(Part 2) Best products from r/Buddhism

>The point in my response was that I interpreted you to say that elimination of craving was not part of the path to reduce suffering, when it clearly is, as is evident if you read any introductory text on Buddhism, and I provided a quote from the Pali cannon to illustrate this.

>But now it seems to have morphed into a quibble over how to summarize the third noble truth.

If something has morphed its your argument and its because you morphed it. When I originally joined this thread this is the comment I responded to:

>I am asking about the second Noble truth. I am asking concretely, how one reduces/eliminates thirst in the context of meditation...

>It's as if I asked about how exactly to do step 4 of a recipe, to mix flour and butter together, and you responded with, follow the recipe. I'm asking specifically about one of the steps in the recipe.

This is you stating emphatically that you are talking about the Second Noble Truth.

I replied:

>The First Noble Truth is all life is suffering.

>The Second Noble Truth is suffering is caused by desire.

>The Third Noble Truth is there can be an end to suffering.

>The Fourth Noble Truth is that the end to suffering is in following the Eightfold Path.

>I know you've seen people here say that if you eliminate all desire you can end suffering, and maybe you've seen a website or even a book that says as much, and if you want to believe that too that's perfectly fine.

>>I am asking concretely, how one reduces/eliminates thirst in the context of meditation...

>You can't make a Turkey with salt. You can't extinguish desire with meditation. It takes more than that, but that can help.

To which you replied:

>The third Noble truth is more specific than you note

>>nirodha (cessation, ending) of this dukkha can be attained by eliminating all "craving, desire, and attachment";[7][8]

This is you mentioning the Third Noble Truth for the first time. I don't know why you brought up the Third Noble Truth. I think you're confused and I'm not here to "quibble", or to flex my ego, or to expose anyone so I simply wished you good luck.

You then replied with:

>Here is a short summary of the four noble truths from the Saṃyutta Nikāya of the Pali cannon, as quoted in The Foundations of Buddhism by Buddhist scholar Rupert Gethin.

>>This is the noble truth of suffering: birth is suffering, ageing is suffering, sickness is suffering, dying is suffering, sorrow, grief, pain, unhappiness, and unease are suffering; being united with what is not liked is suffering, separation from what is liked is suffering; not to get what one wants is suffering; in short, the five aggregates of grasping are suffering.

>>This is the noble truth of the origin of suffering: the thirst for repeated existence which, associated with delight and greed, delights in this and that, namely the thirst for the objects of sense desire, the thirst for existence, and the thirst for non-existence.

>>This is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering: the complete fading away and cessation of this very thirst its abandoning, relinquishing, releasing, letting go.

>>This is the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering: the noble eightfold path, namely right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.

I don't know why you chose to share this translation, or how it advances your point. But I noticed that it is a workable translation so I replied:

>The second noble truth here doesn't look anything like what you described before. I'm not sure what point you're trying to make.

I thought that this would gently point out that you had switched from the Second Noble Truth to the Third Noble Truth, and I was trying to point out that even in the translation you quoted The Second Noble Truth is not how you described it here:

>I am asking about the second Noble truth. I am asking concretely, how one reduces/eliminates thirst in the context of meditation...

>It's as if I asked about how exactly to do step 4 of a recipe, to mix flour and butter together, and you responded with, follow the recipe. I'm asking specifically about one of the steps in the recipe.

1. One does not reduce or eliminate desire in the context of meditation
   
2. The Four Noble Truths are not like a recipe or step by step instructions
   
3. The Second Noble Truth only says that suffering is caused by desire. It does not describe or imply any action.
   
   But as a response you say:
   
   >That's because I was describing the third noble truth not the second. And the previous quote is in agreement with this quote from the Pali cannon. "Thirst" here is equivalent to craving.
   
   >>I know you've seen people here say that if you eliminate all desire you can end suffering, and maybe you've seen a website or even a book that says as much, and if you want to believe that too that's perfectly fine.
   
   >I am responding to this comment of yours, given that it is not something said only by "people" or found in a "website"/"book", but the pali cannon itself.
   
   I am not quibbling over how to summarize the Third Noble Truth. You are insisting that you have always been talking about the Third Noble Truth, and you have not. You also seem to be saying that your point is that The Third Noble Truth implies or describes some action, which it does not.
   
   So I reply:
   
   >The third noble truth says only that there can be an end to suffering.
   
   >You need to look at the discussion and really think about what you've said. I think you're confused. I know you are.
   
   Suggesting some of my suspicions and encouraging you to review the discussion which I've detailed above.
   
   And now this last reply from you:
   
   >The point in my response was that I interpreted you to say that elimination of craving was not part of the path to reduce suffering, when it clearly is, as is evident if you read any introductory text on Buddhism, and I provided a quote from the Pali cannon to illustrate this.
   
   >But now it seems to have morphed into a quibble over how to summarize the third noble truth.
   
   >>This is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering: the complete fading away and cessation of this very thirst its abandoning, relinquishing, releasing, letting go.
   
   >Sure you can summarize the third noble truth by saying that there is an end to suffering, but it is only gets at half point, as is evident above, that end can occur by removing the cause of suffering, namely thirst: "...the cessation of suffering:[is achieved by]...complete...cessation of...thirst [craving/strong desire]".
   
   >The noble truths as stated are just short descriptions of a general structure to the diagnosis of the state of things from a Buddhist perspective. The truths are expanded in great detail, in basically every element of Buddhism.
   
   Do you recall the story of the Buddha before he reached Enlightenment? He had become frustrated in his practice and decided that he would sit beneath a tree and do nothing but meditate until he reached Enlightenment. He was not able to reach Enlightenment in this way and you will not either. This is something I am absolutely sure of. Elimination of desire is part of the path, but it is not the whole or primary focus, and in the context of meditation it's not something to focus on in the way that you mean it. Nor is it suggested in any introductory text of Buddhism. You have misunderstood your reading.
   
   I am not quibbling over how to summarize the Third Noble Truth. It does not say what you think it says, or mean what you think it means. I am trying to have a discussion and address your questions.
   
   >Sure you can summarize the third noble truth by saying that there is an end to suffering, but it is only gets at half point, as is evident above, that end can occur by removing the cause of suffering, namely thirst: "...the cessation of suffering:[is achieved by]...complete...cessation of...thirst [craving/strong desire]".
   
   Bracketing in words you think should be there is not helping you understand. Let me be clear:
   
   The way to end suffering is by following the Eightfold Path. Meditation is a part of that path and being mindful of desire is a part of that path. Meditation on ending desire will not, in and of itself, bring you to Enlightenment.

"Buddhism recognizes two different kinds of wanting: (1) tanha, the desire for pleasure objects; and (2) chanda, the desire for well-being. Tanha is based on ignorance, while chanda is based on wisdom and is thus part of the process of solving problems." -Ven. P. A. Payutto https://www.urbandharma.org/udharma2/becono2.html

"Western presentations of Buddhist teachings have often led to the misconception that because suffering arises out of desire, you shouldn’t desire anything. In fact, the Buddha spoke of two kinds of desire: desire that arises from ignorance and delusion, which is called tanha, craving, and desire that arises from wisdom and intelligence, which is called kusala-chanda, or dhamma-chanda, or most simply chanda. Chanda has a range of meanings, but in this case I’m using it to mean wise and intelligent desire and motivation, which the Buddha stressed as being absolutely fundamental to any progress on the eightfold path." -Ajahn Jayasaro https://www.lionsroar.com/just-do-it/


"With desire, some are positive and some are negative. Let’s say, to have attachment and desire to help others and have a useful and meaningful life, then that is good desire and good attachment. That desire and attachment is positive and constructive. Also, with self-confidence, some people are over self-confident. That means they have too much pride. That is negative and that is dangerous. Self-confidence with reason is positive. It is very essential to have a strong sense of self in order to develop will and determination. We may call that positive ego. The strong feeling of the sense of self which creates disregard for other’s rights, with no hesitation to harm others, that kind of ego is negative. So you see, within our own mind or our own thoughts, there are so many different varieties, we must clarify these differences and try to reduce the negative emotions and try to increase or cultivate our positive thoughts. That is the proper way." -Gyalten Sogdzin Rinpoche http://www.rinpoche.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=87&Itemid=90&lang=en



"Desire with attachment is negative. We have to develop desire with reason, for example, the desire for the well-being of another, or the desire to overcome one's own suffering. That's right. Desire without proper basis is very much related to attachment. That kind of desire must reduce." -The Dalai Lama https://www.amazon.com/Dalai-Lamas-Big-Book-Happiness/dp/1571747397

Yup - arhat is just a term for someone who's attained the state of nirvana. With Theravada, practitioners believe that attaining nirvana / reaching arhathood is a more realistic path to start off with; the path to Buddhahood is extremely difficult, and it's okay to want to attain a state of personal bliss and stay in that for a very long time, before eventually progressing further along the spiritual path towards Buddhahood.

