Stories
Jataka tales and the life of the Buddha
Twenty original retellings: the life of the Buddha, Jataka tales, and a few teachings. Told for bedtime, without a rush to the moral.
Sleep & Calm
Fall asleep to the Buddha's stories.
Sleep in the arms of ancient wisdom.
Buddhist stories narrated to quiet your mind and guide you into deep, restful sleep.
Free stories included. No account.
- 20 stories
- 10 sounds
- 6 meditations
- 2 narrators
For a quiet night
Everything the evening needs.
A small honest library, read slowly.
Meditations
Short practices, then longer ones
Breathing and a body scan are included. Breath awareness, gratitude, loving-kindness, and a night-sky practice open with a subscription.
Sounds
One soundscape under the voice
Rain, ocean, wind, night, forest, and five quieter instruments. Layer one under a story, or let it play alone. Sounds do not stack.
Voices
Kimberly and Peaceful Peter
Choose a narrator and that voice is the one you hear. If their recording is not on the phone yet, the app reads along. It does not switch to the other narrator.
Offline
The free night is already on the phone
Five stories and two meditations ship with both narrators. All ten sounds do too. Premium narration downloads the first time you play it, then it can stay.
Bedtime
A timer that fades, and a locked screen
15, 30, 45, or 60 minutes, the end of the piece, or off. The last 45 seconds fade. The story keeps going when the phone locks. Favourites stay on the device. ♥
In the app
Night, as the phone actually looks.
Gold on near-black, meant for a lamp that is already off.
Popular tonight
Stories for the quiet hours.
These five are included. The rest of the library is on the stories page, with the same two voices.
Life of Buddha · about 18 min
IncludedBirth of the Buddha
A white elephant comes to a queen in a dream, and a child arrives gently among the sal trees.
Life of Buddha · about 18 min
IncludedThe Story of Sumedha
A young hermit makes himself a road of hair and cloth, and chooses a long path toward waking.
Jataka Tales · about 19 min
IncludedThe Deer King
A deer king keeps a hard promise, and the long hunt grows still.
Jataka Tales · about 18 min
IncludedThe Hare in the Moon
A hare offers himself on a giving day, and warm flames turn to cool light in the moon.
Teachings · about 18 min
IncludedThe Mustard Seed
Kisa Gotami seeks mustard seed from a house death has never entered, and kindness leads her to rest.
Free and premium
Start tonight. The longer shelf can wait.
No account needed for what is included.
Included
- Birth of the Buddha about 18 min
- The Story of Sumedha about 18 min
- The Deer King about 19 min
- The Hare in the Moon about 18 min
- The Mustard Seed about 18 min
- Breathing 5 min
- Body Scan 7 min
- Gentle Rain, Ocean Waves, Forest Birds, Wind, Night Sounds
With a subscription
- King Sivi about 18 min
- Nalagiri about 17 min
- Patacara about 18 min
- Prince Temiya about 18 min
- The First Turning of the Wheel about 20 min
- The Four Sights about 19 min
- The Golden Mallard about 18 min
- The Great Renunciation about 18 min
- The Monkey King about 18 min
- The Night of Awakening about 19 min
- The Quail and the Fire about 18 min
- The Sick Monk about 18 min
- The Six-Tusked Elephant about 18 min
- The Turtle Who Was Silent about 18 min
- Vessantara about 19 min
- Breath Awareness, Gratitude, Loving-Kindness, Night Sky Meditations
- Om Chanting, Singing Bowl, Tibetan Monks, Mantras, Flute Sounds
Premium narration is fetched from https://audio.buddhiststories.app/v1 the first time you play it, checked against a hash shipped with the app, and kept on the phone. The sounds themselves are already in the app. A subscription is what unlocks the locked ones.
Soundscapes
Nature sounds for deep rest.
Layer one under a story, or let it play alone.
Premium
Om ChantingSacred vibrationsIncluded
Gentle RainSoft rainfallIncluded
Ocean WavesRhythmic tidesPremium
Singing BowlTibetan resonanceIncluded
Forest BirdsWoodland serenityPremium
Tibetan MonksDeep chantingIncluded
WindAir through pinesPremium
MantrasSoft rhythmic tonesIncluded
NightCrickets and stillnessPremium
FluteA lone bamboo fluteGuided meditation
Still the mind.
