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Title: The Tao Te Ching

Subtitle: The Classic of the Tao and Its Power

Author: Man Ho Kwok, Jay Ramsay, Martin Palmer

Narrator: Nigel Hawthorne

Format: Abridged

Length: 1 hr and 16 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-09-08

Publisher: Mark Forstater

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 51 votes

Genres: Religion & Spirituality, Buddhism & Eastern Religions

Publisher's Summary:

In 80 short chapters, it reveals a profound view of the Tao, a unique and satisfying way of life and nature. This revered collection of wise sayings and commentaries is a complete guide to living the sagely life and finding a calm and tranquil center in the midst of the chaos and stress of 21st-century life.

Members Reviews:

Excellent review of basic Tao precepts

Mr Hawthorn preformed brilliantly in conveying the illusory theme of the Tao Te Ching in an understandable fashion .

One of my favorite translations

I find this translation clear of the most Nigel Hawthorn's narration adds to the charm of the translation.

Sound sound!

Excellent reading by Nigel Hawthorne, well worth getting. An easy to listen to voice giving a fine interpretation of ancient words of wisdom.

classic - well narrated

If you could sum up The Tao Te Ching in three words, what would they be?

Very abstract, but have listened to it many time. Shame it is abridged

Who was your favorite character and why?

Those who speak, do not know, Those who know, do not speak.

What does Nigel Hawthorne bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you had only read the book?

Great actor, gives a very good performance of a classic text

classic recording of a national treasure

excellent performance of superb translation of immortal wisdom teaching - always loved it, always will

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Title: Sundara Kandam

Author: Pazhaniappan Pazha

Narrator: Sundararaman S

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 14 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-10-08

Publisher: New Horizon Media

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 11 votes

Genres: Religion & Spirituality, Buddhism & Eastern Religions

Publisher's Summary:

The Sundara kandam has a value of its own. The essence of the entire Ramayana has been encapsulated in the Sundarakandam. It is the story of Sita and Hanuman's bhakti.

Hanuman goes to Sri Lanka, meets Sita in the Asokavana, comforts her, and gives her the courage to be tenacious. After this meeting he goes to the palace of Ravana and tries to dissuade him from his chosen course of action, by telling him about Rama's prowess. When all his persuasion fails, he sets fire to Sri Lanka by means of his tail, which Ravana has set fire to. He thus rids Sri Lanka of some of its evil-doers. When you realise that all of this was achieved by the simple power of his faith in Rama's name, there is a natural onrush of faith in the name and the belief that all troubles vanish with its repetition.

It may not be possible for everyone to read and understand Kamban's version of the Ramayana. But the same beautiful effect has been achieved by Pazha. Pazhaniappan's simple but sweet rendition of the Sundara Kandam. It is certain to invoke feelings of faith, unalloyed happiness, and peace.

This audiobook offers another attraction. It also contains a short exposition on the benefits of reading Sundara Kandam and the method of reading it. Listen to this wonderful tale of bakthi and sacrifice.

Members Reviews:

Superb narration

Would you consider the audio edition of Sundara Kandam to be better than the print version?

Yes ofcourse, I have read the print version of the same Sundara Kandam written by Pazhaniappan Pazha. This audio book is better than print version (paper back) as listening is always better than reading.

What did you like best about this story?

Fifth of the six sections from famous epic Ramayana. All time best story.

Which character as performed by Sundararaman S was your favorite?

Hanuman - Sundara kandam.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Nil

Any additional comments?

Appreciate to have such audio conversion from paper back. Happy to hear more audio conversion on similar religous stories.

Excellent narration of a classic

Loved the story always.

Now love the narration even better. Clear tamil and precise pronounciation.

Good narrator.

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Title: Siththamellam Sivamayam

Author: Uma Sampath

Narrator: Jothi Aranga

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 36 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-09-08

Publisher: New Horizon Media

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: Religion & Spirituality, Buddhism & Eastern Religions

Publisher's Summary:

If we want to define Siddhas in a word, they are "marmayogis", in possession of the great secret of living, not easily understood by ordinary men. They have understood the meaning of the cycle of birth and death. They have directly experienced the divine by means of their meditative powers. But despite their detachment, they are full of love and goodwill for ordinary men.

Siddhas have taken human birth only to hold up a mirror for the self-development of ordinary individuals. They have shown the infinite treasure house of self knowledge.

The siddha system of medicine is synonymous with the Tamil system. The mushrooming of yoga centers all over the country owes its genesis to their system of medicine.

They have performed several wondrous deeds. For example, walking on water and fire, flying in air, leaving one body and assuming another, transforming ordinary earth to gold, these are some of the things they have shown. Whole mountains have been transformed into gold.

