Buddha
Written by Karen Armstrong
Narrated by Kate Reading
4/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
This rich, timely, and highly original portrait of the Buddha explores both the archetypal religious icon and Buddha the man. In lucid and compelling prose, Armstrong brings to life the Buddha's quest, from his renunciation of his privileged life to the discovery of a truth that he believed would utterly transform human beings and enable them to live at peace in the midst of life's suffering. Buddha also expands to focus and meditate on the culture and history of the time, as well as the Buddha's place in the spiritual history of humanity, and the special relevance of his teachings to our own society as we again face a crisis of faith.
"[P]enetrating, readable, and prescient."-New York Times Book Review
Karen Armstrong
Karen Armstrong was born in Worcestershire. After becoming a nun in the 1960s, she left her order and lectured in literature at London University before becoming a full time writer, broadcaster and international adviser on religious and political affairs. She has addressed US Congress, the UN and Canadian parliament on Islam and fundamentalism. Among her other books is the bestselling ‘History of God’.
More audiobooks from Karen Armstrong
Islam: A Short History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bible: A Biography Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5St. Paul: The Apostle We Love to Hate Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to Buddha
Related audiobooks
A Concise History of Buddhism: From 500 BCE-1900 CE Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBuddha: A Very Short Introduction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Essentials of Buddhist Philosophy with Bee Scherer: Introducing the key concepts of Indian Buddhist thought Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Buddhism 101: From Karma to the Four Noble Truths, Your Guide to Understanding the Principles of Buddhism Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Buddha for Beginners Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Buddha and His Dhamma Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Rebirth: A Guide to Mind, Karma, and Cosmos in the Buddhist World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5More Than Happiness: Buddhist and Stoic Wisdom for a Sceptical Age Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Viewing Human History as a Spiritual Epic Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hindu Asceticism and its Spiritual Disciplines with Daniela Bevilacqua: The practice of ascetic austerities and meditative yoga Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIndian Mythology: An Enthralling Overview of Myths, Gods, and Goddesses from India Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGreat Bharata: The Invasion Begins Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsModern Thought in Buddhism Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Unlocking the Mysteries of Birth & Death Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Buddhism and Buddhists in China Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWho Is the Buddha? Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEast Asia: History of China and Japan Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpirituality 101: Explore 2,000 Years of Christian Spirituality in 36 Days Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Jesus, Paul, and the Early Christians Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ashoka: Portrait of a Philosopher King Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChristic Imagination: How Christ Transforms Us Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Human Perspective - Lessons from Genesis Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Secret of the Golden Flower: A Chinese Book Of Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Perennial Wisdom Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Buddhism: What Everyone Needs to Know Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Life of the Buddha Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Quest: The Historians' Search for Jesus and Muhammad Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hindus: An Alternative History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Religious Biographies For You
Autobiography of a Yogi (Unabridged) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: Third Edition with Bonus Content, New Reflections Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Women of the Bible Speak: The Wisdom of 16 Women and Their Lessons for Today Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Autobiography of a Yogi: The Original 1946 Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Twelve Extraordinary Women: How God Shaped Women of the Bible, and What He Wants to Do with You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In the Presence of My Enemies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Seven Storey Mountain Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Magic of Marie Laveau: Embracing the Spiritual Legacy of the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bare-Faced Messiah: The True Story of L. Ron Hubbard Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Paul: A Biography Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Woman They Wanted: Shattering the Illusion of the Good Christian Wife Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Devil is Afraid of Me: The Life and Work of the World's Most Famous Exorcist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Faith Still Moves Mountains: Miraculous Stories of the Healing Power of Prayer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Confessions of St. Augustine Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Twelve Ordinary Men Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Toltec Art of Life and Death Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Exorcist Tells His Story Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5God's Smuggler Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement that Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Passport to Heaven: The True Story of a Zealous Mormon Missionary Who Discovers the Jesus He Never Knew Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Seven Women: And the Secret of Their Greatness Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hiding Place Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Heartwood: The Art of Living with the End in Mind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Summary: Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover: Key Takeaways, Summary & Analysis Included Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Sound of Gravel: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5C.S. Lewis: A Biography of Friendship Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Buddha
