Tarapalita opens up the spring Great Gathering 2025 by telling the life story of the Buddha up to his enlightenment, focussing on the 4 sights with honest and real equivalents in Tarapalita's own life.

Padmavajra concludes the Spring Great Gathering 2025 with a talk that elucidates the mysterious experience of the Buddha's enlightenment. Following on from Tarapalita's talk.

In this talk, given at the start of the annual Padmaloka winter retreat, Padmavajra explores Vimalakirti's famous 'homily on the body', urging us not to rely on our fragile body, but instead aspire to the creation of the Body of the Tathagatha. Then, Padmavajra speaks on Vimalakirti's well known teaching on the 'sickness of Bodhisattvas' and that for a Bodhisattva the world "consists only of living beings". Finally, Padmavajra tells us about the Devi that lives in Vimalakirti's house and what she tells us about the wonders of that house.

Referencing the cosmic vision of the Buddha in the first chapter of the Vimalakirti Nirdesa, Vidyadaka gives attention to the vital importance of vision in the dharma life and outlines the difference between mundane vision, envisagement and the Perfect Vision of the Buddha. The talk ends with descriptions of some of Bhante's visions and the key visions in the Buddhist tradition.

Using Milarepa and Rechungpas' relationship as a basis, Aryajit explores what it means to be a disciple and the role of devotion in the modern world. Talk given on the Father's retreat at Padmaloka November 2024.

Ratnagosha completes the series by looking at the parable of the return journey.

Ratnagosha moves into chapter 2 of the white lotus sutra and the parable of the burning house.

Ratnagosha continues the series with an introduction to the white lotus sutra focussing on chapter 1.

Ratnagosha opens up a series of talks looking into the White Lotus Sutra by exploring the topic of imagination.

Maitrinara expounds on a verse of the white lotus sutra at the autumn Great Gathering 2024, Exploring the image of the great raincloud of the dharma. Sharing from lived experience the arising of his own relief, courage, and Shraddha upon hearing the dharma; Maitrinara delivers a talk that calls upon us to endeavour to respond to the Dharma as fully as we can.

Padmavajra gives a personal account of the history of his going for refuge, interweaving his broad inspirations and laced with myth, stories of Bhante and Dr. Ambedkar, and from his own time in India.

"This favourable moment, extremely hard to meet, has arrived. Once met, it yields the welfare of all beings. If the advantage is not taken now, when will this meeting come again? Padmavajra explores the importance of realising how precious our human existence is and how we must do all that we can to develop in the direction of Enlightenment.

Padmavajra explores the profound lines from Sangharakshita's Dedication Ceremony:

"Here seated, here practising

My our mind become Buddha,

May our thought become Dharma

May our communication with one another be Sangha"

Recorded at the Autumn Going for Refuge weekend retreat, September 2024.

This talk looks at the parable of the Jewel in the Garment from the White Lotus Sutra and explores jewel symbolism elsewhere in the Lotus Sutra and in Buddhism more broadly

In this talk, Padmavajra insists that for there to be harmony in the Sangha, we must be active, especially active in the cultivation of metta to one another in bodily, vocal and mental actions. Padmavajra takes up the the Buddha's teaching to the Sangha of 'the six memorable qualities that create love and respect and conduce to helpfulness, to non-dispute, to concord, and to unity.'

Just after the new order member has been given their kesa, the Public Preceptor recites the Acceptance Verses in call and response with the new order member reciting afterwards. These verses, sometimes called ordination vows, embody the spirit in which the ordination has been given and received. In this talk Padmavajra communicates his understanding of the first of these verses. He talks about a conversation he had with Sangharakshita about the verses, this verse, in particular. padmavajra discusses the nature of loyalty and faith, as well as who the teachers are. He also explores the meaning of being a disciple, what it means to have a 'Perfect Master' and many other things besides.

Arthakusalin praises being in Padmaloka as the very right place to talk about a journey home. He shares one of his deepest samskaras, a deep engrained feeling of not being worth to live, he talks about revaluing myths in the context of meaning, about becoming more healed and wholesome through going into a personal relationship with a Buddha or Bodhisattva, about the effectiveness of the Dharma in growing into a happy, healthy, human being - something we nowadays maybe too often see as synonymous with therapy.

Padmavajra explores the Parable of the Return Journey. A parable told by the Arhat Mahakashyapa and other senior disciples of the Buddha. This is their response to the Buddha's revelation. Padmavajra explores the emotive power of the story of a lost son, returning to his father. He places the story in its context, including the nature of Mahakashyapa himself. Above all, Padmavajra places the story in the context of the Bodhisattva ideal.

In this talk given at a Mythic Context retreat at Padmaloka, Padmavajra speaks very personally about what he understands the mythic context to mean. In the course of his meanderings, he talks about life itself, the three kinds of transmission, of the Dharma, teachers and disciples and much else besides.

The Burning House - all is burning with greed, hatred and delusion. How to break our of the burning house, not just for our own benefit but for all. Talk given in February 2024 during a Great Gathering.