Reddit mentions: The best mahayana buddhism books

I've been reading Thich Nhat Hanh's Peaceful Action, Open Heart, which is wonderful, concurrently with A Guide to the Threefold Lotus Sutra, by Nikkyo Niwano, that gives a concise overview of each chapter. It also helps to have an introduction, in the form of a talk or short articles. There's a short chapter in Cultivating the Mind of Love on this Sutra.

I was at a retreat with TNH in the 1990's where he spoke about the Avatamsaka and Lotus Sutras, that's since been issued by Sounds True as The Ultimate Dimension.

Most of the talks were on the foundational practices for entering into the kinds of experiences described in these Sutras, and I found that his framing them in this way actually made them accessible. Remarkable!

These are good places to start.

As Thay said in his commentary, these are not so much works to be studied with the rational part of ourselves as they are to be received as inspired poetry, lived with and enjoyed. Then meaning of these sutras and the truth they speak of can reveal themselves to us gradually.

He says, in the beginning of The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching:

“When we hear a Dharma talk or study a sutra, our only job is to remain open. Usually when we hear or read something new, we just compare it to our own ideas. If it is the same, we accept it and say that it is correct. If it is not, we say it is incorrect. In either case, we learn nothing. If we read or listen with an open mind and an open heart, the rain of the Dharma will penetrate the soil of our consciousness.

“The gentle spring rain permeates the soil of my soul.
A seed has lain deeply in the earth for many years just smiles.

“When reading or listening, don’t work too hard. Be like the earth. When the rain comes, the earth only has to open herself up to the rain. Allow the rain of the Dharma to come in and penetrate the seeds that are buried deep in your consciousness.

“A teacher cannot give you the truth. The truth is already in you. You only need to open yourself - body, mind, and heart - so that his or her teachings will penetrate your own seeds of understanding and enlightenment. If you let the words enter you, the soil and the seeds will do the rest of the work.”

Best wishes to you in your practice.

Thank you for taking that one apart.

Sura is also the root of Asura, which literally means without sura or without liquor or whatever Sura was (I am pretty sure it was not only ethanol, but some distilled or concentrated form of ethanol.)

As anyone who has spent time with asuras knows, liquor only makes the men more quarrelsome, and the women asuras, well, let's just say that asura women become even more beautiful and sexy when they start drinking, but watch out after they have had a few, don't get on their bad side. Prajna paramita is they way to deal with asuras, and wisdom and drunkenness don't really go hand in hand. Maybe foot in mouth, but not hand in hand.

Holding the precepts means not only keeping them, but being mindful of not keeping them. While breaking the major precepts was grounds for expulsion from the sangha and would cause rebirth in the hells, breaking the other precepts such as drinking or playing in the water were confessed and did not result in further censure.

A great book on precepts is

Bodhisattva Precepts translated and compiled by RULU

To quote from the book:

"An interesting story is found in the Sutra of Unprecedented Causes and Conditions. Prince Jeta, King Prasenajits's son, having received the Buddha's teachings on the path of the ten good karmas, says that he wishes to accept the ten good karmas as precepts and to abandon the five precepts he accepted earlier, because it is too hard to observe the fifth precept at dinner parties. The Buddha tells him, "If one's afflictions do not arise while drinking alcohol with delight, one will not do evil karmas. Because of one's benign mind, one will receive good requitals. If you remember the precepts while drinking alcohol, you increase your merits. There is no fault in the way you observe the five precepts."

So really, even with alcohol you can drink as long as you don't act like an asura or a hungry ghost or an animal or a hell dweller when you drink. I personally do not drink at all, being married to an asura woman will teach you that sometime the best wine is no wine!

Of course, of course, the spirit of ehipassiko is expected here: not to blindly accept teachings based merely on authority, and not to blindly doubt teachings based on your opinion and preference, but to verify the teachings for yourself.

It is significant, though, that you don't immediately see the significance and value of this teaching. It flies over your head, so to speak. Even if you don't realize it, this does show an attachment to a view. But perhaps that's where you're at karmically, and you may not open to or understand the significance for some time.

