Audiobooks Narrated by Tejasvini

Principal Texts of the Khuddaka Nikaya: Volume 2

This is Volume 2 of Dharma Audiobooks' ground-breaking overview of Principal Texts of the Khuddaka Nikaya, the fifth section of the Sutta Pitaka in the Theravada Pali Canon. Far less known than the first four (Digha Nikaya, Majjhima Nikaya, Sa?yutta Nikaya, A?guttara Nikaya) perhaps because of its character as an anthology rather than a self-contained work, it nevertheless contains gems which are only too easily overlooked or even underappreciated! As with Volume 1, Volume 2 follows the traditional ordering of the individual works in the Khuddaka Nikaya, which makes for a curious, but invigorating collection. The first two texts, Therigatha and Theragatha, present the traditional histories of the bhikkhunis (nuns) and bhikkhus (monks) of the Buddha's time. In each case, their biographies (written centuries later by Dharmapala who had access to sources now lost) lead to verses ascribed to the real individuals on gaining nibbana. Here are fascinating glimpses of life at the time of the Buddha. The third work in Volume 2 can hardly be more different. The Jatakas (birth stories) is a delightful and absorbing collection of legendary stories of the previous life of the Buddha, how his actions in the past—as animal or human—led progressively along the path towards Buddhahood. In its entirety, the Jatakas is huge—157 tales extending to nearly one million words. Here, Dharma Audiobooks presents a selection of 40 tales, including 'The Story of the Baby Quail', 'The Story of the Hare', 'The Miserly Treasurer', 'The Queen's Necklace', leading to 'Jataka 157', the famous—and long—'Vessantara-Jataka', 'The Paramita of Perfect Generosity'. With the Western cultural tradition of Aesop's Stories in our minds, it is easy to smile benignly as these tales unfold...but to generations of Buddhist followers down the ages, they had a deeper function than merely to entertain or point to a simple moral. Altogether, Volume 2 of Principal Texts of the Khuddaka Nikaya offers a rather special Dhammic experience.

Anonymous (Author), Elizabeth English, Jinananda Jinananda, Ratnadhya, Taradasa, Tejasvini, Vishvantara (Narrator)

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Theragatha: Poems of Early Buddhist Monks

The Theragatha is one of the most striking texts in the Pali Canon. It is a collection of 264 poems or verses - some short, some long - by monks who, traditionally, lived at the time of the Buddha, and which expressed their experience of insight, the culmination of their spiritual path. In fact, it is generally recognised now that this collection was added to over the years, so that some of the verses date from a later time. But this does not diminish this collection, as the verses reflect the intimate and very honest thoughts of those monks - sometimes clearly intent on the goal, sometimes struggling not to be diverted; also strongly evident, however, is the joy and sense of fulfilment of their practice. What makes this collection all the more vivid is that in the fifth century CE, a monk, Dhammapala, drew together the biographies of these individual monks (from sources now lost), which bring these personalities to life in an extraordinary way. In this recording, the biographies precede the verses. Every verse, therefore, emerges from a human being whom we have come to know - albeit briefly. Some came from wealthy backgrounds but were so persuaded by the Buddha's teaching that they left their world of comfort and ease and donned the yellow robes and took up the lifestyle of a wandering monk on the dusty roads of India; others were from very poor families. Sometimes, it was the direct intervention of the Buddha that prompted the change of life direction: the Buddha could see that a person, however unlikely from appearance, had a special quality for spiritual practice 'like a lamp shining in a jar' and urged him to follow the Dhamma. It is the combination of these biographies and the verses which makes the Theragatha so absorbing - and curiously relevant to today. Dhammapala's biographies are presented here in the classic translation (revised for this recording) by Mrs Caroline Rhys Davids. However the poems have been newly translated by Ajahn Sujato and are fresh and direct. Both are read by Ratnadhya. At the end of the Theragatha, we present a fascinating essay by Mrs Rhys Davids in which she makes some astute observations about the historical, poetic and spiritual background to the works, giving us a greater understanding of this unique corner of the Pali Canon. The Therigatha, Poems of the Early Buddhist Nuns, is also available from Dharma Audiobooks.

Ajahn Sujato, Caroline A.F. Rhys Davids (Author), Ratnadhya, Tejasvini (Narrator)

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