A teaching of the Dharma chanted in Pali, the Dhammapalam Gatha translates as ‘verses that protect the truth’. Set to music, this is a piece that beautifully evokes the heart of the Buddha’s teachings.

Bodhivajra recorded this chant; listen for enjoyment, or listen to learn the words (reproduced below).

Dhammapalam Gatha
Verses that Protect the Truth 

Verses in Pali

Sabbapapassa akaranam
Kusalassa upasampada
Sacittapariyodapanam
Etam Buddhanam sasanam.

Dhammam care sucaritam
Na nam duccaritam care.
Dhammacari sukham seti
Asmim loke paramhi ca.

Na tavata dhammadharo
Yavata bahu bhasati.
Yo ca appam pi sutvana
Dhammam kayena passati,
Sa ve dhammadharo hoti
Yo Dhammam nappamajati.

N’atthi me saranam annam
Buddho me saranam varam
Etena saccavajjena
Hotu me jayamangalam

N’atthi me saranam annam
Dhammo me saranam varam
Etena saccavajjena
Hotu me jayamangalam.

N’atthi me saranam annam
Sangho me saranam varam
Etena saccavajjena
Hotu me jayamangalam.

Namo Buddhaya
Namo Dhammaya
Namo Sanghaya

Sadhu sadhu sadhu

English translation

Not to do evil
To cultivate the good
To purify the mind
This is the Teaching of the Buddhas.

Lead a righteous life
Not one that is corrupt.
The righteous live happily
Both in this world and the next.

He is not versed in Dhamma who
Merely speaks much. He who
hears but a little (of the teaching) but
sees the Truth and observes it well
indeed he is truly called
‘one versed in Dhamma’.

No other refuge than the Wake
Refuge supreme is there for me.
Oh by the virtue of this truth
May grace abound and victory!

No other refuge than the Truth
Refuge supreme is there for me.
Oh by the virtue of this truth
May grace abound and victory!

No refuge but the Fellowship
Refuge supreme is there for me.
Oh by the virtue of this truth
May grace abound and victory!

Hommage to the Buddha!
Hommage to the Dhamma!
Hommage to the Sangha!

Dhammapalam Gatha

Day one is a meditation on the breath, with music composed by Yeshe Chodron also known as Laurie Lesk. The breath is fundamental to meditation. It is a place where you can come home to yourself. When you connect to the breath you can restore calm in your heart and mind. In this meditation we explore the qualities of breathing.

For more resources on recovery: www.thebuddhistcentre.com/eightsteps

21 Day Meditation For Recovery - 1. Breath Meditation

Day two is a meditation on metta, which is loving kindness. We explore cultivating loving kindness towards ourselves by listening to a song about the Metta Sutta. The source of the words of this song is unknown, though it is likely this song was developed from a teaching the Buddha gave on compassion and loving kindness (the Karaniya Metta Sutta). 

The music is arranged by Kate Munger the founder of the Threshold Choir (http://thresholdchoir.org/) and sung by the Songsters.

For more resources on recovery: www.thebuddhistcentre.com/eightsteps

21 Day Meditation For Recovery - 2. Metta

A 21 Day course in meditation to help with your recovery.

This is a gift of generosity. Nobody was paid for their creativity. Everyone offered there kindness for the benefit of all beings.

For more resources on recovery: www.thebuddhistcentre.com/eightsteps

21 Day Meditation For Recovery - Introduction

Day 3 is the Shakyamuni mantra. Shakyamuni is the name of the historical Buddha, Gautama, who lived in northern India two and half thousand years ago. He was a human being, like us, who through his own efforts gained a state of complete freedom called Awakening or Enlightenment. When we chant the Shakyamuni mantra we can bring to mind the Buddha’s wisdom and compassion. We can reflect that just as he found freedom, so can we. The mantra is chanted by the Songsters.

For more resources on recovery: www.thebuddhistcentre.com/eightsteps

21 Day Meditation For Recovery - 3. Shakyamuni Mantra

Day 15 is the Padmasambhava mantra. Padmasambhava is associated with taking Buddhism to Tibet and transforming demons. When we chant the Padmasambhava mantra we can think of our own demons – the difficult and often painful forces within us – being transformed. We can imagine asking Padmasambhava to help us with our struggles, freeing up and transforming our energies. The mantra is chanted by the Songsters.

