Podcasts

Suryagupta draws on her decades of Buddhist practice alongside experiences of activism, parenting, and work in the arts, to reflect on what it means to be fully human: to struggle, to long for growth, and to seek connection, meaning, and […]

Drawing on her experience as a poet, Varasahaya discusses creativity, imagination, and the writing process as a spiritual practice. She reads some of her poems, and explains the process by which they came to birth, and what she learnt about […]

The imagination is a superpower. Buddhism offers unique tools to harness this superpower for the benefit of all beings. Sagaravajra encourages us to let the muse communicate through us. Excerpted from the talk entitled Maps of the Imagination, given at […]

"Art is the organisation of sensuous impressions that express the artist's sensibility and communicate to his audience a sense of values that can transform their lives." Using his own definition, Sangharakshita investigates the relevance of art and the artist to […]

Following the theme of channeling our strong emotions into energy that can be used in our spiritual practice, Paranita will be exploring how we can direct the feeling of falling in love with another person towards cultivating deeper spiritual ideals […]

Parami gives the introductory talk for the 2015 Triratna International Urban Retreat live in Adelaide, Australia. Her theme – and the theme of the whole retreat – is Living in the Greater Mandala, and she brings this alive in the […]

Does my life matter? Can I really say that actions have consequences? In this short talk Kavyamani explores the Yogacara teaching of the Alaya Vijnana, commonly referred to as the storehouse consciousness, reflecting that all our actions are like seeds […]

Once upon a time, a billion years ago… Both traditional Buddhist cosmology and modern science deal in mind-boggling time scales – a Deep Time perspective, accessible only via imagination. Buddhist scholar Dhivan explores how imagining Deep Time relates to liberation. […]

Over the last 19 years, Aloka has painted the images that adorn the shrine room at Padmaloka Retreat Centre. Padmavajra recently interviewed him about how his art arises from his practice, from the Dharma. He begins by describing how you […]

In this interview with Satyalila, Prakasha shares the remarkable story of the unfolding of his Dharma Life from a fascination with the English poet, painter and visionary William Blake in the late 1970s and early 80s and how this led […]

Within the context of the three ascending Levels of the Spiritual Imagination (Empathy, Beauty and Imagining the Buddha), Samantabhadri explores devotion and ritual in terms of body, speech and mind, and of the journey to the transcendental. She includes the […]

In this talk Padmavajra explores the the eight consciousnesses of the Yogacara, the eight great cremation grounds and the 'mysterious home of the dakini'. The talk was given during the men's Great Gathering at  Padmaloka Retreat Centre, 2020. *** Help […]

In this talk Samantabhadri explores what it was like to meet the Buddha, the fully Enlightened human being. She then discusses 'garava' as devotion for the whole richness of our Dharma Lives, including positive emotions for all beings. This talk […]

The Dhammapada, or 'Way of Truth', is a profound expression of 'Basic Buddhism'. In its short, memorable verses, the Buddha challenges us to practise wholeheartedly – because 'a tamed mind brings happiness'. Suryagupta unpacks some of these ancient wisdom-sayings, which, […]

Samādhi is the Sanskrit word for a state of peaceful, integrated absorption the mind can reach through meditation.And people’s faces in meditation have been a source of fascination (and distraction) for documentary filmmaker Hartley Woolf since he began his own […]

Today we meet three Buddhists with a full time professional painting practice, exhibiting at The Art Pavilion in Mile End Eco Park. And we’re treated to a generous and intimate conversation about the tensions and creative dynamics between an explicitly […]

In Triratna, learning to understand what is truly beautiful is seen as a path to Enlightenment itself. In this episode we find ourselves exploring this in an unexpected and extraordinary way at the seat of all Buddhist paths and myths, […]

Enter Hinterland sober bar, “the realm beyond what’s known”… And meet founders Sanghadhara and Stephen Jeffreys in their cosy, cool, poetic, liminal space for a cocktail and meaningful conversation about how Buddhism and the Dharma can inform modern culture—and people’s […]

Home Retreats help us inject some of the powerful teachings of the Buddha directly into our everyday lives. This week we’re joined by Balajit, Singhashri and Viveka to talk about what lies behind their latest week-long collaborative venture with The […]

Mandarava has always been a maker. Her way into puppetry came initially through trying to make sense of deep family grief. Mandarava’s work is brimful of magic – filtered through fairy tales, her own deep immersion in illustrative art and […]

The mind liberated from the pressure of the will is unfolded in symbolsW.B. YeatsThese days, mindfulness is everywhere. How can engaging with images – with imagination itself – take our awareness deeper and help us connect with something truly transformative? […]