[Amfdaaandhaq]

I wanted to ask the opinion of more experienced members here if listening to talks on AudioDharma and watching documentaries about the Buddha and Buddhism etc. is a sufficient way to learn the teachings without doing extensive reading of books and reading the suttas? I find reading books online very sore and tiring on the eyes, which is why I found listening to a couple of the talks a much more enjoyable way to gain information. I don’t want to spend a fortune sending for lots of books if possible.

I’ve made a start on the different limbs of the eightfold path now, and see that there are many talks given by different speakers covering this. Are they all reliable sources or are some better than others at covering all the aspects and putting the message across, and if so, which ones would you recommend I listen to? There are so many speakers listed on the site that its difficult to know which ones to choose.

Cheers
Aasha

[foonlesse]

There are so many qualified Buddhist masters out there with videos on youtube as well as non-Buddhist meditation and yoga teachers. You could try typing in keywords to search youtube for suitable video clips - such as meditation or buddhism, etc. and take it from there. Eventually if you are interested enough you might like to seek out a teacher in your area and attend teachings in a dharma center though of course there is no rush to do that. Yet another method is to make Buddhist friends on Facebook where there are many videos, dharma quotes and short dharma essays being shared daily.

[Nurba]

Hi Aasha,

I can personally recommend any audio (or written) teachings by Ajahn Sumedho a westerner who is an ordained abbot of the Theravada Thai Forest Tradition previously at the UK Amaravati Monastery. I was fortunate enough to attend a number of his offline teachings and also received personal advice from him about my practice, before he eventually retired to Thailand last year.

He is a gentle, kind man of great wisdom and integrity and gets right to the heart of the teachings in his talks, using many of his own personal life experiences as examples.

You can find his talks on this website. I also recommend you investigate any texts and audios relating to Ajahn Chah who was Ajahn Sumedho's teacher. The other ajahn's on the website are also from the same tradition but I haven't listened to all of the talks myself.

http://www.dhammatalks.org.uk/

I hope that helps.

With kind wishes,

Aloka

[Goodwin]

Thanks to both of you for your comments and suggestions - much appreciated.

I can personally recommend any audio (or written) teachings by Ajahn Sumedho a westerner who is an ordained abbot of the Theravada Thai Forest Tradition

I have tracked down a talk on www.dharmaseed.org by Ajahn Sumedho called '12 Aspects of 4 Noble Truths & 8 fold Path'. I see there are several other talks there that look interesting. Thanks very much Aloka-D.

[Jadldqys]

I've just finished listening to Ajahn Sumedho's talk '12 Aspects of 4 Noble Truths & 8 fold Path'. Thanks Aloka-D for pointing me in his direction for audio talks....found it very informative but also highly entertaining. He's a very funny man! Good mix. Cheers.

[indentKew]

I've just finished listening to Ajahn Sumedho's talk '12 Aspects of 4 Noble Truths & 8 fold Path'. Thanks Aloka-D for pointing me in his direction for audio talks....found it very informative but also highly entertaining. He's a very funny man! Good mix. Cheers.

Yes, sometimes he can be hilarious ! I'm very happy that you liked it Aasha

[Janny2006]

Try Buddhist Geeks as well. These are podcasts, not Dharma talks, but they are informative and offer interviews/Q&A with noted members of the Buddhist community and they cover a broad range of topics and traditions

[XiWm9O9S]

I really like listening to Tara Brach who is an Insight meditation teacher. I listen to her podcasts on a regular basis. You can find her at: http://tarabrach.com/index.html

[kiosokkn]

I just discovered Buddhist Geeks as well. I linked to them from the Interdependence Project in New York. The thing is, with all this technology it's so easy to branch off into all different directions. There are so many fantastic teachers out there. It's great when you are hungry for knowledge and information, but it can easily turn into overload which leads to confusion, which is kind of where I am now!

[kaysions]

but it can easily turn into overload which leads to confusion

Yes, I know what you mean!!!!

Thanks Jenni and Shadowspeak for the links.

[forextradinginfo]

http://www.audiodharma.org/