Desert Island books religious/secular/mixture

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Reductor
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Re: Desert Island books religious/secular/mixture

Post by Reductor »

zan wrote: HP Lovecraft would be fun, but would make me jump at every strange bubble in the water, every shadow behind a tree, every strange cloud ha ha. Spooky stuff! I would pick Shakespeare as well for this reason. I have a big nice edition of his complete works as well. I like your want to bring poetry. I hadn't considered it, I need more education in poetry clearly as it didn't even cross my mind.
I did considered the spook effect that Lovecraft would have on me while stranded on a deserted island. Hahaha.

As to poetry, I'd say too few people appreciate the art. Very few love it. But they're missing out. It's like music, only all the beauty comes from the words, so the words have to be carefully selected and arranged, because to have too many of them harms the affect of the poem - weak words harm the affect, as does a word that is too vague, or to precise. There's a time for each. It's important to choose right one depending on what the writer wants to accomplish. When chosen sparingly and carefully with a clear intent to meaning, with a mind to how they sound to the ear, how they feel to speak out loud, how their meanings, when bound together, create a new and unexpected meaning -- they're wonderful.

I think people don't appreciate Poetry because they're usually exposed to it in the literary fashion of school, where they're right away expected to analyse the poems they're given instead of just being allowed to perform them, or hear them performed, for the sake of performance and pleasure. (or they're expected to create a poem before they've heard many of them and come to enjoy them - I have the same criticism of how kids are taught to write fiction. Just don't bother. Teach them to journal, teach them to record, to put the period in the right place. Encourage them to read much. Encourage them to discover how much they like, or dislike, fiction. Then those that wish to write it can be instructed, the rest can get along with writing simple, clear, effective emails free of literary aims) Perhaps if more parents bought books of kids poetry and read them with their kids without the pretense that their kids should appreciate them 'correctly', we'd have more kids growing to like the form, if nothing else. :soap: :zzz: :lol:

EDIT: There's a thread here of member's home-brewed poetry. Please excuse the several bad poems I added to it. https://dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=16065
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Re: Desert Island books religious/secular/mixture

Post by DNS »

zan wrote: What five religious books would you bring to a desert island?
Anguttara Nikaya
Samyutta Nikaya
Majjhima Nikaya
Digha Nikaya
Ittivutakka (The KN is a compilation of 15 books so had to choose one of my favorites from the KN)
What five secular fiction books would you bring?
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac
A passage to India by EM Forster
What five secular non-fiction books would you bring?
Animal Liberation by Peter Singer
Plato's Republic
Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant
Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche
What five would you bring if it could be a mixture of the three?
Just the Dhamma books.
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Mr Man
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Re: Desert Island books religious/secular/mixture

Post by Mr Man »

Reductor wrote:
EDIT: There's a thread here of member's home-brewed poetry. Please excuse the several bad poems I added to it. https://dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=16065

And this https://dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f ... ry#p364864
alan
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Re: Desert Island books religious/secular/mixture

Post by alan »

Don't forget your reading glasses!
Also, I'd bring my camera. Because I like to take pretty beach pictures.

https://www.facebook.com/CoastalPhotogr ... =3&theater
plwk
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Re: Desert Island books religious/secular/mixture

Post by plwk »

What five religious books would you bring to a desert island? 1 2 3 4 5

What five secular fiction books would you bring? The Four Classics & The Bostonians

What five secular non-fiction books would you bring? 1 2 3 4 5

What five would you bring if it could be a mixture of the three? 1 2 3 4 5
Last edited by plwk on Wed Mar 08, 2017 2:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
zan
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Re: Desert Island books religious/secular/mixture

Post by zan »

Reductor wrote:
zan wrote: HP Lovecraft would be fun, but would make me jump at every strange bubble in the water, every shadow behind a tree, every strange cloud ha ha. Spooky stuff! I would pick Shakespeare as well for this reason. I have a big nice edition of his complete works as well. I like your want to bring poetry. I hadn't considered it, I need more education in poetry clearly as it didn't even cross my mind.
I did considered the spook effect that Lovecraft would have on me while stranded on a deserted island. Hahaha.

