Buddhism Audiobooks | Religion & Spirituality

As much as we might try to resist, endings happen in every moment—the end of a breath, the end of a day, the end of a relationship, and ultimately the end of life. And accompanying each ending is a beginning, though it may be unclear what the beginning holds. In How We Live Is How We Die, Pema Chödrön shares her wisdom for working with this flow of life—learning to live with ease, joy, and compassion through uncertainty, embracing new beginnings, and ultimately preparing for death with curiosity and openness rather than fear. Poignant for listeners of all ages, her teachings on the bardos—a Tibetan term referring to a state of transition, including what happens between this life and the next—reveal their power and relevance at each moment of our lives. She also offers practical methods for transforming life's most challenging emotions about change and uncertainty into a path of awakening and love. As she teaches, the more freedom we can find in our hearts and minds as we live this life, the more fearlessly we'll be able to confront death and what lies beyond. In all, Pema provides listeners with a master course in living life fully and compassionately in the shadow of death and change.

Pema Chödrön (Author), Olivia Darnley (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Essence of Chan: A Guide to Life and Practice according to the Teachings of Bodhidharma

Clear and illuminating commentary on one of Bodhidharma's most important texts-designed to help Chan practitioners apply timeless and essential advice to their practice Legend has it that more than a thousand years ago an Indian Buddhist monk named Bodhidharma arrived in China. His approach to teaching was unlike that of any of the Buddhist missionaries who had come to China before him. He confounded the emperor with cryptic dialogues, traveled the country, lived in a cave in the mountains, and eventually paved the way for a unique and illuminating approach to Buddhist teachings that would later spread across the whole of East Asia in the form of Chan-later to be known as Seon in Korean, Thien in Vietnamese, and Zen in Japanese. This book, a translation and commentary on one of Bodhidharma's most important texts, explores Bodhidharma's revolutionary teachings in English. Guo Gu weaves his commentary through modern and relatable contexts, showing that this centuries-old wisdom is just as crucial for life now as it was when it first came to be. Masterfully translated and accompanied by helpful insights to supplement daily practice, The Essence of Chan is the perfect guide for those new to Chan, those returning, or those who have been practicing for years.

Guo Gu (Author), Daniel Henning (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Big Bang, the Buddha, and the Baby Boom: The Spiritual Experiments of My Generation

Iconic newscaster and Buddhist teacher chronicles the 1960s and ‘70s in India, the Bay Area, and beyond. Join Wes “Scoop” Nisker, a renowned Buddhist meditation teacher, performer, and newscaster, on a wild ride from West to East and back in his quest for true self and enlightenment. Narrated by the legendary Peter Coyote, this audiobook combines the best elements of memoir and social commentary to illuminate the spiritual hunger of modern America. Nisker’s journey begins in Nebraska as the only young man in his small town to be Bar Mitzvah’ed, through the heyday of the Beats and hippies in the Bay Area from his vantage point as a high-profile newscaster, the birth of the environmental movement, and the social and spiritual blossoming of the West. This is a personal, guided tour of the outer and inner movements that joined together into today’s mindfulness movement, written by one of the leaders of both. Stay tuned at the end of the audiobook for special bonus material — a collection of engaging and entertaining clips from Nisker’s unforgettable radio show on KSAN. Grab your headphones and join “Scoop” Nisker and Peter Coyote on a cosmic adventure unraveling the connections between the birth of the universe, the enlightened path of the Buddha, and the awakening of a generation. “I have loved [Wes “Scoop” Nisker] for fifty years now, loved the hope, the dharma teachings, the rock and roll, the agitation and comfort, and the great wit. I have often said that laughter is carbonated holiness, and the effervescent Wes Nisker is one of my favorite Holy men ever.” —from the Foreword by Anne Lamott

Anne Lamott, Wes “scoop” Nisker (Author), Peter Coyote (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Tibetan Book Of The Dead: The Bardo Thodol

Brought to you by Altrusian Grace Media. This audiobook includes both a plain narrated version and a version with accompanying music for those who prefer it. The Bardo Thodol - The Tibetan Book Of The Dead - Full Audiobook. **Please note: this is treated by some or many as a closed and secret sacred tradition within Shitro lineages, please express caution when viewing, unless one has proper Shitro initiation or is aware of the consequences of engaging with tantra sans guru.** The Bardo Thodol, commonly known in the West as The Tibetan Book of the Dead, is a terma text from a larger corpus of teachings, the Profound Dharma of Self-Liberation through the Intention of the Peaceful and Wrathful Ones, revealed by Karma Lingpa. The Tibetan text describes, and is intended to guide one through, the experiences that the consciousness has after death, in the bardo, the interval between death and the next rebirth. The text also includes chapters on the signs of death and rituals to undertake when death is closing in or has taken place. The text can be used as either an advanced practice for trained meditators or to support the uninitiated during the death experience.