Mahayana practitioners also realize that it's an extremely difficult path, but the end result (Buddhahood) allows someone to accomplish so much in order to help all sentient beings that it's perhaps a little selfish to want to spend so much time in a blissful yet incomplete state (arhathood), when there's an option to skip that phase and progress along the path of bodhisattvas, which involves greater sacrifices but ultimately reduces the time necessary to reach Buddhahood (an even more blissful state than Arhathood, the state of ultimate bliss according to Buddhism) by a significant amount (many, many eons). Bodhisattvas are characterized by their devotion to the practice of bodhicitta - the desire to attain Buddhahood as quickly as possible in order to maximize their ability to help end the suffering & root causes of suffering for all sentient beings (the Wikipedia page on "sentient beings" is a good place to start, if you're unsure of what sentient beings means, in the context of Buddhism). Sentient beings are typically classified into 6 realms of existence in the Buddhist worldview: Gods, Asuras (demi-gods, with less enjoyment and more anger + jealousy), Humans, Animals, Ghosts, and Hell beings, and until we reach the state of Arhat or a certain level of Bodhisattva (it's complicated - the scriptures classify these levels in many different ways, the most complicated method lists 52 different levels of Bodhisattvas), all sentient beings are stuck in this cycle of infinite rebirth (reincarnation) into these 6 realms, depending on one's personal karma.

By the way, I responded to the question "selfish vs unselfish" Buddhism below, you might be interested in looking at that.

Personally, I base my practices on Mahayana (and the Vajrayana subsect of Mahayana) scriptures and texts. This is because most of the teachers I find myself admiring and feeling a strong connection to are Mahayana & Vajrayana lineage masters. While the Mahayana path is more difficult than Theravada one (this is acknowledged by many historical scholars & practitioners of both traditions), the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions also provide many more effective methods of practice that allows one to progress along the spiritual path much more quickly than Theravada techniques. Most of my current teachers belong all four major sects of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, but I've also spent over a year (on and off) living in a Chinese Mahayana monastery in Taiwan, as a volunteer.

Last of all, regarding your question here:

> And is it possible to be still ordodox and live middle way? I am not telling that i am Zealous i am just more like agnostic but well, but when is hard or thinking about life i found that i ask myself am i wrong?

I'd like to quote the Dalai Lama's perspective on this, since he's a widely respected figure amongst the Christian community as well (he's actually been invited by a couple of Christian communities in the past to share his perspectives on the Bible, believe it or not). Basically, his view is that no matter what religious tradition one chooses to follow, the most important thing is to keep a spirit of inquiry and skepticism as opposed to blind faith, because ultimately blind faith can be pretty dangerous on the path in search of truth, whereas healthy skepticism & inquiry allows for a more natural / gradual realization of knowledge & truth. If you've been raised / grew up as an Orthodox Christian, the Dalai Lama suggests keeping that as your main spiritual belief system unless you reach a compelling point where there's no reason for you to feel like you want to continue with that tradition; but of course, you're always welcome to use Buddhist concepts / teachings (e.g. meditation, visualizations, etc) to supplement your practice of Christianity, as long as they don't interfere with the core concepts of your current belief. If you're interested in reading more about using Buddhist techniques to complement Christian practice, I recommend the following book by Thich Naht Hanh, a Vietnamese Mahayana monk of the Zen tradition who's also highly respected amongst Christians (I had a high school Christian teacher who started doing some mindfulness meditation after reading some of Thich Naht Hanh's books):

https://www.amazon.com/Living-Buddha-Christ-20th-Anniversary/dp/159448239X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1495546375&sr=8-3&keywords=thich+nhat+hanh+christian

I had kind of a hard time thinking about a response I felt good about. Below are resources roughly sequenced as "stages". All the resources are within or related to the Theravada tradition. I tried to keep everything free. When a preferred resource is not free, I include a free alternative. Buddhism is very much a practice, so when instructions are given put them into practice the best you can. There is also a need to understand why you are practicing, so there is a need to understand Buddhist theory. Some of these resources might not be seem immediately applicable to you, which is fine, just think of it as being similar to reviewing a map before going on the hike. This small collection of selected resources may seem overwhelming, but learning the dhamma is a long process, so there is no hurry to read or listen to everything. It is like walking through mist, you don't necessarily notice getting wet. I just want to reiterate that practicing is very important. Buddhism is about doing, and to lesser degree about acquiring book knowledge. One caution, I put several different meditation styles below; go a head and experiment with them, but figure out which one fits you best and stick with it for a while. If you have any questions, I will do my best to answer skillfully. Remember that persistence will bring rewards. Good luck.

Books:

"Stage 1"

With Each & Every Breath: A Guide to Meditation by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana [not free] (Free older version)

Noble Strategy by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

The Buddha’s Teachings: An Introduction by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

"Stage 2"

In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon edited by Bhikkhu Bodhi [not free] (A free "clone" can be found at www.suttacentral.net. It has all of the introductions Bhikkhu Bodhi wrote, but uses free translations of the suttas)

The Dhammapada: A New Translation of the Buddhist Classic with Annotations translated by Gil Fronsdal [not free] (A free and reliable translation of the Dhammapada by Anandajoti Bhikkhu)

"Stage 3"

The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya translated by Bhikkhu Nanamoli & Bhikkhu Bodhi [not free] (Free translations of all of the Majjhima Nikaya suttas can be found at www.suttacentral.net. Thanissaro Bhikkhu has translated a free anthology of the Majjhima Nikaya called Handful of Leaves, Volume II: an Anthology from the Majjhima Nikaya)

The Wings to Awakening: An Anthology from the Pali Canon by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Talks:

"Stage 1"

Introduction to Meditation is an audio course by Gil Fronsdal.

Basics is collection of talks by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

The Buddha's Teaching As It Is: An Introductory Course is a series of talks by Bhikkhu Bodhi

Eightfold Path Program is a series of talks by Gil Fronsdal.

Four Noble Truths is a series by Gil Fronsdal and Andrea Fella.

"Stage 2"

Don't eat your fingers. Seriously though, just listen to talks and get a better feel for the dharma.

"Stage 3"

Seven Factors of Awakening is a series of talks by Gil Fronsdal.

A Systematic Study of the Majjhima Nikaya by Bhikkhu Bodhi

Resources:(There are a huge number of great resource. Below are the ones I frequent or have frequented)

Texts: www.suttacentral.net, www.accesstoinsight.org, www.buddhanet.net, www.dhammatalks.org, www.ancient-buddhist-texts.net

Talks: www.dharmaseed.org (huge variety of teachers have talks here), www.dhammatalks.org (Thanissaro Bhikkhu has a huge catalog of talks. He has a straight forward style.), www.audiodharma.org (Gil Fronsdal has very accessible teaching style. He presents the dharma in an almost secular way, but doesn't doesn't diminish it in the process.)

Video: Buddhist Society of Western Australia (Ajahn Brahm is a much loved and accessible teacher), Yuttadhammo Bhikkhu (Yuttadhammo Bhikkhu has a very calm demeanor, and does live Q&A regularly, StudentofthePath (Bhikkhu Jayasara is a recently ordained monk and is an active redditor, u/Bhikkhu_Jayasara), Dhammanet (Bhikkhu Sujato has "loose" and friendly teaching style, but is a serious scholar.)

OK - just threw that in there due to your comment about talking to girls and negative thoughts.

