"Udana and Itivuttaka: Two Classics from the Pali Canon," by John D. Ireland. Published by Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka (1997).
Note: It is my wish that after listening to these tracks, the listener becomes encouraged to purchase this copy by this author(John D. Ireland) from the publisher (BPS), to truly enjoy the benefits of reading the written word.

A few words.

Over the past 30+ years, in my quest for understanding the Dhamma, i.e. the Teachings of Lord Buddha, I have dedicated countless hours studying the suttas found in the Pali Canon of the Theravada Tradition (Words of the Elders) as I sat at the feet of many a great teacher, trying to learn and grasp the meaning behind the words.
In these difficult times, however, where time itself has become truly constricted in its abundance wherein the curious and struggling mind of individuals do not necessarily have the same luxuries of sitting and reading the Nikayas, something that was enjoyed only a generation or two earlier. Instead, one becomes even hesitant to pick up one of the Nikayas, given their massive volume. Therefore, the danger of their inaccessibility (as one omits from reading the Pali Nikayas) looms in the horizon, for many newcomer to the Dhamma are often petrified to tackle the wonderful exploration that would otherwise be awaiting them in those pages, due to their voluminous size. Thus, as one of my own students expressed her apprehension despite her love for the Dhamma, to pick up one these precious texts, I saw it necessary for posterity to go ahead and transfer these words onto audio, in an effort to encourage and make available the vast reservoir of wisdom, hopefully for generations to come. I realize the amount of work, time and energy this would take, but the necessity for making the Dhamma available in an age of scarcity of time where most of our time is spent driving, sitting long hours in commute, etc., becomes all the more relevant.
Being a Dhamma Teacher means nothing if there is no Dhamma available, which means that is available by being read, studied, and in this case, heard and listened to.
To this end, I am dedicating the time and energy to do my small part and record the precious words of Lord Buddha onto these audio files for posterity, hoping that listeners would become able to taste them and realize their fruits, by listening to and understanding the wonderful gems within the words of Lord Buddha, which have survived the test of time during the last 2600 years.

Mettacittena,
"Candana" (Garbis J. Bartanian, Doctor of Buddhist Ministry (DBMin), LMFT).

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