As to poetry, I'd say too few people appreciate the art. Very few love it. But they're missing out. It's like music, only all the beauty comes from the words, so the words have to be carefully selected and arranged, because to have too many of them harms the affect of the poem - weak words harm the affect, as does a word that is too vague, or to precise. There's a time for each. It's important to choose right one depending on what the writer wants to accomplish. When chosen sparingly and carefully with a clear intent to meaning, with a mind to how they sound to the ear, how they feel to speak out loud, how their meanings, when bound together, create a new and unexpected meaning -- they're wonderful.

I think people don't appreciate Poetry because they're usually exposed to it in the literary fashion of school, where they're right away expected to analyse the poems they're given instead of just being allowed to perform them, or hear them performed, for the sake of performance and pleasure. (or they're expected to create a poem before they've heard many of them and come to enjoy them - I have the same criticism of how kids are taught to write fiction. Just don't bother. Teach them to journal, teach them to record, to put the period in the right place. Encourage them to read much. Encourage them to discover how much they like, or dislike, fiction. Then those that wish to write it can be instructed, the rest can get along with writing simple, clear, effective emails free of literary aims) Perhaps if more parents bought books of kids poetry and read them with their kids without the pretense that their kids should appreciate them 'correctly', we'd have more kids growing to like the form, if nothing else. :soap: :zzz: :lol:

EDIT: There's a thread here of member's home-brewed poetry. Please excuse the several bad poems I added to it. https://dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=16065
Interesting thoughts. I agree about poetry. I am somewhere between appreciating it and being totally oblivious ha ha. I also find that pushing people to analyze every last line of literature can spoil the spirit for many.

One book that was particularly impressive you may look into is Japanese Death Poems edited by Yoel Hoffman. It includes, of course, many poems but also has a massive introduction that explains Japanese poetry in general. Definitely worth a read and maybe a re read!
Assume all of my words on dhamma could be incorrect. Seek an arahant for truth.


"If we base ourselves on the Pali Nikayas, then we should be compelled to conclude that Buddhism is realistic. There is no explicit denial anywhere of the external world. Nor is there any positive evidence to show that the world is mind-made or simply a projection of subjective thoughts. That Buddhism recognizes the extra-mental existence of matter and the external world is clearly suggested by the texts. Throughout the discourses it is the language of realism that one encounters.
-Y. Karunadasa
zan
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Re: Desert Island books religious/secular/mixture

Post by zan »

David N. Snyder wrote:
zan wrote: What five religious books would you bring to a desert island?
Anguttara Nikaya
Samyutta Nikaya
Majjhima Nikaya
Digha Nikaya
Ittivutakka (The KN is a compilation of 15 books so had to choose one of my favorites from the KN)
What five secular fiction books would you bring?
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac
A passage to India by EM Forster
What five secular non-fiction books would you bring?
Animal Liberation by Peter Singer
Plato's Republic
Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant
Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche
What five would you bring if it could be a mixture of the three?
Just the Dhamma books.
Oh so you would bring nearly the entire Sutta Pitaka! Good choice! Especially since, assuming you have the Bodhi translations, there is already a fair amount of commentary included in the notes.

I have never read Animal Farm but that and Watership Down have been recommended to me by many.

What are your feelings about Dharma Bums? I have been recommended that book by Mahayana people and have always wondered what a Theravadin would think about it.

I considered Plato's Republic for my list but then I reasoned that it would likely sit and gather dust and be a great shame for me to admit that I have never read it there just as it is here ha ha. I do intend to read it some day!!!

I love the Tao Te Ching so much. What is your favorite translation?
Assume all of my words on dhamma could be incorrect. Seek an arahant for truth.