You should certainly consider meditation, and give it an honest shot. Even when divorced from the religious teaching of the Buddha, many forms of meditation have proven stress-relieving effects, and (anecdotally) can help with cognition, patience, and compassion. For a primer I recommend Mindfulness in Plain English, a wonderful book that is available for free here. I think you'll find the first chapter very helpful in answering your question "why meditate?" As for how long, I fully intend to meditate daily for the rest of my life. Once you really get going and start to see the benefits, I can't imagine you'd one day say "alright, my work here is done."

Bhante Gunaratana also has a very helpful, detailed book about applying the Noble Eightfold Path to daily life: Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness. Here's an article about it by the Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi, but I'm not sure how accessible it will be to a beginner.

OK, I see. So the point of your practice will be to help others as much as yourself? Look into metta (loving kindness) meditation; it can help you with your ability to forgive and also make compassionate thought and action more "automatic." Keep in mind from the beginning, though, that nothing you do will "improve others." You can only change your attitude to other people. Of course, if you're more compassionate, positive, and forgiving, it may very well rub off on them. And even if it doesn't, you'll be happy. It's a no-lose scenario.

I hope this has helped.

This book, The Mind Illuminated, is one of the best introductions to Buddhist meditation I've read, written in easy-to-understand, contemporary English, it is useful for both the beginner and intermediate practitioner alike. Comes in both Kindle and Paperback.

There are many other books, of course, that talk more on doctrine. I recommend starting with Ajahn Chah. Thich Nhat Hanh is also a huge favorite, as his writing is very kind and compassionate. I do not have any writings I can recommend, but he is more modern and more accessible.

The beauty about Buddhism is that it is all testable. Test everything you read, to the best of your ability. This is the only way one can truly learn. Go to temple and see how you like it. If it is the right fit, it will be good; if it is not the right fit, there will always be another chance, or try again another time.

There are also a lot of Apps that help support meditation, though I'm not too much of a fan of them. There was a recent post where many people offered their own recommendations: https://www.reddit.com/r/Buddhism/comments/6xv3se/my_meditation_experience_has_been_amazing_i/?utm_content=title&utm_medium=hot&utm_source=reddit&utm_name=Buddhism

Feel free to ignore my comment, in that thread; it is not meant for you.

Describe the Four Noble Truths? I sometimes like looking at Wikipedia's simple english version of pages to get good, short overviews of things. I don't think that description of the first step of the Eightfold Path is very good though. The normal english article is better for that one, but other than that it's a good summery.

Many Zen teachers express things differently. They might not go into a lot of detail or focus on lists and texts as much. There are also some differences. For example under Right Action, some Japanese Zen lineages allow monks to marry and have families. In general though all that page will still apply to Zen.

Zen is pretty hard to learn on your own. Koans, which are things you might call spiritual questions, make up a lot of the practice in a lot of Zen, and to practice them you pretty much need to be working with a teacher. I don't know of any good resources that I'd recommend for learning to practice Zen on your own.

If you'd like a good book to learn about Zen from an scholarly point of view this is a good one. It's only going to teach you about Zen, like things you'd learn about the subject if you took a college class. It won't teach you how to practice Zen. If you'd like a book that isn't from an academic point of view this is a nice one, but still, it's not really going to teach you how to practice Zen.

Rupert Gethin's Foundations of Buddhism is a thorough introduction to Buddhism. For starting reading the Pāli discourses, there's Bhikkhu Bodhi's In the Buddha's Words - this is a selection of discourses serving as an entry point.

Then you can start with the discourses directly: start with the Majjima Nikāya and then you can also go through The Dīgha Nikāya and the Samyutta Nikāya. And then the last but not least: Aṇguttara Nikāya and the Khuddhaka Nikāya (search on Amazon). These texts would be important references for the rest of your life if you seriously pursue Buddhism.

Regarding insight meditation, Bhikkhu Anālayo's Satipaṭṭāna book is the best modern day commentary available. Highly recommend it. His "Excursions into the Pāli Discourses" Part 1 and Part 2 are also very useful since they summarize many of the topics discusses in the discourses.

Books by Shaila Catherine or Ajāhn Brahmavaṃso would be good texts regarding samatha meditation.

There are the various texts written by the Ledi Sayādaw and Mahāsi Sayadaw - two Burmese scholar-practitioners who popularized insight meditation in the last century. You can go through Ven. Ledi Sayādaw's Vipassanā Dīpani (Manual of Insight) and you can find Ven. Mahāsi Sayadaw's books here.

Bhikkhu K. Ñānānanda has many books discussing deep questions about dependent arising, the nature of nirvāna, and so forth. You can find them here.

I'll let others recommend Mahāyāna, Vajrayāna and Zen material. In general, Reginald Rays books on Tibetan Buddhism are great entry points to Tibetan Buddhism, and then there's Gampopa's Jewel Ornament Of Liberation. There's also Shantidēva's Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra, useful for any Mahāyāna practitioner. With Zen there's always Dōgen Zenji's Shōbōgenzō.

You should be able to find all of the above by googling if it's available for free or on Amazon (or a University library) otherwise.

> One of the key differences that I mentioned earlier, between Buddhism and Science, is that a scientist's "no mind" isn't actually no mind; it's the distinction between relative and absolute truths

It's kind of interesting, but another saying in Madhyamaka thought is that the only absolute truth is that the only truths are relative truths. Or that the only absolute truth is that there are no absolute truths. Gulp down the emetic. :) You might enjoy investigating that school. My impression is that you're pretty bright, and it's all about transformation that starts by turning the thinking mind against itself, in a way. This book is a good introduction, with commentary in the second half that's much easier to parse than the original text.

Not sure if this is what you are looking for, but if you are looking for a good "intro to Buddhism" book that puts great emphasis on cultivating bodhichitta (the aspiration to attain enlightenment/buddhahood in order to best help infinitely many beings), then I can recommend 3 of my favorite books by the Dalai Lama, and one book by the famous 8th century Bodhisattva Shantideva:

• An Open Heart
  
• How to practice: the way to a meaningful life
  
• From Here to Enlightenment
  
• Shantideva's The Way of the Bodhisattva
  
  I ordered the books from lightest to more dense reading. Shantideva's text is all poetry, I derive great inspiration from it but I admit that it may be somewhat difficult to read for someone less familiar with Mahayana Buddhism.

> requires a self and the doctrine of Anatta denies its existence.

If there's no self, who's reading this response?

"The Buddha does not negate the relative existence of anything, but teaches that whatever exists in the relative or conventional sense, exists interdependently... The inherently existing self, an independent existence of "I" does not exist; it is to be negated, it is just an illusion. To reiterate, the person, the "I" or the "You," is an interdependently originated nature, and this mode of existence is real, and it is there. We are not negating the interdependent existence when we are negating the "I." In other words, we are not negating the "I" which does exist relatively... So, the existence of the interdependent "I" is never negated by Buddhism." - Geshe Samdhong Rinpoche https://www.amazon.com/Samdhong-Rinpoche-Uncompromising-Truth-Compromised/dp/1933316209/

"So, when we talk about anatman, we do not mean the total nonexistence of the nominal or conventional self; we very much accept the existence of such a conventional self. What we actually mean is the nonexistence of the self that is thought to be totally independent and has nothing whatsoever to do with the self of the physical aggregates; it is totally separate from the self of the physical aggregates, which is the kind of self that is being denied." - The Dalai Lama https://www.amazon.com/Wanted-Holiness-Dalai-Happiness-Living/dp/1401920160/



"Thus, in the ultimate truth there is no 'I' but in the relative truth 'I' exists. Because there is 'I' then the Buddha also teaches that there are no phenomena which are not interdependent. 'I' exists as a dependent phenomenon in a relative, conventional world. When 'I' create a good karmic accumulation, the good result comes to 'me', not someone else. When 'I' study it is 'I' who become well-educated. On the relative level there is nothing which is not dependent and so there is definitely an 'I'. On the ultimate level, precisely because everything is interdependent, then nothing has true existence as its essence. Everything depends upon something else and so nothing has solid independent existence. For this reason it is said that there is not anything which is permanent." - Tai Situ Rinpoche http://www.samyeling.org/buddhism-and-meditation/teaching-archive-2/chamgon-khentin-tai-situpa/thr-four-seals-of-mahamudra/

"The Buddha does not reject the existence of a personal [conventional/nominal] self. There is a person who acts, amassing karma. There is a person who experiences the consequences of those actions. The Buddha asks us to analyze the nature of our self. The self, or the person, exists in dependence upon certain physical and mental elements. However, in our naïve perception of ourselves we tend to assume that the self is something like a master that rules over our body and mind, that it is an essence somehow independent of them. It is that kind of self, one that we falsely assume to exist, that the Buddha negates. Buddhists refute not the person, but a mistaken conception about the self." - The Dalai Lama https://www.amazon.com/Here-Enlightenment-Introduction-Tsong-kha-pas-Treatise/dp/1559394234/



---
> determinism (dependant origination) is true, then our acts are the consequence of laws of nature and events in the remote past.

