Buddha

By: Karen Armstrong

Narrated by: Kate Reading

Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2001 Karen Armstrong (P)2001 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Religious historian Armstrong succeeds brilliantly in creating a compelling and illuminating portrait." (Booklist)

"This handsome and solid portrait is sure to become a classic; it is a refined and readable biography of a pivotal character in human history." (Publishers Weekly)

"Armstrong combines the abilities of storyteller, historian, and interpreter of Buddhist thought to create a work that is both fascinating and informative." (Library Journal)

"[A] fascinating biography....Kate Reading superbly moves along the text, keeping pace with Armstrong's ideas and hypotheses." (AudioFile)

Refreshing

great book read well. The'book is the story of Buddah and some of his most important teaching. Book shows history and one can clearly see that a thousand year history can still repeat themselves today.

good story good narration

the story content in this book is very good. it is a complete story that informs the reader very clearly of the history of buddha. the narration is done very well. she is easy to listen to and her pronunciations are clear.

Eminently Listenable

Karen Armstrong, the eminently readable writer of history becomes the eminently listenable with this narrator. Excellent narration. "Eminently readable" in no way demeans the abilities of the author as historian. What she does bring to the stage is a history like one written by Barbara Tuchman which provides a fresh and interesting eye on history without the pendantic mumblings of (too often) the traditional historian. Given the huge number of books on the religion, Buddhism, the insights of a religious hisorian like Armstrong are especially useful. Also recommended is her "Jerusalem" (uncertain if available in audio format).

Siddhartha plus history and more

Armstrong must have dedicated lots of time to this book, because she sets the Siddhartha story in a historical context with careful coverage of historical sources and their limitations (no written record of Buddha for about 100 years after his death). First is a summary of the source of her information with interesting insights. Next she covers the life story. Along with way, when describing a key event she will follow up with discrepancies in different texts that cover the story, similar to comparing the gospels. The reader has a pleasant voice.

Extremely impressive

I am stunned by how accurate and concise this book is. I've been through dozens of dhamma books, and this one stands out. It is rich in breadth and depth, and all in something like 6 hours. Truly masterful.

Excellent historical look at the life of buddha

This book combines a biographical look at the life of Siddhartha Gautama, as well as an exposition of his philosophy. This is important because many aspects of buddhism are impossible to understand without knowledge of the environment the Buddha lived in, and an understanding of the ideas which he diverged from

ratiocination

Fascinating look and the life and teachings of the Buddha -- fawning, yes, but not excessively so. Does a nice job of placing the development of Buddhist doctrine in its historical context. Some flaws (e.g. unnecessary, self-consciously academic word choices (using the word "ratiocination" (when it could be easily substituted by something more accessible) springs to mind) -- and the narrator's near-laughable, stiff pronounciation of Indian names and words. That said, the book is worth the attention of anyone interested in Buddhism and/or religious history told in its evolving historical/cultural context.

Insightful Summary

I've read several books on Buddhism and looked forward to Armstrong's presentation of the founder. I wasn't disappointed. As before, Armstrong combines both scholarship and empathy in her portrayal. She respects the limits of our knowledge and acknowledges where a westerner might encounter problems. Particularly useful to me was her account of yogic practice at the time of the Buddha and the role it played in his thought.

Lots of detail, hard to listen to

The narrator's voice made this difficult to listen to. Very monotonous, and it seemed like the enunciation was somehow excessive. Playing the book at 1.25x speed made it more manageable, but I only discovered this when I was 75% through.

The contents of the book were hard to follow, possibly due to the narration, but it also seemed rather dry. I might have to give it another listen.

Nice companion with Wood's "The Story of India"

Well written, very reverent. Given that his disciples documented his life, Armstrong does a very good job of extracting the human from the religious texts. An excellent companion to Michael Wood's "The Story of India," adding depth and color to the history of the subcontinent. Siddartha is legend and monumental in the history of ideas. Facinating that 100s of millions follow a faith founded by a man who eschewed the supernatural. This book has a lot to teach the west about seeing the world as it is, without judgement and without fear.