A siddha saint who lived the life of an ordinary goatherd shook the nine planets. It was a siddha saint who helped Raja Raja Chozhan to install a lingam in the Thanjavur temple.

In Srirangam, the presiding deity happily gifted his jewels and another siddha saint controlled Kali in a cemetery. Yet another siddha saint dug a secret underground passage to Palani in order to clarify his doubts.

Siddha saints have worked many great deeds. Listen to this audio explanation of the greatness of Siddha saints. You too will be electrified by it.

Members Reviews:

Good information

Good information and a very interesting listen. A worth listening while driving in car. Thanks so much for this book.

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Title: Buddha is as Buddha Does

Subtitle: The 10 Original Practices for Enlightened Living

Author: Lama Surya Das

Format: Original Recording

Length: 5 hrs and 8 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-02-07

Publisher: Sounds True

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 57 votes

Genres: Religion & Spirituality, Buddhism & Eastern Religions

Critic Reviews:

"An accomplished Western interpreter of the Tibetan branch of Buddhism, which has its arcane aspects, Surya Das explains each of the 10 virtues, offering numerous exercises and tips to apply his teaching. This is all firmly grounded in traditional stories and the examples of historical figures in Buddhism. Surya Das also offers examples of Westerners who embody these virtues, from the Catholic saint Damien, who worked with lepers on the Hawaiian island of Molokai, to Oprah Winfrey, a model of shrewd and skillful action." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Book Great! Sound aweful

While the content of this book is great. I will probably go buy the print version. The sound quality was terrible. I was constantly having to turn the volume up as the voice trailed off.Then quickly had to turn back down as the voice vibrated my eardrums this process had to be repeated throughout the entire book.

Puts the heart into mindfulness meditation

Would you listen to Buddha is as Buddha Does again? Why?

I have listened to this book twice already, and intend to listen to it many more times to come. I have practiced mindfulness meditation for multiple decades, and have become increasingly proficient over the years with concentration on a pre-defined object of focus. That has brought a calm and equanimity that pervades my life.However, I have always struggled with the lack of heart, warmth, empathy, and love in my practice. I believe in such values, and certainly the mindfulness teachings mention the importance of bodhichitta, compassion, metta, etc. But it was always conspicuously lacking in my practice. Lama Surya Das puts the bodhisattva values at the forefront, making the timeless truths of love, generosity, and understanding somehow palpable. His words echoed in my mind and heart throughout the days I was listening to the book, and beyond. I have come to hold the bodhisattva idea on an equal footing with mindfulness itself, and have even experimented with meditating on the sensations of generosity and other pure emotions. I feel like new opportunities in meditation have been laid out before me thanks to this book's creativity-inducing message and presentation.The book addressed the paradox of being warm yet detached with true understanding. I have always been troubled by this and other ostensible contradictions in Buddhism, but he points them out and clarifies them, without providing any pat answers. Somehow, I felt something approaching an answer in my heart, even if I couldn't say what verbally.LSD speaks with such confidence and conviction, without ever preaching. There is not a trace of guilt-tripping or shaming in this book. He has so much understanding for the limitations of his readers, yet seems to hold us in high esteem! What a great man and teacher.

This should be required reading.

Why become a Buddhist when you can become the Buddha?!these are words to live by now and forever. Namaste.

Endless Replay Value, Timeless Wisdom

I'm busy today but I feel obligated to take some time out and leave a review on this marvellous audio book.

This is one audio book I can listen to again and again. It's jam-packed with wisdom, little stories, sayings, quotes, insights etc.

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Title: Confucianism and Taoism

Author: Dr. Julia Ching

Narrator: Ben Kingsley

Format: Unabridged

Length: 2 hrs and 56 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-31-06

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 55 votes

Genres: Religion & Spirituality, Buddhism & Eastern Religions

Publisher's Summary:

The Religion, Scriptures, and Spirituality series describes the beliefs, religious practices, and the spiritual and moral commitments of the world's great religious traditions. It also describes a religion's way of understanding scripture, identifies its outstanding thinkers, and discusses its attitude and relationship to society.

Members Reviews:

Not Deep Enough for these Subjects

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. But only for those with some Chinese history background.

Would you recommend Confucianism and Taoism to your friends? Why or why not?

Good starting point to understand the interaction of these religions

Which scene was your favorite?

Not applicable. The discussion of early Taoism is fascinating.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. The material is way to deep and thought provoking for one sitting.

Any additional comments?

A good starting place to understand the original and progression of both religions. You should know a fair amount about Chinese history to appreciate this book although some superficial comparisons to Western religions and philosophies are included.

