Reddit mentions: The best buddhist sacred writing books

An old guy who lived in China has a great answer for this question:

>Meet the ancestral teachers, be familiar with their instruction

Song of the Grass-Roof Hermitage - translation by Daniel Leighton

Basically, learn from other people. The Zen teachings are based on the writings of masters going back to the 5th century. However, these writings aren't particularly accessible. Luckily, we are currently living through an explosion of Buddhism in the west and there are many teachers that explain these ancient concepts in a manner that westerners can understand easily.

Here are some recommendations for entry level, western-targeted Zen books:

>Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind - Shunryu Suzuki

Suzuki Roshi was one of the earliest Zen masters to immigrate to the United States back in the 1960's. His teachings are very simple and fundamental. He gets at the very heart of Zen in a concise, plain manner. This book is a collection of transcribed Dharma talks he gave in California during the 60's. It is likely the most well known book on Zen in the west. It is short and clearly written, making it one of the best places to start learning about Zen.

> The Miracle of Mindfulness - Tich Nhat Hanh

Tich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Zen monk. He has been a huge contributor to the spread of Zen in the west. He has established practice centers in France, New York, California, Mississippi, and Germany. This book is a practical guide to bringing Zen practice into your life. He offers a lot of analogies that make you take a step back and think about the way you live your life. Another short and accessible book.

> Inside the Grass Hut - Ben Connelly

Ben was my guitar teacher for many years before he introduced me to Zen. He is a Zen priest in the lineage of Dainin Katagiri, the founding abbot of the Minnesota Zen Mediation Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This book is a study of the poem I have linked and quoted above, The Song of the Grass-Roof Hermitage by the 8th century Zen master Shitou. It was extremely useful book for me when I was at my darkest point. Ben distills Shitou's somewhat arcane parables into a simple, practical set of recommendations for living a life that will free you of suffering. Ben offers a lot of insight into incorporating Zen practice into a modern lifestyle. Like the other two, it also short and easy to read. This is a great introduction to what a lot of historic Zen writing is like. I think it is a particularly useful book for people struggling with addiction. Ben had some trouble with alcohol himself and I believe he is 10+ years sober.

Those are some great places to start, but you can read all the books you want about Zen and not get the picture if you don't meditate. Meditation is the foundation of Zen and all of Buddhist practice. The great thing about meditation is that you can do it on your own just about anywhere. The Miracle of Mindfulness gives a good description of how to meditate. There are also plenty of free resources available online. There are many ways to meditate and it is best to find one that works for you.

A daily mediation habit is not an easy thing to develop. Similar to abstinence, it takes discipline and commitment. I still struggle with it myself. It is, however, the best way to fully realize the benefits of Zen. Some things that might help with this is to find a Sangha to practice with or download an app like Headspace. Having a community to practice with has been the biggest help in getting me on the zafu. Doing something with other people makes it easier to do, a little bit like how this subreddit works. Headspace is really popular, although I have not used it myself. It can be used to track mediation sessions and work towards mediation goals. The app that I have found useful is MindBell, but really it's just a glorified timer. The last thing I would recommend are the guided meditations by Jon Kabat Zinn. JKZ is a professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and has conducted many clinical studies on the benefits of mindfulness in medicine and healthcare. He is a long time practitioner of Zen and has written several books about his work. I haven't read much of his work, but I have utilized his guided meditations extensively. I particularly like this body scan one. Even when I was at my most depressed and couldn't find the strength to get out of bed, I was able to get myself to queue this video up and follow along. There are a lot of other guided meditations floating around the web. I also like this one by Sam Harris that's only 9 minutes.

Zen is not necessarily an easy thing to get involved in. It requires a commitment of time and it is not particularly fun or pleasurable. However, any level of Zen practice will produce concrete rewards. If you have any question, I am always available for answers.

To be clear, Buddhism is a NON - theistic traditon. As far as cosmology goes, gods have a place but are not seen as being free from samsara as they too would be impermanent so have no ability to "save" anything else. The idea of a permanent being that creates is clearly refuted. As an analysis of reasoning this point you could check out Speech of Delight.
https://www.amazon.ca/Speech-Delight-Commentary-Shantarakshitas-Ornament/dp/1559392177
This takes the analytical approach of taming the mind by exploring every possibility. It's an amazing text.

