Dharmabytes from free buddhist audio
Dharmabytes features bite-sized dharma, three times a week, from the Free Buddhist Audio archives. Themed in conjunction with our weekly full length talk podcast, these are inspiring short extracts from over 5,000 talks on Buddhism, meditation and mindfulness! Tune in, be inspired!
Respond to What Fascinates Us
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 most human, poetic, and inspired of ways. Her range is broad as she evokes the mandala itself, and the profound, playful path of the Bodhisattva. Excerpted from the talk entitled Living In The Greater Mandala recorded in Adelaide, Australia, for the Urban Retreat, 2015.
Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now
Subscribe to our Dha...
An Illusion of the World
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 and at some point they will bear fruit. Excerpted from the talk Everything Matters and Nothing Is Lost, part of the series Seeds of the Heart: Talks from the Dharma Parlour, at Buddhafield, 2022.
***
Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now
Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast: Bite-sized clips - Buddhist inspiration thre...
The Delight of the Poet, The Joy of the Reader
With precise reference to three poems by Sangharakshita, Samantabhadri explores the haiku at its best. Speaking on a Silent Retreat at Taraloka, she focuses on the evocation of the moment, on compassion and other implicit emotion, on the unworldliness of the poet and on the haiku as a communication of an insight experience. Excerpted from the talk entitled The Wonder of the Haiku given at Taraloka Retreat Centre, 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.
App...
The Doors to the Immortal are Open
Sangharakshita tells the story of the Buddha's encounter with Brahma Sahampati. This lecture celebrates the anniversary of the Buddha's decision to teach, with an account of the events just after his Enlightenment. Excerpted from the talk entitled The New Man Speaks, 1971.
***
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 | YouTube
Dwelling On the Ideal
More of a lively ramble than a talk, Devamitra explores of the relationship between imagination and devotion based loosely around the Ti Ratana Vandana. Excerpted from the talk entitled The Heart of Triratna given at Birmingham Buddhist Centre, 2013.
***
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 | YouTube
Directing Change Towards Positive Growth
Vidyamala introduces the key aspects of this part of the Sutta and then speaks of the importance of allowing for growth and integration in our practice. She speaks of the twin pillars of awareness and love and how mindfulness can lead to a deeper and deeper sense of connection with all of life and how kindness is a natural expression of that. She also speaks of her own practice after the recent death of her father. Excerpted from the talk Citta - Fragments On Love, part of the series An Exploration of the Satipatthana Sutta given on Gravity and...
Horizontal and Vertical Integration
In this talk Dayanandi covers the first of the five great stages of spiritual experience that develop and unfold as we progress on the Path to Enlightenment — integration and wholeness. Excerpted from the talk entitled Mindfulness and the Mandala of Integration, part of the series The Five Great Stages of the Spiritual Path given at Manchester Buddhist Centre, 2011.
***
Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now
Subscribe to the FBA podcast: A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week.
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTub
Work on Whatever Estranges You
In Sthiranaga's exploration of this section of Canto 103, he provides some practical techniques to help keep us from becoming estranged from our meditation practice as well as tips to creatively explore the positive formulation of the precepts, which can form part of the 'enactment' of Padmasabhava's advice to Queen Ngang Chung, which leads to her liberation. Excerpted from the talk Working with the Mind given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre as part of the series Illuminations from The Guru's Heart, 2025.
***
Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now
Subscribe to our Dharmabytes pod...
An Uninterrupted Flow of Skilful Mental States
A delightful talk to mark the re-launch of 'Mitrata, a journal (now discontinued) which helped develop the systematic study of Buddhism and was especially intended for 'mitras' ('Friends'). Here, Sangharakshita tells the story of Meghiya drawing out the theme of spiritual friendship and receptivity to one's teacher. Excerpted from The Launching of the New Mitrata, 1983.
***
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 | YouTube
Metta is Consciousness
A beautiful introduction by Ratnavandana to the Brahma Viharas as an integrated set of practices flowing from metta- loving-kindness. Her central image is that of a tree, deep-rooted and spreading its canopy wide as she evokes a profound, personal connection to the cultivation of the sublime abodes- loving-kindness, compassion, joy with others, and equanimity. Ratnavandana also leads a guided meditation on cultivating a connection to the Brahma Viharas. Excerpted from the talk Introduction to the Brahma Viharas (With Guided Meditation) given as part of the series Brahma Viharas - Bristol Retreat, Bristol Buddhist Centre, 2015.
***
Help...
The Light of the Mind
Ratnaprabha takes us through the realisations that came to the Buddha during his all night meditation under the Bodhi tree, culminating in the vision of the morning star, the Star of Healing. Its light was the first sight of the Awakened One, a light symbolising the illumination of awareness itself. Excerpted from the talk entitled The Star of Healing given at West London Buddhist Centre, 2014.
***
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...
Spiritual Treasures
A father, now wealthy, spots his long-lost son in the streets. He gradually befriends him until he has the self-confidence to take on his inheritance. This parable from the Lotus Sutra yields fascinating lessons in accepting the riches of our deepest nature. Excerpted from the talk entitled The Myth of the Return Journey by Akashadevi given at West London Buddhist Centre, 2018.
***
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 | YouTube
A Quest for Truth
Poetry is something that takes you deeper into the heart of things. Dharmavadana explores the impact of poetry on our spiritual life. Excerpted from the talk entitled Poetry and Spiritual Life given at West London Buddhist Centre, 2010.
***
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 | YouTube
Utopia in Your Heart
Activism, slavery, the Bodhisattva vow and utopia. Welcoming rage, passion and kindness into our Sangha is the path to liberation. Successful responses to capitalism and other forms of suffering and injustice. from the Sigalaka sutta to real questions about how we treat our fellow human beings. Here, Saraha shares two poems that inspire him to engage fully with life. Excerpted from Your Liberation Is Bound Up with Mine given at Birmingham Buddhist Centre, 2020.
***
Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now
Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast: Bite-sized clips - Buddhist inspiration thre...
A Fresh Approach to Compassion
Padmasagara challenges familiar ideas of compassion. When we step beyond the ego, compassion may arise in many forms, not always what we expect. Excerpted from the talk entitled A Buddhist's Response to Global Crises - Part 1 given at Buddhistisches Tor Berlin, 2026.
***
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 | YouTube
The Truth and The Path
Join Lalitaratna as he explores the essence of puja, a devotional practice honoring the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Discover how this practice can reshape our mental state and perspective on the world. The talk delves into Dharma Vinaya, unpacking the truths of impermanence, no-self, and suffering, along with the transformative path of ethical living, meditation, and wisdom. Excerpted from the talk entitled The Truth Is All Its Aspects, the Path In All Its Stages given at Buddhistisches Tor Berlin, 2023.
***
Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now
Subscribe to our Dharmabytes pod...
Befriend Your Mind
Prasadavati invites us to explore how meditation can serve our lives on and off the cushion, and especially during challenging times. Excerpted from the talk entitled Befriend Your Mind given at Buddhistisches Tor Berlin, 2025.
***
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 | YouTube
Seeing Metta as a Choice
Equanimity is the deepest level of metta: metta imbued with seeing reality. Maitrisiddhi brings in Kisa Gotami, Hiroshima and her own mother's death. Can we hold the paradox of loving, yet letting go? Can we drop the drama, and see the mettaful action that we could actually take? Excerpted from the talk entitled Equanimity: This Is The Way Things Are as part of the series Brahma Viharas: Living in the Mandala, Taraloka Retreat Centre, 2025.
***
Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now
Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast: Bite-sized clips - Bu...
As Ordinary As Your Own Breath
Image of the sea and the raft: we hold onto our raft, but this brings suffering - can we let go, enter the sea and become spiritually reborn? This is the question Arthabandhu asks us.
Spiritual death does not only mean esoteric meditation practices; it means confronting the vagaries and difficulties of life with honesty and courage and seeing what we can learn from them. By opening up to new experiences, life becomes more vivid and enjoyable - if we can just face the fear.
Excerpted from the talk entitled The Sea As Spiritual Death g...
Light as an Orientating Feature
Orientation towards Enlightenment is a keynote talk by Kusaladevi marking both the Buddha's enlightenment over 2,500 years ago and the 30th anniversary of the Nottingham Buddhist Centre. Exploring themes of lineage, connection, and the symbolism of the Vajrasana as a point of orientation in a suffering world. Kusaladevi reflects on how Dharma practice and the life of a Buddhist Centre offer a bridge from disorientation towards the transcendental through the light of the Dharma. Excerpted from the talk entitled Orienting Towards Enlightenment given at the Nottingham Buddhist Centre, 2026.
