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Books

CuzzinVonCuzzinVon
edited August 2010 in Buddhism Basics
I've been looking for books to read on buddhism, can anyone help me?
I also need a little help to figure out the different schools and sects to see which one resonates with e.

Comments

  • mugzymugzy Veteran
    edited August 2010
    If you haven't already, check out the Recommended Reading thread.
  • SherabDorjeSherabDorje
    edited August 2010
    Anything by HHDL.
  • CuzzinVonCuzzinVon
    edited August 2010
    I did check it out and have put a few of them on hold for myself at the library. But I'm having some difficulty find the difference in the many buddhist sects to choose one.
  • SherabDorjeSherabDorje
    edited August 2010
    The basics are easily available on the internet, and most of these help you avoid the confusion of the various schools. The studies of different schools can come later. Learn about the life of the Buddha, the Four Noble Truths, and the Eightfold Path first. Then you can look at Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana after that.

    I suggest the basics first. What I have listed above should give you a good start, and then you can study the various schools after that, because all the schools agree on the basics.
  • fivebellsfivebells Veteran
    edited August 2010
    The difference between teachers within a sect is actually bigger than the difference between sects. Do you have an idea of what you're looking for in a school?
  • CuzzinVonCuzzinVon
    edited August 2010
    I am looking for a balance between text and practice. I don't know any schools near me, so I would prefer something I could learn on my own for sometime before finding a teacher. Lately I've been reading about tibetan buddhism. It often seems like there isn't enough about the different schools for one to learn.
  • fivebellsfivebells Veteran
    edited August 2010
    My teacher is from the Tibetan lineage, and is highly oriented towards practice. His book Wake Up To Your Life details the practices. How this practice relates to ancient texts can be seen in the series of podcasts Then and Now. I've been studying from that book for about a decade, now. (I've been to four workshops/retreats with him in that time.)
  • CuzzinVonCuzzinVon
    edited August 2010
    Can you point me in a direction to learn about the other schools also?
  • JeffreyJeffrey Veteran
    edited August 2010
    http://www.clearlightvideos.net/

    some free resources and links
  • fivebellsfivebells Veteran
    edited August 2010
    Well, like I said, the teacher matters much more than the school. Mindfulness in Plain English is a good account from a Theravadin perspective. Zen Therapy is a wonderful book, by a guy who was apparently a Zen teacher at the time (he's now Pureland), but I think most Zen purists would regard that book as highly heterodox. And within each of these major schools, there are many sub-schisms and, like I said, many different teachers with radically different approaches. You're going to have to shop around a bit. But these three books are good in their own terms.
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