“Peace is a fire. Refined mental states have a fiery, full-blooded even ecstatic quality”
Urgyen Sangharakshita
On Sangha Morning there will be a series of talks, over several weeks, around a single theme.
The Talks each week will touch on foundation ideas and will be the springboard for our discussions each Saturday. They will be suitable for beginners, so if you are new to the Centre you will be able to enjoy and participate in the discussion.
This resources page will contain recommendations if you want to dive deeper into the topics we will explore throughout the year.
The Dhammapada
Letters of Gold, Selected verses from the Dhammapada
The Dhammapada is one of the best known and best loved of all Buddhist scriptures, and for many contemporary Buddhists, irrespective of tradition, it is a perpetual source of inspiration. Many translations of the Dhammapada are available from excellent to, quite frankly, terrible.
We will use the version translated by Sangharakshita, which is a very accessible version.
The teaching of the Buddha, the Dhamma in Pali, the Dharma in Sanskrit, existed as an oral tradition for several centuries after the time of the Buddha.
The Pali version was written down in Sri Lanka in 29 BCE, approximately 450 years after the death of the Buddha.
As Sangharakshita says in the introduction to his translation of the Dhammapada: “I sometimes think that the Dhammapada contains, at least in principle, as much of the Buddha’s teaching as most of us really need to know in order to progress towards Enlightenment’.
So, the Dhammapada is a very important source of knowledge, inspiration and most importantly practical information on how to transform and develop ourselves.
Ehipassiko
The Dharma is Ehipassiko, the teaching that says: ‘Come and see for yourself’.
Don’t accept on blind trust. Don’t believe just because it’s the Buddha speaking. Have confidence in the teaching because you understand, experience and see for yourself. As the Buddha said: “… don’t accept anything out of respect for me”… “Just as gold is tested in the fire, so test my words in the fire of your own spiritual experience”
Letters of Gold – Selected Verses from the Dhammapada
Most texts you will come across from the ancient tradition of Buddhism consist of stories from the Buddha’s life, which tell of incidents of his life story or of his meeting with different people to whom he gives a teaching. So, they tend to be narrative in nature.
The Dhammapada is quite different in that it consists of a series of short verses or aphorisms without any story or narrative thread holding them together. It is a collection of short verses or sayings of the Buddha (423 in all) gathered together under various headings in 26 chapters.
The collection of verses in the Dhammapada is quite large, so in order get some depth of understanding over the next few weeks we are going to look at a selection of verses gathered under a number of themes. Rather than try to go through the text in sequence I have gathered verses from different parts of the text to illustrate each theme.
Dhammapada: The Way of Truth by Sangharakshita
The Dhammapada is one of the most popular and influential of Buddhist scriptures, containing the essential teachings of the Buddha. This translation by Sangharakshita is presented as a beautiful pocket-sized edition.
Watch a short video here on Sangharakshita’s translation of the Dhammapada
Access to Insight is a website dedicated to providing accurate, reliable, and useful information concerning the practice and study of Buddhism, as it has been handed down to us through both the written word of the Pali canon and the living example of the Theravada Sangha. Everything available at Access to Insight is offered in full cooperation with the authors, translators, and publishers concerned, with the clear understanding that none of it is to be sold. Please help yourself to whatever you find useful.
Talks on the Dhammapada
The Dhammapada – the Buddha’s Way of Truth – a series of talks by Padmavajra
Here is a fantastic series by Padmavajra on the most popular, and possibly most loved, of Buddhist suttas – the Dhammapada. This is just what you need if you want to go deeper in your engagement with the early teachings of the Buddha – an all-round introduction and full-on response to the classic images, symbols and challenges of the text.
All of the Buddha’s core teachings are here – held in heart and mind there’s more than enough in the Dhammapada to take us as far in our practice as we can imagine, and then on beyond. Series recorded in 2007.