Find peace within.
Sessions from 5 to 20 minutes. A free one is enough to begin. Filters in the app: Beginner, Sleep, Compassion.
quick · 7 min
Body Scan
IncludedMove attention slowly from the feet to the face.
program · 10 min
Breath Awareness
PremiumFocus on the natural rhythm of your breath.
quick · 5 min
Breathing
IncludedA short settling of the breath.
quick · 5 min
Gratitude
PremiumThree quiet thanks, no list to perform.
program · 15 min
Loving-Kindness
PremiumCultivate compassion for self and others.
sleep · 20 min
Night Sky Visualization
PremiumImagine a vast, peaceful night sky.
Three steps
A short way into the night.
Choose a story
Life, Jataka, or a teaching. Or a five-minute breathing practice if that is all the evening has room for.
Add one sound
Rain, ocean, wind, night, or a bowl. One bed sits under the voice. Tap it again and it stops.
Let the timer fade
Set 15, 30, 45, or 60 minutes, or the end of the piece. The last 45 seconds leave quietly. Lock the screen. The story continues.
Why a story
Somewhere for a busy mind to rest.
A mind that will not sleep is often a mind still trying to finish the day. A slow story gives that attention a road to walk that is not tomorrow's list. You do not have to follow every sentence. The voice is there so the room has a thread.
These are original retellings of old plots: Jataka tales, and nights from the life of the Buddha. They are read by Kimberly and by Peaceful Peter. The episodes that can be harsh in older tellings are told here without injury or despair, so they can sit beside a bed.
This is a sleep and meditation app, not a medical treatment and not a course. If sleep or worry is more than a restless night, a person who can help is the right next step. The stories are only a quieter last hour.
Buddha Story Premium
Tonight, sleep differently.
Start free. The subscription is optional.
Both plans include a 3-day free trial, then $4.99/month or $39.99/year. A payment method may be required to start the trial. Cancel anytime. Free stories stay free.
Monthly
$4.99
Best Value
Yearly
$39.99
Those are the US prices written in the app. The cards in the app show the App Store's price for your country once the store connects. What you pay is the price Apple shows before you confirm. Restore Purchases brings back a subscription already on that Apple ID.
Questions
Before the first night.
What is Buddha Story?
Buddha Story is a sleep and calm app for iPhone. It plays narrated Buddhist stories, short guided meditations, and one sleep sound at a time. The free library plays without an account.
Who is speaking?
Two narrators: Kimberly, and Peaceful Peter. The app remembers the one you pick, on that phone. It never plays the other narrator's file in their place.
What is free?
Birth of the Buddha, The Story of Sumedha, The Deer King, The Hare in the Moon, and The Mustard Seed. Meditations: Breathing and Body Scan. Sounds: Gentle Rain, Ocean Waves, Forest Birds, Wind, and Night. Both narrators' recordings of the free stories and meditations are in the app.
What does a subscription add?
The other fifteen stories, four meditations, and five sounds. The app offers a monthly plan and a yearly plan, each with a 3-day trial. The prices written in the app are $4.99 a month and $39.99 a year. The yearly card says Best Value, $3.33/month, save 33%. Apple shows the price for your store before you pay.
Can I listen offline?
The included stories, meditations, and all ten sounds are already on the phone. Premium narration downloads the first time you play it, from the audio host shipped in the app, and is kept for later. Settings has Delete downloads. A favourite is only a mark on the device.
How does the sleep timer work?
15, 30, 45, or 60 minutes, the end of the piece, or off. The last 45 seconds fade the voice and the sound, then the audio pauses. Playback continues if you lock the screen.
Is this for children?
The stories are told gently, and a family can listen together. The app is a general-audience sleep app. It does not ask for a birth date, and it is not directed at children under 13.
How do I get help?
Write to support@playzagames.com. Say which story or meditation, which narrator, and the iPhone model if something failed to play or download.
Begin with what is already free.
Five stories, two short meditations, and five sounds. No account.