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Theravada Beginner - Recommended Books?
FairyFeller
Veteran
I am drawn to the Theravada path of Buddhism and plan on visiting some practitioners soon as and when time allows but can anybody recommend a good couple of books for a starting point.
When I began looking into Buddhism I just walked into my nearest Buddhist shop and asked for some books, it was a New Kadampa Tradition one and I left with a couple of books and an invitation to their classes. I didn't get a good vibe though, I know I shouldn't be judgmental but I have to be comfortable somewhere to put my trust in someone.
There are quite a few books listed by a Theravda website but I don't want to make te mistake of investing n a book and then finding it either a glorified pamphlet or so in depth it will put me off. I'm possibly looking for something that gives brief explanations of the teachings of Buddha and I can then explore them more in depth again and then again deeper step by step, book by book.
When I began looking into Buddhism I just walked into my nearest Buddhist shop and asked for some books, it was a New Kadampa Tradition one and I left with a couple of books and an invitation to their classes. I didn't get a good vibe though, I know I shouldn't be judgmental but I have to be comfortable somewhere to put my trust in someone.
There are quite a few books listed by a Theravda website but I don't want to make te mistake of investing n a book and then finding it either a glorified pamphlet or so in depth it will put me off. I'm possibly looking for something that gives brief explanations of the teachings of Buddha and I can then explore them more in depth again and then again deeper step by step, book by book.
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Mindfulness in plain English ^
I'm sort of in the same boat at the moment, looking for good books on Theravada Buddhism. I've read "A Still Forest Pool," which is a collection of Ajahn Chah's talks compiled by Jack Kornfield. I'd recommend it.
Your profile says you're in England. Have you heard of Amaravati Buddhist Monastery or Chithurst Buddhist Monastery? According to their websites, Amaravati is located in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire while Chithurst is located in Chithurst, Hampshire. They are both Theravadan monasteries in the tradition of Ajahn Chah. So maybe you could try reading some books by Ajahn Chah, Ajahn Sumedho (first abbot of Amaravati monastery), Ajahn Amaro (current abbot of Amaravati monastery) or Ajahn Sucitto (current abbot of Chithurst monastery). If their teachings resonate well with you then at least you could have some opportunity to visit Amaravati or Chithurst and meet the sangha there. Btw, Ajahn Sumedho is an American while Ajahn Amaro and Ajahn Sucitto are British. It seems most of the resident monks at these monasteries are Westerners.
You can find their audio files and e-books at the monasteries' sites:
amaravati.org/home
cittaviveka.org/
From what I can gather, it appears they also have smaller branch monasteries in Belsay,
Northumberland (Harnham Buddhist Monastery) and in Honiton, Devon (Hartridge Buddhist Monastery)
Their websites:
ratanagiri.org.uk/home/
hartridgemonastery.org/
Have you not checked the responses in your other thread on this same subject? I sent 30 mins worth of videos showing practically the whole pali cannon....
:scratch:
Ven. Henepola Gunaratana
https://www.google.com/#hl=en&gs_rn=12&gs_ri=psy-ab&tok=_oZ7UaSKpN_jIBA53ZjClQ&cp=13&gs_id=9f&xhr=t&q=mindfulness+in+plain+english&es_nrs=true&pf=p&sclient=psy-ab&oq=mindfulness+i&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.45960087,d.aWc&fp=6c8e275c38a73745&biw=1440&bih=722
^^^a pdf you can click the pdf link
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0861714911/ref=cm_sw_r_an_am_ap_am_gb?ie=UTF8
I read some of his book on the noble eightfold path and thought it was well written. He also has a series of more detailed hard back books which would be the next step if the above proves useful. Anyone have experience of these?
http://buddhanet.net/budsas/ebud/ebidx.htm
Bhikkhu Bodhi also has audio courses which you can listen to/download free on the web. Here is his introductory course on the Buddha's teachings.
http://www.buddhanet.net/audio-lectures.htm
Walpola Rahula's "What the Buddha Taught" is a useful little book. There is a .pdf version here which you can download. If you prefer a hard copy, you can buy it on Amazon or order for free from the Buddha Educational Foundation. I picked up a nice copy from the hallway of a local Chinese grocery!
My advice is to stay away from reading in the first years of practice because it causes confusion/doubt and a lots of expectations (especially if u read about meditation).
Its better if u listen to some audio talks, trying not to mix teachers and different techniques.
Good luck!.
I agree with the recommendation of Mindfulness In Plain English. (Available online for free.) I think With Each and Every Breath (also free) is more complete and detailed in its instructions. There is further discussion of it in these two threads.
Listening to talks is also a great idea. Preceding each meditation session with a nice calm dharma talk is very helpful.
Mixing teachers and techniques is fine, as long as you have someone experienced who you describe your experiments to, and give careful consideration to their advice. Hard to find someone like that who won't tell you to stick to their method, but they do exist.
http://www.amazon.com/Focused-Fearless-Meditators-States-Clarity/dp/0861715608
http://www.audiodharma.org/teacher/31/
This thread was started six weeks ago and had sort of ground to a halt until it was resurrected and I had actually forgotten starting it. I apologise if I have caused any offence.
Closed.
See explanatory comment here.