However, it is also not necessary to read and think so much. Simple Devotion to openness can cover the same distance of taming the mind if the practioner can allow themselves to let go so easily. It can happen spontaneously which gives the possibility of "attainment" faster. Many of us feel the need to "understand" things and have a reason to let go. We actually make it harder for ourselves to see things as they are. Anyway, I'm not sure if I provided any help at all but thanks for creating the space for me to formulate words. It helps.

There are some precepts that are aimed at helping people lead happy, harmonious lives, akin to the ten commandments though not as extensive. Buddhists vow not to kill or steal or lie and so on but my teacher used to say that these precepts are meant to help practitioners behave harmoniously until their point of view expands and an understanding of the true nature of self and reality is attained. Once a person has a pure experience of reality, the teacher said, they will behave in a moral, compassionate and kind manner by default because in the experience of reality one sees that being is not individuated. We are all parts of one. Your neighbor is yourself. If you see others as being yourself, you can't think of harming them because it's as if you were harming yourself.

As far as karma is concerned, it doesn't mean that you will be rewarded for good deeds and punished for evil ones. It just means that everything has a cause. Each happening is based on the circumstances that preceded it. Each change is based on what comes before it. I definitely urge you to read the Dhammapada. It is one of the earliest teachings and it instructs people on how to behave in no uncertain words. It is ancient wisdom and well worth reading. It is also very easy to read and understand. There is nothing esoteric or mysterious or puzzling in this text.

Pragmatic wisdom is not totally discarded but is not dictated by scripture. Once practitioners have experienced true reality and understand what they are and what's really going on in the space/time continuum, it is assumed that pragmatic wisdom will follow.

I feel like I approached them all backwards. Coming at Buddhism from Taoism I started with the Zen stuff: Platform Sutra, Lankavatara, Shurangama...basically Dwight Goddard's Buddhist Bible was my starting point. (Goddard's book is fairly comprehensive though; it starts with selections from the Pali and moves on through to Mahayana sutras held in high regard by Zennists.) When I later read much more of the Pali, the stark contrast between the two types really left a sour taste in my mouth. I felt almost deceived by the later Mahayana stuff. I think this was more of a result of the Taoism than anything else though. Emptiness in Taoism is entirely reified into an absolute Nothingness which has leaked out a bit, IMO, into some Zen sects.

If you want to read the material for yourself (in translation of course) I think it might be better to start with the early stuff: the Pali suttas like those hosted at accesstoinsight and translated by Bhikku Bodhi. Every tradition acknowledges those suttas (but not necessarily those translations) and a solid foundation in the basics represented there is expected for those that would move onto the Mahayana stuff, IMO. You can also find Pali translations here; see the Digha, Majjhima, Samyuta, Anguttara, and Khuddaka.

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Basically, though, I think it would work best to follow the outline of the Three Turnings. So you'd start with the Pali suttas, follow that with the Prajnaparamita (big pdf) (wisdom) Sutras, and then move on to the Tathagatagarbha (another bigee) (Buddha-nature) Sutras.

Or, you could trust in the amazing Tsongkhapa, who has done all the work for you. Reading his three volume Lam Rim Chen Mo it will be like he is holding your hand through the entire process, from ignorance to omniscience. And I can't think of anyone better to have as a guide.

As you can tell from my flair, I think the madhyamaka is the bee's knees. But I wouldn't recommend starting with the Prajnaparamita literature as I don't think statements like "all is empty" (found in the Heart Sutra) make any sense if you don't know what Buddhists mean by "all" or "empty". You might interpret them, like I did, as a Taoist would. Once you have a foundation in the basics of the Pali collections though, I heartily recommend following the line of thought represented by Nagarjuna --> Chandrakirti --> Shantideva --> Tsongkhapa.

Yeah, the Lam Rim Chen Mo is all you need really.

Also, I haven't even touched on the tantric stuff! Or the commentaries, the shastras! There's a lot to read for sure!

But study should never be neglected, just as reflection on what you have studied should not be neglected. The Buddhist approach is two-pronged in this regard. Meditation alone is not enough; if it were, then there would be no need for Buddhism because concentration meditation is found in many non-Buddhist systems. The Buddhist innovation was to combine with the meditation the right view arrived at by insight into the selfless, empty nature of all things. And you will learn of this view in the literature and from those that understand the literature.

Oh I took the question as: if I only had one book for the rest of my life, rather than one I would literally have on my person at all times in my pocket.

I have part one of the Nishijima Cross version and personally find it a lot less readable than the linked one. I think I'd you're a Dogen scholar and need to do comparative work the footnotes and the literal style are probably valuable but it just doesn't read as well for personal practice and contemplation (in my opinion). The linked version I enjoy a lot if you're into a lifetime investment in original texts. It's very poetic and a well made book physically.

