The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Classic Literature VideoBook with synchronized text, interactive
transcript, and closed captions in multiple languages. Audio courtesy of
Librivox. Read by Mark F. Smith.
Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini. A Romance of the French Revolution - Book 1: The Robe, Chapter 1: The Republican. Classic Literature VideoBook with synchronized text, interactive transcript, and closed captions in multiple languages. Audio courtesy of Librivox. Read by Gord Mackenzie. Link : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT2VKeOktvY
Rafael Sabatini was born in Iesi, Italy, to an English mother (Anna Trafford) and Italian father. His parents were opera singers who became teachers.
At a young age, Rafael was exposed to many languages, living with his
grandfather in England, attending school in Portugal and, as a
teenager, in Switzerland. By the time he was seventeen, when he returned
to England to live permanently, he was the master of five languages. He
quickly added a sixth language – English – to his linguistic
collection. He consciously chose to write in his adopted language,
because, he said, "all the best stories are written in English."
After a brief stint in the business world, Sabatini went to work as a
writer. He wrote short stories in the 1890s, and his first novel came
out in 1902. In 1905 he married Ruth Goad Dixon, the daughter of a
Liverpool merchant. It took Sabatini roughly a quarter of a century of
hard work before he attained success with Scaramouche in 1921. The novel, a historical romantic set during the French Revolution, became an international best-seller. It was followed by the equally successful Captain Blood in 1922. All of his earlier books were rushed into reprints, the most popular of which was The Sea Hawk
from 1915. Sabatini was a prolific writer; he produced a new book
approximately every year, and maintained a great deal of popularity with
the reading public through the decades that followed.
His only son, Rafael-Angelo (nicknamed Binkie), was killed in a car
crash on 1 April 1927. In 1931, he and his wife Ruth divorced. Later
that year he moved from London to Hay-on-Wye.
In 1935 he married the sculptor Christine Goad, his former
sister-in-law. They suffered further tragedy when Christine's son,
Lancelot, was killed in a flying accident. On the day he received his RAF wings, he flew his aeroplane over their house, but the plane went out of control and crashed in flames before their eyes.
By the 1940s, illness forced the writer to slow his prolific method
of composition. However, he did write several additional works even
during that time. He died on 13 February 1950 in Switzerland. He is
buried at Adelboden,
Switzerland. On his headstone his wife had written, "He was born with a
gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad", the first line of
Scaramouche.
He is best known for his worldwide best-sellers:
Scaramouche (1921), a tale of the French Revolution in which a fugitive hides out in a commedia dell'arte troupe and later becomes a fencing master (Sabatini wrote a sequel ten years later);
Captain Blood
(1922), in which the title character is admiral of a fleet of pirate
ships (Sabatini also wrote two sequels comprising short stories); and
Bellarion the Fortunate (1926), about a cunning young man who finds himself immersed in the politics of fifteenth-century Italy.
Several of his novels were adapted into films during the silent era,
and the first three of these books were made into notable films in the
sound era, in 1940, 1952, and 1935 respectively. His third novel was
made into a famous "lost" film, Bardelys the Magnificent, directed in 1926 by King Vidor with John Gilbert in the lead, and long viewable only in a fragment excerpted in Vidor's silent comedy Show People. A few intact reels have recently been discovered in Europe. The fully restored version premiered on TCM on 11 January 2010.
Two silent adaptations of Sabatini novels which do survive intact are Rex Ingram's Scaramouche (1923) starring Ramón Novarro, and The Sea Hawk (1924) directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Milton Sills. This is actually a more faithful adaptation than the 1940 remake with Errol Flynn. A 1924 silent version of Captain Blood, starring J. Warren Kerrigan, is partly lost, surviving only in an incomplete copy in the Library of Congress. The Black Swan was filmed in 1942 starring Tyrone Power and Maureen O'Hara.
In all, Sabatini produced thirty-one novels, eight short story
collections, six non-fiction books, numerous uncollected short stories,
and a play.
Today (05 May 2012) is Vesak day. 'VESAK' Day is the Birth, Enlightenment and Death of Budhha. The significance of Vesak lies with the Buddha and his universal peace message to mankind.
BUDDHA
This documentary (Buddha )is made by filmmaker David Grubin and narrated by Richard Gere. It tells the story of the Buddha's life, a journey especially relevant to our own bewildering times of violent change and spiritual confusion. It features the work of some of the world's greatest artists and sculptors, who across two millennia, have depicted the Buddha's life in art rich in beauty and complexity. Hear insights into the ancient narrative by contemporary Buddhists, including Pulitzer Prize winning poet W.S. Merwin and His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Buddhism is a religion based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who lived about 25 centuries ago in what is now Nepal and northeastern India.
Biography of Siddhartha Gautama, Founder of Buddhism
He came to be called "the Buddha," which means "awakened one," after he experienced a profound realization of the nature of life, death and existence. In English, the Buddha was said to be enlightened, although in Sanskrit it is bodhi, meaning "awakened."
In the remaining years of his life, the Buddha traveled and taught. However, he didn't teach people what he had realized when he became enlightened. Instead, he taught people how to realize enlightenment for themselves.
Spread of Buddhism in Asia and the World
In the centuries following the Buddha's life, Buddhism spread throughout Asia to become one of the dominant religions of the continent. The most common estimate of the number of Buddhists in the world today is 350 million, which makes Buddhism the fourth largest of the world's religions.