Nagarjuna's teachings tend to be difficult to penetrate for many casual students. Commentary from an enlightened teacher will usually be a big help (commentary; not indoctrination).

Among the sources that assist you in verifying these teachings for yourself, I recall that Gampopa's The Jewel Ornament Of Liberation lists the views and attachments that block clarity on the various levels of Dharmic teachings. But if you continue to be cloudy on this point, you might require direct relationship with a teacher who can transmit the teaching, the practice, and the 'pointing out'.

A little introduction to Nagarjuna was featured in Tricycle Magazine, Winter 2006.

Thank you for your practice and thank you for the conversation. Good luck along the path.

.

Edit: The Dzogchen Nang Jang (purification of perception) teachings will also address these points, and prepare you for a practice that gives direct, verifiable experience.

I think TNH's views are 100% compatible with "Buddhism" in both its historical/traditional and modern forms. Overall though, it is hard to classify TNH's views. It's known that he practices within the Mahayana and Zen traditions, but his emphasis on mindfulness of breathing has a lot in common with the Theravadan Thai Forest tradition.

 

The one thing I can confidently say about TNH is that he is one of the least dogmatic Buddhist teachers I know of, rather, it's immediately obvious that nearly every sentence he writes or talk he gives comes from deep personal experience. He's not going to tell you something is true just because some book or old tradition says so, he's only going to tell you something if he's verified it through personal experience and has found it to be relevant and useful in overcoming suffering. In this sense, he teaches in a very similar spirit as the Buddha by using skillful means rather than dogma.

 

I do not think TNH is "secular", but I think he cares deeply about making the liberating teachings of Buddhism accessible to as many people as possible, and he has done an amazing job at this. For proof that TNH is not a secular materialist, see his commentary on the Lotus Sutra which is a very non-secular and almost supernatural-esque text. In addition, as far as rebirth goes, in his book The Heart of the Buddha's Teachings, there is a small section which explains that a Bodhisattva can intentionally keep being reborn in the world to continue helping all beings, thus implying a literal form a rebirth. However, in the few of his books that I've read, I will admit that he spends very little time or focus on traditional forms of samsara and rebirth.

Buddhism is not a religion that focuses on particular texts as a canonized group like the Abrahamic faiths. There are collections like the "Pali Cannon" which is not really much of a cannon and the Teisho (which was created in direct response to Christianity). They also differ by region, school, and time period in what they say. If you like philosophy and are prepared to approach it from a college level I'd start out with Tsung-Mi and the Sinification of Buddhism. Another good option is the Awakening of Faith. Bear in mind that the first is a scholarly work detailing the Ch'an revolution in China. It's very dense. The second is a translated work of Chinese origin that was incredibly influential in the East. If you're looking to get a feel for Buddhism in general you need to start earlier, with Hindu texts. It helps to read the Laws of Manu and the Upanishads as well as the Ramayana. This gives you a low level basis in the religious world before the Buddha. Then you can focus on some of the early Pali texts. Honestly, for practice reading the translated texts is difficult at best. They're written for and by another culture in another time and are not necessarily relevant to your modern practice. Understanding and curiosity are a different matter. Regardless, if you are serious about it stop looking for "best" and start looking for "interesting". The world of Eastern Philosophy is deep and fascinating- so read around and get a feel for it!

The most lucid expositions I know of for original buddhism are Walpola Rahula - What the Buddha taught and Paul Williams - Buddhist Thought: A Complete Introduction to the Indian Tradition.

I read them years ago, but I remember that what I particularly liked about them is that they are pretty clever in clearing common objections that a modern student may have, they don't dumb it down (while still being clear and concise), and they don't avoid the sides of Buddhism that may be scary for people (in other words they won't present Buddhism as a good-vibe, let's just chill out and love everybody style of life, like many books do to cater to wide audiences).

First of all, can I just say how much I love giving and receiving book recommendations? I was a religious studies major in college (and was even a T.A. in the World Religions class) so, this is right up my alley. So, I'm just going to take a seat in front of my book cases...