A great pocket book on Soto Zen though is "Opening the Hand of Thought". There are also now a lot of great Dogen commentaries coming out recently:

Deepest Practice, Deepest Wisdom

Being Time

Realizing Genjokoan

It was a real joy to see Garchen Rinpoche over the weekend, where he taught from The Prayer of Kuntuzangpo, a famous and well regarded Dzogchen tantra. Despite the text being a relatively short verse he wove a broad range of topics into his lectures, which included domestic chores, school shootings, deep sleep signifying ignorance, a story waking up one day while in prison (due to the Cultural Revolution in China) and not knowing where he was (implying no suffering), and much more, which he was often connected to the six realms as states of mind / experience. To me he is unambiguously a buddha, which is expressed in his effusive joyfulness and love towards others and the generosity of his teachings (he streams a ton on Youtube). It was a great opportunity to practice, since the topics often felt directly relevant and he'd often sprinkle in good practice instructions in passing. There is also the mysterious aspect of transmission at play, which makes seeing teachers really important aside from receiving the oral dharma teachings.

Having gone to this event not knowing much about Samantabhadra, I picked up A Lullaby to Awaken the Heart to further study the tantra and keep this event alive in my heart.

The Buddha spoke extensively on what it means to be a good person, but perhaps these teachings were pushed to the wayside in the West because they could be construed as "preachy"? Personally, and I'm sure many others would agree, I've found the ethical teachings in the texts to be of great benefit. I don't see them as lectures, but as practical reminders of the conduct conducive to social and communal harmony.

Also a good, short, summary-like book to Tibetan Buddhism is "An Open Heart" written by the Dalai Lama. It is very good and very comprehensive.

here

Tibetan Buddhism is largely based on the works of Je Tsongkapa, and so the Lam Rim by Je Tsongkapa is also a good place to begin.

here

A book of sutras I read everyday is "In the Buddha's Words". It has good sutras from the Pali cannon detailing the Buddha's discourses. (It is often nice to hear from the Buddha himself)

here

I'd start with the book that played a large role in the revival of the modern occult: H.P. Blavatsky's The Hidden Doctrine, which is a synthesis of occult philosophies from all over the world.

Then, I'd go over the text on which all hermetic knowledge derives from; The Corpus Hermeticum by Hermes Trismegistus

I'd also reccomend looking into The Pistis Sophia, which explains the philosophies of early Gnosticism.

Another important text would be The Vision and the Voice by Aleister Crowley, which is an account of 30 visions that document how one may attain enlightenment, had by Crowley while he was performing a series of Enochian rituals out in the desert.

The Cosmic Doctrine by Dion Fortune is a book that was channeled by Dion Fortune, which she believes explains the hidden secrets and doctrine of the universe.

The Mystical Qabalah by Dion Fortune is a great book that explains the Qabalah, the system of philosophy which is the backbone of the occult.

This list would be incomplete without also including Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy, which was written by a Renaissance occultist named Henry Agrippa and is a foundational text to all branches of occult philosophy and knowledge.

The Dhammapada, The Questions of King Milinda, THE TÂO TEH KING, The Bhagavad Gita, The Upanishads, and The I-Ching are all also important philosophical texts to the occult. While they are not necessarily "occult" themselves, they all had a huge influence on the modern occult today, as well as many famous occultists such as Aleister Crowley, Dion Fortune, H.P. Blavatsky, etc.

It depends on which school of Buddhism you are interested in. Different schools of Buddhism have different scriptures. For example, the school of Theravada Buddhism cherishes the Pali Canon, which consists of Vinaya Pitaka (monastic rules and disciplines), Sutta Pitaka (Buddha's discourses) and Abhidhamma Pitaka (philosophical treaties). The school of Mahayana Buddhism cherishes the Tripitaka, while the school of Tibetan Buddhism also has their own scriptures.