Dependent origination and determinism are different concepts.

"The Buddha also rejected a purely deterministic view in his teaching on karma. Most of the Buddha's contemporaries taught that karma operates in a simple straight line. Your life now is the result of what you did in the past; what you do now will determine your life in the future. The problem with this view is that it leads to a degree of fatalism -- there's nothing you can do about your life now.

But the Buddha taught that effects of past karma can be mitigated by present action; in other words, one is not fated to suffer X because one did X in the past. Your actions now can change the course of karma and impact your life now. The Theravadin monk Thanissaro Bhikkhu wrote,

> Buddhists, however, saw that karma acts in multiple feedback loops, with the present moment being shaped both by past and by present actions; present actions shape not only the future but also the present. Furthermore, present actions need not be determined by past actions. In other words, there is free will, although its range is somewhat dictated by the past.

In short, Buddhism doesn't align with western philosophy for a neat, side-by-side comparison. As long as we are lost in a fog of illusion, our "will" isn't as free as we think it is, and our lives will be caught in karmic effects and our own unskillful acts. But, the Buddha said, we are capable of living in greater clarity and happiness through our own efforts." - Barbara O'brien https://www.thoughtco.com/free-will-and-buddhism-449602

Together with our past karma, the actions that we take everyday influence how we experience our existence:

"The experience of the present is shaped both by actions in the present and by actions in the past. Actions in the present shape both the present and the future. The results of past and present actions continually interact. Thus there is always room for new input into the system, which gives scope for free will. There is also room for the many feedback loops that make experience so thoroughly complex, and that are so intriguingly described in chaos theory." - Thanissaro Bhikkhu http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/resonance.html


"In this way, the Buddha points to one of the most distinctive features of his own teaching on kamma: that the present experience of pleasure and pain is a combined result of both past and present actions. This seemingly small addition to the notion of kamma plays an enormous role in allowing for the exercise of free will and the possibility of putting an end to suffering before the effects of all past actions have ripened." - Thanissaro Bhikkhu http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.101.than.html


"The result, the future, is in our hands; our actions now will create a result. The law of karma does not mean that you just sink into a sleep, thinking, “There is no point. All I can do is wait for the result”. Our present human life carries the experience of the result of our past actions, but at the same time we are creating our own future. If you see it in this way, everything is not pre-determined by karma, because we are also creating our own, new karma. One thing I keep on saying is, “Doesn’t matter what you did, what matters is what you do now so that you can make your future better”. - Akong Tulku Rinpoche http://www.samyeling.org/buddhism-and-meditation/teaching-archive-2/choje-akong-tulku-rinpoche/karma/

"I once heard of Karma to be described as a huge web, with many, many interconnections between the threads making up the web. Now think of a drop of water sliding down one thread, changing course where another thread crosses it’s path. The drop of water can go this way or that way. We are making up the interconnections in the threads with our actions, and accordingly we do control our Karma. The only “predetermination” we will find is that virtuous action results in happiness and non virtuous action results in suffering." - Anyen Rinpoche http://www.anyenrinpoche.com/blog/2011/01/23/death-and-karma/

I appreciate the OP's original post as well as your R.D. Laing recommendation. I also 100% agree with the idea of a "predisposition towards realization and compassionate output" when it comes to certain mental illnesses (Specifically, those involving extremely heightened senses of perception).

I've been undertaking a similar "process" as you've (OP) described for about two years now. I had somewhat of an existential crisis as I was finishing out my last semester of college a couple years ago. Not really in the aspect of "how can I face this impending 40 hour work week with no end in sight?," but more of "how can I possibly be happy in this modern society in general when the standard goals are not desired?"

It led me into a deep, later clinically treated, depression that bottomed out for a good month's time as the winter settled in. As things began to become increasingly unstable in my mental state, the voices started becoming distinct and clearer. They never were commanding or provoking, but typically simple commentary or strange basic conversations. Most of the time they were harshly critical of my own life, though at other times they tended to drift off into random dialogue (there were usually two). The fact that they were occurring ended up leading me down a long, long winding spiritual path as I searched for some sort of understanding to them.

I had a new understanding of mental illness, as I was experiencing it myself, but specifically of certain schizophrenic-type aspects. The voices I heard were as real to my consciousness as any other aspect of perception that is picked up by the senses. It sounded as if they were talking in the room adjacent to mine, or at least muffled by a thin wall- usually. I found that at certain frequencies, they were more apparent and distinct. While they varied in clarity, they were undoubtedly occurring and for whatever reason I was hearing them. I was withdrawn and fascinated by this phenomena and was able to successfully communicate through thoughts, though only in what I could describe as a deep meditative state (which wasn't too difficult as I sat in a helpless bout of catatonic depression). This went on for about at week or so before I returned home, saw a doctor and got clinical assistance for my depression. Still, my idea of those with schizophrenic-type mental illnesses had changed from "people experiencing delusions" to "people experiencing reality differently."

I kept a journal during those few weeks of delusion, because I was experiencing things that I couldn't comprehend. The spiritual/knowledge path soon began as I was recovering over the next few months. I began to research ideas that had popped into my head during that time. Now, in hindsight, these revelations really aren't that mind blowing and had I been more educated on the subjects or just more of a true academic in general, I probably would've come across what I ended up with at an earlier time.

My primary empirical conclusion, was that, yes these voices do indeed exist. They hold some sort of reality in some aspect, because my consciousness is experiencing them. I also know that others experience similar instances of phenomena. This led to an idea of there being a higher/alternate dimension that conscious thought can reside in. A place that holds no truth in objectivity to the world in general, yet still a place in the mind of the beholder.

So, that's how I became acquainted with quantum theory and it's possible application to consciousness. I'm not saying that I directly subscribe to all that's laid out in a quantum consciousness theory, but it did open a whole slew of new doors of thinking and understanding quantum physics in general.

Another aspect that I derived from my experience with the voices was the idea of the duality of consciousness and matter. And that's how I began reading more into Buddhism, which I had read about before but seemingly never understood quite as fully as I did after the experience.

Just as all of this was taking place (a few months after the breakdown), I had a moment of synchronicity when I ran into an old friend during happy hour who was in the city for a day before heading back home up north. Without me even mentioning much about my experience or new found ideas, he offered me a book for borrowing (that he just happened to have on hand). It was The Quantum and the Lotus (Ricard, Thuan). It may have been the perfect combination of my two newest obsessions in one book. Reading it finally put my mind at ease and gave me a truly new perspective on life that I've been building off of ever since then.

My views have evolved and adapted with time over the last couple years, but I still haven't lost this unquenchable thirst for learning that began during those darker times. I truly think that the Buddhist perspective on life has fueled this passion while keeping me at peace with my own thoughts. I can still hear the voices, though only through a means of deep meditation, and they hardly interfere with my everyday life.

Sorry for any typos, the sun's yet to rise where I am right now.

TL;DR - Got severely depressed, heard voices that led to a more innate understanding of both quantum physics and Buddhism (neither of which I had extensive knowledge of) that has improved my outlook on life, my empathy towards others and has greatly increased my desire for knowledge than it had ever been previously.

I know of people for whom the Mahasi approach has worked well and whose insights achieved through that system have held up over time. I know others who kept practicing Mahasi noting for years without progress, growing increasingly frustrated until they gave up on meditation.

People who can reach stream-entry via Mahasi noting, without any formal concentration practice, probably have naturally concentrated or powerful minds. This is great for them, like winning the lottery, but it isn’t the case for everyone. If your mind is not concentrated enough to reach awakening without formal samatha practice (or your behavior doesn’t meet the ethical standard for developing concentration), no amount of noting will get you to stream-entry.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, you have those who claim that it’s absolutely necessary to reach a depth of concentration in which the five senses are absent in order to reach stream-entry. This is not borne out by reality. Probably most people who attain stream-entry in this world don’t possess that depth of concentration. See Thanissaro’s essay Silence Isn’t Mandatory for more information on this topic.

