Book recommendations

A discussion on all aspects of Theravāda Buddhism
cookiemonster
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Book recommendations

Post by cookiemonster »

Greetings!

I just finished reading Bhikku Bodhi's book "In the Buddha's Words" as my introduction to Theravada Buddhism, and I'm looking for suggestions for what I should read next. Any and all suggestions are welcome!

Thank you.
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retrofuturist
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Re: Book recommendations

Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings,

See:

Introductory Resources
http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=148

Metta,
Retro. :)
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
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Ben
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Re: Book recommendations

Post by Ben »

Have a look at the Introductory Resources thread in the Discovering Theravada forum.
There is also a thread titled "What Dhamma book are you reading now?" - that should give you some excellent resources to check out.
kind regards,

Ben
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cookiemonster
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Re: Book recommendations

Post by cookiemonster »

That was quick, retro & Ben!

Thank you for the link, I actually saw it earlier. I suppose I am looking for more of a single suggestion instead of a list of suggestions :)
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SDC
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Re: Book recommendations

Post by SDC »

Early on I would always be reading one of the nikayas along with one or two other contemporary books.

I would recommend getting a copy of the Majjhima Nikaya to start. As far as specific contemporary books, just pick one. You'll like some and not like others, but it helps you get an idea about how you feel about the various approaches to the dhamma.
“Life is swept along, short is the life span; no shelters exist for one who has reached old age. Seeing clearly this danger in death, a seeker of peace should drop the world’s bait.” SN 1.3
SamBodhi
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Re: Book recommendations

Post by SamBodhi »

I think that asking more than one person for a single book is probably going to give you a list of more than one book.

I would personally recommend Bhante Henepola's Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness.


with Metta,
SamBodhi
"An inward-staying
unentangled knowing,
All outward-going knowing
cast aside."
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retrofuturist
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Re: Book recommendations

Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings,
SamBodhi wrote:I think that asking more than one person for a single book is probably going to give you a list of more than one book.
:lol:

Metta,
Retro. :)
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
cookiemonster
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Re: Book recommendations

Post by cookiemonster »

Thank you all for your suggestions!

sambodhi: yes, I knew I would probably get recommendations for more than one book - I just wanted to see what everyone thought was the most important one, to each :)
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Kamran
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Re: Book recommendations

Post by Kamran »

WINGS TO AWAKENING Anthology is the best from a meditation practitioners perspective imo

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/auth ... index.html

Many anthologies of the Buddha's teachings have appeared in English, but this is the first to be organized around the set of teachings that the Buddha himself said formed the heart of his message: the Wings to Awakening (bodhi-pakkhiya-dhamma).
SarathW
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Re: Book recommendations

Post by SarathW »

The Only Way
(Path to Nibbana)
[Complete Edition]

By Venerable Ajahn Tong Sirimangalo


http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j ... 3115,d.dGI
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Re: Book recommendations

Post by SamBodhi »

cookiemonster wrote:Thank you all for your suggestions!

sambodhi: yes, I knew I would probably get recommendations for more than one book - I just wanted to see what everyone thought was the most important one, to each :)
:)

I would also suggest reading Bhikkhu Bodhi's book again. I have it and have read it a little here and there at least twice. It's definitely worth a second look. I also would encourage you to look at the other resources listed above. There are ebook versions of accesstoinsight's sutta pitaka available (or they were the last time I looked). And the teachers who have written basic, simple explanations of the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path have done a really great job of keeping things within the context of the Suttas, while developing an "accessible" piece of writing. The author I mentioned (Bhante Henepola) has a book called Mindfulness in Plain English, which is available for free now and it is also a great introduction to meditation. I found these in the same threads above and they were worth the few extra minutes it took to dig them up.

All that being said, the most important book to me is still the one I mentioned in my first post on this topic:
Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness by Bhante Henepola.


with Metta,
SamBodhi
"An inward-staying
unentangled knowing,
All outward-going knowing
cast aside."
--Upasika Kee Nanayon
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BlindJoeDeath
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Re: Book recommendations

Post by BlindJoeDeath »

I'd also like to recommend Thanissaro's "Wings to Awakening"
cookiemonster
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Re: Book recommendations

Post by cookiemonster »

Thanks again, everyone, for your recommendations.

I ended up picking up Ajahn Brahm's book "Mindfulness, Bliss and Beyond" and throughly enjoyed it. I then read through Glen Wallis' translation of the Dhammapada and I loved it! I'm now re-reading Bodhi's anthology I mentioned in the OP.

After this, I've decided to read through the Nikayas. Any recommendations on which Collection I should read first, second, etc.? Thank you.
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retrofuturist
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Re: Book recommendations

Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings,
cookiemonster wrote:After this, I've decided to read through the Nikayas. Any recommendations on which Collection I should read first, second, etc.? Thank you.
If you're committed to reading the lot, I'd go SN, MN, AN, and then maybe DN if you could be bothered.

If you're only going to read one, I'd go with MN, or possibly SN... or one of the anthologies mentioned by others.

Metta,
Retro. :)
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
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Mkoll
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Re: Book recommendations

Post by Mkoll »

If you're interested in the historical aspect of Buddhism, I suggest the Foundations of Buddhism by Professor Rupert Gethin as a solid introduction. Knowledge of historical context is a great advantage offered by modern scholarship.

http://www.watflorida.org/documents/The ... n_1998.pdf
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