Buddhist Voices

In this podcast episode, Amritavani shares her journey towards the Dharma, starting from her childhood fascination with something bigger calling her. She talks about her exploration of different spiritual paths, including yoga, Christianity, and the divine feminine, before finally finding her way to the Dharma through a meditation class in Croydon. It was at the Croydon Buddhist Centre that she met two inspiring order members who left a lasting impression on her, Vijayasri and Sucimani, who made her feel accepted and heard, which eventually led her to deepen her exploration of the spiritual life within the context of the Triratna Buddhist Order. Amritavani also speaks movingly about her experience of being a mother and how it informs her practice. With limited retreat time. Working with guilt when she goes away from her young children whilst having limited energy for formal practice because she loves them dearly and needs to take care of them. However, despite these limitations, she often finds herself inspired by her name, which translates to have the word "limitless" in it, challenging any perceived limitations she might have within the moment.   Finally, White Tara's warm embrace echoes throughout the interview. Her warm embrace offers the guidance and support needed to deal with the challenges that motherhood and Dharma practice can face.  Extracts from this interview were used for the Fifty Years, Fifty Voices project: Visit the Fifty Years, Fifty Voices on The Buddhist Centre Online Recorded in Cambridge with Simone Moore in 2018.

In this latest episode of the Buddhist Voices podcast, Parami and Sraddhavajri engage in a conversation for the Fifty Years, Fifty Voices project. They share their early encounters with the Dharma and its transformative impact on their lives. In particular, Sraddhavajri reminisces about her childhood in Modinagar, India, where her parents were involved with Buddhism and the teachings of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar's. She fondly remembers Dharmachari Amoghabhadra, who taught her Karate as a young girl, and how the kindness and friendship of the Sangha were instrumental in keeping her committed to her practice through good and hard times, a theme that frequently emerges in the conversations for the fifty voices project. An interesting topic that the pair discuss is their experience as women. Parami recalls her initial visit to the Centre in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1977, where the majority of participants were men, with very few women involved at that time. Despite this, she was deeply impressed by the teachings of Sangharakshita and soon moved to London to join a women's community, and in 1980 she was ordained. Extracts from this talk were used for the Fifty Years, Fifty Voices project: Visit the Fifty Years, Fifty Voices on The Buddhist Centre Online

On a cold winter's evening towards the end of 1969, at number 14 Monmouth Street, a small shop named Sakura, accessed via a side entrance through an alleyway, then down a narrow set of stairs into a basement, a meditation class was being held. Seated at the back of the room was Sangharakshita, dressed in robes, with a western pullover underneath, wearing an abundance of rings and long hair. Buddhadasa recalls this first encounter with a clarity as if it had happened only last year. “May I join you?” He asks. As it turns out, for him, these were prophetic words. It often seems hard to believe that the Triratna Buddhist Community we encounter today had such humble origins. It wasn’t long after this potent encounter that Buddhadasa decided to dedicate all his time to supporting Sangharakshita’s efforts to establish a new Buddhist movement, leaving behind a career in architecture and becoming the Chair/Secretary/Treasurer of the then Friends of The Western Buddhist Order, all at same time. Over 50 Years later, Buddhadasa has done just that–dedicating his whole life to the development and spread of the Dharma. In this full interview recorded for the Fifty Years Fifty Voices project, we hear reflections on his 50+ years of involvement with the Triratna Buddhist Order: from the very earliest days in London to further adventures helping establish the Dharma in New Zealand and Australia.