On both sides of the underlying issues--whether jhana is necessary before insight practice, and the question of what constitutes jhana--I have seen inappropriate universalization of personal meditation experiences. If a certain individual was able to reach stream-entry without formal concentration practice, they may believe this is true for everyone. If someone couldn’t reach stream-entry without attaining a state of concentration in which the five senses are absent, they may become convinced that this is the minimum standard for all people.

Without recourse to supernormal abilities, to discover what meditation experiences are possible under particular conditions would require the dispassionate study of many people’s accounts. Trying to reverse-engineer reality from texts doesn’t always work, because the investigators--including academic experts--can read their biases into the texts.

I feel that the level of concentration described in The Mind Illuminated is sufficient for stream-entry and very much desirable for improving the quality of one’s life and capacity to serve others. In the suttas, the Buddha recommends the development and mastery of at least the first jhana before attempting stream-entry.

If you're looking for balanced approaches to awakening, Dharma Ocean has great teachings and retreat programs. I also see people having success with Open Heart. These are both tantric Vajrayana systems.

The introduction to this translation of the Digha Nikaya talks about this at some length.

In short, before the Buddha, there were early versions of the castes, but there was also a Sramana tradition of those that basically left society.

In general, the Brahmins were respected, but the Sramanas were also given a good deal of honor.

These Sramanas did not follow a particular code, but were of many different mindsets, codes of conduct, etc. This ranged from wanderers to atheists to any number of other ways of thinking and conduct.

When the Buddha 'went forth' from the home life into homelessness, he entered this group of Sramanas. He worked with various teachers at the time, and ultimately found that their teachings were basically limited.

After his enlightenment and the establishment of the Sangha, the 'monks' at the time were basically homeless wanderers, generally. However, at times, they would reside in one place, sometimes for a short period and sometimes for a longer period, often because they were basically sponsored by lay disciples.

Some, like Mahakaccana I believe, resided in one place for the majority of the time. Others, like Mahakassapa perhaps, lived in the wilderness basically all of the time.

In general, some of them basically resided in the wilderness, some would wander, gathering alms at various towns and cities and the like.

In some cases, I think, there were cases where various townspeople, city people, kings, etc, would basically set up a more long-lasting system of giving alms, which allowed there to be a bit more established areas where monastics could stay, more or less. Also, various disciples would basically give retreat places, some of which are featured prominently in the suttas in terms of places where the Buddha gave discourses.

Also, it may be worth considering that northern India has monsoons related to the Himalayas, and so often times during the rains, the monastics would kind of settle in for a time, I think.

It seems like a very interesting life, to me. Very inspiring. Some of the poems that are written in the Theragatha give some sense of the lives of these individuals, including those that frequented the wilderness.

Shingon and Zen are both practices that, in my opinion, benefit greatly from some preliminary understanding of Buddhism. There is a lot of info out there and you already have a great start with Suzuki. In my opinion, you'll want to get a feel for the Buddhist approach to inquiry, teaching, and the importance of spiritual friends. accesstoinsight.org has some fantastic material from the Theravada tradition, which (again in my opinion) serves as an excellent foundation for the Mahayana tradition if you so choose. I personally am Mahayana but learn so, so much from Theravada.

Inquiry: The Kalama Sutta

How to recognize the Dharma

The importance of spiritual friends

Access To Insight Study guides

If you feel you have a good handle on the basic concepts like the Four Noble Truths, The Eightfold Noble Path, Stream Entrancy, etc., then Shantideva's The Way of the Bodhisattva is a sublime text no matter what tradition you end up calling home. Good luck!

Well, traditionally you're supposed to examine a teacher for 9 years before taking them on -- so you can be sure they're the real deal.

When it comes to my own teacher, he's on many occasions reinforced that you're not supposed to have blind faith or force devotion. It needs to come naturally from experiencing the benefits of the practice.

It's tough for many people (myself included) especially coming from a Christian "blind faith" background to be able to separate that from what we grow up with.

But anyways, you can still read and study about Tibetan Buddhism without having to take a teacher. It's just that once you want to start doing practices requiring empowerments/transmission/etc you're going to need to find one. But even then it's not like once you do that you can't keep seeing other teachers to see if any resonate with you.

I'm trying to think of books on Tibetan Buddhism that aren't so heavy into the Guru stuff... maybe some autobiographies might be interesting:

• Blazing Splendor, the Memoirs of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche
  
  
• Sky Dancer: The Secret Life And Songs Of Lady Yeshe Tsogyel -- I just finished this one and its as just amazing. Might be a little heavy on mysticism, but IMO it's just a wonderful read.
  
  
• Precious Essence: The Inner Autobiography of Terchen Barway Dorje -- This is the autobiography of a previous life of my own teacher. It's another amazing read. He got a little wild! An awesome glimpse into the life of a siddha.
  
  Another recommendation would be:
  
  
• The Nectar of Manjushri's Speech: A Detailed Commentary on Shantideva's Way of the Bodhisattva - this is a detailed commentary on the Bodhicharyavatara by a great Tibetan master; so it doesn't go too much into Guru stuff and focuses on explaining the Mahayana path as outlined by Shantideva.

Might I also recommend reading some original sources. Reading about Buddhism is surely good for context and all that, but you can also dive right in to what those books are about.

Thich Nhat Hanh has been mentioned here recently. His sutra translations are awesome: https://plumvillage.org/category/sutra/

I like this edition of the Dhammapada, but there are version for free online: https://www.amazon.com/Dhammapada-Translation-Buddhist-Classic-Annotations/dp/1590303806/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1541179036&sr=8-1&keywords=dhammapada+book

Also check out the Lotus Sutra: https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/lsoc/toc/

That's like the blockbuster of sutras-- it has it all! It also has some clear formulations on what's going on with Buddhism, supposedly from late in Shakyamuni's life.

Yes I was raised Roman Catholic. My Mother is still practicing but very open and understanding. She sees that incorporating some Buddhist Philosophy in my life has brought peace and happiness to me and that's what's most important to her - not how I found that peace and happiness.

This book, Living Buddha, Living Christ may be helpful to you. It is about the many similarities between Christianity and Buddhism.

I don't really consider myself Buddhist either. I kind of ebb and flow between Atheist, Agnostic, and a Pantheist but Buddhist Philosophy really helps me in my daily life.

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.

---------

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.

> just read the wiki on the "Mūlamadhyamakakārikā", which seems pretty enlightening; though am a hardcore philosophical-theorist

I just looked over the wiki page and it seems pretty esoteric. The MMK is pretty hard-nosed philosophy when you get down to it. If that approach interests you, you might like Buddhism as Philosophy as a short, more down-to-earth overview of this, along with a bunch more topics from the tradition. The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way seems to be recommended a lot around here if you're at all interested in diving into a translation/commentary.

> Thank you for your thoughtful replies.

Sure thing.

The other posters in the thread have some very good advice. In general, by noticing the thoughts and actually seeing them for what they are (impermanent) you will come to a different relationship to them. This could take a little bit of time but if you practice every day you should see some relief.

With that said, I'd like to recommend you look into doing some self-directed ACT/CBT work to help you work with and out some tricky emotions around specific thoughts. It's amazing what just a little time doing this can do. Here's two books you should try:

Feeling Good by David Burns

Change Your Thinking by Sarah Edelman

When you get the books, don't worry if it looks like many or most of the situations don't apply to you because there will be one or two chapters that are indispensable!

I find it very good to read both original texts as well as modern teachers.

For example, Thanissaro Bhikkhu is one of the worlds foremost translators of Pali texts, considered the most original sources for what the Buddha said and did. One of my favorites from him is Wings to Awakening, in e-format here, but you can get it directly from his monastery, The Metta Forrest Monastery.

In just that book's introduction he gives a basic background of the Buddha and popular beliefs of that time. This helps me understand the context of why the Buddha emphasized what he emphasized. If you've ever read the Majjhima Nikaya's Dog Duty Ascetic it's obvious that to me, at least, in the US, and most in Western cultures, there is no context in my experience to understand why the Buddha would even talk like that.