***
Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Do...
A Hot Debate
Vaddhaka delves into the Buddha's unanswered questions; questions that Vacchagotta, Malunkyaputta and others asked him. Among them: 'What happens to a Buddha after death?' And what happens at our own death; what did the Buddha really say; and why did the renowned Buddhist scholar Paul Williams convert from Buddhism to Roman Catholicism? Excerpted from the talk entitled Death and the Self, and the Buddha's Unanswered Questions given at Stockholm Buddhist Centre, 2010.
***
Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now
Subscribe to the FBA podcast: A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, ever...
Between the Heaves of Storm
Maitreyabandhu draws out the deeper meaning and finer detail of five different poems, each around the theme of death with the final poem focusing on spiritual rebirth. By discussing the background of the poems and poets, the intricacies of their structure, and bringing in a Buddhist interpretation of the themes raised in the poems, Maitreyabandhu shows us the importance and profundity of poetry and how it can help us to explore Dharmic themes more deeply. Here he discusses the poem "I heard a Fly buzz – when I died - by Emily Dickinson. Excerpted from the talk entitled A New Kn...
The Drum of the Deathless
In this talk Alokadhara explores these beautiful verses which evoke the Buddha, his qualities and the profundity of his teaching. Excerpted from the talk entitled Celebrating the Buddha Pingiya's Praises to the Way to the Beyond given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre, 2014.
***
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 | YouTube
Angulimala
Dhivan relates tales of some of the colourful characters who visit the Buddha to receive teachings.Here, we here about a killer-bandit named Angulimala. Excerpted from the talk A Courtesan, a Killer and a King given at Bristol Buddhist Centre, 2016.
***
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 | YouTube
A Sense of Urgency
What was the Buddha really like? Jayabodhi explores this important question with particular emphasis on how this is related to our own lives and how we may follow in the footsteps of the Buddha ourselves. Excerpted from the talk entitled What the Buddha Was Really Like given at Birmingham Buddhist Centre, 2017.
***
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 | YouTube
True Individuals and Spiritual Communities
Sangharakshita outlines his view of the historical background to current world problems (essentially, problems within and between groups), which can only be solved by people either withdrawing support from groups or influencing them positively through an experience of Spiritual Communities.
Excerpted from the talk entitled Evolution or Extinction: Current World Problems given as part of the series Where do we go from here?, 1971.
***
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...
Dedicated to Peace
Partisan politics, hurricanes and earthquakes, mass shootings, nuclear threats … our world at times feels like a living nightmare. Sunada reflects: How do we as Buddhists respond, individually and as a sangha? And how do we keep our sanity? Excerpted from the talk entitled Practice During Times of Chaos and Uncertainty given on a Sangha Day celebration at Aryaloka Buddhist Center, 2017.
***
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 | YouTube
Shared Going for Refuge
Here, Prajnamati describes how a range of dharma practices can be seen as a finding of the point of freedom where a more creative option becomes apparent as an alternative to the more familiar reactive choices. In ethical practice this is developing a sensitivity to the wholesome quality of skilful intentions, in meditation finding a way of relaxing in to the practice and in sangha engaging in a free association of individuals, as an individual, from one's point of freedom. Excerpted from the talk entitled The Point of Freedom, given at Bristol Buddhist Centre, 2017.
***
A Case for Reverence
The Bodhisattva called 'Never Direct' saw the Buddha in everyone, yet his practice of bowing received a mixed response. Drawing on themes from the White Lotus Sutra, Aryadasa delves into how different framings of the spiritual life can profoundly change our understanding of Buddhism and its practice. Excerpted from the talk entitled A Bodhisattva On His Knees given at Sheffield Buddhist Centre, 2025.
***
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 | YouTube
The Compassion Aspect of Wisdom
Khemasuri introduces the Bodhisattva Ideal, central to Mahayana Buddhism, by describing the training of the novice Bodhisattva and the arising of the will to Enlightenment. Excerpted from the talk entitled Becoming a Bodhisattva given at Sheffield Buddhist Centre, 2012.