"If we base ourselves on the Pali Nikayas, then we should be compelled to conclude that Buddhism is realistic. There is no explicit denial anywhere of the external world. Nor is there any positive evidence to show that the world is mind-made or simply a projection of subjective thoughts. That Buddhism recognizes the extra-mental existence of matter and the external world is clearly suggested by the texts. Throughout the discourses it is the language of realism that one encounters.
-Y. Karunadasa
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Kim OHara
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Re: Desert Island books religious/secular/mixture

Post by Kim OHara »

zan wrote:Interesting, thanks! Which Gaiman? I have only read American Gods and it is high up on my top ten books list, but I know he has many other popular books.
Gaiman is a great story-teller with an amazing ability to work across different media, and 'translates' some of his stories from one medium to another, or encourages others to do so. e.g. Coraline began as a novel, then he turned it into a movie, then it appeared as a graphic novel with art by (I think) Craig Russell. All of them are very good and none of them show any sign that they were not originally conceived in the medium you're seeing.
Neverwhere began as a TV series (brilliant) and became a novel (also brilliant).
American Gods (one of his best) was a novel but is about to appear as a TV series (should be good).
Anansi Boys is set in the same kind of world as American Gods and is very nearly as good, but lighter. It's probably the next one for you to read.
The Sandman is a comic series and it's where Gaiman first made his name. Very, very good - if you like comics.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a recent novel. It might look like a kids' book but isn't. It might be my desert island choice because I've read some of the others so many times that there isn't much more to discover in them.

:reading:
Kim
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Re: Desert Island books religious/secular/mixture

Post by DNS »

zan wrote: What are your feelings about Dharma Bums? I have been recommended that book by Mahayana people and have always wondered what a Theravadin would think about it.

I love the Tao Te Ching so much. What is your favorite translation?
No particular translation is my favorite as I'm not an expert to ascertain which is best. Some great verses of wisdom in there.

I liked Dharma Bums. I "came of age" in the 1970s to 1980s so missed that beat generation (of approx. 1950s to 1960s); so it was nice to read about it from some of the first Western Buddhists to mix the beat generation with some interest in the Dharma.
zan
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Re: Desert Island books religious/secular/mixture

Post by zan »

Kim OHara wrote:
zan wrote:Interesting, thanks! Which Gaiman? I have only read American Gods and it is high up on my top ten books list, but I know he has many other popular books.
Gaiman is a great story-teller with an amazing ability to work across different media, and 'translates' some of his stories from one medium to another, or encourages others to do so. e.g. Coraline began as a novel, then he turned it into a movie, then it appeared as a graphic novel with art by (I think) Craig Russell. All of them are very good and none of them show any sign that they were not originally conceived in the medium you're seeing.
Neverwhere began as a TV series (brilliant) and became a novel (also brilliant).
American Gods (one of his best) was a novel but is about to appear as a TV series (should be good).
Anansi Boys is set in the same kind of world as American Gods and is very nearly as good, but lighter. It's probably the next one for you to read.
The Sandman is a comic series and it's where Gaiman first made his name. Very, very good - if you like comics.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a recent novel. It might look like a kids' book but isn't. It might be my desert island choice because I've read some of the others so many times that there isn't much more to discover in them.

:reading:
Kim
Cool thanks! I bought Ocean at the End of the Lane for a friend and they enjoyed it. I need to read Anansi boys! Thanks for the reminder! I am wary of the show of American Gods. I may not watch it at all just because the book is so perfect I do not need it rendered in another way at all and especially because it may be a terrible rendition as shows made from books so frequently are. Even if it is good but they changed things it makes it hard for me to enjoy when a book is so perfect.
Assume all of my words on dhamma could be incorrect. Seek an arahant for truth.


"If we base ourselves on the Pali Nikayas, then we should be compelled to conclude that Buddhism is realistic. There is no explicit denial anywhere of the external world. Nor is there any positive evidence to show that the world is mind-made or simply a projection of subjective thoughts. That Buddhism recognizes the extra-mental existence of matter and the external world is clearly suggested by the texts. Throughout the discourses it is the language of realism that one encounters.
-Y. Karunadasa
zan
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Re: Desert Island books religious/secular/mixture

Post by zan »

David N. Snyder wrote:
zan wrote: What are your feelings about Dharma Bums? I have been recommended that book by Mahayana people and have always wondered what a Theravadin would think about it.

