Most people think What The Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula Thero is the best place to start, and I don't think that's bad, but it's an intense book. People want to read directly, so then the recommendation is The Dhammapada. Vision and Transformation by Sangharakshita is a nice little book about the 8 fold path.
The preliminaries:
Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg
Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach
Self Compassion by Kristin Nell
The Dark Side of the Light Chasers by Debbie Ford
All About Love by bell hooks
Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman
I feel these books set the groundwork for starting the spiritual journey for the modern mind.
Pali Canon (Sutta Pitaka plus):
(These can be hard to read without more background and because they're so ancient. The Nikayas are longer books with many sutras in them. You can access them online too.)
Dhamapada (Some people recommend your start here, this is where I began reading the Pali Canon.)
Majjhima Nikaya
Digha Nikāya
Saṁyutta Nikāya
Anguttara Nikāya
Meditation general:
Change Your Mind by Paramananda
Meditation by Kamalashila
Anapanasati:
Breath by Breath by Larry Rosenberg
Mindfulness of Breathing by Buddhadasa (see photo below)
This practice pairs nicely with the Satipatthana practice, and Analayo has a nice book on that.
Brahma Viharas:
True Love by Thich Nhat Hanh (see photo below)
Boundless Heart by Christina Feldman
Living With Kindness by Sangharakshita
Theravada Buddhism writers (Wikipedia):
I've read Jack Kornfield, Ajahn Chah, Henepola Gunaratana, Analayo, Ayya Khema
What The Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula Thero is often seen as the best first book.
Loved these two books:
Venerable Acariya Mun Bhuridatta Thera, A Spiritual Biography by Acariya Maha Boowa Nanasampanno
(Can be found here, various formats for free)
Mae Chee Kaew by Bhikkhu Silaratano. You can listen to her biography here.
Living Dharma by Jack Kornfield is his first book, that goes to living teachers and summarizes their teachings.
Analayo's Satipatthana Meditation: A Practice Guide (2015)is the wise culmination of a lifetime of work and is written not in his excellent academic voice, but in a supportive practice voice. I might start by reading this book, and return to it again and again throughout your development.
Right Concentration by Leigh Brasington is an intense guide that I had to develop to appreciate.
The Heart of Buddha's Teachings by Thich Nhat Hanh
A Concise History of Buddhism by Andrew Skilton
Mahayana Buddhism by Paul Williams
A Survey of Buddhism by Sangharakshita (photo below)
Zen Buddhism:
The Three Pillars of Zen by Philip Kapleau Roshi. This groundbreaking books presents the path in English.
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryū Suzuki. This classic has an essential attitude.
Zen Flesh, Zen Bones by Paul Reps. These ancient tales provide background.
The Circle of the Way by Barbara O'Brien. This history of Zen gives a historical perspective of all the movements from all the countries.
(You can listen to 3 sutras in English here)
Great books on Specific topics:
How Karma Works: The Twelve Links of Dependent Arising by Geshe Sonan Rinchen
Kukai: Major Works by Kūkai, translation by Yoshito Hakeda
Buddha Nature by Sallie B. King. Thought academic, this book explains Buddha-nature in a way that made sense to me and neutralized and stopped my resistance to the concept.
The Life of the Buddha: According to the Pali Canon by Bhikkhu Ñanamoli. That's probably the best biography of the Buddha. I could write a long post about this genera of devotional writing. I like Vishvapani's biography, or not a Buddhist Karen Armstrong.
Meeting The Buddhas: A Guide to Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Tantric Deities by Vessantara
Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism by Lama Govinda.
The Art of Reflection by Ratnaguna. Not as emphasized, reflection is a practice of Buddhism.
Great Faith, Great Wisdom by Ratnaguna. This wonderful book explained to me to take the Pure Land sutras.
The Yogi's Joy by Sangharakshita. About Milarepa. One little section.
The Eternal Legacy by Sangharakshita. About Buddhist literature, large summary overview.
Nondualism by David Loy (photo below)
Poetry:
The Mountain Poems of Stonehouse translated and commentary by Red Pine
The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain by Red Pine
Ten Thousand Songs of Milarepa
My journey: I read Zen in college, couldn't understand it. I read Awakening the Buddha Within: Eight Steps to Enlightenment by Lama Surya Das, and Charlotte Joko Beck's two books before a friend signed me up for a meditation class with Triratna. Then I read Vision and Transformation about the 8 fold path, and the Dhammapada. Then I just soaked up a million books, good and bad. The above is the list of good. I did mitra study, The Bodhisattva Ideal and I ended up reading most of Sangharakshita and his disciples. I read beyond them, read Ajahn Chah complete works, and I'm still reading and rereading through the Pali Canon.
My reading has slowed down because I read really slowly now and contemplate more than I read. And I focus more on meditation. I spent 10 good years going to retreats, and seeking out teachings, developing friendships within the sangha. I'm trying to be more self reliant, and a certain point you know enough and can go off and just do the work. I blog as a way of sharing what I've learned a giving back. I'm not a lineage holder for any sect, not a teacher, just sharing my journey, answering questions I see a lot online.
Please comment if you feel there's a book you really appreciated and want to share!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment