The Meaning of Life
Buddhist Perspectives on Cause and Effect
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Narrated by:
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Ken McLeod
About this listen
Through detailed discussion and lively questions and answers, the teachings of The Meaning of Life address the myriad challenges we meet daily - dealing with aggression from both within and without, facing illness and helping someone who is dying, expanding our capacity to feel love for all beings, and reconciling personal responsibility with the doctrine of selflessness - all suffused with the Dalai Lama's incomparable intelligence, wit, and kindness.
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"Studded with jewels...[The Meaning of Life] brings together the theory of Buddhist teachings and the practice of ordinary life." (Shambhala Sun)
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Chop Wood and Carry Water: The Four Noble Truths
- By Rich on 08-13-17
By: Phillip Moffitt
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Meditation and Mantras
- By: Swami Vishnu-Devananda
- Narrated by: Vikas Adam, Shuchi Gokhale
- Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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The modern lifestyle with its excesses and worldly desires, the constant need to be connected, and the rapid development in technology, has made stress and lifestyle-related diseases the norm. The need for meditation, thus, is more acute. Meditation calms the mind, brings focus and enhances the senses, resulting in a better quality of life and work. And with the right Mantras, meditation becomes a highly effective tool in unleashing the immense potential within oneself.
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essential for all aspirants on the path
- By Behudet Maat on 05-11-16
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No-Nonsense Buddhism for Beginners
- Clear Answers to Burning Questions About Core Buddhist Teachings
- By: Noah Rasheta
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 2 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Presented in a practical Q&A format, No-Nonsense Buddhism for Beginners is the most clear-cut introductory guide to understanding the essential concepts of Buddhism and how they relate to your daily life. How is an awakening different from enlightenment? Can agnostics and atheists be Buddhist? In No-Nonsense Buddhism for Beginners, renowned Buddhism teacher and host of the popular Secular Buddhism podcast, Noah Rasheta, delivers an easily accessible introduction to the teachings of Buddhism that answers these common questions and many more.
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Perfect for someone curious in Buddism
- By Wolf_CPT on 09-01-19
By: Noah Rasheta
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The Middle Way
- The Story of Buddhism
- By: Jinananda
- Narrated by: David Timson, Anton Lesser
- Length: 3 hrs and 55 mins
- Original Recording
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General interest in Buddhism has never been higher. The story and teachings of a man who lived 2,500 years ago have a special resonance for us today, perhaps because he taught a way of life that was not based on belief in a creator god but rather on personal experience. "Test my words for yourself," he said. But what lies behind those distinctive images of the Buddha, seated with unshakeable poise, with eyes half-closed and a slight smile? Jinananda, a Western-born Buddhist, divides the subject into the Three Jewels....
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Rocking...
- By LeperSmurf on 11-16-04
By: Jinananda
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The Religion of Tomorrow
- A Vision for the Future of the Great Traditions - More Inclusive, More Comprehensive, More Complete
- By: Ken Wilber
- Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm
- Length: 30 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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A single purpose lies at the heart of all the great religious traditions: awakening to the astonishing reality of the true nature of ourselves and the universe. At the same time, through centuries of cultural accretion and focus on myth and ritual as ends in themselves, this core insight has become obscured. Here Ken Wilber provides a path for reenvisioning a religion of the future that acknowledges the evolution of humanity in every realm while remaining faithful to that original spiritual vision.
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A mind-blowing spiritual experience
- By IW Ferreira on 09-01-17
By: Ken Wilber
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The Bhagavad Gita
- A Walkthrough for Westerners
- By: Jack Hawley
- Narrated by: Jack Hawley
- Length: 5 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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The Bhagavad Gita has been called India's greatest contribution to the world. In this audio version of his classic book The Bhagavad Gita: A Walkthrough for Westerners, Jack Hawley makes its wisdom clear to Western seekers.
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The Bhagavad Gita: A Walkthrough for Westerners
- By Tammy on 10-12-12
By: Jack Hawley
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The Meaning of Happiness
- The Quest for Freedom of the Spirit in Modern Psychology and the Wisdom of the East
- By: Alan Watts
- Narrated by: Kern Schmidt
- Length: 7 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Deep down, most people think that happiness comes from having or doing something. Here, in Alan Watts’s groundbreaking third book (originally published in 1940), he offers a more challenging thesis: authentic happiness comes from embracing life as a whole in all its contradictions and paradoxes, an attitude that Watts calls the “way of acceptance.” Drawing on Eastern philosophy, Western mysticism, and analytic psychology, Watts demonstrates that happiness comes from accepting both the outer world around us and the inner world inside us,
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Good Concepts Hard to Follow Along
- By Ryan on 04-13-20
By: Alan Watts
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The Road Home
- A Contemporary Exploration of the Buddhist Path
- By: Ethan Nichtern
- Narrated by: Ethan Nichtern
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Do you feel at home right now? Or do you sense a hovering anxiety or uncertainty, an underlying unease that makes you feel just a bit uncomfortable, a bit distracted and disconnected from those around you? In The Road Home, Ethan Nichtern, a senior teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist tradition, investigates the journey each of us takes to find where we belong.
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How can you pass this up?
