Taradasa has narrated 5 audiobooks on Listento.it by 7 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.9★ across 332 ratings. The most-rated is The Audacity of Hope.
The Audacity of Hope
Summary
In July 2004, Barack Obama electrified the Democratic National Convention with an address that spoke to Americans across the political spectrum. Now, in The Audacity of Hope, Senator Obama calls for a different brand of politics: a politics for those weary of bitter partisanship and alienated by the "endless clash of armies" we see in Congress and on the campaign trail; a politics rooted in the faith, inclusiveness, and nobility of spirit at the heart of "our improbable experiment in democracy". He also speaks, with surprising intimacy and self-deprecating humor, about settling in as a senator, seeking to balance the demands of public service and family life, and his own deepening religious commitment. At the heart of this audiobook is Senator Obama's vision of how we can move beyond our divisions to tackle concrete problems. Underlying his stories about family, friends, members of the Senate, and even the president is a vigorous search for connection: the foundation for a radically hopeful political consensus. A senator and a lawyer, a professor and a father, a Christian and a skeptic, and above all a student of history and human nature, Senator Obama has written a book of transforming power.
©2006 Barack Obama (P)2006 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.
What the Buddha Taught
Summary
Long regarded as one of the best introductions to Buddhism, What the Buddha Taught draws on the actual words spoken by the Buddha to give a lucid and accurate account of the fundamental principles of Buddhist doctrine. Richly supported by extracts from the ancient texts, Walpola Rahula gives clear and direct explanations of Buddhism's essential teachings including: the Buddhist attitude of mind the Four Noble Truths The Noble Eightfold Path meditation and mental development what the Buddha taught and the world today. What the Buddha Taught also features an illustrative selection of texts from the Suttas and the Dhammapada. The Venerable Dr Walpola Sri Rahula was a Buddhist monk and scholar. He received a traditional training and education in his native Sri Lanka before studying at the University of Calcutta and the Sorbonne. He held a chair at Northwestern University, Illinois, and was Vice-Chancellor of Vidyodaya University, Colombo. He was widely regarded as one of the most qualified and enlightened scholars of the Buddhist tradition with a deep knowledge of the original texts.
©1959 The Estate of Walpola Sri Rahula (P)2016 Dharma Audiobooks
The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha
Summary
This book offers a complete translation of the Majjhima Nikaya, or Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, one of the major collections of texts in the Pali Canon, the authorised scriptures of Theravada Buddhism. This collection - among the oldest records of the historical Buddha's original teachings - consists of 152 suttas or discourses of middle length, distinguished as such from the longer and shorter suttas of the other collections. The Majjhima Nikaya might be concisely described as the Buddhist scripture that combines the richest variety of contextual settings with the deepest and most comprehensive assortment of teachings. These teachings, which range from basic ethics to instructions in meditation and liberating insight, unfold in a fascinating procession of scenarios that show the Buddha in living dialogue with people from many different strata of ancient Indian society: with kings and princes, priests and ascetics, simple villagers and erudite philosophers. Replete with drama, reasoned argument, and illuminating parable and simile, these discourses exhibit the Buddha in the full glory of his resplendent wisdom, majestic sublimity and compassionate humanity. The translation is based on an original draft translation left by the English scholar-monk Bhikkhu Ñanamoli, which has been edited and revised by the American monk Bhikkhu Bodhi, who provides a long introduction and helpful explanatory notes. Combining lucidity of expression with accuracy, this translation enables the Buddha to speak across 25 centuries in language that addresses the most pressing concerns of the contemporary listener seeking clarification of the timeless issues of truth, value and the proper conduct of life. Winner of the 1995 Choice Magazine Outstanding Academic Book Award and the Tricycle Prize for Excellence in Buddhist Publishing for Dharma Discourse.
