māra: tempter, accuser, embodiment of fear, desire, and doubt, unleashing everything he has to prevent Siddhartha’s awakening. This talk was given at 2026. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now: ...
info_outline
Steering For the Deep: The Awareness Aspect
Free Buddhist Audio
explores Sangharakshita's idea that fundamentally there is one spiritual experience, which has different aspects that we can unfold. Here he guides on how to contact and influence deeper levels of mind, culminating in the turning about of the basis, the transformation of the deepest level of mind. This talk was given at , 2016, as part of the series . *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now: Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast: A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. Apple Podcasts: Spotify: YouTube:
info_outline
The Power of Stories
Free Buddhist Audio
In this talk, discusses the language of the depths, which refers to communication beyond the surface level of experience. She begins by exploring the power of stories. Part of the series given at , 2024. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now: Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast: A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. Apple Podcasts: Spotify: YouTube:
info_outline
The Electric Charge of Communication
Free Buddhist Audio
As part of Adhisthana’s 2023 Triratna Day celebrations, speaks to us about the ‘existential communication’ that can arise between a more, and a less, experienced practitioner. A communication that can take you to the limits of your own being and encourage you to stretch beyond them. Part of the series Given at , 2023. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now: Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast: A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. Apple Podcasts: Spotify: YouTube:
info_outline
How to Communicate Well
Free Buddhist Audio
presents traditional Buddhist advice on communicating well, in particular the images that the Buddha used to teaches own seven-year-old son about the importance of truthfulness, and the poetry of Vangisa, encouraged by the Buddha to turn his love of communication into verses. A talk to the, 2017. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now: Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast: A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. Apple Podcasts: Spotify: YouTube:
info_outline
Reason and Emotion in the Spiritual Life
Free Buddhist Audio
We all need to find emotional equivalents to our intellectual understandings if our spiritual practice is to progress. outlines the positive emotions stressed in Buddhism, and concludes with a brief explanation of the stages of the Sevenfold Puja. Talk given as part of the series , 1968. *** Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now: Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast: A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. Apple Podcasts: Spotify: YouTube:
info_outline
A Deeper Rhythm
Free Buddhist Audio
explores the dynamic vision of Urgyen Sangharakshita in setting up a new Buddhist movement in the West, and asks how we might relate to him now. His central reference point in this provocative and moving talk is the Padmasambhava Abisheka - the initiation received by Sangharakshita in Kalimpong, India, in 1962 from the great Tibetan Lama, Kachu Rimpoche. The energy emanating from a simple shrine room–location of that significant meeting in Sangharakshita's life–reverberates through everything that came next, the bright and shadow sides. Voices and stories, told and untold, come echoing...
info_outline
Encountering Mara - Enlightenment Under Attack!
Free Buddhist Audio
Have we got what it takes to wake up? invites us to follow Siddhartha Gautama’s extraordinary quest to its turning point. In him, we meet a seeker who turns down power, prestige and leadership, turning his back on the received wisdom of harsh asceticism, choosing instead something far more radical: to meditate alone in the comfortable shade of a beautiful tree. Here he meets Māra: tempter, accuser, embodiment of fear, desire, and doubt, unleashing everything he has to prevent Siddhartha’s awakening. How does he respond to each attack? Could we do as well? Are we ready to take our seat as...
info_outlineSanghadhara reflects on the Buddha’s resolve to sit on the vajrasana beneath the Bodhi tree until he broke through conditioned existence and awoke. The talk explores vajrasana as the “diamond throne,” drawing on an audio excerpt from Sangharakshita to unfold its meaning as the central point of the cosmos: the spiritual axis where the Buddha awakens, and where the symbolism of the vajra, the tree of life, and the Bodhi tree all meet. From there, the talk evokes Buddhist cosmology, the six elements, and the emergence of life and consciousness as part of a vast evolutionary movement that culminates in the possibility of awakening. The second half of the talk reflects on what this awakening reveals about selfhood, individuality, and reality itself. Talk given at Manchester Buddhist Centre, 2025.
***
Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now: https://freebuddhistaudio.com/donate
Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast: Bite-sized clips - Buddhist inspiration three times a week.
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dharmabytes-from-free-buddhist-audio/id416832097
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UHPDj01UH6ptj8FObwBfB