Beginnings: an illustrated fable by Bhante Sujato

Here’s a book I wrote many years ago called Beginnings. It was based on an idea by Hock Eng of Inward Path, Penang, and I wrote the text in Penang. We searched for an artist, and I was introduced by Lachlan Warner to Lisa Anne, a Singaporean who was teaching at the Sydney School of Arts. She did the illustrations with various students. I love it, it’s so punk.

It’s been printed a few times as a small CD-sized book. Here’s the PDF.

beginnings.pdf (9.1 MB)

And here’s an essay I wrote to accompany the book.

endings.pdf (236.9 KB)

And here’s a talk I gave on the topic.

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This book really reaches its full potential when read aloud to a child. It’s very well done.

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This is too amazing! Is any possibility still to have it in the printed version? Also I’m now curious about the “Ending” CD. It would fit very nice my ideas for presents to several friends…

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Hey thanks! There’s no printed editions around, so far as I know. But I’ll add the other materials here.

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Hi @Nessie, your question sent me digging around my library’s shelves. Found the copy [edit: of Beginnings] in my Favorite Teachers’ section, of course; but found another in the Children’s section, one on the Thai Forest shelf, and a 4th copy in the separate holder for tiny books. (Oops, didn’t mean to hoard! :grimacing:)

I’m happy to share the extras with anyone who asks, so long as there’s some way to send that doesn’t require money spent from here.

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