©1995 Bhikkhu Bodhi (P)2019 Ukemi Productions Ltd
The Connected Discourses of the Buddha
Summary
This volume offers a complete translation of the Sam?yutta Nika¯ya, The Connected Discourses of the Buddha, the third of the four great collections in the Sutta Pitaka of the Pali Canon. The Sam?yutta Nika¯ya consists of 56 chapters, each governed by a unifying theme that binds together the Buddha's suttas or discourses. The chapters are organised into five major parts. The first, 'The Book with Verses', is a compilation of suttas composed largely in verse. This book ranks as one of the most inspiring compilations in the Buddhist canon, showing the Buddha in his full grandeur as the peerless 'teacher of gods and humans'. The other four books deal in depth with the philosophical principles and meditative structures of early Buddhism. They combine into orderly chapters all the important short discourses of the Buddha on such major topics as dependent origination, the five aggregates, the six sense bases, the seven factors of enlightenment, the Noble Eightfold Path and the Four Noble Truths. Among the four large Nikayas belonging to the Pali Canon, the Sam?yutta Nika¯ya serves as the repository for the many shorter suttas of the Buddha where he discloses his radical insights into the nature of reality and his unique path to spiritual emancipation. This collection, it seems, was directed mainly at those disciples who were capable of grasping the deepest dimensions of wisdom and of clarifying them for others, and also provided guidance to meditators intent on consummating their efforts with the direct realisation of the ultimate truth. The present work begins with an insightful general introduction to the Sam?yutta Nika¯ya as a whole. Each of the five parts is also provided with its own introduction, intended to guide the listener through this vast, ocean-like collection of suttas. Distinguished by its lucidity and technical precision, this new translation makes this ancient collection of the Buddha’s discourses accessible and comprehensible to the thoughtful listener of today. Like its two predecessors in this series, The Connected Discourses of the Buddha is sure to merit a place of honour in the library of every serious student of Buddhism. Bhikkhu Bodhi is an American Buddhist monk originally from New York City. Ordained in Sri Lanka in 1972, he has been for many years the president and editor of the Buddhist Publication Society in Kandy. His previous publications include several other important translations from the Pali Canon, including a revised and annotated version of Bhikkhu Ñanamoli’s translation of the Majjhima Nikaya, The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2000 Bhikkhu Bodhi (P)2020 Ukemi Productions Ltd
The Lotus Sutra
Summary
The Lotus Sutra is one of the most important Mahayana texts and the most widely read, chanted and revered, particularly in Asian Buddhist countries, notably China and Japan. It is the root text, so to speak, of the ‘Pure Land’ schools, which often regard it as the principal Buddhist sutra, the study and practice of which projects the participant along the path to nirvana. It is certainly a remarkable document, replete with the Mahayana characteristics of fantastical images, extraordinary appearances, magical happenings, views of time and space which are galactic in size and pronouncements which are definite, unequivocal, practical in some areas and dependent upon a faith commitment in others. First and foremost, it proclaims the one yana or vehicle of the Mahayana teaching as preeminent over other teachings, especially those following the paths of the sravakayana (the hearers - the bhikshus) and the pratyekabuddhas (those attaining enlightenment through a solitary path) but also the lay men and lay women. These are the ‘four classes of assembly’ who, according the Lotus Sutra, have been following the ‘preliminary’ teachings presented by the Buddha Sakyamuni as an ‘expedient’ (skilful means). The Lotus Sutra sees the Buddha, teaching from the Gridhrakuta, the Vulture Peak, the full teaching of the Mahayana which leads unerringly (if over aeons in larger numbers than the sands of the Ganges!) to nirvana. Contained within the 27 chapters are many of the principal Buddhist teachings seen in all the schools across the world: the four noble truths, the 12 nidana chain, the six paramitas or perfections; again and again the qualities of mindfulness, diligence, patience and spiritual vigour or energy are propounded - without these, nirvana is not attainable. In short, the path to enlightenment is not for the faint-hearted. Around these core teachings are magical stories of numerous Buddhas from different time eras appearing to support the teaching of Sakyamuni; bodhisattvas appearing from cracks in the ground; the Buddha Prabhutaratna, a Buddha of the far past, appearing in a jewelled stupa; celestial chariots flitting around the sky; and the familiar bodhisattvas of Manjusri, Maitreya, Bhaishajyaraja and many others all have a place in this ultimate cosmic drama. The Lotus Sutra is an extraordinary vision, far from the more practical, straightforward texts of the Pali Canon. For those not accustomed to extreme Mahayana images it can appear very strange indeed. But for those prepared to go with it, it is remarkably absorbing, with a particular charisma and, without belittling it, even charm. That said, it has not been without controversy in the Pure Land tradition, and its often-repeated insistence on its efficacy by some practitioners over the years has occasionally led it into controversial areas. Nevertheless, it is a pinnacle of world Buddhist literature. The Lotus Sutra was originally a Sanskrit text, Saddharma Pundarika, which is translated variously - here, it is The White Lotus Sutra of the True Dharma, though it is generally known by its short version. Its popularity in the East is based on a fifth-century translation by the respected Chinese translator Kumarajiva, and most of the recent English translations have come from this Chinese source. However, the first Western translations (from a Sanskrit text originating from Nepal) were by Eugène Burnouf into French in the 1852; and then, using the same source, by the Dutch translator Hendrik Kern into English in 1884. It is this Kern translation, largely still accepted as sound, that has provided the basis for this Dharma Audiobooks rendering. We have felt free to modernise the 19th-century language and clarified some of the technical terms, using words more current in 21st-century Buddhist circles; also, where Kern - not a practising Buddhist - seems to have been unclear about views or practices, these have been modernised. This new rendering, read with understanding and clarity by Taradasa, is the first time the Lotus Sutra has been available in English on audio in a professional production. To further aid the understanding and enjoyment of The Lotus Sutra, a PDF containing the entire recorded text is available with the download of the audio. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio on our desktop site.
©2019 Dharma Audiobooks (P)2019 Ukemi Productions Ltd