Recommended Theravada literature & material.

federica · March 2015

This discussion was created from comments split from: Theravada Beginner - Recommended Books?.

ShockYourMoneyBuddha · March 2015

i know this thread is old and hasn't been posted to in a long time, but i've never understood the thinking that says because a thread is old and hasn't been posted to in a long time, it shouldn't be posted to now. i found the thread without even looking for it, so it's still more likely to show up for people who search for, say, "beginner books theravada", right? the thread's still entirely relevant (even if not to the OP), and if it's still relevant, it's still worth posting good ideas to...especially considering that the alternative is to start a new thread on the same topic, which creates unnecessary confusion and clutter (and clicky-work to read them both.)

if somebody can explain why posting to an old thread is actually a bad idea, i'm prepared to listen, and even to move this post to another thread. and in the meantime, i'll just post it to this one.

i bought an audiobook through audible.com in 2011 that gave me the intro i needed to Buddhism then and last helped me to an epiphany on a point of doctrine four nights ago. this book just keeps on giving, if you just keep listening to it. i've probably listened to it 20 times now and i've gotten something out of it - ranging from edifying entertainment with positive-reinforcement value to epiphanies on points of doctrine - every time.

i was curious about Buddhism for decades, and it kept coming up for me, but everything i encountered just left me cold. nothing connected; a lot of things didn't seem to make any sense to me at all. i suspect that most or all of what i encountered was Northern Buddhism (a.k.a., "Mahayana", but i'm not a fan of perpetuating that "Mahayana/Hinayana" thing...such words are not used by the wise. but i digress).

as i was saying, i suspect that most or all of that stuff i encountered that didn't connect with me was Northern Buddhism because Northern Buddhism doesn't make sense to me - but i didn't even know then that different people use the term "Buddhism" to refer to such very different paths as they do.

so when i was at the point where i was about to give up on the Buddhism Question once and for all, it occurred to me one fateful night that i like stories a lot, so maybe if i could find a good story about Buddhism, it would grab me and be able to hold my interest. i was listening to a lot of audiobooks at the time, so i jumped on my Audible account and searched "Buddhism story" (without quotes) and one of the things returned was a work called The Middle Way: The Story of Buddhism, by Jinananda. i probably listened to the sample on Audible's website (i always do before buying) and liked what i heard, and the description and reviews probably told me it was likely to be good too. anyways: i bought it and listened to it and thought it was great (it's very well-produced, narrated, and voice-acted). it's entertaining as a story and fantastically educational throughout, partly because it doesn't shy away from the difficult concepts at the core of the practice. and one of the best things about it, as i say, is its staying power: it will take you from zero, if that's where you happen to be, get you interested and learning, and if you keep listening to it periodically as you learn, it'll keep teaching you, revealing stuff you've heard with your ears many times but haven't been ready to really absorb before. when the student is ready, this book will come through. or at least that's been my experience of it. in 2011 it taught me the story of the Buddha's life and enlightenment, and told me about a whole bunch of...deep- and complicated-sounding things, most of which i didn't understand very well (read: "at all"); a few nights ago it was the straw i needed to push me into some small grasp (but an actual grasp, nonetheless, that i hadn't had before) of dependent origination and conditionality (and, in turn, the concept of not-self), which up to that point i'd kinda sorta understood intellectually but didn't actually see at all.

and while it does eventually get around to touching on "Mahayana" (Northern Buddhist) doctrine (and the narrator refers to "the Dharma" and "Nirvana" throughout, complete with lovely, slightly rolling 'r's), Northern Buddhism is not a primary focus - in fact i don't think its even mentioned before you're an hour or more into the book - and i believe that when it is included, it's always clearly identified as "Mahayana" - no trying to slip stuff in under the radar or any of that nonsense (it happens sometimes...people have definitely been known to put words in the Buddha's mouth and actions in his hands that don't appear anywhere in the original records).

i could go on (i usually can), but i think this post is plenty long enough already.

The Middle Way: The Story of Buddhism is available through Audible.com, iTunes, and a bunch of other places (there is no print version as far as i can tell); it looks like goodreads.com will let you listen to the whole thing for free if you register (and listen to it within whatever time frame they give you - i forget how long that is).

enough! i hope this helps innumerable beings...or at least or two...

federica · March 2015

@ShockYourMoneyBuddha said: if somebody can explain why posting to an old thread is actually a bad idea, i'm prepared to listen, and even to move this post to another thread. and in the meantime, i'll just post it to this one.

Done.

ShockYourMoneyBuddha · March 2015

@federica said:
@ShockYourMoneyBuddha said: if somebody can explain why posting to an old thread is actually a bad idea...

well, i still don't see the logic behind it, but...okay!

oh, and the post was originally to a thread about recommended reading for beginning Theravadins. that's why my post might sound like it's directed toward a...beginning...Theravadin...