Growing up in Chorley, Lancashire, in the northwest of England, Abhaya (1936-2022) recalls his early life as the youngest of four siblings, raised by parents who were run off their feet. With Dad away at the war, mum managed a small chip shop in which he and his brothers used to help out. Following in the footsteps of his older brother Jack, Abhaya would later spend several years at a Catholic Seminary, a period he jokingly characterizes as being like 12 years imprisonment. Christianity plays a strong conditioning factor in the early part of Abhaya’s life, the northwest being “rife with Catholicism” and his older brother going on to become a priest. Yet Abhaya’s path would stray off that given course, and in the 1960s he travelled to Thailand where his life would well and truly change, meeting his future wife and encountering the counter-culture of the ’60s and ’70s. Returning to England he would then come into contact with Urgyen Sangharakshita and the very beginnings of the Western Buddhist Movement. Satyalila had the pleasure of interviewing Abhaya back in 2018 and this conversation is the sequel to another Buddhist Voices podcast episode, Abhaya On Beauty and The Imagination as Ways to Liberation, which came out shortly after that meeting. Satyalila enjoyed their conversation so much that she felt it warranted another! This previously unreleased recording takes us through Abhaya’s life in chronological order and in more detail, covering ground not touched on before. As someone who was there from the very early days of the Triratna Buddhist Order and community, Abhaya’s depth of experience and wisdom shines through, often in the most unassuming manner. This is a poignant and honest account of what happens when working out the needs of our spiritual life involves a sense of conflict, and requires some deeper resolution.  Listen now, and enjoy two friends talking through a life lived with meaning and purpose. Extracts from this talk were used for the Fifty Years, Fifty Voices project: Visit the Fifty Years, Fifty Voices on The Buddhist Centre Online Recorded in Bristol, 2018. 

Many people in the Triratna Buddhist Community know Amoghasiddhi for his kind and welcoming smile, as well as his tireless Dharma work for our sangha in Nagpur, India. Now part of the ordination team in India, as well as a member of Indian Public Preceptors Kula, Amoghasiddhi has been ordained for over 30 years.  In this moving interview with Candradasa, originally recorded back in 2018 for the Fifty Years, Fifty Voices Project, the pair cover a lot of ground, including Amoghasiddhi's love of poetry and a visit Bhante Urgyen Sangharakshita made to Nagpur in 1992. Amoghasiddhi describes the sight of 70,000 people attending the speech Sangharakshita gave at the same place where, in 1956, he had addressed a grief stricken crowd of over 250,000 followers of Dr Ambedkar, after the latter's unexpected death. When Sangharakshita gave that speech in 1992, there were just four Order members in Nagpur. As Amoghasiddhi happily recalls:  "Bhante said, 'Nagpur needs 100 Order members…' Well we are very glad to tell you there are now over a 100 Order Members, and four main [Triratna Buddhist] Centres..." A lovely conversation, with a lovely, inspiring man. Extracts from this talk were used for the Fifty Years, Fifty Voices project: Visit the Fifty Years, Fifty Voices on The Buddhist Centre Online

When Aryadhi encountered meditation for the first time, she wholly embraced it amid the very positive atmosphere of the London Buddhist Centre. She recalls the memory of waking up on her first retreat after a powerful new year’s eve puja just knowing that she was a Buddhist, and that her life would never be the same again. A series of important self discoveries would begin to unfold during her ordination training. And in September 2013 she was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a neurological condition on the autistic spectrum. Aryadhi describes this discovery as being like finding ‘the missing piece of the puzzle’, and her moving account is a testament to the importance of receiving the help she needed on her journey. Listen to a deeply inspiring story of self-aware Buddhist practice, and of coming into your own as a human being with vital gifts to share... Extracts from this talk were used for the Fifty Years, Fifty Voices project: Visit the Fifty Years, Fifty Voices on The Buddhist Centre Online

“This conversation I'm having with you right now is an expression of Bhante's vision of the Dharma.” In this latest full interview for the Fifty Years, Fifty Voices Project, we hear from Dharmashalin. Now the Mitra convenor for the Birmingham Buddhist Centre, Dharmashalin made his first proper contact with Buddhism at 19 years old after a period of drug-based experimentation and existential angst. As is often the way with drugs, what was once a source of inspiration became something much darker and, at best, just another form of escapism. It was at Christmas ‘98 that a friend lent him a copy of Sogyal Rimpoche’s ‘Tibetan Book of Living and Dying’, which left a strong impression. Specifically, the section on karma and rebirth set forth the realization that our actions have consequences, even beyond our present life. Dharmashalin speaks from the heart in this deep and far reaching interview, with his usual characteristic openness and sincerity. Extracts from this talk were used for the 50 Years, 50 Voices project - visit the dedicated space on The Buddhist Centre Online for more.