More popular writers, such as Joseph Goldstein and Mindfulness where he discusses the Sattipatthana Sutta at length, give me insights into the sutta that may not have occured to me on my own.

Then, reading some of Robert Thurmon's works, I can begin to understand some of the Tibetan perspective on the Buddha's teachings. I am strongly rooted in the Theravada practices of Vipassana, and to learn more about other facets of Buddhism enriches my understanding.

Very basically, others can help me understand the Buddha through their modern perspectives on his teaching and life. I'm ever so grateful for their writings, talks, and any meditation courses or retreats they may offer.

May we receive all blessings.

I agree with other commentators, this may be (in my non-medical opinion) mild to moderate depression. (Again, this is just an idea, diagnosing people over the internet with little information is not entirely ethical). I would like to suggest to other posters that depressive disorders are somewhat diverse.

Depending on your personal and financial situation, I cannot recommend seeing a psychologist enough, as I have been in this same situation. Whether you come from a background of hard science or spirituality, I would urge folks to see therapists/psychologists as a teacher that can help you understand what what is real, and how to have a good relationship with your thoughts/feelings.

I would like to suggest a few books that I have found to be personally helpful in this regard:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), very good read which outlines how your mind, Buddhists might call it the ego, creates a fake reality in a depressed state, and methods to counteract it:

Burns, David Feeling Good

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a different but similar approach to dealing with challenging thoughts/feelings, borrows a lot from Buddhism. Main idea is to be aware of thoughts and feelings as occurring, and not good or bad (and not "you"). To accept thoughts and feelings, not as reality but just as thoughts or feelings, and to take action towards something you value:

Harris, Russ The Happiness Trap: How to Stop Struggling and Start Living

If you're on a little, or big, Buddhist kick, I'd recommend the writings of Zen Master Seung Sahn. This particular book takes his bright and connectable style, and examines a variety of Buddhist traditions to see how they alleviate dukkha/suffering/stress/etc. in different ways:

Seung Sahn The Compass of Zen

Please do check out these books and post questions if you have them. If you are interested in finding a psychologist, and it is something that takes personal buy-in, I would suggest taking a look at Psychology Today or on your insurance company's website, if you're American.

Have a great night! =D

My pleasure! I apologize if I came across as rude in my first comment; it's been one of "those" days today. Feel free to reach out to me at any time if you have any other questions or are looking for any kind of resource. If do you end up really wanting a book to read that will help you with this, I'd really recommend The Way of the Bodhisattva by Shantideva. It's absolutely beautiful to read, and there are good talks on YouTube which examine this text in-depth. Hope you have a beautiful day! :)

There are some scathing reviews in there. Especially the one where he's talking about levitation.

I have to say that I don't completely disagree with some of the reviewers' complaints. Lama Surya Das is a decent writer in my opinion, and the book is entertaining. But as others have said, it really is more of an autobiography. And while he has led an interesting life, this is not why I originally read the book. He definitely tries to put a "Western spin" on Buddhism, and this is obviously because westerners are his target audience. But what winds up being produced is a new-age self-help kind of book.

If you are interested, my top 4 recommendations for easy to read, entertaining books that cover some different aspects/sects of Buddhism (in order of my personal preference) are as follows:

1. What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula.
   
   
2. Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki.
   
   
3. The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching by Thich Nhat Hanh.
   
   
4. The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche.
   
   As I said, those are my personal favorites and will give you a good look at some of the major Buddhist traditions.

I'm going to give perhaps a different point of view, please take what it helpful and if it doesn't resonate with you, then you can dismiss it.

>I meditate by the lake, I talk myself out of it all the time, but the thought always comes back, I can't detach. What should I do?

After you recognize when you have wondered (this is completely natural that everybody faces), then put your mind back to the breath. Do that many times, a hundred times, a thousand times. Keep going.

That is wonderful that you meditate by the lake : ) I recommend meditating with your eyes open, try that. I also highly recommend doing walking meditation around the lake and nature - wherever you are - try to relax and let go.

>What should I do? I reject going to the doctors (hard no), a psych ward (hard no), or a therapist (only a psychotherapist) but I do not have a car or live near one

I recommend a therapist that resonates with you (not all of them are helpful), but you can also work on yourself. I didn't go for help because they did not help me and also could not afford to pay. (not everyone has that luxury).

You need to learn to let go of your thoughts, and don't get too attached to them. Don't try to get rid or suppress your thoughts, you are just recognizing that your suffering is the result of being attached to your sense of self. Don't fight yourself, learn to let go.

I'm not the guy that will tell you to seek out doctors, since most of them see depression as a medical problem, which I believe is mostly a spiritual problem. SSRI or Awakening, I made my choice. I stopped seeking help I guess because I had this strange feeling why I had to go make an appointment and pay someone to ease my suffering when I could make progress right now, using my own mind. I can do that 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, anytime I want. And it's free.

Anyway, some things that helped me out of my depression was watching Ajahn Brahm videos on youtube, and the book The Mind Illuminated. No other meditation book gave me as much motivation as this one. Why? Because it gave me something to progress towards, even though I was not sure where I was going. To at least improve my mind a little bit, day by day.

It's scientifically studied that depressed people lacking goals have their depression stagnate and worsened. It makes sense that giving my mind a sense of purpose and direction years ago helped me.
It lit that spark of inspiration for me to get out of my bed and walk forward to a path of self-transformation, deep inner peace and ultimate bliss.

These are just what has helped me, you have to hang in there and find what works for you. Keep tinkering, experimenting and take small steps, each and every day.

Lastly,

Stay alive. Just stay alive. Suffering exists in this world, that is the nature we live in, but we can transcend stress and suffering, this is the four noble truths.

Never give up, ever. And believe in yourself. I know this may sounds cliche, but anything is possible if you begin to believe in yourself. You can do this.

You have asked here and not on /r/zen, so here's some Tibetan ;-)

The later meditations in Lam Rim include matters such as Exchanging Self with Others, and Giving & Taking
Try to do them all 'in order' if you have the opportunity, and ideally try to find a teacher. Mine took us through beautiful and powerful visualisions - one a week - which I would guess are quite different to Zen-style meditations. Some dharma centres offer courses/retreats where they are all taught/practiced over a long weekend.

And obviously you're an aspiring Bodhisattva (might already be one?), so no harm giving Shantideva some time? http://www.amazon.com/The-Way-Bodhisattva-Shambhala-Classics/dp/1590303881
(do Look Inside at the table of contents, and check out the Dalai Lama quote at the top of the front cover).



> they have even furnished a small closed-door room in their chapel with a rug and cushion for me to practice zazen during my breaks!

wowwww :-)

With metta.

"But the thing is i dont even know what im supposed to do during meditation."

There are a few resources:

Mindfulness in Plain English is a text you can find for free online and gives simple meditation instructions. This is what I started with years ago.

A book like Being Nobody, Going Nowhere (ayya khema) also gives some meditation instruction as well as some philosophy around it.

Many have been finding a book like The Mind Illuminated helpful as it is a robust guide into the different landscapes you can find as you begin the meditative path. This book has been immensely helpful to me in my practice.

I also recommend Pema Chodron. If you are hung up on stress and tension, her books can help give a fresh perspective :)

You seem to mention bliss as an indicator of progress. There are many other things to track and be aware of in your meditation path - I would not recommend getting hung up on this particular one. Be gentle with yourself in regards to results and changes as a result of practice. Bliss will not solve the stress, but practices based in 'letting go' may help.

To be honest, I think you'll find the combination difficult as one promotes individualism and vengeance whereas the other eschews non-self and friendship to all despite the recipients perceived flaws.(Kindness is never wasted on the "undeserving".)

But since you sound interested in learning with little history involved, I recommend you read Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness by Henepola Gunaratana ($4 used on Amazon). It's got a great section on compassion. Do you have the bravery to love your enemy? Can you see that the fetter of greed for sensual desire causes suffering?

>Does Buddhism have any answers in terms of commitment and consistency?

No. Buddhism is about ending suffering.

I think you'd benefit from finding a good counselor. Many colleges have free counseling programs. If you don't find those counselors effective they can refer you to someone who will be a better fit.