- By Amy Minutillo on 04-08-16
By: Ethan Nichtern
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The World Could Be Otherwise
- Imagination and the Bodhisattva Path
- By: Norman Fischer
- Narrated by: Norman Fischer
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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In frightening times, we wish the world could be otherwise. With a touch of imagination, it can be. Imagination helps us see what’s hidden, and it shape-shifts reality’s roiling twisting waves. In this inspiring reframe of a classic Buddhist teaching, Zen teacher Norman Fischer writes that the paramitas, or “six perfections” - generosity, ethical conduct, patience, joyful effort, meditation, and understanding - can help us reconfigure the world we live in.
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Master piece
- By Andrew Lenards on 02-08-20
By: Norman Fischer
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The Buddha Before Buddhism
- Wisdom from the Early Teachings
- By: Gil Fronsdal
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 3 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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One of the earliest of all Buddhist texts, the Atthakavagga, or Book of Eights, is a remarkable document, not only because it comes from the earliest strain of the literature - before the Buddha, as the title suggests, came to be thought of as a "Buddhist" - but also because its approach to awakening is so simple and free of adherence to any kind of ideology. Instead the Atthakavagga points to a direct and simple approach for attaining peace without requiring the adherence to doctrine.
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A treasure (except the verse numbers)
- By Kong on 05-04-19
By: Gil Fronsdal
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Psychotherapy East and West
- By: Alan Watts
- Narrated by: Jeremy Arthur
- Length: 5 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Alan Watts examines the problem of humans in a seemingly hostile universe in ways that question the social norms and illusions that bind and constrict modern humans. Marking a groundbreaking synthesis, Watts asserts that the powerful insights of Freud and Jung, which had, indeed, brought psychiatry close to the edge of liberation, could, if melded with the hitherto secret wisdom of the Eastern traditions, free people from their battles with the self.
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Not what I have come to expect from Alan Watts works
- By Shiva Latchmipersad on 03-22-19
By: Alan Watts
What listeners say about The Meaning of Life
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- JK
- 12-06-22
A LOT OF INFORMATION
This is the second book in the series written by the Dalai Lama, when he was a young man.
So amazing, for one so young, to write these books.
There is a lot of information to digest. I have the written versions of all and read/listened to them simultaneously.
It is definitely a book and for that matter, the whole series to listen to and for me to listen to again in the future.
I highly recommend this book when you are studying Buddhism.
The narrator, mr. Ken McLeod, did an excellent job.
My thanks to all involved, JK
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- Cole Henrich
- 11-16-23
Good Book, Poorly Abridged
I'm slightly biased because I want to rate all Dalai Lama's books 5 stars, so more people will read his teachings. In an honest rating I would say 4 or 5 stars. I found this book was more clear than some of his books (e.g. "Buddhism") and less clear than some of his books (e.g. "Ocean of Wisdom"). Ken McLeod as narrator was fantastic. It is important to have someone who understands the reading material as a narrator, and it seems that Ken McLeod understands it very well. You would hate to have someone reading such sacred words as if they're just syllables to be pronounced.
I did not like the abridgement. Audiobook publisher, why did you do this? I read the less-abridged text ("abridgement" is relative since it's just a collection of lectures, so any lectures cut out technically make it abridged), and never was there a part that was cut from the audiobook that I thought deserved to be cut. It is just illogical. Someone who wants to listen to 4.5 hours of the Dalai Lama's words on complex topics will be just as happy, or happier, if they get to listen to 5 hours of his words. It is arrogant to abridge in the way they did. To cut out some of the Dalai Lama's words from his explanations assumes that (1) the Dalai Lama was speaking unnecessary words, which is unlikely, and to ascertain that, the editor would have to know exactly what the Dalai Lama was trying to convey, and simultaneously be able to convey the Dalai Lama's words more concisely. None of these suppositions are likely. The result of the abridgement is that the listener loses clarity when trying to understand what the Dalai Lama was saying - because potentially explanatory remarks were cut out. Shame.
The content is great, Ken McLeod as narrator is great, but if there was a rating for publishing quality I would give 2 or 3 stars. Overall 4 or 5 stars.
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Overall
- Anonymous User
- 09-15-10
Ignorance leads to rebirth
It is not introduction to Buddhism but an in depth analysis of rebirth and karma. The book details on how ignorance leads to other causes and effect resulting in rebirth. Rebirth can be avoided by overcoming ignorance and enlightening like Buddha. But the concept is not easy to understand. I have to read the book three or four times to get a good understanding. If you have patience, interest in spirituality and Buddhism, then the book may of interest to you.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Tams Higgins
- 06-08-19
Tough Read
I feel like a lot of this went over my head. I can't say I got nothing out of it, and perhaps listening again in the future would be beneficial
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- ElementsOfJazz
- 05-03-15
This Needed To Be Narrated by Someone Else...
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
I would not recommend this book to a friend because of the narrator.
Would you recommend The Meaning of Life to your friends? Why or why not?
I would recommend that they read either the printed or Kindle version of "The Meaning Of Life."
What didn’t you like about Ken McLeod’s performance?
I haven't finished listening to the audiobook because of the monontonic drone of his voice. Thankfully, this is an abridged version of the printed book, I fear that I would never get through it otherwise.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Jayna
- 04-09-08
can't be a novice
This isn't the right book for a multi-tasker to listen to. I never could get on the same plane of thought and consequently didn't finish the book yet even though I've started it over at least 3 times since downloading it. I don't recommenend this for the light reader or novice spiritualist.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Janina
- 01-14-15
Did not find this book engaging.
This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?
Difficult to follow. Not the right book for me. Other authors flow better with their stories.
Any additional comments?
Regret buying this book.
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