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Recommendation's welcome
I would be grateful to anyone who can suggest a book that is the next stage forward on my journey of understanding Buddhism. I tried most of the basic stuff which was a mixed bag of tricks if I'm honest.
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Right now, I am reading "Awakening The Buddha Within" by Lama Surya Das. It is a terriffic book.
Have you checked out the "Recommended Reading Thread" on this forum?
I've found that the initial things, taught at the very beginning of learning Buddhism, were great leaps of insight. Also, that when practiced, they are more difficult to obtain than I initially thought.
The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path are far-reaching enough that one could spend a lifetime on them.
Right Speech is something I have to work on daily.
Right Intention is something I have to work on daily.
Right Mindfulness is something I have to work on daily.
Right View is something I have to work on daily.
Right Action is something I have to work on daily.
Right Livelihood - okay... maybe I don't have to work on that daily.
Right Concentration is something I have to work on daily.
Right Effort is something I have to work on daily.
In trying to approach my work or my family or my friends or those who would do me harm or try to bring me suffering - I have to change myself into using what is Right to review all my actions and thoughts.
With just these items - there is so much to work on that I honestly feel, for me, dredging into anything deeper is just beyond me.
-bf
The Empty Mirror - Jan Willem Van De Wetering
and
A Glimpse of Nothingness - same author
You present a nice problem! There is more Buddhism in print than just about any other discipline - and vast swathes of untranslated Tibetan liteature, to say nothing of other languages.
When we have read the 'basics', we have certainly got a lot to get on with but we also get glimpses of more, beyond. Writers like Thich Nhat Hahn, Sogyal Rinpoche, Lama Surya Das and others quote from great, 'root' writers like Shanideva or Longchenpa, etc. And the question arises: what about reading some of these classics.
When I was in Dharamshala, I was given a copy of Longchenpa's Jewel Boat which is published in English as You Are The Eyes Of The World. This is not an easy book, nor to be taken lightly. It is my constant companion.
HH,
have a look in the 'Recommended Reading Thread' because the book Yogamama mentioned is there, as are the other two of Lama Surya Das's 'Awakening' trilogy.
One that might appeal to you is:
'The Power of Now' by Eckhart Tolle, one who has been described as a finger pointing at the Moon....
and for me, the book which gave me a hearty whallop with its metaphorical sledgehammer, was Sogyal Rinpoche's 'The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying'.
A hefty tome, but different every time I read it... it accesses parts of my Mind in different ways, every time....
Enjoy.
Review,
come back and tell us next week what you think of them all....!!
Palzang
Palzang