Anonymous (Author), Matthew Schmitz (Narrator)

Audiobook

[Italian] - Il Buddhista Nel Braccio Della Morte

Questo libro mostra in maniera vivida come, anche di fronte alle più grandi avversità, la compassione e l’attenzione premurosa nei confronti degli altri portino pace e forza interiore. S.S. il Dalai LamaAvrebbe potuto restare un nome qualunque quello di Jarvis Jay Masters, uno dei tanti nel lungo elenco dei condannati ingiustamente alla pena di morte in qualche durissimo penitenziario americano. Un giorno avremmo sentito distrattamente la notizia della sua esecuzione, ci saremmo indignati di fronte a una simile barbarie, poi, passato lo sdegno, ci saremmo dimenticati di lui e della sua storia. Sì, perché la vita di Jarvis aveva tutti i presupposti per un copione prevedibile dal finale altrettanto scontato: un’infanzia negata nella più totale assenza d’amore, sfociata in un’adolescenza all’insegna della criminalità, fino alla reclusione nel carcere di massima sicurezza di San Quentin a soli diciannove anni, e in aggiunta a tutto questo l’imputazione infondata per concorso in omicidio di una guardia carceraria costatagli il trasferimento nel braccio della morte. In quel luogo di vite senza futuro, vecchiaia, rimorso e rimpianto, Jarvis si ritrova solo con se stesso, a dover fare i conti con il suo passato di sofferenza subìta e inferta. Crisi di panico, scatti d’ira e forti stati di depressione gli sconvolgono l’anima, ma arriva un consiglio non richiesto e inaspettato che scombina il suo destino, solo all’apparenza già scritto: provare a calmarsi con la meditazione. È così che, nonostante un’iniziale refrattarietà, intraprende un percorso irreversibile di liberazione che lo porterà molto più lontano di quanto avessero immaginato lui e chiunque gli sia stato affianco negli ormai trentadue anni di reclusione. Guidato da venerabili maestri buddhisti come Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche e Pema Chödrön, tuttora una delle sue più grandi amiche e sostenitrici, Jarvis si è scoperto un uomo diverso, un uomo di pace, capace di vivere il suo dolore ma soprattutto di curarlo e prevenirlo attorno a sé, aiutando chiunque, vicino e lontano, a trovare la chiave per uscire dalla propria prigione. Serviva una voce estremamente sensibile per ricostruire il lavoro che Jarvis ha fatto sulla sua mente, una voce che riuscisse a raccontare questa storia straordinaria senza cadere in cliché. David Sheff ha raccolto la sfida, e se in un primo tempo è stata la curiosità a portare la sua attenzione questo caso, poco alla volta si sono fatti spazio in lui un sincero interessamento, la stima e l’amicizia nei confronti di un uomo che ha imparato a dare un senso al suo dolore e una nuova direzione alla sua vita. Nessuna critica al sistema giudiziario americano in queste pagine, l’ineluttabilità e la durezza della pena di morte sembrano perdere consistenza, il braccio della morte diventa allora metafora delle prigioni mentali che ognuno di noi crea e alimenta, in un racconto biografico che mette il lettore di fronte alle proprie chiusure. Non si proveranno né pena né pietà, si rimarrà invece accecati dalla luce degli occhi di Jarvis, tanto da desiderare di voler incrociare quello sguardo. La forza e la bellezza del suo cambiamento hanno valicato l’asfissiante perimetro della sua cella, in un’onda di compassione capace di travolgere chiunque in ogni luogo. PUBLISHER: TEKTIME

David Sheff (Author), Ubiliber (Narrator)