This is a counselor in a book http://www.amazon.com/Feeling-Good-The-Mood-Therapy/dp/0380810336/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1369015540&sr=8-2&keywords=burns

Doing the book and working with a person is more effective than one by itself.

There are great books out there for beginners.

It sounds like something that you would really benefit from is structured practice. For me, it's meditation in the morning and evening. Whatever it is, be consistent.

Until you find a real life community, you can join an online one. If you use the Insight Meditation Timer app, there are some pretty awesome communities on there, too (less-moderated though) but def a cool way to connect.

I also recommend downloading some dhamma/dharma talks or discourses from reputable Buddhist teachers. They're like spiritual podcasts.

The foundations of buddhism by Rupert Gethin is a good start. I think it provides a very solid ground to build upon, as it provides historical information on the development of buddhism, aswell as doctrinal information on both theravada and mahayana. It's basic, or rather, it's written for beginners, but it still contains a lot of very good information. It has very good reviews on amazon too (link), so many people evidently like the book.

I don't think there's anything wrong with being a Christian and practicing Buddhism. Lots of people see Buddhism as more of a philosophy than a religion. The resources are definitely out there though. As far as books go, my personal favorite and the only book I have on the subject is Awakening the Buddha Within by Surya Das. I'd highly recommend it!

As far as feeling down about where you're at in life, don't beat yourself up. We're all on our own journeys and we all strive to better ourselves the best way we can. Be well, brother!

I am a practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism. This is different then Theravada Buddhism in many ways, but both have the same core teachings of the Buddha, also known as Shakyamuni Buddha. In Tibetan Buddhism, we believe in other Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. For example, Manjushri, Tara, Medicine Buddha, Chenrezig and many more. We also recite mantras as a form of meditation. Some good books are anything written by the Dalai Lama and other Lamas. I will be happy to assist you through your journey if you ever have any questions that i might be able to answer.

This is a very good book...
https://www.amazon.ca/How-Practice-Way-Meaningful-Life/dp/0743453360

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

No offense taken. :) Sure, It's not something I'd rely on for a doctoral dissertation, and the heady conclusions of a new paradigm caused my cynical alarm to go off, but took it as entertaining. I would not consider any parallels he draws as neat or clean by any stretch.

I'm also aware of books like the Tao of Physics and The Quantum and The Lotus...

this book is by one of the most prominent buddhist teachers, thich nhat hanh. it's about how we can all benefit from living out the teachings and traditions of the buddha and jesus, right now. in this life.

https://www.amazon.com/Living-Buddha-Christ-20th-Anniversary/dp/159448239X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1467821779&sr=8-1&keywords=living+buddha+living+christ

imo the virtue of spiritual traditions is in their collections of teachings. we're free to study them all and consider how to apply them to our own lives. i like buddhism as a foundation because it's pretty consistent regarding what type of outcome we're working toward. other traditions can at times be contradictory or have fuel for acts that might not always be for the benefit of all people, but from what i've found buddhist teachings are pretty consistent regarding how conduct, positive and negative effects ourself (or our non-self lol) and others.

I would suggest reading a few zen books. Be careful, because some of the words are supposed to be vice grips that trap you, but you will read things that cause you to wonder, thus growing your mind, and zen is not about the religious aspects of Buddhism so much as the tangible, concrete, here-and-now perceptions of deeper and deeper wisdom. I can give you . . . four recommendations of zen books that I really enjoyed.

Zen Bridge

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

Don't Be A Jerk

The Zen Teaching of Huang Po

Ehipassiko. That's the Pali word for 'see for yourself,' and the Buddha said it often. It meant 'don't take my word for it - you have to walk the path and see the truth subjectively.' And by that, he meant meditation. The only way to truly practice Buddhism is to practice meditation. Consistently. Daily. Even if it's just 5 minutes.


By all means, read what others are suggesting here. But understand that all the other things Buddha talked about (besides meditation) will fall into place (and make more sense) once you've developed your meditation skills, even just a bit.


Get this book: The Mind Illuminated. It is, without exaggeration, the most straightforward, clear, practical guide for developing the skill of meditation. Like playing the guitar or shooting 3-pointers, meditation is a skill. This book will help you get good at it. All the rest will follow.

Chiming in for a sec, we used this book in my Buddhist Metaphysics class which focused a lot on Nagarjuna. This is his greatest work and it also includes some good commentary for clarification, since you'll probably need it, the first time around anyway :)

If you are looking for good reading on Buddhism, I cannot recommend enough a book called, "The Way of the Bodhisattva", by Shantideva.

Another favorite is, " Gates to Buddhist Practice ", by Chagdud Tulku

( an excerpt )

Best of luck.

Satipatthana: The Direct Path to Realization manages to be scholarly without being dry. It's a really great in-depth look at this Sutta. It is extensively footnoted as well and gives a lot of great leaping-off points for further exploration.

The best general introductory work is The Foundations of Buddhism by Rupert Gethin: http://www.amazon.com/Foundations-Buddhism-OPUS-Rupert-Gethin/dp/0192892231 It's very readable and is a thorough introduction to the history, practice, and theory of Buddhism. It's widely recommended as the first book you should read by scholars in the field. Starting with a solid rational and diverse understanding of Buddhism is definitely valuable.

Interesting. My question came up because of a book I am reading in an online group at the moment, Satipatthana: The Direct Path to Realization. In meditation, when I am aware of my thoughts, they do go away very quickly! As if they are running from my awareness. But how do I learn about their causes and conditions if they disappear so quickly? Maybe just more practice :-) Thank you for the offer to lend me the book. I would accept, but I am currently reading 3 Buddhism books right now instead of my school text books :-) Cheers

If you want to research Buddhist views on the mind, I suggest you start with the Mahayana Sutras like Lankavatara Sutra and Shurangama Sutra. If you want to get really technical, then I recommend you read Mulamadhyamakakarika, although Jay L. Garfield's translation is much better imo.

That's just the tip of the iceberg of course. And the Suttas you find in the Pali canon in my experience 100% confirm the same exact view, but they are more circuitous and more subtle about it, so they are not as good for educating a person about the nature of one's own mind.

It's joke easy to spend 10 years studying Buddhist primary sources and not finish studying more than a tiny fraction of them. And understanding the nature of one's own mind is essential prior to meditation.

Theravadin. Here's the book that the monastics and scholars have been praising to the rafters for a few years. It really is quite an exceptional book: http://www.amazon.com/Satipatthana-Direct-Path-Realization-Analayo/dp/1899579540

Amazon review: There are several good books on the Buddha's teachings known as The Four Foundations of Mindfulness but Analayo's recent work is among the most thoroughly rendered. Perhaps because it was written for his PhD thesis, his philological exegesis and his notes are meticulous. And because he is both a scholar of Buddhism and a practicing Buddhist monk in the long tradition of panditas, his translation and commentary are lively and applicable.
I highly recommend this book.

I think it may be helpful to have a series of discussions about why you are looking to learn more about Buddhism. For many Christians non-Abrahamic religions are very difficult to understand (source: me, an agnostic raised by an Evangelical Born-Again father and Catholic mother). Part of the process for you and your girlfriend could be learning about Buddhism together, and understanding how it is both different and similar to Christianity.

As someone who comes from a Christian background myself, as a teenager I found Thich Nhat Hanh's works Living Buddha, Living Christ and Going Home: Jesus and Buddha as Brothers as effective ways of comparing and contrasting various concepts and values of both the religions. As long as you and your partner are having an ongoing open discussion about your spiritual journey I think you'll be OK.

EDIT: I'll also put forward that if part of your reason for looking outside of Christianity is that you're "not much of a social guy", you should be aware that community (Parsa or Gana) is very important to Buddhists as well.

• See books with instructions for vipassana on Buddhanet.
  
• Here is a simple vipassana book featuring the Mahasi Sayadaw method of noting.
  
• Attend the famous 10-day residential vipassana courses. They are free and there is one near you. The structure is 3 days anapanasati and 7 days vipassana.
  
• Listen to Goenka's discourses from the same courses or read the transcription
  
• Search youtube for vipassana, mindfulness, insight, guided etc.
  
• See the original Satipatthana sutta.
  