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Title: Buddhism

Author: Dr. Winston King

Narrator: Ben Kingsley

Format: Unabridged

Length: 2 hrs and 59 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-20-06

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 58 votes

Genres: Religion & Spirituality, Buddhism & Eastern Religions

Publisher's Summary:

The Religion, Scriptures, and Spirituality series describes the beliefs, religious practices, and the spiritual and moral commitments of the world's great religious traditions. It also describes a religion's way of understanding scripture, identifies its outstanding thinkers, and discusses its attitude and relationship to society.

Members Reviews:

well written and well spoken

his work is well written and equally well narrated by Ben Kingsley. The only place where I did not agree with the author was when he said that Brahmanical "Moksha" was renamed to "Nirvana" by Buddha and its ritualistic dependence was de-emphasized by Buddha. This is not fully accurate, IMHO. All pre-Buddhist Upnishads had essentially said the same thing as Buddha when they said that rituals do not lead to "Moksha" and it can be attained only through knowledge of Brahman acquired through meditation and self-reflection. This is why the ritual section of Vedas is called "Karma Kanda" , or "Ritual Section" and liberation or "Moksha" related section of Vedas , i.e., Upnishads/Vedanta is called "Jnana Kanda" or "Knowlege Section". In Buddha's time the corrupted Brahmin clergy emphasized mainly the "Karma Kanda" section of Vedas, ignoring the "Jnana Kanda" section which has a higher authority within vedic framework. So there was nothing radically different in Buddha de-emphasizing the need of rituals for Moksha or Nirvana. It was more of revival of an earlier Vedantic Sharaminic tradition, rather than a revolt against it, which was very much also a part of Brahmanism even before Buddha. Upnishads were a product of this tradition much before Buddha appeared on scene. What Buddha did that was a bit radical was to open the gates of this teaching for all and sundry rather than keeping it esoteric and restricted to certain groups.

The book has been written with a great deal scholarly rigour and is far superior to other works on Buddhism written by hobby Buddhists or some other New-Age teachers based on their own self-projections (on what Buddha ought to have been ... like being a "rebel", "atheist", "rationalist", etc) rather than on what the academic facts say. This work has neutral tone which is very good.

I recommend this book.

Understanding Buddhism

This book was exactly what I was looking for. I wanted to know the history of Buddhism and this book said it beautifully. I have shared this story with my mom who listens to it regularly while she works with her plants. If ever I wish to be at peace with my day, listening to this story changes my outlook and brings my mind at ease. I have also listened to "The Middle Way (Unabridged): The Story of Buddhism" which I also love.

A meaningful introduction

I heard this by chance - Not particularly looking for Buddhism but in general seeking anything that would stimulate my long driving journeys everyday. This rendering of Buddhism will defintiely waken up one's dormant intellect towards asking some relevant and improtant questions. My interst in Buddhism has now grown 10 times. Infact I started hearing the another book I had downloaded long back about similar thinking 'The Power of Now'. Now I am once again a seeker in my life.

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Title: The Consequences of Love

Subtitle: Hands and Eyes of the Great Bodhisattva of Compassion

Author: Geoffrey Shugen Arnold Sensei

Narrator: Geoffrey Shugen Arnold Sensei

Format: Original Recording

Length: 44 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-19-06

Publisher: Dharma Communications

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 12 votes

Genres: Religion & Spirituality, Buddhism & Eastern Religions

Publisher's Summary:

Pick up a newspaper or turn on the television, and you're bound to see suffering. And it's not just on the news; we struggle with great and small issues all the time, as do our families and friends. How do we respond to the cries of the world? There's so much suffering that it often seems easier to retreat into distance and cold-heartedness, but each of us is born with the ability to give. When we allow that giving to happen naturally, something comes to life: we learn to listen to the cries of the world with our whole body and mind, and we see how easy it is to turn things around with simple actions and gifts. To really take on the responsibility of caring, to willingly accept the consequences of love, transforms our lives entirely.

Zen Buddhism emphasizes zazen, or seated meditation, as the means to study the self and understand who we truly are. Dharma talks are an essential aspect of Zen training and take place in the context of zazen. Said to be "dark to the mind and radiant to the heart", a dharma talk is one of the ways in which a teacher points directly to the heart of the teachings of the Buddha. In our meditation practice, it is easy to get lost in self-doubt, fantasy, numbness, and emotional agitation. Dharma talks help to ground our practice, providing inspiration and an essential recognition of exactly where we find ourselves, so that we can learn to face difficulties and obstacles with a free and flexible mind. This talk was given at Zen Mountain Monastery or the Zen Center of New York City of the Mountains and Rivers Order of Zen Buddhism, founded in 1980 by the late American Zen Master John Daido Loori, Roshi (1931-2009).