Dhammapada – Following the Trackless One; a talk by Ratnaprabha
In this Dharma Day talk at North London Buddhist Centre in July 2018, Ratnaprabha focusses on the Dhammapada and looks at the text, its history and key ideas. The talk was followed by a question and answer session not included in this recording.
Skillful Action: “Cease to Do Evil, Learn to Do Good, Purify the Heart”; a talk by Singhamati
A talk given by Singhamati to launch the Sangha Night theme for 2019 at the Birmingham Buddhist Centre. The talk explores this very famous summary of the Buddha’s Teaching, found in verse 183 of the Dhammapada, and draws on Sangharakshita’s wisdom as found in the Dhammapada seminars from the 1980’s. It’s a simple, clear teaching offering us the possibility of taking it to heart, living from a more dharmic perspective with less suffering and greater freedom!
Previous Series of Talks on The Buddhist approach to Ethics: how to live our lives by liberating ourselves from our slavery to unhelpful habits, conditioning, and unconscious ways of thinking and behaving.
Love is the basis of Buddhist Ethics: Love is central to Buddhist ethics, not sentimental love but a vigorous, imaginative identification with others, far beyond mere sentiment: “a cherishing, protecting, maturing love which has the same kind of effect on the spiritual being of others as the light and heat of the sun have on their physical being.” Sangharakshita
Below are some recommendations for books on the subject of Ethics that you might enjoy if you wish to explore the subject in more depth. These books are available on the Windhorse Publications website as paperback or eBooks.
Reading the books is not a necessity if you just want to enjoy the talks and discussion each week.
ETHICS
Suggested Reading
Not About Being Good: A Practical Guide to Buddhist Ethics by Subhadramati
Buddhist ethics are not about conforming to a set of conventions, not about ‘being good’ in order to gain material, social or religious rewards. Instead, as Subhadramati outlines, living ethically springs from the awareness that other people are essentially no different from ourselves.
The Ten Pillars of Buddhism: Sangharakshita Classics by Sangharakshita
Ten Pillars of Buddhism are ten ethical precepts—such as generosity, truthfulness, or compassion—that together provide a comprehensive moral guide.
This book by Sangharakshita provides a fascinating insight for anyone interested in leading an ethical or Buddhist life.
You can buy a copy of the book from Windhorse Publications as a separate eBook or as part of the Complete Works Volume 2
Alternatively it can be downloaded from Free Buddhist Audio in audio or text format.
Living Ethically: Advice from Nagarjuna’s Precious Garland by Sanghasakshita
In a world of increasingly confused ethics, Sangharakshita looks back over the centuries for guidance from Nagarjuna, one of the greatest teachers of the Mahayana tradition. Living Ethically explores the relationship between an ethical lifestyle and the development of wisdom.
Paperback
ETHICS
Suggested talks
The Principles of Ethics: Right Action Sangharakshita
How can we decide between right and wrong? The Eastern criterion of ethics is psychological rather than theological: ethical behaviour is said to express higher orders of awareness. This lecture explains the Five Shilas (ethical principles), the basic Buddhist precepts.
The Importance of the Ten Precepts Ratnaghosha
To introduce this series of talks on the ten precepts Ratnaghosha highlights the significance of these precepts for all Buddhists.
Chanting the Refuges and Precepts the Taraloka Community
Many Buddhists start their day by chanting the Refuges and Precepts as a way to engage the heart with the idea of living each day in the light of the ideals of taking up the 5 Precepts as Training principles we can use to guide our steps in the noise and clutter of busy lives. Here is a recording by the Taraloka Community chanting them.
Not About Being Good Subhadramati
In a world of increasingly confused ethics, Sangharakshita looks back over the centuries for guidance from Nagarjuna, one of the greatest teachers of the Mahayana tradition. Living Ethically explores the relationship between an ethical lifestyle and the development of wisdom.
Beauty and the Dharma Life Kulanandi
In this talk given at a Sangha night at Stockholm Buddhist Centre, Kulanandi reflects on different qualities of beauty in the spiritual life. Exploring the areas of friendship, ethics and communication.