General:

1. A History of God by Karen Armstrong
   
   
2. The Great Transformation by Karen Armstrong
   
   
3. Myths: gods, heroes, and saviors by Leonard Biallas (highly recommended)
   
   
4. Natural History of Religion by David Hume
   
   
5. Beyond Tolerance by Gustav Niebuhr
   
   
6. Acts of Faith by Eboo Patel (very highly recommended, completely shaped my view on pluralism and interfaith dialogue)
   
   
7. The Evolution of God by Robert Wright
   
   Christianity:
   
   
8. Tales of the End by David L. Barr
   
   
9. The Historical Jesus by John Dominic Crossan
   
   
10. Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography by John Dominic Crossan
    
    
11. The Birth of Christianity by John Dominic Crossan
    
    
12. Who Wrote the New Testament? by Burton Mack
    
    
13. Jesus in America by Richard Wightman Fox
    
    
14. The Five Gospels by Robert Funk, Roy W. Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar (highly recommended)
    
    
15. Remedial Christianity by Paul Alan Laughlin
    
    Judaism:
    
    
16. The Jewish Mystical Tradition by Ben Zion Bokser
    
    
17. Who Wrote the Bible? by Richard Elliot Friedman
    
    Islam:
    
    
18. Muhammad by Karen Armstrong
    
    
19. No God but God by Reza Aslan
    
    
20. Approaching the Qur'an: The Early Revelations by Michael Sells
    
    Buddhism:
    
    
21. Buddha by Karen Armstrong
    
    
22. Entering the Stream ed. Samuel Bercholz & Sherab Chodzin Kohn
    
    
23. The Life of Milarepa translated by Lobsang P. Lhalungpa
    
    
24. Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism by John Powers
    
    
25. Zen Flesh, Zen Bones compiled by Paul Reps (a classic in Western approached to Buddhism)
    
    
26. Buddhist Thought by Paul Williams (if you're at all interested in Buddhist doctrine and philosophy, you would be doing yourself a disservice by not reading this book)
    
    Taoism:
    
    
27. The Essential Chuang Tzu trans. by Sam Hamill & J.P. Seaton
    
    Atheism:
    
    
28. Atheism by Julian Baggini
    
    
29. The Future of an Illusion by Sigmund Freud
    
    
30. Doubt: A History by Jennifer Michael Hecht
    
    
31. When Atheism Becomes Religion by Chris Hedges
    
    
32. Atheism: The Case Against God by George H. Smith

Born to Run helped me fall in love with running. I had never been so deeply & passionately drawn to anything... now I'm training to run my first marathon and I'm more excited for this than for when I graduated from college.

Against the Stream was another life-changer - it helped me learn to breathe, relax, focus, and stay in the present moment.

You could check wikipedia, and Kagyu Samye Ling has some good articles about each written by Tai Situ Rinpoche:

• Diligence
  
  
• Forbearance
  
  
• Generosity
  
  
• Meditation
  
  
• Prajna (Wisdom)
  
  
• Skillful Conduct
  
  I'd also recommend reading the Bodhicharyavatara or the Nectar of Manjushri's speech (maybe it's best commentary), as they go into the paramitas in great detail.

Try these:

• Thich Thien Tam - Buddhism of Wisdom & Faith: Pure Land Principles and Practice
  
• Ratnaguna & Sraddhana - Great Faith, Great Wisdom

As for the beginner type of books from Tibetan Mahyana tradition:

The Path to Awakening

The Way of Tibetan Buddhism

As for the serious and more advanced reading:

The Jewel Ornament of Liberation

Buddhist Cosmology

Something exciting are always life stories of great Bodhisattvas:

Life of Padmasambhava

Life of Naropa

Life of Milarepa

As for the mantras:

OM MANI PADME HUM

OM TARE TUTTARE TURE SOHA

I think most would probably say the Mulamadhyamakakarika or MMK, but I recently got the Yuktisastika with commentary and am quite impressed. It's shorter than the MMK, 60 verses, and generally I think it's very straightforward for the most part, though I have studied this topic prior so that may play a part.