If you are into the Theravada school of Buddhism, which is the oldest school and also closest to the original teaching of the Buddha, then I'd recommend the following books:

The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Digha Nikaya

The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya

The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya

The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha: A Complete Translation of the Anguttara Nikaya

The Suttanipata: An Ancient Collection of the Buddha’s Discourses Together with Its Commentaries

Yes! Alan Wallace's translation of the Vajra Essence is wonderful (and I believe the only one out there in English) Here is the link to it on Amazon

The other two books in the set are also wonderful and very helpful

Hmm yes, the comparison you made is between a collection of discourses from Master Huangbo and a collection of Koans and stories. I can recommend really any more discourse oriented Chan teachings ranging from Master Foyan's "Instant Zen" to the recorded sayings of Master Linji. The Recorded sayings of Master Linji also include some interactions and stories, but also some clear discourses from the Master... the same with the Recorded sayings of Master Zhaozhou, which is mostly interactions and some discourses. Another one that you might find interesting is "Ch’an Master Hui Hai- Zen Teaching of Instantaneous Awakening" or The Letters of Chan Master Dahui Pujue.... but really, reading those discourses and not doing the practice won't be very helpful... hence the 'clear discourses' are rather rare since you should penetrate it yourself directly and not have it chewed out by those old grandmothers

I know next to nothing about tarot (much less anything about it apropos of Buddhism), but if you're interested in divination from a qualified Buddhist perspective, you might find Thomas Cleary's translation of a classical Chinese text on reading the Yijing (I-ching) from a Buddhist perspective to be of some value.

Jump right in, the water's fine.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Perfection-Wisdom-Wheel-Series/dp/0877040494/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1335589144&sr=8-6

You will have to sort out your feelings when confronted with what may appear fabulous or mystical; but this is Mahayana, and this is Zen. Good luck.

Great recommendation! May I also recommend the book Moonshadows? It's a collection of essays by a bunch of Western philosophers and scholars; the subject is conventional vs. ultimate truth in Buddhist philosophy.

Berzin is great. And I love Tsongkhapa. Reading the only full English translation of the Lam Rim (Tsongkhapa's, in fact) right now.

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I actually just started recently reading Speech of Delight, which is a commentary by Mipham Rinpoche on Shantarakshita's Madhyamakalamkara. So far, it's excellent.

Anyway, it discusses Shantarakshita's approach of the sort of union of Yogacara and Madhyamaka, which had been the dominant thought in Tibet until Tsongkhapa came along.

Mipham Rinpoche did a commentary on it and revitalized the tradition, apparently, even to a point where it's now studied in Nyingma shedras.

I suspect that your knowledge/presentation here is largely due to the work of Mipham Rinpoche in this commentary. What you said is I think entirely in line with what he's written.

I'd highly recommend the book so far, if you're interested. I think very highly of Mipham Rinpoche and I'm coming to think that Shantarakshita is basically unsurpassed in some ways.

• Pavement: Reflections on Mercy, Activism, and Doing "Nothing" for Peace
  
• Not Turning Away: The Practice of Engaged Buddhism
  
• The Buddha's Teachings on Social and Communal Harmony: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon

Even if they are translated, they are not available online. But I've learned about these texts through The Karmapa's Middle Way: Feast for the Fortunate, which lays out all these works with titles in Tibetan.

In these works 8th Karmapa gives his own commentaries on the Vinaya, Sutta and Abhidharma Pitakas and connects the dots that lead to the emergence of The Middle Way.

There is also a few mentions of this in Straight from the Heart: Buddhist Pith Instructions, in the section of Commentary on Maitripa's Mahamudra, which is called "Sutra Mahamudra" that was based on the Heart Sutra teachings, and later used by both Gampopa and 8th Karmapa as the foundation of their own works:

>The Karmapa says that the explicit teaching of this Mahamudra system is the Madhyamaka of emptiness free from reference
points as taught in the sutras. Implicitly, he explains, this Mahamudra system also teaches the profound actuality of both sutras and tantras, that is, the ordinary and extraordinary ultimate Sugata-Heart (Buddha nature).

As for Tarantha, there is Recollection of the Three Jewels Sutra with Taranatha's Commentary Vol. 2, where he explains the Sutra teachings from the point of view of Madhyamaka.

Also, if you can find Frameworks Of Buddhist Philosophy by Jamgon Kongtrul, which is probably the most extensive study available in English that explains how each branch of Buddhism has emerged from the earliest sources.

There is much to be learned and researched, but I personally feel that this is only the tip of an iceberg, and as more texts emerge from the Tibetan archives, the clearer the picture will get.

This was my main for very long.Then B. Allan Wallaces The Vajra Essence (Dudjom Lingpa's Visions of the Great Perfection) really helped with a lot of the less discussed woo-woo that comes later.

