Ashoka the Great - Buddhist Emperor of India

This is taken from the BBC radio 4 program "In Our Time" with Melvyn Bragg.

Melvyn and his guests discuss the Indian Emperor Ashoka. Active in the 3rd century BC, Ashoka conquered almost all of the landmass covered by modern-day India, creating the largest empire South Asia had ever known. After his campaign of conquest he converted to Buddhism, and spread the religion throughout his domain. His edicts were inscribed on the sides of an extraordinary collection of stone pillars spread far and wide across his empire, many of which survive today. Our knowledge of ancient India and its chronology, and how this aligns with the history of Europe, is largely dependent on this important set of inscriptions, which were deciphered only in the nineteenth century.

With:
Jessica Frazier Lecturer in Religious Studies at the University of Kent and a Research Fellow at the

Oxford
Centre for Hindu Studies.

Naomi Appleton Chancellor's Fellow in Religious Studies at the University of Edinburgh.









and
Richard Gombrich Founder and Academic Director of the Oxford
Centre for Buddhist Studies and Emeritus Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford.





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IOT Ch'an & Zen

This is the program featured in the post Zen "In Our Time".

"Some of you may have heard Melvyn Bragg's Radio 4 program, "In Our Time" this morning in which the subject discussed was Zen Buddhism. If you did you will have learnt precious little about Zen or indeed Buddhism!"



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The Role Of Devotion

Following on from our visit to Cittaviveka, the Thereavada Buddhist Monastery at Chithurst on Sunday, this talk is particularly pertinent. While we were at the monastry we attended a lay forum on the subject of devotion.

When I ran my podcast download software today there was this talk, "The Role Of Devotion" by Ajahn Brahmali of the Bodhinyana monastery in Perth, Western Australia....... yes, that monastery!



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The Buddha; from In Our Time with Melvyn Brag

The life of Siddhartha Gautama and the legacy of his teachings. With Peter Harvey, Kate Crosby
and Mahinda Deegalle.





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Guided Heart Forgiveness And Compassion meditation by Tara Brach

This guided meditation by Tara Brach was used at our Autumn meditation retreat.



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Your Best Brain by Rick Hanson

Rick Hanson is a neuropsychologist and has written and taught about the essential inner skills of personal well-being, psychological growth, and contemplative practice – as well as about relationships, family life, and raising children.

An authority on self-directed neuroplasticity, Dr. Hanson’s work has been featured on the BBC, NPR, CBC, FoxBusiness, Consumer Reports Health, U.S. News and World Report, and O Magazine, and his articles have appeared in Tricycle Magazine, Insight Journal, and Inquiring Mind. He has several audio programs with Sounds True, he edits the Wise Brain Bulletin, and his weekly e-newsletter – Just One Thing – has over 75,000 subscribers, and also appears on Huffington Post, Psychology Today, and other major websites.




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Daoism

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Daoism. An ancient Chinese tradition of philosophy and religious belief,
Daoism first appeared more than two thousand years ago. For centuries it was the most popular religion in China; in the West its religious aspects are not as well known as its practices, which include meditation and Feng Shui, and for its most celebrated text, the Daodejing.

The central aim in Daoism is to follow the 'Dao', a word which roughly translates as 'The Way'. Daoists believe in following life in its natural flow, what they refer to as an 'effortless action'. This transcendence can be linked to Buddhism, the Indian religion that came to China in the 2nd century BC and influenced Daoism - an exchange which went both ways. Daoism is closely related to, but has also at times conflicted with, the religion of the Chinese Imperial court, Confucianism.

The spirit world is of great significance in Daoism, and its hierarchy and power often take precedence over events and people in real life. But how did this ancient and complex religion come to be so influential?



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