***
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 | YouTube
By the Sound of this Majestic Drum
Vijayasri explores confession's illuminating and transformational properties through the Mahayana sutra, The Sutra of Golden Light. Excerpted from the talk entitled the Sutra of Golden Light: What Is the Role of Confession In Buddhism? Given at Birmingham Buddhist Centre, 2023.
***
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 | YouTube
We Don't Really Know Anything About Anything
Nagavajri gracefully introduces some points one may find helpful before studying any Mahayana sutra, giving some context to this rich vein of the Dharma. Excerpted from the talk What Do I Need to Know Before Reading a Mahayana Sutra? Given as an introduction to the Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa (The Inconceivable Emancipation) at a sub30 Adhisthana retreat, 2025.
***
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 | YouTube
Unlimited Spaciousness of the Buddha
Akasaraja explores the nature of presence and absence in encounters between people and concludes that we can only be truly present when we are "absent", i.e. when we get out of the way. And the Buddha embodies this "presence" through "absence" in a way we cannot truly comprehend. By being "absent", he is completely and utterly present. The Buddha is the embodiment of reality itself and, as such, is always present. Excerpted from the talk entitled Why Did the Buddha Leave Us? Or Did He? Or Was He Ever Really There? given at Shrewsbury Triratna Buddhist Centre, 2025.
<...
Overcoming spiritual individualism
The full moon in May is celebrated as the anniversary of the Buddha's Enlightenment and his victory over the demon Mara. Sangharakshita explains what Mara represents and how he can be overcome. As well as containing much that will fascinate experienced Buddhists, this is also an excellent introductory lecture. Excerpted from the talk entitled The Buddha's Victory given in 1987.
https://www.freebuddhistaudio.com/audio/details?num=169
***
Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now
Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast: Bite-sized clips - Buddhist inspiration three times a week...
A Multitude of Perspectives
Nagasiddhi invites us to experience the dharma imaginatively: through art and heart. He outlines the turning points or 'rites of passage' in the Buddha's mythic life story as he introduces the In the Footsteps of the Buddha home retreat offered by the Triratna Buddhist Community. In this excerpt from the talk entitled Rites of Passage, he speaks about the numerous perspectives the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas take. Visit 'In the Footsteps of the Buddha' for more resources from this retreat: https://thebuddhistcentre.com/footsteps
***
Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone! Donate now
...At the Brink of Enlightenment
In this moving talk based on Sangharakshita's 1969 talk 'Breaking through to Buddhahood', Suddhaka shares some of his experience as an Order Member to illustrate how we might move beyond our unhelpful psychological conditioning. Excerpted from the talk Breaking Through Psychological Conditioning talk given at Brixton Buddhist Centre, 2017.
***
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...
A Journey of Discovery
Dhivan considers what we can learn from the story of the noble quest of the Buddha. This story is recounted in the Discourse on the Noble Quest (Ariyapariyesana-sutta) in the Middle-length Discourses (Majjhima-nikaya). In it we can almost believe we are hearing a memory of the Buddha's own words, as he recounts his going forth, his study under great meditation teachers, his eventually leaving them, his austerities, and finally his awakening. Dhivan draws out some of the continuing significance of the story of the noble quest, as a kind of blueprint for the model of the Dharma life as...
Confronting Mara
How can we work with our own inner voices that undermine our practice and limit our lives? Shubhavyuha draws this out, using the stories of early Buddhist women encountering 'Mara' - the embodiment of all that holds us back. Excerpted from the talk entitled 'I See You, Mara' from the Daughters of the Buddha: Lineage of Freedom retreat at Taraloka Retreat Centre, 2026.
***
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.
App...
A Conscious Effort to be Kind
Bodhidasa shares ways we can touch the transcendent in simple, everyday moments of devotion. Looking at the works and life of Milarepa for inspiration and guidance, the session will help us go beyond what we might understand the Dharma Path to be. Excerpted from the talk entitled Mending the Broken Crown given at Auckland Buddhist Centre, 2019.
***
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...
Transforming Demons
Balajit explores how working with emotion can be a radical process for transformation. Excerpted from the talk entitled Perfect Emotion given at Birmingham Buddhist Centre, 2021.
***
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
