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These 1028 poems, grouped as 10 ‘Circles’ (mandalas), have variously been called hymns, poems or songs by Sanskrit scholars. The Rik (so pronounced by the ancient Angirases clans, or Seer-Priest families) was an experiment with sound. The emphasis is always on sounding the words perfectly. The focus tends to be on the ideas rather than on the authors in Vedic literature, they are largely religious in nature, reflecting the world view and spiritual preoccupations of ancient India.

The Khuddaka Nikāya is different in character from the other four Nikāyas of the Sutta Pitaka in the Theravada Pāli Canon in that rather than being a single work it is, as its customary translation ‘Minor Anthologies’ suggests, a collection of independent works.

In this, the final volume in Dharma Audiobooks’ compilation of the Principal Texts of the Khuddaka Nikāya, the major work, and in some ways the most unusual, is Milinda’s Questions. For while the other two, the Buddhavaṃsa and the Cariyāpitaka, may date from the early years of Buddhism, there is no doubt that Milinda’s Questions comes from a later period.

As with Volume 1, Volume 2 follows the traditional ordering of the individual works in the Khuddaka Nikāya, which makes for a curious, but invigorating collection. The first two texts, Therīgāthā and Theragāthā, present the traditional histories of the bhikkhunīs (nuns) and bhikkhus (monks) of the Buddha’s time. In each case, their biographies (written centuries later by Dharmapāla who had access to sources now lost) lead to verses ascribed to the real individuals on gaining nibbāna. Here are fascinating glimpses of life at the time of the Buddha.

In 1604, King James I of England authorized that a new translation of the Bible into English be started. It was finished in 1611, just 85 years after the first translation of the New Testament into English appeared (Tyndale, 1526). The Authorized Version, or the King James Version, quickly became the standard for English-speaking Protestants. Its flowing language and prose rhythm have had a profound influence on the literature of the past 400 years.

Conocido como el “Libro Grande”, el texto básico de Alcohólicos Anónimos ha ayudado a millones de personas de todas partes del mundo a lograr y mantener su sobriedad desde que apareció la primera edición en 1939. Los primeros capítulos exponen el programa de A.A. de recuperación del alcoholismo --los Doce Pasos originales-- y cuentan las historias personales de los cofundadores de A.A., Bill W. y el Dr. Bob.

杨家将在中国民间广为流传，六郎收三将、大破天门阵、穆桂英挂帅等故事更是妇孺皆知……楊家將在中國民間廣為流傳，六郎收三將、大破天門陣、穆桂英掛帥等故事更是婦孺皆知……