I love the Tao Te Ching so much. What is your favorite translation?
No particular translation is my favorite as I'm not an expert to ascertain which is best. Some great verses of wisdom in there.

I liked Dharma Bums. I "came of age" in the 1970s to 1980s so missed that beat generation (of approx. 1950s to 1960s); so it was nice to read about it from some of the first Western Buddhists to mix the beat generation with some interest in the Dharma.
Yeah me neither on being an expert to ascertain which translation is best.

Interesting view on how it can be nice to read Dharma Bums, since a fellow Theravadin liked it I may have to give it a read. Thanks!
Assume all of my words on dhamma could be incorrect. Seek an arahant for truth.


"If we base ourselves on the Pali Nikayas, then we should be compelled to conclude that Buddhism is realistic. There is no explicit denial anywhere of the external world. Nor is there any positive evidence to show that the world is mind-made or simply a projection of subjective thoughts. That Buddhism recognizes the extra-mental existence of matter and the external world is clearly suggested by the texts. Throughout the discourses it is the language of realism that one encounters.
-Y. Karunadasa
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Kim OHara
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Re: Desert Island books religious/secular/mixture

Post by Kim OHara »

zan wrote: I am wary of the show of American Gods. I may not watch it at all just because the book is so perfect I do not need it rendered in another way at all and especially because it may be a terrible rendition as shows made from books so frequently are. Even if it is good but they changed things it makes it hard for me to enjoy when a book is so perfect.
I understand the feeling, but I worry less about it with Gaiman because he really does carry the vision across. Neverwhere, as I said, is great in both forms. So is Coraline, although the location is changed and a major new character introduced in the movie. And the movie of Stardust is actually a bit better than the book.

:namaste:
Kim
zan
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Re: Desert Island books religious/secular/mixture

Post by zan »

Kim OHara wrote:
zan wrote: I am wary of the show of American Gods. I may not watch it at all just because the book is so perfect I do not need it rendered in another way at all and especially because it may be a terrible rendition as shows made from books so frequently are. Even if it is good but they changed things it makes it hard for me to enjoy when a book is so perfect.
I understand the feeling, but I worry less about it with Gaiman because he really does carry the vision across. Neverwhere, as I said, is great in both forms. So is Coraline, although the location is changed and a major new character introduced in the movie. And the movie of Stardust is actually a bit better than the book.

:namaste:
Kim
Good points. Stardust was really good! I didn't even realize that it was a book by him.
Assume all of my words on dhamma could be incorrect. Seek an arahant for truth.


"If we base ourselves on the Pali Nikayas, then we should be compelled to conclude that Buddhism is realistic. There is no explicit denial anywhere of the external world. Nor is there any positive evidence to show that the world is mind-made or simply a projection of subjective thoughts. That Buddhism recognizes the extra-mental existence of matter and the external world is clearly suggested by the texts. Throughout the discourses it is the language of realism that one encounters.
-Y. Karunadasa
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Kim OHara
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Re: Desert Island books religious/secular/mixture

Post by Kim OHara »

Kim OHara wrote:
zan wrote: I am wary of the show of American Gods. I may not watch it at all just because the book is so perfect I do not need it rendered in another way at all and especially because it may be a terrible rendition as shows made from books so frequently are. Even if it is good but they changed things it makes it hard for me to enjoy when a book is so perfect.
I understand the feeling, but I worry less about it with Gaiman because he really does carry the vision across. Neverwhere, as I said, is great in both forms. So is Coraline, although the location is changed and a major new character introduced in the movie. And the movie of Stardust is actually a bit better than the book.

:namaste:
Kim
I have just seen the first episode of the series and it is very good! :woohoo:
A couple of visual surprises - which is fine, and they are all in keeping with the mood and intentions of the book.
I understand the first three episodes are now out in the US but they are taking a while to filter through to my part of the world.

:namaste:
Kim
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