For more resources on recovery: www.thebuddhistcentre.com/eightsteps

21 Day Meditation For Recovery - 15. Padmasambhava Mantra

Here’s a beautiful recording of the Karaniya Metta Sutta, the classic Buddhist source-text for Metta, or Loving-Kindness - and the theme of the upcoming Triratna Urban Retreat. It’s chanted in Pali by Joe Richardson at the end of Triratna’s 2012 International Retreat, as the Buddhafield team gathered under canvas at the end of the retreat. 

For more resources: www.thebuddhistcentre.com/urbanretreat

Subscribe to our podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-buddhist-centre-online/id498033013

The Karaniya Metta Sutta Chanted by Joe Richardson

Interview with Shantavira

Glass restoring and other early jobs

Becoming a mitra & Order member

First Encounters with FWBO

An extract from a strong puja from the 2014 Triratna International Council, also featuring an extract from the Avatamsaka Sutra, the Ratana Sutta, and the Refuges and Precepts and Shakyamuni Mantra chanted Indian style...

See our playlist: https://soundcloud.com/thebuddhistcentre/sets/triratna-international-puja

For more, + follow www.thebuddhistcentre.com/internationalcouncil

Subscribe to the podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-buddhist-centre-online/id498033013

Maitreya Mantra

A great story of passion and inspiration in a 1990s American Buddhist restaurant. The trials, triumphs and tremendous impact of running an ethical business on the lives of those who served and came of age in their Dharma practice together.

Join us for a ‘90s story of inspired Buddhist practice in Missoula, Montana - of great friendship, fierce love, burnout and life lessons learned in the fire of idealism and spiritual adventure. There’s nothing quite like going through a big experience together - and Tipu’s was a very big one for so many people as a new Buddhist community took root in the United States.

Founders Buddhapalita and Varada witness to the joys, trials, sacrifices and lasting consequences of starting the first (east) Indian restaurant and explicitly ethical Buddhist ‘Right Livelihood’ business in a small midwestern city. Old friends and colleagues, Aryadrishti and Viriiylila, bring their own accounts of fortitude, loss, abandonment and resolution to the reunion. Grief and cherishing, naivety and wisdom go hand in hand as we hear the tale of Tipu’s Tiger and how much it still means all these years later.

Listen to this beautifully, sometimes achingly, resonant conversation about the good that survives long after a shared project has fallen away. Listen closely, hang onto the tail of the tiger, and you can still almost taste the best chai and channa this side of Mumbai…

Recorded in Ahuatepec, Mexico, October 2023.

This week’s guests
Aryadrishti
Buddhapalita
Varada
Viriyalila

Read the show notes and + follow the podcast:
https://audioboom.com/posts/8403012-the-tale-of-tipu-s-tiger

***

Visit The Buddhist Centre Live (events year-round on Buddhism, mindfulness, meditation, and culture): thebuddhistcentre.com/live

Come meditate with us online any week day!
thebuddhistcentre.com/stories/toolkit/meditation/

Theme music by Ackport! Used with kind permission.
https://soundcloud.com/rascal-press/06-make-room-for-fun

The Buddhist Centre Podcast

Download & Subscribe

The Tale Of Tipu's Tiger

Recordings of ceremonies used in the Triratna Buddhist Community.  Translated and recorded by Ligita Montvilaitė

Three - Fold Puja In Lithuanian

The Refuges And Precepts In Lithuanian

The Dedication Ceremony In Lithuanian

Journey into love and the amazing potential for freedom of heart and mind with us...

In this latest episode of the Buddhist Centre podcast, we are delighted to welcome back Tejananda, one of the most experienced meditation teachers within the Triratna Buddhist Community. Tejananda will be bringing insights from decades of practice to his upcoming Home Retreat on The Buddhist Centre Live, ‘Emptiness and Compassion: The Divine Abodes’, starting March 29th. 

The retreat is part of a trilogy (so far!) exploring the Buddhist concept and experience of ‘emptiness’ (shunyata - pointing to the lack of an “objectively” fixed essence or selfhood in anything). This time around we are approaching the great field of contemplation and reflection from the meditative perspective of the 'divine abodes' (brahma viharas)—unconditional love, compassion, joy, and equanimity–all seen as pathways to liberating the mind. By cultivating these beautiful qualities, Tejananda says, we can find a larger context for our afflictive emotions—craving, hatred, and ignorance—and in the process gradually find unveiled the uncultivated, unlimited, and unconditional nature of them as ways to engage with ourselves, with other beings and with reality itself. 

