Tracking Bodhidharma
A Journey to the Heart of Chinese Culture
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Tracking Bodhidharma
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Narrated by:
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George Backman
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By:
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Andy Ferguson
About this listen
The life of Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen Buddhism, has, with the passing of time, been magnified to the scale of myth, turning history into the stuff of legend. Known as the First Patriarch, Bodhidharma brought Zen from South India into China in 500 CE, changing the country forever. In Tracking Bodhidharma, Andrew Ferguson recreates the path of Bodhidharma, traveling through China to the places where the First Patriarch lived and taught. This sacred trail takes Ferguson deep into ancient China, and allows him to explore the origins of Chan [Zen] Buddhism, the cultural aftermath that Bodhidharma left in his wake, and the stories of a man who shaped a civilization.
Tracking Bodhidharma offers a previously unheard perspective on the life of Zen’s most important religious leader, while simultaneously showing how that history is relevant to the rapidly developing super-power that is present-day China. By placing Zen Buddhism within the country’s political landscape, Ferguson presents the religion as a counterpoint to other Buddhist sects, a catalyst for some of the most revolutionary moments in China’s history, and as the ancient spiritual core of a country that is every day becoming more an emblem of the modern era.
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 100
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 89
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 88
In Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms, former diplomat Gerard Russell ventures to the distant, nearly impassable regions where these mysterious religions still cling to survival. He lives alongside the Mandaeans and Ezidis of Iraq, the Zoroastrians of Iran, the Copts of Egypt, and others. He learns their histories, participates in their rituals, and comes to understand the threats to their communities.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Increase your understanding of the Middle East
- By Shaun on 03-17-15
By: Gerard Russell
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The Souls of China
- The Return of Religion After Mao
- By: Ian Johnson
- Narrated by: Ian Johnson
- Length: 17 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 57
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 50
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 51
The Souls of China tells the story of one of the world's great spiritual revivals. Following a century of violent antireligious campaigns, China is now filled with new temples, churches, and mosques - as well as cults, sects, and politicians trying to harness religion for their own ends. Driving this explosion of faith is uncertainty - over what it means to be Chinese and how to live an ethical life in a country that discarded traditional morality a century ago and is searching for new guideposts.
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2 out of 5 stars
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expository but boring
- By Laurent V. on 05-07-18
By: Ian Johnson
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China Road
- A Journey into the Future of a Rising Power
- By: Rob Gifford
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 603
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 332
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 329
National Public Radio's Beijing correspondent Rob Gifford recounts his travels along Route 312, the Chinese Mother Road, the longest route in the world's most populous nation. Based on his successful NPR radio series, China Road draws on Gifford's 20 years of observing first-hand this rapidly transforming country, as he travels east to west, from Shanghai to China's border with Kazakhstan. As he takes listeners on this journey, he also takes them through China's past and present while he tries to make sense of this complex nation's potential future.
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5 out of 5 stars
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An Outstanding Book on China
- By Sarda on 08-13-07
By: Rob Gifford
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Iberia
- By: James A. Michener
- Narrated by: Larry McKeever
- Length: 37 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 267
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 229
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Story4 out of 5 stars 231
Spain is an immemorial land like no other, one that James A. Michener, the Pulitzer Prize–winning author and celebrated citizen of the world, came to love as his own. Iberia is Michener’s enduring nonfiction tribute to his cherished second home. In the fresh and vivid prose that is his trademark, he not only reveals the celebrated history of bullfighters and warrior kings, painters and processions, cathedrals and olive orchards, he also shares the intimate, often hidden country he came to know, where the congeniality of living souls is thrust against the dark weight of history.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Michener's Masterpiece
- By ahusmc on 09-14-17
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The Sign and the Seal
- The Quest for the Lost Ark of the Covenant
- By: Graham Hancock
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 21 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 551
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 487
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 486
The fate of the Lost Ark of the Covenant is one of the great historical mysteries of all time. The Bible contains hundreds of references to the Ark's power, but the Ark itself mysteriously disappears from recorded history sometime after the building of the Temple of Solomon. After 10 years of searching through the dusty archives of Europe and the Middle East, Graham Hancock has succeeded where scores of others have failed. This intrepid journalist has tracked down the true story behind the myths and legends - revealing where the Ark is today, how it got there, and why it remains hidden.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Ridiculous.