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Title: Reality Without Filters

Subtitle: Ching-Ching's Sound of Raindrops

Author: Geoffrey Shugen Arnold Sensei

Narrator: Geoffrey Shugen Arnold Sensei

Format: Original Recording

Length: 44 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-19-06

Publisher: Dharma Communications

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 15 votes

Genres: Religion & Spirituality, Buddhism & Eastern Religions

Publisher's Summary:

It's very difficult to experience life directly. Our conditioning and ordinary way of perceiving often creates a haze that prevents accurate perception. One of the most painful aspects of this fog is our feeling of separation; as a result of this misapprehension we follow after things and lose ourselves. The truth is that our inherent nature is one of unity. This unity is not something we have to accomplish; it's something we simply need to discover. Following the spiritual path helps loosen the hold of our conditioning and see reality as it truly is: clear, bright, and unhindered. This new vision helps us to navigate our own lives, and it also allows us to offer greater assistance to the world around us.

Zen Buddhism emphasizes zazen, or seated meditation, as the means to study the self and understand who we truly are. Dharma talks are an essential aspect of Zen training and take place in the context of zazen. Said to be "dark to the mind and radiant to the heart", a dharma talk is one of the ways in which a teacher points directly to the heart of the teachings of the Buddha. In our meditation practice, it is easy to get lost in self-doubt, fantasy, numbness, and emotional agitation. Dharma talks help to ground our practice, providing inspiration and an essential recognition of exactly where we find ourselves, so that we can learn to face difficulties and obstacles with a free and flexible mind. This talk was given at Zen Mountain Monastery or the Zen Center of New York City of the Mountains and Rivers Order of Zen Buddhism, founded in 1980 by the late American Zen Master John Daido Loori, Roshi (1931-2009).

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Title: Of Life and Death

Subtitle: Dasui's Fire Destroys the Universe

Author: Geoffrey Shugen Arnold Sensei

Narrator: Geoffrey Shugen Arnold Sensei

Format: Original Recording

Length: 53 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-19-06

Publisher: Dharma Communications

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 9 votes

Genres: Religion & Spirituality, Buddhism & Eastern Religions

Publisher's Summary:

What happens when we die? This is one of life's most puzzling questions, but is our preoccupation with death any different from our preoccupation with what's for dinner or our dentist appointment next week? It's a preoccupation with something other than where life is happening. If we want to know how to live, we have to study life; and if we want to know how to die, we have to study life as well, because the best way to prepare for death is to cultivate awareness of this moment. When we learn to slow down, we start to experience what is actually in front of us. This moment is the most profound thing we can see, and this deep seeing will change our relationship to both life and death.

Zen Buddhism emphasizes zazen, or seated meditation, as the means to study the self and understand who we truly are. Dharma talks are an essential aspect of Zen training and take place in the context of zazen. Said to be "dark to the mind and radiant to the heart", a dharma talk is one of the ways in which a teacher points directly to the heart of the teachings of the Buddha. In our meditation practice, it is easy to get lost in self-doubt, fantasy, numbness, and emotional agitation. Dharma talks help to ground our practice, providing inspiration and an essential recognition of exactly where we find ourselves, so that we can learn to face difficulties and obstacles with a free and flexible mind. This talk was given at Zen Mountain Monastery or the Zen Center of New York City of the Mountains and Rivers Order of Zen Buddhism, founded in 1980 by the late American Zen Master John Daido Loori, Roshi (1931-2009).

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Title: Metaphysical Meditations

Author: J. Donald Walters

Narrator: J. Donald Walters

Format: Original Recording

Length: 1 hr and 7 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-14-06

Publisher: Crystal Clarity Publishers

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 26 votes

Genres: Religion & Spirituality, Buddhism & Eastern Religions

Publisher's Summary:

All 13 selections are easy to follow and perfect for both beginning and experienced meditators. One of our most popular programs, this is a completely redesigned and remastered edition.

Members Reviews:

Just OK

I am not impressed with the Author/Narrators "mystical" meditation. The metaphysical title was not what I thought it would offer. I prefer Deepak Chopra's meditations. If you are a novice to meditation - start with Deepak Chopra's guided meditations.

Not for the begininers

I was initially impressed with the title MetaPhysical meditations and planned to try out it. But what has turned out is a big disappointment, I'm not happy with the content and the concept of the meditations talked in the tape. The author tries to get you into meditative stage without even taking you into a relaxed stage..its like a fast food meditation which doesn't works actually. The author asks you to open your eyes in between the meditation which is too distracting to me. I have heard Deepak Chopra, Glenn Harold, Shakti Gawain and personally try Meditations from other authors. I can not rate this tape being close to either of them.

Try it if you are an advanced user...and then may be you won't require it. If you are like most of others you'd not be very comfortable with it.

music

The guided meditations are very helpful and I would highly recommend this. my only issue is there are times the background music itself would cause issues, the music seems really out of place at points and causes a distraction. other than that, very good listen