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Free Buddhist Ebooks from LibriVox | free public domain audiobooks [librivox.org]
Extensive collection of free audio books read by volunteers; the goal is to record every book in the public domain.


The Dhammapada

translated by F. Max MUELLER
The Dhammapada is is a Buddhist scripture, containing 423 verses in 26 categories. According to tradition, these are verses spoken by the Buddha on various occasions, most of which deal with ethics. It is is considered one of the most important pieces of Theravada literature.

CHAPTERRead ByTIME
Section 1, Chapters 1-4Roger Turnau00:14:36
Section 2, Chapters 5-8Måns Broo00:10:52
Section 3, Chapters 9-14Chris Masterson00:19:16
Section 4, Chapters 15-18Chris Masterson00:13:30
Section 5, Chapters 19-22Denny Sayers00:17:01
Section 6, Chapters 23-25Roger Turnau00:16:44
Section 7, Chapter 26Scott Robbins00:10:35

Madame Albers Poem: Buddha (2011)

A short poem of less than 400 lines by Madame A Christina Albers outlining the Life of the Buddha including his parinibbana told in ten chapters written in simple but poetic English.

01 – Kapilavastu
02 – Lumbini
03 – Childhood
04 – The Bride
05 – The Four Signs
06 – The Farewell
07 – Buddha Gaya
08 – The Awakening
09 – The Deer Park
10 – Kusinara

Read by the writer and translator Anandajoti Bhikkhu


The Buddhist Catechism

H. S. OLCOTT (1832 – 1907)

The simple aim of this little book is to give so succinct and yet comprehensive a digest of Buddhistic history, ethics and philosophy as to enable beginners to understand and appreciate the noble ideal taught by the Buddha, and thus make it easier for them to follow out the Dharma in its details. In this book, information is presented in a catechism format: question and answer.
The matter has been grouped within five categories, viz.: (1) The Life of the Buddha; (2) the Doctrine; (3) the Sangha, or monastic order; (4) a brief history of Buddhism, its Councils and propaganda; (5) some reconciliation of Buddhism with science. and there is a most enlightening appendix which give 14 fundamental Buddhist beliefs that were universally accepted at the time. – Summary by Phil Chenevert

SECTIONCHAPTERREADERTIME
Play 01THE LIFE OF THE BUDDHABeth Thomas
00:25:18
Play02THE DHARMA OR DOCTRINEBen Lindsey-Clark
00:57:24
Play03THE SANGHABen Lindsey-Clark
00:11:37
Play04THE RISE AND SPREAD OF BUDDHISMdeongines
00:15:43
Play05BUDDHISM AND SCIENCEdeongines
00:19:20
Play06APPENDIX: FUNDAMENTAL BUDDHISTIC BELIEFSdeongines
00:07:22

Buddhist Writings (November 15, 2009)

LibriVox recording of Buddhist Writings by various authors, translated by Henry Clarke Warren.
An anthology of Buddhist scriptures, appropriate as an introduction to its vast literature, or as a sampler for those who want to better understand Buddhism. The selections in this anthology are primarily from the Theravada school of Buddhism.(Summary by Leon Mire)
Date: 2009-11-15

[ogg files]


02:37 – 00 – Introductory Note
30:02 – 01 – Part I: The Buddha. The Story of Sumedha
21:45 – 02 – The Birth of the Buddha
33:02 – 03 – The Attainment of Buddhaship
08:51 – 04 – First Events After the Attainment
09:14 – 05 – The Buddha’s Daily Habits
38:41 – 06 – The Death of the Buddha
14:45 – 07 – Part II: The Doctrine. Questions Which Tend Not to Edification
18:14 – 08 – There Is No Ego
11:49 – 09 – The Middle Doctrine
06:59 – 10 – Karma
17:53 – 11 – Fruitful and Barren Karma
04:57 – 12 – Good and Bad Karma
15:34 – 13 – Rebirth Is Not Transmigration
16:05 – 14 – Death’s Messengers
07:48 – 15 – The Devoted Wife
10:05 – 16 – The Hare-mark in the Moon
05:58 – 17 – The Way of Purity
02:40 – 18 – Concentration
02:18 – 19 – The Conversion of Animals
02:30 – 20 – Love for Animals
05:23 – 21 – Sariputta and the Two Demons
41:14 – 22 – The Summum Bonum
19:48 – 23 – The Trance of Cessation
04:22 – 24 – The Attainment of Nirvana
19:49 – 25 – Part III: The Order. The Admission and Ordination Ceremonies
08:08 – 26 – The Mendicant Ideal
08:51 – 27 – And Hate Not His Father and Mother
29:52 – 28 – The Story of Visakha, Part 1
20:38 – 29 – The Story of Visakha, Part 2
18:30 – 30 – The Story of Visakha, Part 3