252 ratings18 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Not so much a biography than a primer. A better description of Buddhism and where it came from than anything else I've read.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Not easy to follow; may reflect sources
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Nonfiction account of the Buddah and Buddahism. I found it difficult to keep involved with--in part because so few records exist on the life of the man.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I picked this up expecting it would help me gather, organize and extend what little I knew about Buddhism. This book turned out to be rather helpful for that purpose, and as objective as can be expected (considering it's the biography of a man on whom we have very little "biographical" material). I'm not feeling particularly enthralled or "enlightened", but I'm glad I read it.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A decent sketch of the guy's life.(8/10)
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5short, dense, concise and well worth a second reading.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A short, concise story of the Buddha.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Audio Hah! Siddhattha Gotama became the Buddha when he was 29 years old. That's my age! I'd love to be remembered for finding a 'middle way'. (Although unlike the Buddha, I'd like to avoid ditching my wife and child to do it)
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An excellent introduction to the life of the prince of the Sakyas. To be brief, I was especially moved by the last chapter, where the Buddha is travelling alone with his cousin Ananda and sensing the end, he chooses to die in a small, quiet, dusty, out of the way village. The exchange between the teacher and his attendant is very touching and beautifully presented. Although I have been a Buddhist for many years, Ms. Armstrong provided unexpected insight into the humble humanity of this great teacher.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A solid, accessible biography of the Buddha, this book follows him from his days as a wealthy child to his doubt and then enlightenment. For anyone interested not just in the spiritual practice, but also in its origins and historical context, this is a good place to start.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Read during my trip to New Orleans. Understood more about Buddhism than all my other reading on this subject.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5OK, so I'm a Westerner with a Christian background, who would now be considered a rationalist. That makes a lot of the hows and whys of Buddhism difficult to approach. A lot of people steer away from this sort of Buddhist book, because "it's not the point". But I found this lucid, entertaining, informative, and, yes, spiritually enlightening. While it is impossible to cut through the myth and get to "the man", in the course of this "biography", it is certainly instructive to see the cultural and religious traditions from which the Buddha sprang. In the course of covering his life, Armstrong does, I think, a great job introducing the core concepts of the four noble truths and the eightfold path. I really enjoyed this book, and recommend it. It's a short 200 or so pages, and an easy read (if you can call any writing about no-self, emptiness, and corporeal embodiments of universal compassion easy reading).
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A short and well written, although somewhat too materialistic, biography of the Buddha.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Extraordinary. Very inspiring. The research was considerable, nontheless the author managed to make an engaging portrait of Siddartha Gautama Buddha's life
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A good informative biography of the Buddha (Gotami). A very interesting read. A bit dry, but Karen Armstrong is a very skilled narrator and biographer and historian that it sucks you in and it's easy enough for the "layman" to read. Her "The History of God" was exceptional and this was no different. Though this was far shorter; but still very educational while being concise (definitely a plus). Just reminds me of how one of my 'bucket list' items is to walk and re-trace the steps of the Buddha some-day.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book was given to me by a friend in Shanghai who, like me, is interested in theology and philosophy. It is a rare person who can see the value in both ways of trying to live a good life, and my return gift was Ryan Holiday's The Daily Stoic. Little did I know how similar Buddhism and Stoicism are in their sense of logic, and, most importantly, managing our impressions or perceptions. Self-reliance is achieved by "meditation, concentration, mindfulness and a disciplined detachment from the world", through which each of us (p. 175):...must make himself his island, make himself and no one else his refuge.The sense of peace that can be achieved in this "world of pain" is not, however, the lonely ascetic existence of the proverbial hermit on the mountaintop. Rather, it is through
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Buddha, initially Siddhatta Gotama, is depicted in good prose, exploring his life and as much as is possible of his teachings without learning the disciplines of yoga. The interesting idea is that the teachings of the Buddha are intended to be a path to happiness and contentment, and are judged effective only if they achieve this goal in the individual. The 5th or 6th century BC Ganges plain was in turmoil, and Armstrong presents the Buddha’s teachings as a response to the dwindling belief in old agrarian Gods in response to increasing urbanization of life in the region. She also talks about the Axial Religions: the great changes in religion in India, Zoroaster in Iran, middle prophets in Jewish scripture, and Confucius in China, all emphasizing personal morality and individual ethics rather than roles inherited from castes. This appears to be a concept from Karl Jaspers and others looking back at these times. Not much is known for sure about the Buddha’s life, but enough to suggest he was a historical figure, not a myth. Read during a trip to Oakland.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Karen Armstrong has written a marvelous book investigating the life of Sidhatta Gotama, the Buddha. She writes from many different perspectives, including biography, history, mythology, and philosophy. She has delved into the sacred writings of Buddhism and put the life of the Buddha into the historical context of his time. Her writing style flows gracefully from one event and subject to another, and is quite pleasant to read. This is a wonderful book to start with if you're interested in the "historical" Buddha, or simply want to learn more about the Buddha or Buddhism.Experiments in Reading