- By D. MacNair on 11-09-19
By: Graham Hancock
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Walking the Kiso Road
- A Modern-Day Exploration of Old Japan
- By: William Scott Wilson
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 47
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 44
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Story4 out of 5 stars 44
Take a trip to old Japan with William Scott Wilson as he travels the ancient Kiso Road, a legendary route that remains much the same today as it was hundreds of years ago. The Kisoji, which runs through the Kiso Valley in the Japanese Alps, has been in use since at least 701 CE. In the 17th century, it was the route that the daimyo (warlords) used for their biennial trips - along with their samurai and porters - to the new capital of Edo (now Tokyo).
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4 out of 5 stars
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Definitely recommended
- By John S. on 06-28-16
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Turn Right at Machu Picchu
- Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time
- By: Mark Adams
- Narrated by: Andrew Garman
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,946
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,734
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,734
Writer for the New York Times and GQ, Mark Adams is also the acclaimed author of Mr. America. In this fascinating travelogue, Adams follows in the controversial footsteps of Hiram Bingham III, who’s been both lionized and vilified for his discovery of the famed Lost City in 1911—but which reputation is justified?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Spellbounding, exceptional vocals
- By KLewis on 09-19-15
By: Mark Adams
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Apostle
- Travels Among the Tombs of the Twelve
- By: Tom Bissell
- Narrated by: Tom Bissell
- Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 108
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 101
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Story4 out of 5 stars 100
A profound and moving journey into the heart of Christianity that explores the mysterious and often paradoxical lives and legacies of the Twelve Apostles—a book both for those of the faith and for others who seek to understand Christianity from the outside in.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Not What It Appears To Be
- By M. hooper on 09-18-18
By: Tom Bissell
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Lost on Planet China
- By: J. Maarten Troost
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 754
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 506
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 506
When the travel bug bit, J. Maarten Troost took on the world's most populous and intriguing nation. As Troost relates his gonzo adventure - dodging deadly drivers in Shanghai, eating yak in Tibet, deciphering restaurant menus (offering local favorites such as cattle penis with garlic), and visiting with Chairman Mao (still dead) - he reveals a vast, complex country on the brink of transformation that will soon shape the way we all work, live, and think.
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3 out of 5 stars
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I love Troost but...
- By Abigail on 02-25-09
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Wanderlust
- A History of Walking
- By: Rebecca Solnit
- Narrated by: Liisa Ivary
- Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 377
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 318
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Story4 out of 5 stars 319
Drawing together many histories - of anatomical evolution and city design, of treadmills and labyrinths, of walking clubs and sexual mores - Rebecca Solnit creates a fascinating portrait of the range of possibilities presented by walking. Arguing that the history of walking includes walking for pleasure as well as for political, aesthetic, and social meaning, Solnit focuses on the walkers whose everyday and extreme acts have shaped our culture, from philosophers to poets to mountaineers.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Walking as politics
- By Jason V on 06-04-18
By: Rebecca Solnit
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Cave in the Snow
- Tenzin Palmo's Quest for Enlightenment
- By: Vicki Mackenzie
- Narrated by: Georgina Sutton, Vicki Mackenzie, Tenzin Palmo
- Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 201
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 179
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Story5 out of 5 stars 177
This is the story of Tenzin Palmo, the daughter of a fishmonger from London's East End who became a Tibetan nun. After meditating for 12 years in a cave 13,000 feet up in the Himalayas, she became a world-renowned spiritual leader and champion of the right of women to achieve spiritual enlightenment.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Audio version is best format for this book
- By Mark on 06-11-17
By: Vicki Mackenzie
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The Jesus Papers
- Exposing the Greatest Cover-up in History
- By: Michael Baigent
- Narrated by: Michael Baigent
- Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 185
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 90
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 89
What if everything you think you know about Jesus is wrong? In The Jesus Papers, Michael Baigent reveals the truth about Jesus's life and crucifixion. Despite, or rather because of, all the celebration and veneration that have surrounded the figure of Jesus for centuries, Baigent asserts that Jesus and the circumstances leading to his death have been heavily mythologized.
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3 out of 5 stars
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More for History, Less for facts
- By Brett Weathersby on 05-21-06
By: Michael Baigent
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Meet Me in Atlantis
- My Quest to Find the 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City
- By: Mark Adams
- Narrated by: Andrew Garman
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 582
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 537
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Story4 out of 5 stars 536
A few years ago, Mark Adams made a strange discovery: Everything we know about the lost city of Atlantis comes from the work of one man, the Greek philosopher Plato. Then he made a second, stranger discovery: Amateur explorers are still actively searching for this sunken city all around the world, based entirely on the clues Plato left behind.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Bryson-esque tour of people, myth, & archaeology
- By A reader on 05-14-15
By: Mark Adams
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Iranian Rappers and Persian Porn
- A Hitchhiker's Adventures in the New Iran
- By: Jamie Maslin
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 42
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 39
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 38
When Jamie Maslin decides to hitchhike the entire length of the Silk Road, he decides to travel first and plan later. Then, unexpectedly stranded in Iran - a country he's only read about in newspapers - he wonders whether he'll make it out alive. After crossing the border on foot from Turkey, Maslin finds himself suddenly plunged into the subversive, contradictory world of Iranian subculture, where he is embraced by locals who are happy to show him the true Iran as they see it....