Jataka Tales

Ellen C. BABBITT (1872 – )

Jataka Tales form a part of the collective Indian Fairy tales with the only distinction that most of Jataka Tales have a moral. These are famous children stories and some of the stories like the “the turtle who couldn’t stop talking” and “the King’s White Elephant” are so famous that they are enacted as short plays in schools and are cited as an example in daily conversations. All the stories in this collective work have a moral, most likely being narrated by an animal.(Summary by sidhu177)
Genre(s): Myths, Legends & Fairy Tales

Language: English

SECTIONCHAPTERREADERTIME
Play0000 – PUBLISHER’S NOTELucas Boulding
00:03:02
Play0101 – THE MONKEY AND THE CROCODILEElizabeth Ramsey
00:04:34
Play0202 – HOW THE TURTLE SAVED HIS OWN LIFErookieblue
00:02:48
Play0303 – THE MERCHANT OF SERIEtel Buss
00:05:44
Play0404 – THE TURTLE WHO COULDN’T STOP TALKINGDawn
00:02:04
Play0505 – THE OX WHO WON THE FORFEITDawn
00:03:31
Play0606 – THE SANDY ROADSusan Morin
00:06:50
Play0707 – THE QUARREL OF THE QUAILSLucas Boulding
00:03:19
Play0808 – THE MEASURE OF RICELucas Boulding
00:03:50
Play0909 – THE FOOLISH, TIMID RABBITLucas Boulding
00:03:35
Play1010 – THE WISE AND THE FOOLISH MERCHANTKathrine Engan
00:07:37
Play1111 – THE ELEPHANT GIRLY-FACEKathrine Engan
00:03:07
Play1212 – THE BANYAN DEERLinda Dougherty
00:03:35
Play1313 – THE PRINCES AND THE WATER-SPRITESusan Morin
00:06:55
Play1414 – THE KING’S WHITE ELEPHANTKathleenLarberg
00:02:37
Play1515 – THE OX WHO ENVIED THE PIGKathleenLarberg
00:01:41
Play1616 – GRANNY’S BLACKIESusan Morin
00:05:39
Play1717 – THE CRAB AND THE CRANESusan Morin
00:07:26
Play1818 – WHY THE OWL IS NOT KING OF THE BIRDSSusan Morin
00:03:36


More Jataka Tales

Ellen C. BABBITT (1872 – )

The continued success of the “Jataka Tales,” as retold and published ten years ago, has led to this second and companion volume. Who that has read or told stories to children has not been lured on by the subtle flattery of their cry for “more”? The Jataka tales, regarded as historic in the Third Century B. C., are the oldest collection of folk-lore extant. They come down to us from that dim far-off time when our forebears told tales around the same hearth fire on the roof of the world. (Summary by Ellen C. Babbitt)
Genre(s): Action & Adventure, Animals & Nature

Language: English

SECTIONCHAPTERREADERTIME
Play00FORWORDKimberly Krause
00:02:49
Play01THE GIRL MONKEY AND THE STRING OF PEARLSKathleenLarberg
00:04:30
Play02THE THREE FISHESKathleenLarberg
00:02:09
Play03THE TRICKY WOLF AND THE RATSKathleenLarberg
00:02:50
Play04THE WOODPECKER, TURTLE, AND DEERJill Engle
00:04:24
Play05THE GOLDEN GOOSEJill Engle
00:02:31
Play06THE STUPID MONKEYSSusan Morin
00:03:24
Play07THE CUNNING WOLFSusan Morin
00:02:44
Play08THE PENNY-WISE MONKEYSusan Morin
00:02:18
Play09THE RED-BUD TREERoshna Omer
00:03:09
Play10THE WOODPECKER AND THE LIONAnastasiia Solokha
00:03:11
Play11THE OTTERS AND THE WOLFRoshna Omer
00:02:51
Play12HOW THE MONKEY SAVED HIS TROOProokieblue
00:04:26
Play13THE HAWKS AND THEIR FRIENDSRoshna Omer
00:06:52
Play14THE BRAVE LITTLE BOWMANRoshna Omer
00:05:40
Play15THE FOOLHARDY WOLFAnastasiia Solokha
00:04:46
Play16THE STOLEN PLOWHuda
00:03:01
Play17THE LION IN BAD COMPANYAnastasiia Solokha
00:05:13
Play18THE WISE GOAT AND THE WOLFKimberly Krause
00:03:54
Play19PRINCE WICKED AND THE GRATEFUL ANIMALSKimberly Krause
00:10:31
Play20BEAUTY AND BROWNIEAnastasiia Solokha
00:03:09
Play21THE ELEPHANT AND THE DOGJill Engle
00:03:40