I've found a bit of the commentary somewhat dense when it comes to some of the wrong views that are discussed, and some might take issue with some of the translational choices by Loizzo, but overall I'd recommend it highly if you're inclined. Loizzo generally makes it clear what the root words are for tricky translational choices anyway, so you can kind of do your own translation a bit if it's questionable.

The Yuktisastika is where that above quote comes from.

Lam Tso Nam Sum is a short prayer by Lam Rim standards. Another good one is "The Source of All My Good." The commentary I was referring to is this one: https://www.amazon.com/Tsongkapas-Principal-Pabongkas-Commentary-Principle/dp/B0024YBDGK/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1483497190&sr=8-16&keywords=the+three+principal+paths

Unfortunately it looks like it's out of print. You can download it here: http://bit.ly/2hO0E0C

There's a great commentary on The Source of All My Good here: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-Tantra-Mountain-Blessings-Classics/dp/0918753112/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1483497364&sr=1-1&keywords=preparing+for+tantra

To understand the title of the book, you should know that the colloquial name for The Source of All My Good is Begging for a Mountain of Blessings.

I am sure he was inspired by a book I gave him: "It Came from Beyond Zen!" :)

I was a big fan of DT Suzuki's writings when I was a beginner. Check out Outline of Mahayana Buddhism. The Kindle version is only $0.99!

Thich Nhat Hanh's The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching is also very popular for beginners, but I caveat this by saying that TNH uses a very unique language... his attempt at being poetic and reaching the western audience in a very particular way, so while he transmits a true understanding of the dharma, it can be as difficult a learning curve as it is now to have that translate to broader Mahayana ideas and terminology.

Speaking as an academic, I've found Siderits lacking, for Buddhist philosophy.
Instead I would highly recommend two books by Paul Williams. Buddhist Thought for an overview of Indian Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism to supplement it. Together they give an amazing overview of Buddhist thought.

The Way to Buddhahood by Master Yin Shun is a great read.

https://www.amazon.com/Way-Buddhahood-Instructions-Modern-Chinese/dp/0861711335

Kevin Griffin - One Breath At a Time


Noah Levine - Against the Stream

These are buddhist models, but I've found both these men's takes very helpful. They have talks on each step available online. I don't think I'll every consider myself buddhist, but I find a lot of their advice helpful. They offer ways of getting around obstacles of the twelve steps for people not keen on the salvation from an external force idea.

You could try mindfulness meditation.

Kevin Griffin has a good book on integrating Buddhism and the 12 Steps called "One breath at a time": http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001RTSFIM/

Noah Levine's style might be worth checking out to see if it resonates with you: http://www.amazon.com/dp/006073664X/

I do university research on applying mindfulness to addictive behavior problems, and my team has run 1 randomized controlled trial (funded by NIH), and we're in the middle of a bigger trial right now, evaluating our Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention program. If you're in the Seattle area, send me a message and I can tell you about groups we're running that you could check out, if you're interested.

-J

In Chapter 20 of Bringing Home the Dharma, Jack Kornfield addresses questions of psychedelic use and Buddhist practice from the point of view of somebody who has experience with both. It's rare to get frank and interesting words on the subject.

I thought it was a good book, or Noah Levine's Against The Stream is a nice 'cover the bases' type of book aimed at people who may be coming from a more hard-edged lifestyle.

and fuck ego-death, seriously.

The Zen Monastic Experiece by Robert Buswell.

https://www.amazon.com/Zen-Monastic-Experience-Robert-Buswell/dp/069103477X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1538016020&sr=8-1&keywords=zen+monastic+experience

The anecdote that I quoted above is from this book:

The Zen Monastic Experience

>Ch'unsong sunim (1891-1978), a well-known disciple of Han Yongun (1879-1944), was one of the last masters to cultivate "unconstrained conduct" (muae haeng)-- practice not limited by the usual constraints of monastic discipline and decorum. Refusing to conform even in his old age, Ch'unsong continually wandered from monastery to monastery, disdaining even to observe the retreat periods kept by all the other monks. Tales of his audacious and often obscene conversations with laywomen-- all of which tended to center around pointed references to their vaginas-- are rife among the monks...