Tejananda is interested in a non-abstract, earthed, experiential relationship to ‘emptiness', and in the transformative power of compassion for our consciousness. The ensuing conversation opens a seam of truly rich material: from constructed realities (yes, we talk about the Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest) to how we can work with difficult emotions, to the relief of resting in a developing experience that we are fundamentally okay. Even as we are all subject to impermanence in the luminous emptiness of this reality, “Let there be unconditional love” is Tejananda’s quietly encouraging rallying call. 

This is a fascinating glimpse into the work waiting for us when we close our eyes in meditation, experience more fully sensed and in potentially higher resolution than any fancy-pants headset can render!

+ Follow the podcast, book the retreat and get the show notes:
https://audioboom.com/posts/8459356-a-luminous-emptiness-meditating-and-loving-in-reality-with-tejananda

***

Visit The Buddhist Centre Live (events year-round on Buddhism, mindfulness, meditation, and culture): thebuddhistcentre.com/live

Come meditate with us online any week day!
thebuddhistcentre.com/stories/toolkit/meditation/

Theme music by Ackport! Used with kind permission.
https://soundcloud.com/rascal-press/06-make-room-for-fun

+ Follow the podcast

A Luminous Emptiness - Meditating And Loving In Reality with Tejananda

Dr. Andrew Skilton delivers this remarkably clear and engaging introduction to the Three Yanas of Buddhism: the Sravakayana (or Hinayana), the Mahayana and the Vajrayana, and considers different models for understanding them.

The Three Yanas of Buddhism: their development and characteristics

Kamalashila is dying. So are we - we are dying. Really. 

In this recent conversation with Kamalashila following his diagnosis of terminal cancer - and in the closing guided meditation reflecting on death - this is the core theme to which we keep returning: the value of familiarising ourselves with our impermanence: dying and death are going to happen to every single one of us. As Kamalashila says, “Taking it out of the taboo cupboard”.

We hear Kamalashila’s perspective starting out on what he refers to in his cancer blog as “A Voyage into the Unknown”. What it’s like to be in relationship to other people’s responses as he himself comes to terms with what’s happening. What he is carrying with him by way of reflections on a path of Buddhist practice, regrets in relationship to his own Dharma life and community, and thoughts on the nature of sangha itself.  Exploring how, as Buddhists, as humans, we can work effectively with the intimations of our own mortality that are there if we only choose to look.

We revisit the themes of previous conversations: modes of Buddhist practice and ways of seeing community; the effect of landscape as a space of practice; the ongoing life of a particular spiritual context (the Triratna Buddhist Order) and his sense of sometimes being “a square peg in a round hole” within it. We hear Kamalashila’s sense of Triratna’s history, its up and downs, its many gifts, its changes for better or worse, its historical dynamics, its tensions and contradictions - all with a temperamental leaning towards personal agency in practice, trust in community, and finding unity through diversity. 

The exchanges here are grounded in Kamalashila’s present experience - but his thoughts on the past are naturally part of it. And as anyone who knows him might expect, we are never too far from his sense of depth connection to the importance of playful, curious, committed meditation practice and teaching, one of the great love’s of his 50+ years as a Buddhist. Whether he’s talking about life back in the London of his childhood or the nature of agnosticism in relation to the teaching of Padmasambhava, Kamalashila is always a good companion in attending to what matters.

This is a fascinating and generous hour of engaged conversation - followed by a beautiful 20 minute gently guided reflection on how our bodies and our consciousness (parsed by Kamalashila as “manifesting a world”) might, in time, come into relationship with our own dying and death.

***

+ Follow the podcast and get the show notes with links: https://audioboom.com/posts/8520575-mindfulness-of-death-and-dying-kamalashila-in-conversation-with-guided-meditation

***

Visit The Buddhist Centre Live (events year-round on Buddhism, mindfulness, meditation, and culture): thebuddhistcentre.com/live

Come meditate with us online any week day!
thebuddhistcentre.com/stories/toolkit/meditation/

Theme music by Ackport! Used with kind permission.
https://soundcloud.com/rascal-press/06-make-room-for-fun

Follow and download

Mindfulness of Death and Dying (Kamalashila in Conversation with Guided Meditation)

Ratnavandana leads a full practice of the second of the Brahma Viharas, the Cultivation of Compassion (Karuna Bhavana) in the face of suffering. Strong, necessary medicine for the heart and mind...