Sucimani interviews Vijaya and for the Fifty Years, Fifty Voices Project. Vijaya shares movingly about the suffering she faced growing up in a slum near Nagpur railway station, losing her younger brother and father in quick succession and, subsequently, having to fight periods of depression.  Later in life a visiting Dharmachari would come and teach her meditation and in her own words she recalls ‘this is where life is’. So deeply grateful and inspired by this encounter, both herself and her older brother would go on to ask for ordination and become members of the Triratna Buddhist Order.  Other topics of discussion include a vivid encounter with Green Tara and what it’s like to be part of a lineage of discipleship that goes right back to the Buddha: that flow  initiated by Urgyen Sangharakshita when he ordained Srimala, Srimala in turn ordaining Vijaya… Now, a Private Preceptor herself, Vijaya recalls the period of growth she experienced during the first ordinations, and what it’s like to pass on that thread through ordaining other women.  This conversation was originally recorded at the Triratna Buddhist Order's International Order Convention in Bodhgaya, India in 2018.  Extracts from this talk were used for the 50 Years, 50 Voices project - visit the dedicated space on The Buddhist Centre Online for more.

Al igual que muchas de las historias que escuchamos en el proyecto Cincuenta Años, Cincuenta Voces, la amistad ha marcado la vida de los miembros de la Orden en toda nuestra comunidad internacional. En este episodio escuchamos a dos buenos amigos que comparten sus caminos y su historia de práctica del Dharma, con un toque poético. Desde Mérida, en el corazón de los Andes venezolanos, hasta el Centro Budista de la Ciudad de México, Aryavacin y Manjugita están animados por un profundo anhelo de libertad. Aquí podemos escuchar la historia compartida de sus vidas que han abarcado muchos contextos diferentes: desde el trabajo social en los barrios pobres de Venezuela, hasta el curso Dharma Life en Adhisthana, Reino Unido. Esta conversación fue grabada originalmente en la Convención Internacional de la Orden en Bodhgaya, India, en 2018, y es traída hasta tí en Español.Extractos de esta charla fueron utilizados para el proyecto Cincuenta Años, Cincuenta Voces - visita el espacio dedicado en The Buddhist Centre Online para más. *** Like many of the stories we hear from the Fifty Years, Fifty Voices project, friendship has shaped the lives of Order members throughout our international community. In this episode we hear from two good friends who share their journeys and history of practicing the Dharma, with a poetic edge. From Merida in the heart of the Venezuelan Andes to the Mexico City Buddhist Centre, Aryavacin and Manjugita are spurred on by a deep longing for freedom. Here we get to listen to the shared story of their lives that have spanned many different contexts: from social work in the slums of Venezuela, to the Dharma Life course in Adhisthana, UK.  This conversation was originally recorded at the International Order Convention in Bodhgaya, India in 2018, and is brought to you in Spanish.  Extracts from this talk were used for the 50 Years, 50 Voices project - visit the dedicated space on The Buddhist Centre Online for more.

“Padmapani is my Yidam, two-armed Avalokitesvara… I came from a Pureland Mahayana tradition so I wanted all of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas to be part of my practice, but I gradually narrowed down… Avalokitesvara gave the Heart Sutra and bit by bit it became clear that, ‘Well, it’s just a question of how many arms!” When Prasadacarin’s school teacher organized a class visit to a Mahayana Buddhist temple in Stockholm, Sweden, he did not imagine his encounter with the Dharma that day would spark off his own spiritual quest, and lead eventually to becoming Chair of  Triratna's Stockholm Buddhist Centre in his early 20s! Listen to this moving account of a spiritual life that started at a very early age, passing through the twists and turns of growing up and the complications of coming out as a gay man in a context that wasn’t supportive. Prasadacarin speaks openly and from the heart in this latest Fifty Years, Fifty Voices episode. Extracts from this talk were used for the 50 Years, 50 Voices project - visit the dedicated space on The Buddhist Centre Online for more.