Favorite Buddhist Books (not Suttas) And Reference Websites

[phloiwang 0]

Hello all

I'm a newbie here. I just finished "siadai kontai maidai arn" by Dangtrin. I think it is both entertaining and informative. It makes me believe the author should have attained Dhamma already.

[Grover 5]

Hello all

I'm a newbie here. I just finished "siadai kontai maidai arn" by Dangtrin. I think it is both entertaining and informative. It makes me believe the author should have attained Dhamma already.

That sounds like a book worth reading

One of my fav buddhist books is "Wings of Awakening" by Thannissaro Bhikku.

Although this is not strictly a buddhist book, "The Power of Now" by Eckart Tolle is pretty close to buddhism. He describes his enlightenment in the book. One night he was in his bedroom overcome by strong overwhelming anxiety. He remembers saying to himself "I cannot stand myself", which triggered something & he was sucked into a vortex (?). When he awoke he saw the world as an awakened person. Or so he claims. Great book anyway.

[jazzbo 15]

From a review:

THE WAY OF THE WHITE CLOUDS

Lama Anagarika Govinda

The Way of the White Clouds is the remarkable narrative of a pilgrimage which could not be made today. In 1948, Lama Anagarika Govinda made a journey into Tibet before its invasion by the Chinese. His extraordinary descriptions of the landscape, monasteries and people of Tibet are unforgettable, and his sensitive explorations of the spiritual traditions of Tibet and the travels he made within his own being are both magical and extremely helpful. As a book for discovering what Tibet was really like before enormous change swept through it, and what Tibetan spirituality is all about, The Way of the White Clouds has no equal.

From the book:

The Way of the White Clouds

To see the greatness of a mountain, one must keep one's distance;

to understand its form, one must move around it;

to experience its moods, one must see it at sunrise and sunset,

at noon and at midnight, in sun and in rain, in snow and in storm,

in summer and in winter and in all the other seasons.

He who can see the mountain like this comes near to the life of the mountain,

a life that is as intense and varied as that of a human being.

LAMA GOVINDA

THE WAY OF THE WHITE CLOUDS

--I first read it in the early 70's ... it still is my favorite and I still have my original copy. Jazzbo

[chutai 22]

Exploring Karma and Rebirth by Nagapriya is an excellent and challenging little book that acts not only as an introduction to these subjects but also questions some of the exising ideas that have been handed down since the Brahmanistic times of the Buddha. Well worth the read whether new to the subject or familiar with the concepts. Good reviews by people like Stephen Batchelor on the back cover.

[sabaijai 391]

Has anyone here read The Doctrine of Awakening: The Attainment of Self-Mastery According to the Earliest Buddhist Texts by Julius Evola?

[robitusson 3]

Sogyal Rinpoche's Tibetan Book of Living & Dying

[camerata 514]

The Foundations of Buddhism by Rupert Gethin is a real gem. Answers all those questions you didn't know who to ask.

Anyone know where the Buddha statue on the cover is located? I'm guessing Sri Lanka.

[sabaijai 391]

The Foundations of Buddhism by Rupert Gethin is a real gem. Answers all those questions you didn't know who to ask.

Anyone know where the Buddha statue on the cover is located? I'm guessing Sri Lanka.

I believe that's a detail from the 12th-century (many Sinhalese claim it's 5th C, but the stylistics belie that dating) standing Buddha at Aukana, Sri Lanka. I visited the site in 2000 and 2005, exceptionally nice sculpture.

Now to read the book behind the cover ...

[sabaijai 391]

:off topic: Another shot showing the whole temple complex.

[Grover 5]

geez you did well to spot that

sounds like a very good book indeed.

just checked out my local library and they got it

[tijnebijn 61]

What about any book form 'lama Surya DAS',he is an american monk,writes very wise and simple in a understandable manner,really recommend books from him.Also ofcourse the books of 'His holiness the dalai Lama'

just so unbelievable wisdom and compassion this man has,also,The Tibetan book of living and dying(Rinpoche),for some hard to read maybe,but just opened my mind.If you have never read the last one,you will never understand buddhism at all!Some very good books!have a nice reading

[garro 43]

Living Buddhists Masters by Jack Kornfield is fantastic for the amount of knowledge contained within. I can read it again and again.

Light on Enlightenment by Christopher Titmus was great for simplifying things but it is a while since I read it.

Buddha in the Jungle by Tiyavanich Kamala. This was a great Thai book which looked at the Thuodong forest monks.

Any book containing the wisdom of Ajahn Chah

Edited March 4, 2007 by garro

[camerata 514]

geez you did well to spot that

sounds like a very good book indeed.

just checked out my local library and they got it

I've only flipped through my copy since I'm saving it for my vacation but every time I open it I find something interesting. It looks better than Karen Armstrong's Buddha.

Apparently he's written another book called The Buddhist Path to Awakening: A Study of the Bodhi-Pakkhiya Dhamma . There's a short bio of the author at http://www.bris.ac.uk/thrs/staff/rg.html.

Nice photo, sabaijai!

[garro 43]

There are some good Theravada books and articles to download from here;

http://www.budsas.org/ebud/ebidx.htm

[sabaijai 391]

There are some good Theravada books and articles to download from here;

http://www.budsas.org/ebud/ebidx.htm

Excellent source, and mentioned in one of the pinned topics.