All this weekend and next week (March 13th-21st 2015) we’ll be bringing teaching and blogs from the Rainy Season Urban Retreat that starts this evening in Bristol, UK. The theme is ‘Living In the Mandala’ and we’ll be exploring the Brahma Viharas and how they correlate with the Five Buddha Mandala.

Follow the retreat and take part online: thebuddhistcentre.com/features/livin…retreat-online

03 Guided Karuna Bhavana Practice

02 Ayya Khema And Nyanaponika Thera On Compassion; The Stages Of The Karuna Bhavana

01 Intro to Karuna; Dalai Lama And Sangharakshita On Karuna And Metta; Our Attitute To Suffering

Ratnavandana again with an inspiring take on the third Brahma Vihara - mudita (sympathetic joy), which she renders as a "joyful resonance". Her central image is of the lark ascending, the music of its song, and the possibilities for joy within us if we choose them...

March 13th-21st 2015 we’ll be bringing teaching and blogs from the Rainy Season Urban Retreat that starts this evening in Bristol, UK. The theme is ‘Living In the Mandala’ and we’ll be exploring the Brahma Viharas and how they correlate with the Five Buddha Mandala.

Follow the retreat and take part online: thebuddhistcentre.com/features/livin…retreat-online

04 Guided Practice Of The Mudita Bhavana - Cultivation Of Sympathetic Joy With Others

01 Introduction To Mudita - A Joyful Resonance; Rejoicing In What Goes Well In Our Practice

Ratnavandana introduces and guides us through the practice of cultivating equanimity. Not a cool, detached state but a deep warm engagement with the practice of love, compassion and joy held in the perspective of the Buddha's insights into the nature of reality itself... 

March 13th-21st 2015 we’ll be bringing teaching and blogs from the Rainy Season Urban Retreat that starts this evening in Bristol, UK. The theme is ‘Living In the Mandala’ and we’ll be exploring the Brahma Viharas and how they correlate with the Five Buddha Mandala.

Follow the retreat and take part online: thebuddhistcentre.com/features/livin…retreat-online

03 Guided Meditation - The Upekkha Bhavana (cultivation Of Equanimity)

A selection of beautiful lead-ins to meditation from Day 7 of the Rainy Season Retreat on 'Living In the Mandala - the Brahma Viharas' from Spring 2015, which took place in Bristol and around the world online!

Catch up on all posts from this retreat:
https://thebuddhistcentre.com/tags/rainy-season-retreat-2015

Vairocana Mantra

A beautiful performance (on only 2 rehearsals!) from the on-site choir as part of the weekend celebrating both the Arts  in spiritual life and the 90th birthday of Urgyen Sangharakshita.

For more: www.thebuddhistcentre.com/tags/conscious-surrender

04 Milarepa's Eight Wonderful Examples by Vipulakirti followed by Avalokiteshvara Mantra

Rounding off the opening day of the 2016 Triratna International Council, a treat from the team of members of the Order representing India. The Karaniya Metta Sutta - source of the loving kindness practice central to Triratna's approach to Buddhism and meditation - chanted beautifully in the gathering dark at Adhisthana.

For more: www.thebuddhistcentre.com/internationalcouncil

Chanting The Karaniya Metta Sutta

The mantra of the Bodhisattva Manjusri, whose great sword of kindly wisdom cuts thorough the heart of all ignorance and confusion.

Om A Ra Pa Ca Na Dhih

Read more about the mantra: http://www.wildmind.org/mantras/figures/manjushri 

Manjusri Mantra Chanted at the Triratna International Council 2016

The mantra of the Buddha Shakyamuni, chanted as part of the opening ceremony at the 2016 Triratna International Order Convention.

For more: www.thebuddhistcentre.com/features

Shakyamuni Mantra (Indian Style)

Recorded at the 2016 Triratna International Convention. 

For more: www.thebuddhistcentre.com/features 

The ‘Bodhichitta’ is sometimes rendered as the ‘will to Enlightenment’ or the ‘heart-mind of Enlightenment’ - signifying the complete dedication of our efforts to cultivate wisdom and compassion, in line with the Buddha’s teachings, making no distinction between our own well-being and that of others. In that sense the development of Bodhichitta is a truly communal practice, and might even be said to arise on a collective basis. The mantra captures a flavor of what that might mean and the joy implied.

Bodhichitta Mantra

The Green Tara mantra chanted on the 2016 Women's Triratna Order Convention. 

Green Tara Mantra

A very lovely recording of the Heart Sutra sung in Chinese, made at Taraloka Retreat Centre for women in Wales, UK.

The Heart Sutra Chanted in Chinese by Lee Chwee Siant

Yashobodhi is our guide for this year's Dharma immersion online and at Triratna Centres around the world as part of the 2018 International Practice Week. 

Here is a short guided tonglen meditation you can use all week to support going deeper with the seven-point mind training work Yashobodhi is exploring. A great, practical way to ground yourself and get an experience of why this kind of practice matters and how it works. 

This meditation is particularly referenced in point 2 when looking at the Bodhichitta as a frame of reference.

Follow and connect with others at the online space for this year's retreat:

https://thebuddhistcentre.com/international-practice-week

With thanks to West London Buddhist Centre.

Triratna International Practice Week 2018 - Seven-Point Mind Training

Seven Point Mind Training - Guided Tonglen Practice

The chanting of the Shakyamuni mantra, associated with the historical Buddha on the first evening of the 2019 Triratna International Gathering.

A beautiful arrival, Adhisthana looking like Hobbiton, the sun shining, beautiful people, an awesome shrine in the big tent provided by Buddhafield... What more could we want?

Join us and 250 people all weekend for the International Gathering, as "live" as we can make it over some very rural broadband! 👨🏽‍💻

Dharma talks, wonderful sangha, workshops, podcasts, music, ritual, discussion, love under the summer skies. 🙏🏻 ❤️

Follow on: https://thebuddhistcentre.com/internationalretreat

Shakyamuni Mantra - First Evening, Triratna International Gathering 2019

In the third and final talk from the 2019 Triratna International Gathering, Prasadacarin explores the theme of 'transforming world'. Taking 'everything is burning with the three fires of greed, hatred and delusion' as his starting point, he poses the question: what are the alternatives to these fires?

The three jewels of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha are a framework that could transform the world and Prasadacarin draws out what each jewel or refuge can offer. 

Building on the previous days' themes of transforming self and transforming through Sangha, Prasadacarin expresses the conviction  that making the Dharma available is our main responsibility and shares his confidence will help fundamentally change society for the better.

For more: thebuddhistcentre.com/internationalretreat

Prasadacarin - Transforming World (Triratna International Gathering 2019)

A sevenfold puja with all the trimmings, including an extended reading of Pingiya's Praises of the Way to the Beyond. We also have the ethical precepts and the Heart Sutra recited in many languages, a gorgeous violin introduction and some lovely mantra chanting to stir the heart to practice.

Recorded at Adhisthana, August 2019.

14 Closing Mantras

13 Padmasambhava Mantra And Offerings

10 The Heart Sutra In Sanskrit

Here are two wonderfully passionate members of the Order talking across generations about the need to open up effective pathways of commitment for young people as they connect and engage with the possibilities in a Buddhist life. 

Subhadramati has pioneered such pathways for women for many years at the London Buddhist Centre, one of the biggest Centres in Europe. She discusses her plans for 2020 to start a women's community in London where she and a few experienced friends will share a home with several younger women exploring the Buddhist path. 

Prajnaketu, the convener of young Buddhist activities in Triratna for Europe, shares what he thinks worked for him as a young person in Oxford investigating the Dharma life and wanting to take initiative as part of his practice. What follows is a great, urgent conversation about the ways in which young people can be encouraged, given space and allowed to find their voice. 

Recorded at the Triratna International Council in England, September 2019.

Prajnaketu & Subhadramati - Encouraging Young People On The Path

The Buddhist Centre Online is the home on the web for the Dharma Toolkit from the Triratna Buddhist Community. Thanks for supporting us as we work to keep you and many thousands of people around the world connected to community throughout the crisis ! 🙏🏻

The Buddhist Centre

Popular tracks