Audiobook

[Italian] - Il Silenzio Tra Due Onde

Nel Silenzio tra due onde assistiamo a un’impresa tutt’altro che facile e di rara preziosità: la voce rassicurante e sicura di Corrado Pensa insegna, in armonia con le altre grandi tradizioni sapienziali, a trasformare gradualmente la nostra quotidianità in virtù di una risposta via via più convinta e ricettiva all’insegnamento del Dharma, dimostrando che la meditazione è molto di più di una semplice pratica di raccoglimento.Pressoché impossibile intercettare pause nel perpetuo moto delle onde: richiede attenzione profonda e una disposizione d’animo capace di abbracciare le contraddizioni dell’esistenza intera. L’incessante sciabordio dell’acqua sulla riva sembra scandire i battiti del cuore, instancabilmente alla ricerca di tregua dalla sofferenza sollievo dalle angosce, pace vera per sé e per tutti gli esseri. Eppure, rimanendo raccolti, in ascolto della propria interiorità, tra un’onda e l’altra è possibile cogliere un attimo liminale, un momento di confine ed estrema apertura al tempo stesso. È il silenzio tra due onde, uno spazio di consapevolezza cristallina che può dischiudersi per mezzo di una pratica meditativa devota e sincera. Verso del poeta inglese T. S. Eliot e titolo del presente libro, questa immagine così potente suggerisce uno dei possibili obiettivi a cui tendere nel cammino interiore, racchiude l’impegno e la spontaneità necessari nella ricerca e molto racconta dell’orizzonte culturale dell’autore di queste pagine, che sono un viaggio di approfondimento sulle tematiche fondamentali del buddhismo. Corrado Pensa, pioniere della diffusione degli insegnamenti del Dharma in Italia, allievo di Giuseppe Tucci e Raniero Gnoli, e considerato uno tra i più autorevoli esperti di pensiero oriental, con la sua opera ha contribuito a restituire la complessità dell’universo concettuale buddhista in lingua italiana, gettando le fondamenta per la creazione di quel lessico che ha permesso a molti la comprensione del significato profondo del messaggio del Buddha. Grazie alla sua lunga esperienza di praticante e insegnante, alla sua vasta conoscenza dei testi buddhisti, ai suoi riferimenti alla psicologia, alla letteratura e, non ultimo, alla sua profondità spirituale, ecco che si fanno più vicini e chiari il senso della vita e del dolore, la liberazione, la pratica quotidiana della meditazione e della consapevolezza in azione. Nel Silenzio tra due onde assistiamo a un’impresa tutt’altro che facile e di rara preziosità: la voce rassicurante e sicura di Pensa insegna, in armonia con le altre grandi tradizioni sapienziali, a trasformare gradualmente la nostra quotidianità in virtù di una risposta via via più convinta e ricettiva all’insegnamento del Dharma, dimostrando che la meditazione è molto di più di una semplice pratica di raccoglimento PUBLISHER: TEKTIME

Corrado Pensa (Author), Ubiliber (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety

Acclaimed philosopher Alan Watts shows us how-in an age of unprecedented anxiety-we can find fulfillment by embracing the present and living more fully in the now. He is 'the perfect guide for a course correction in life' (from the Introduction by Deepak Chopra). The brain can only assume its proper behavior when consciousness is doing what it is designed for: not writhing and whirling to get out of present experience, but being effortlessly aware of it. Alan Watts draws on the wisdom of Eastern philosophy and religion in this timeless and classic guide to living a more fulfilling life. His central insight is more relevant now than ever: when we spend all of our time worrying about the future and lamenting the past, we are unable to enjoy the present moment-the only one we are actually able to inhabit. Watts offers the liberating message that true certitude and security come only from understanding that impermanence and insecurity are the essence of our existence. He highlights the futility of endlessly chasing moving goalposts, whether they consist of financial success, stability, or escape from pain, and shows that it is only by acknowledging what we do not know that we can learn anything truly worth knowing. In The Wisdom of Insecurity, Watts explains complex concepts in beautifully simple terms, making this the kind of book you can return to again and again for comfort and insight in challenging times. "Perhaps the foremost interpreter of Eastern disciplines for the contemporary West, Watts had the rare gift of 'writing beautifully the unwritable.'" -Los Angeles Times

Alan Watts (Author), John Lee (Narrator)

Audiobook

[German] - Zen Style - Bewusst, minimalistisch und selbstbestimmt leben (ungekürzt)

