We're making some progress on Dhammadinna's 1993 talk Dimensions of Refuge. I've got about 15 minutes of side A cleaned up to deliver to Danamaya today for transcription. I've already begun transcribing the rest of side A, with the understanding that Danamaya or someone else will check my transcription alongside the audio. We think it will make sense to provide the full transcript when we're done, but only the audio parts that are really listenable.

Side B is mostly corrupt, but I've provided a listenable portion here. In it, Dhammadinna is describing Bhante's qualities. At the end of the clip you can hear the degeneration of the tape start to kick in just slightly for a second or two. Once you get a taste of it, you'll understand why the dog left the room while I was dubbing the cassette, but you're spared the worst of it here, and can enjoy Dhammadinna's comments on her teacher.

Recently, HQ contacted the Detectives on special assignment: Locate and digitize Dhammadinna's 1993 talk "Dimensions of Refuge."

Amazingly, this detective had not one but two copies of this rare cassette deep in the storage chambers also known as the coat closet. The first copy proved to be too badly damaged to rescue. It suffers either from bad bleed-through, or it has become a channel of paranormal activity from some great beyond. Since the latter is outside the scope of the Dharma Tape History Detective's purview, we turned to tape two. Also badly damaged, this tape is at least comprehensible, and most of it can be recovered over time. What isn't broadcast quality can likely be transcribed.

We've included a snippet for your listening pleasure, quickly processed to improve sound quality. Enjoy, and watch for more from this coveted file in the near future.

I have digitized another talk, this one a multi-speaker presentation from a February, 1985 Women's Order Member event on the Four Right Efforts. The speakers are Sridevi, Vimala, Sanghadevi and Ashokashri.

I felt the audio quality was quite poor even after my attempts to clean it up, so I consulted a local expert. OK, I consulted the closest person, who happens to know nothing about audio or Buddhism. He said, "I can't understand that at all."

That sealed it. Like the previous archival talk I digitized for Free Buddhist Audio, this talk will also be for transcript only. Believe me, if you heard the hiss on the tape and the bleedthrough from side B to side A, you'd thank me for not tempting you with a play button. I hope to find help soon bringing it to you in print form.

You can read more about bleedthrough here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Print-through

Striving on with mindfulness,
Mary

This goes along with the blog post I just published. Now that I have a better sense of the interface I realize I could've put the blog post here. Oh, well! So the wind blows. The point of this file is to demonstrate the state of the original recording, so prepare yourself for a lot of hiss and very little voice.

Hello and welcome to the the Dharma Tape History Detectives group! I just thought I'd post a note about what's happening with the project.

The talk that's at the top of the queue is Dayanandi's 1999 talk, "Coursing Through the Worldly Winds." Side B of the cassette is actually Side A, and Side A is actually Side B. I thought this was apropos somehow.

The cassette is in very poor condition; I've posted a snippet so you can see what I mean. It starts out sounding OK but then trails off as it plays. That's a challenge, and hopefully I'll be able to get it to the point where it's at least audible for transcription.

It's actually not windy at all here in San Francisco; it's uncharacteristically warm and there's a light breeze. My little dog is sunning himself, and the cats that live in my yard are napping in the shade. It's a good day to edit a file.

What does it mean to be part of a Sangha? What does true harmony mean alongside the inevitability of conflict? Srivati addresses these questions with help from the monks at Kosambi, the six memorable qualities of a Bikkhu, and the seven knowledges of the stream entrant.

The seven-fold puja followed by the Tiratna Vandana. The oldest cassette in the batch!

Dharma, poetry, and humor woven together to help guide us out of the Tavern of Ruin. Vajradarshini is joined by readers from the listening sangha, while Rumi, Dogen, Nagarjuna and others make guest appearances in spirit. Emptiness has never been the same.