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Tracking Bodhidharma
- A Journey to the Heart of Chinese Culture
- Narrated by: George Backman
- Length: 16 hrs and 16 mins
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Tracking Bodhidharma
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Summary
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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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
- Giles
- 06-01-14
Excellent in every way.
Would you listen to Tracking Bodhidharma again? Why?
There is a great deal to think about in the book - too much to absorb first time around.
What other book might you compare Tracking Bodhidharma to, and why?
Not sure - I haven't come across a book quite like this before.
What about George Backman’s performance did you like?
Sensitively read - with excellent Chinese pronunciation, which counts for a lot given the serious subject matter and poems etc that are included.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Not practical really, or appropriate - but compelling anyway.
Any additional comments?
A very thoughtful and well written book, excellently read. The author can tackle serious themes, but also has a light touch when needed. The book not only told me a lot I didn't know about Zen (I knew next to nothing), but also a great deal about China - its culture, people, geography and history. You don't have to be a Buddhist or would-be Buddhist to enjoy and get a lot out of it.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Adrian Samuelsberg
- 28-12-23
Lots of hate towards other schools of Buddhism
The book is interesting. I learned a lot about Chinese history and Buddhism. But it is extremely negative against other schools of Buddhism, especially the Pure Land School, going as far as calling it's followers "intellectually inferior" and as polluting the "real" Buddhism. I found that kind of negativity, and lets be fank, hate, troublesome throughout the reading.
It is sad to say yet another white, westerner denouncing and ridiculing the majority of Asian Buddhists (Which are Pure Land followers) as intellectually inferor to the American secular-zen movement. If you are okay with that, the book is actually very interesting.
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