Distinctions Between Buddhism and Other Religions
Buddhism is so different from other religions that some people question whether it is a religion at all. For example, the central focus of most religions is God, or gods. But Buddhism is non-theistic. The Buddha taught that believing in gods was not useful for those seeking to realize enlightenment.
Instead of teaching doctrines to be memorized and believed, the Buddha taught how we can realize truth for ourselves. The focus of Buddhism is on practice rather than belief.
Basic Teachings of Buddhism
The foundation of Buddhism is the Four Noble Truths. The Truths are: The truth of suffering (dukkha) The truth of the cause of suffering (samudaya) The truth of the end of suffering (nirhodha) The truth of the path that frees us from suffering (magga)
More About the Four Truths of Buddhism
By themselves, the Truths don't seem like much. But beneath the Truths are countless layers of teachings on the nature of existence, the self, life, and death, not to mention suffering. The point is not to just "believe in" the teachings, but to explore them, understand them, and test them against one's own experience. It is the process of exploring, understanding, testing and realizing that is Buddhism.
THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS (THE FOUNDATION OF BUDDHA'S TEACHINGS)
The Four Noble Truths are the essence of Buddha's teaching or the foundation for most Buddhist belief, and they make a good starting off point for trying to understand the religion.
The Buddha's first sermon after his Enlightenment centered on the Four Noble Truths, which are the foundation of Buddhism. The truths are:
1. The truth of suffering (dukkha)
2. The truth of the cause of suffering (samudaya)
3. The truth of the end of suffering (nirhodha)
4. The truth of the path that frees us from suffering (magga)
Recognizing Suffering
The Truth of Suffering: The First Noble Truth often is translated as "Life is suffering." Many people new to Buddhism tune out as soon as they hear this. But the Pali word "dukkha" also refers to anything that is temporary, conditional, or compounded of other things. Even something precious and enjoyable is dukkha, because it will end. The Truth of the Cause of Suffering: The Second Noble Truth teaches that the cause of suffering is craving or thirst (tanha). We continually search for something outside ourselves to make us happy. But no matter how successful we are, we never remain satisfied. The Buddha taught that this thirst grows from ignorance of the self. We go through life grabbing one thing after another to get a sense of security about ourselves. We attach not only to physical things, but also to ideas and opinions about ourselves and the world around us. Then we grow frustrated when the world doesn't behave the way we think it should and our lives don't conform to our expectations.
Ending Suffering
The Truth of the End of Suffering: The Buddha taught that, through diligent practice, we can put an end to craving. Ending the hamster-wheel chase after satisfaction is enlightenment (bodhi, "awakened"). The enlightened being exists in a state called Nirvana. The Truth of the Path That Frees Us From Suffering: Here, the Buddha as physician prescribes the treatment for our illness: The Eightfold Path. Unlike in many other religions, in Buddhism, there is no particular benefit to merely believing in a doctrine. Instead, the emphasis is on living the doctrine and walking the path.
Today (05 May 2012) is the Vesak Day. 'VESAK' Day is the Birth, Enlightenment and Death of Buddha. Four Noble Truths are the essence of Buddha's teaching or the foundation for most Buddhist belief, and they make a good starting off point for trying to understand the religion. Here's an explanation of the Four Noble Truths. link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vjm2zdQ5ll0
The Four Noble Truths (with transcript)
The Buddha's first sermon after his Enlightenment centered on the Four Noble Truths, which are the foundation of Buddhism. The truths are:
1. The truth of suffering (dukkha)
2. The truth of the cause of suffering (samudaya)
3. The truth of the end of suffering (nirhodha)
4. The truth of the path that frees us from suffering (magga)
Recognizing Suffering
The Truth of Suffering: The First Noble Truth often is translated as "Life is suffering." Many people new to Buddhism tune out as soon as they hear this. But the Pali word "dukkha" also refers to anything that is temporary, conditional, or compounded of other things. Even something precious and enjoyable is dukkha, because it will end. The Truth of the Cause of Suffering: The Second Noble Truth teaches that the cause of suffering is craving or thirst (tanha). We continually search for something outside ourselves to make us happy. But no matter how successful we are, we never remain satisfied. The Buddha taught that this thirst grows from ignorance of the self. We go through life grabbing one thing after another to get a sense of security about ourselves. We attach not only to physical things, but also to ideas and opinions about ourselves and the world around us. Then we grow frustrated when the world doesn't behave the way we think it should and our lives don't conform to our expectations.
Ending Suffering
The Truth of the End of Suffering: The Buddha taught that, through diligent practice, we can put an end to craving. Ending the hamster-wheel chase after satisfaction is enlightenment (bodhi, "awakened"). The enlightened being exists in a state called Nirvana. The Truth of the Path That Frees Us From Suffering: Here, the Buddha as physician prescribes the treatment for our illness: The Eightfold Path. Unlike in many other religions, in Buddhism, there is no particular benefit to merely believing in a doctrine. Instead, the emphasis is on living the doctrine and walking the path.
Link text and video http://video.about.com/buddhism/The-Four-Noble-Truths.htm
/ˈʃɜrlɒk ˈhoʊmz/)[1] is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to adopt almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve difficult cases.