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5 out of 5 stars
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Entertaining & Informative
- By Bella Bates on 04-18-14
By: Jamie Maslin
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The Fracture Zone
- A Return to the Balkans
- By: Simon Winchester
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 130
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 111
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Story4 out of 5 stars 110
Award-winning journalist and author Simon Winchester takes readers on a personal tour of the Balkans. Combining history and interviews with the people who live there, Winchester offers a fascinating glimpse into the complex issues at work in this chaotic region. Unrest in the Balkans has gone on for centuries. A seasoned reporter, Winchester visited the region twenty years ago. When Kosovo reached crisis level in 1997, Winchester thought a return visit to the beleaguered area would help to make sense out of the awful violence.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Loved this-Great combo:Story and History Explained
- By Jeremy on 07-10-14
By: Simon Winchester
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See You Again in Pyongyang
- By: Travis Jeppesen
- Narrated by: Will Collyer
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 130
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 115
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 114
From terrifying missile tests, its unmissable Olympic cheering squad, and the war of words between President Trump and Kim Jong Un - not to mention stranger-than-fiction stories of purges and assassinations - news from North Korea has dominated global headlines. But what is life there actually like? In See You Again in Pyongyang, Travis Jeppesen, the first American to complete a university program in North Korea, culls from his experiences living, traveling, and studying in the country to create a multifaceted portrait of the country and its idiosyncratic capital city.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Save me from the hippie millennials with a PhD
- By Verified purchaser on 06-21-18
By: Travis Jeppesen
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The Man Who Loved China
- By: Simon Winchester
- Narrated by: Simon Winchester
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 605
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 372
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 373
No cloistered don, this tall, married Englishman was a freethinking intellectual, who practiced nudism and was devoted to a quirky brand of folk dancing. In 1937, while working as a biochemist at Cambridge University, he instantly fell in love with a visiting Chinese student, with whom he began a lifelong affair. He soon became fascinated with China, and his mistress swiftly persuaded the ever-enthusiastic Needham to travel to her home country, where he embarked on a series of extraordinary expeditions to the farthest frontiers of this ancient empire.
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5 out of 5 stars
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turn your watch back 70 years
- By Andy on 05-22-08
By: Simon Winchester
What listeners say about Tracking Bodhidharma
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- stinkypete
- 08-25-24
Excellent historical and cultural tour de force
Great narration. compelling story - thought provoking. Great side by side to get to the truth of the old one... and a peak into China's past and future.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Michael
- 03-09-21
It is what it says!
THE BOOK:
I was a a bit apprehensive about getting this book at first. I was not sure exactly what it was going to entail. I was curious because I am a Zen Buddhist in the Soto tradition, and not much is written about our First Patriarch. Bodhidharma is very much apart of Chinese culture and history, so I didn't exactly want a Chinese history lesson (at this point), I wanted to know more about Bodhidharma's life.
THE AUTHOR:
What I got was a great mix of both. Bodhidharma and Chinese culture are inseparable; you can't tell one without the other. This book is about a journey within a journey. Andy Ferguson goes to China to track the historical Bodhidharma. He constantly switches back and forth between his trip, and Bodhidharma's life according to people he meets mostly. That way you never get too much dry history.
I was surprised with how much new information I learned about Bodhidharma and the History of Zen in this book. Zen is a tradition that has a lot of the same stories being told over and over again. Ferguson sheds some new light on them, making for an entertaining story about Zen and Ferguson. I highly recommend this book to any Zen practitioner.
THE NARRORATOR:
I had mixed feelings about the narrator. George Backman does a very capable reading of this book. He pronounces all the Chinese words extremely well (it sounds like he speaks Mandarin fluently). He does however tend to be on the robotic side. He just has a very plain, monotone voice. Not the worst I've heard, but I feel like this story could of used more charisma.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Craig Stepanek
- 10-11-21
a personal narrative of his trip through China
maybe folliwing Bodhidharma's route through China but little insight into Bodhidharma's life or teachings. Very disappointed overall
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3 people found this helpful