My list, as of today:

1 - Dudjom Lingpa's 'Buddhahood without Meditation' (aka Enlightenment without Meditation)
https://www.amazon.com/Buddhahood-without-Meditation-Lingpas-Visions/dp/1614293465/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1503511859&sr=1-1

2 - Sera Khandro's commentary on the above. The book also includes other texts which would be very supportive in retreat.

http://www.shambhala.com/refining-our-perception-of-reality.html

3 - Perhaps the new namthar of Yeshe Tsogyal?

How about you?

Wow!

PS. For those people that don't want to follow the link to a religious subreddit moderated by people who encourage hate speech on the internet: https://www.amazon.com/Letters-Chan-Master-Dahui-Pujue/dp/0190664169

Hey, just came across this book which I thought might interest you, it's by Bikkhu Bodhi: https://www.amazon.ca/Suttanipata-Collection-Discourses-Together-Commentaries/dp/1614294291/ref=pd_rhf_dp_s_cp_47?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1614294291&pd_rd_r=ZFNRFRY43KRF961ANJ12&pd_rd_w=v2vsU&pd_rd_wg=VJpab&psc=1&refRID=ZFNRFRY43KRF961ANJ12

>Zen Masters never produced a meditation manual.

Nine themes suffuse discussions of huatou practice in Letters of Dahui. The following is a brief encapsulation:

Theme 1: You have to do it on your own.

Theme 2: You must generate a singular sensation of uncertainty.

Theme 3: You must assume a stance of “composure.”

Theme 4: You must be neither “tense” nor “slack.”

Theme 5: Saving on the expenditure of [gongfu] energy is gaining [awakening]energy

Theme 6: You will eventually notice that the huatou has become “tasteless.”

Theme 7:  You must keep pressing hard with the huatou no matter what.

Theme 8: You must “break through” or “pass through” the huatou.

Theme 9: You must smash to smithereens the mind of samsara.

Every theme described in details in particular letters in The Letters of Chan Master Dahui Pujue

Zen masters are not something made up to support your opinions.

Ah, I'm aware of Mahamudra and Dzogchen teachings - is this related to them? I was reading this book which I am still going through but it seems difficult to understand. Are there any books that I can refer to for understanding nyams or separating the worldly from realization? :)

I see, so it's just larger than the other Nikayas, more cumbersome and expensive to translate and publish in full. Seems like what happened because of that is that choice selection of particular sections of it were translated and published, but not the whole thing.

A new Bhikkhu Bodhi translation of the Sutta Nipata is coming out later this month. I suppose if

Here's another book recommendation: https://www.amazon.com/Moonshadows-Conventional-Truth-Buddhist-Philosophy/dp/0199751439

A first-bhumi Bodhisattva has had direct perception of emptiness and reached the Path of Seeing. He/she then progresses on the Path of Meditation to the 10th bhumi.

"Stream-enterers are on the path of seeing; once-returners, nonreturners, and approachers to arhat are on the path of meditation. Arhats are on the path of no-more-learning. As liberated beings, they are no more bound in cyclic existence and will no longer take rebirth under the control of afflictions and polluted karma.

While the Pali tradition does not use the schema of the five paths, it does use the names of four of the five paths to refer to similar stages of practitioners' development. In the late commentaries, collections (sambhara) refers to requisites a practitioner must assemble to attain liberation. In the Abhidhamma, seeing (dassana) indicates the path of a stream-enterer, and meditation (bhavana) refers to the paths of once-returner, nonreturner, and arahant that gain familiarity with the view attained at stream-entry. No training (asekha) refers to arahantship or buddhahood and is the last ground. Buddhahood is called a ground and not a path because it marks the end of cultivation.

According to Madhyamikas, aryas of all three vehicles directly and non-conceptually realize the same selflessness of persons and phenomena: their emptiness of inherent existence." Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions by the Dalai Lama and Ven. Thubten Chodron https://www.amazon.com/Buddhism-One-Teacher-Many-Traditions/dp/1536617563

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According to Geshe Lhundub Sopa, "the path of seeing purifies contrived self-grasping; the impure grounds [2nd to 7th bhumi] of the path of meditation purify innate self-grasping and its seeds, which are the obstructions to liberation; and the pure grounds [8th to 10th bhumi] of the path of meditation purify the imprints of innate self-grasping, which are the obstructions to omniscience." https://www.amazon.com/Steps-Path-Enlightenment-Commentary-Tsongkhapas/dp/1614293236/

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Dassanamaggena atikkanto. The "path of seeing" is the path of stream-entry, by which one first directly sees the four noble truths and nibbana, the truth of cessation. https://www.amazon.com/Suttanipata-Collection-Discourses-Commentaries-Teachings/dp/1614294291