Wie geht ein gutes Leben heute? Der Musikjournalist Stephan Kunze lebt nach dem Motto hart arbeiten hart feiern ist 24/7 online und immer am Limit - weil das im Berlin der Nuller-Jahre als einzig cooler Lifestyle gilt. Bis ihn mit Anfang 30 scheinbar grundlos Panikattacken und gesundheitliche Probleme in die Knie zwingen. Zum ersten Mal stellt er sich die Frage: Wo folge ich nur der Meute und was ist mir wirklich wichtig? Er beschäftigt sich mit Zen-Buddhismus Meditation Minimalismus und den Lehren der antiken Stoa und stellt fest: Je mehr Dinge ich loslasse desto reicher werde ich. Wenige echte Freundschaften zählen weit mehr als zig Follower in den Sozialen Medien. Je weniger ich dem Glück nachlaufe desto mehr wächst meine innere Zufriedenheit.Mit klugem ruhigen Blick beschreibt der Autor wie es trotz eines fordernden Jobs gelingt seine persönlichen Werte zu leben und in die eigene Mitte zu finden.

Stephan Kunze (Author), Stephan Kunze (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Life of Milarepa

One of the most beloved stories of the Tibetan people and a great literary example of the contemplative life The Life of Milarepa, a biography and a dramatic tale from a culture now in crisis, can be read on several levels. A personal and moving introduction to Tibetan Buddhism, it is also a detailed guide to the search for liberation. It presents a quest for purification and buddhahood in a single lifetime, tracing the path of a great sinner who became a great saint. It is also a powerfully evocative narrative, full of magic, miracles, suspense, and humor, while reflecting the religious and social life of medieval Tibet. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Tsangnyön Heruka (Author), Lee Osorio (Narrator)

Audiobook

Luminous Darkness: An Engaged Buddhist Approach to Embracing the Unknown

A resonant call to explore the darkness in life, in nature, and in consciousness through teachings, embodied meditations, and mindful inquiry that provide us with a powerful path to healing. Darkness is deeply misunderstood in today's world; yet it offers powerful medicine, serenity, strength, healing, and regeneration. All insight, vision, creativity, and revelation arise from darkness. It is through learning to stay present and meet the dark with curiosity rather than judgment that we connect to an unwavering light within. Welcoming darkness with curiosity, rather than fear or judgment, enables us to access our innate capacity for compassion and collective healing. Dharma teacher, shamanic practitioner, and deep ecologist Deborah Eden Tull addresses the spiritual, ecological, psychological, and interpersonal ramifications of our bias towards light. Tull shows us how the labeling of darkness as 'negative' becomes a collective excuse to justify avoiding everything that makes us uncomfortable: racism, spiritual bypass, environmental destruction. We can only find the radical path to wholeness by learning to embrace the interplay of both darkness and light.

Deborah Eden Tull (Author), Deborah Eden Tull (Narrator)

Audiobook

[French] - Les 42 points d'enseignements proférés par Bouddha

En ce tems-là, Bouddah, le suprême des êtres, ayant révélé ses enseignements, ils se propagèrent de la manière suivante. Cinq hommes du rang des initiés, parvenus par le dépouillement de leurs passions à une paix profonde et inaltérable, passaient leurs jours dans une sublime contemplation dans le dessein de dompter la troupe des démons. Comme ils suppliaient Bouddha de vouloir bien dissiper toutes leurs incertitudes, Bouddha, le suprême des êtres, prenant le corps doctrinal, le leur développa point par point, avec ordre et clarté ; pour eux, ils écoutaient ces saints oracles avec un cœur plein de respect, d’attention et d’humble docilité. Ce fut alors que Bouddha, le suprême des êtres, prononça les 42 points de l’enseignement qui renferme toute vérité.

Joseph Gabet, évariste Huc (Author), Daniel Franck (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Dhammapada

Neither the date nor the authorship of the Dhammapada is known, but there is conclusive evidence that this monument of the Buddhist canon existed well before the Christian era. Many scholars agree in ascribing its utterances to Buddha himself, while others are of the opinion that it is a compilation made by Buddhist monks from various sources. This classic religious text focuses on practical morality, which, if practiced earnestly and diligently, will lead the practitioner to Nirvana, the state of unconditioned eternal bliss. By following these injunctions, says the Buddha, “the wise man may make for himself an island which no flood can overwhelm.”

Friedrich Max Müller (Author), Denis Daly (Narrator)

Audiobook

Buddhism Audiobooks in Religion & Spirituality