• Listen to Sayalay Susila's audio discourses - the "mindfulness" ones here are based on the Satipatthana sutta.
  
• Gil Fronsdal's Introduction to meditation. Also see the other talks here.
  
• There are many good published books too, e.g. Goldstein - Mindfulness: A practical guide to awakening.
  
  So there are a lot of free and inexpensive resources. And you know what and where to look.

There's some new book about meditation that's supposed to be, like, the most thorough book on meditation ever, I guess. Buddhist meditation, anyway. I read some reviews that said it was extraordinarily difficult reading, so I took a look at the "look inside" preview on Amazon and I could tell right away that I would never get very far with this book, but some people who find this thread might want to check it out:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0990847705/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=BRGP8O8PXQFC&coliid=I2KJYS9WGBUB9A

It seems like it would certainly help you master your own mind.

Any commentary is meant to be a support for study with a living teacher. One of the reasons for this is that the limited views and misconceptions we have when encountering the commentary will tend to continue, and condition our notion of what the commentary is saying, unless the points are made clear and our unconscious errors are pointed out by the teacher.

The best commentary is one that can be elucidated and indeed embodied by a living teacher in face-to-face study.

There are many commentaries on Bodhisattvacharyavatara in English.

The Nectar of Manjushri's Speech is a more formal, point by point treatment by the disciple of the famous Patrul Rinpoche, Kunzang Pelden.

For a more accessible and anecdotal offering, try Pemo Chodron's No Time To Lose.

Kelsang Gyatso's article on the Bodhisattvacharyavatara was published in TriCycle magazine.

Here are some audio lectures that go verse by verse, by Thubten Chodron.

And there's Introduction to the Oral Commentary on Shantideva's Bodhisattvacaryavatara by Dzogchen master Khenpo Choga Rinpoche.

About generating Bodhicitta:

The basics of generating Bodhicitta, in the Gelug tradition, are tackled in How To Generate Bodhicitta by Ribur Rinpoche.

The great Dudjom Rinpoche offers in Essential Advice for Solitary Meditation Practice a very pure guide to practice. This text forms a chapter in Wisdom Nectar, which contains many teachings on practice in the Nyingma/Dzogchen/Dudjom lineage.

Mindfulness is the primary means of purification of all activities; and the primary rubric for that is satipatthana: the foundations of mindfulness in the body, its feelings, the mind and mental objects.

In the Sutta Pitaka:

DN 22 - Maha-satipatthana Sutta: The Great Frames of Reference

MN 10 - Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta: Frames of Reference

SN 47 - Satipatthana-samyutta - a chapter from the Samyutta Nikaya on the subject


AN 8.63 - Sankhitta Sutta: In Brief (Good Will, Mindfulness, & Concentration)

Some valuable secondary reading:

Soma Thera - The Way of Mindfulness: The Satipatthana Sutta and Its Commentary

Thanissaro Bhikkhu - Wings to Awakening, Part II.B: The Four Frames of Reference

Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo - Frames of Reference


Mahasi Sayadaw - Satipatthana Vipassana

Bhikkhu Analayo - Satipaṭṭhāna: The Direct Path to Realization (this is a free version, it is also available in print or on Kindle)

A few good books:

Pali suttas:
http://www.amazon.com/Buddhas-Words-Anthology-Discourses-Teachings/dp/0861714911

Overview of the Mahayana:
http://www.amazon.com/An-Open-Heart-Practicing-Compassion/dp/0316930938

Bodhicitta:
http://www.amazon.com/How-Expand-Love-Widening-Relationships/dp/0743269691

Shunyata:
http://www.amazon.com/How-See-Yourself-You-Really/dp/0743290461

Perfection of wisdom sutras: Heart Sutra:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Heart-Understanding-Commentaries-Prajnaparamita/dp/1888375922

Diamond Cutter sutra:
http://www.amazon.com/Diamond-That-Cuts-Through-Illusion/dp/1935209442

3 principle aspects of the path:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Three-Principal-Aspects-Path/dp/1559393505

Zen:
http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Mind-Beginners-Shunryu-Suzuki/dp/1590308492

may not be the original place he wrote this, but I know I read it in here as well.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Quantum-Lotus-Frontiers-Buddhism/dp/1400080797/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333420840&sr=8-1

Edit: it's a good read for anyone interested in physics and Buddhism

I think this comes down to the elephant in the room: you want to be seen in a way that clearly your mother has not seen you. However, she has literally been that way for four-fifths of a century plus, and now you want her to think in a certain way so that you can be understood in that way. This is a beautiful and bittersweet issue to have at this late stage in life. So I do sympathize here.

You said you went to college to find common truths, and clearly you're an intellectual type that still seems to think in the 'book club' way. Is it really crucial for your mother to value logical fallacies before she dies, or is it because you value them very much and want her to as well, etc etc, if you know what I mean. I would dig into that urge for understanding, consider what that means, and consider that maybe this craving puts pressure on her (will you feel deep un-ease that will only lessen if she starts to value critical-thinking, or whatever?) which is possibly not appropriate (especially if she doesn't have the energy for it).

Here's also something to think about: most of her idea of spirituality seems to be about living and seeing in a certain way, and none of your story mentions her spending nights drenched in scripture, dissecting stuff like Saint Acquinas's treatise on theology, or being inspired by a persuasive argument or set of propositions. In no way is that a diss, by the way.

Honestly, I wish I was more like your mother. Too much of our generation mistakes the thinking for the doing. Me included, bigtime. An ounce of embodiment is worth a pound of theory. People who really practice seem to think that 'book club' bonding is sort of like comparing your town's street signs to their town's street signs. It might be nice to discuss how much they match, but no feet hit pavement at the end of the day.

All of this being said, you might let her check out 'Living Buddha Living Christ,' which I criticized in one of my other comments — but lots of people seem to get a lot out of it. Sometimes you gotta meet people where they're at even if it is a little misleading in the process.

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

Interesting discussion, but this description of CBT is a bit misleading. CBT is quite different from simple "positive affirmations", and in fact goes to some lengths to distance itself from that kind of "Pollyanna" approach to changing thoughts and emotions.

A cognitive behavioral therapist would never ever tell a depressed person to "think happy thoughts", but instead would use the Socratic method to carefully examine depressive thoughts like "I'm no good" or "My life has no meaning".

The idea is that by carefully considering the evidence, both negative and positive, one can discover that many negative thoughts are quite unrealistic and that there is an enormous amount of evidence that the world is not as black and white as people often believe.

If anyone's interested in a basic intro to CBT, Feeling Good is a simple, very readable primer on the basics.

Theravada is relatively secular. With basically any sect, you may have to interpret ideas like karma and rebirth the way you will.

Here's some stuff to check out:

Secular Buddhist Podcast

Secular Buddhist Association

The ID Project

Also, as a side note, I really recommend the book "8 Mindful Steps to Happiness" as a wonderful introduction to the Buddhist path from a Therevadin perspective.

By far the best resource I'm aware of for this kind of meditation (termed samatha) is the book The Mind Illuminated.

I strongly recommend this book.

The Foundations of Buddhism, by Rupert Gethin

I haven't read it yet, but I am very impressed by the reviews

http://smile.amazon.com/Foundations-Buddhism-Opus-S/dp/0192892231/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452086288&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=The+Foundations+of+Buddhism+Rupert+Gerthin

There are also several PDF links for it on the web like this one:

http://www.ahandfulofleaves.org/documents/The%20Foundations%20of%20Buddhism_Gethin_1998.pdf

Living Buddha, Living Christ by Thich Nhat Hanh might be a good crossover point for you then.

I also always recommend Gil Fronsdal's free talks on audiodharma.org.

I have really appreciated Bhante Gunaratana's Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness and Mindfulness in Plain English. They are good choices if you want to go straight to how to apply Buddhism to your life.

For the MMK, Jay Garfield's The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way is quite well-regarded, albeit somewhat academic in style. I've also heard good things about Siderits' work.

I agree that some teachers give off that vibe, but Culadasa is about as down-to-earth and non-new-agey as it gets. Perhaps it's the Pali ordination name that's giving you the willies?

Have you read any of his stuff or listened to any recordings? I recommend reading the preview pages on Amazon's listing for The Mind Illuminated (click on "Look inside").

Can I suggest a book or two? I just finished this one:. It answers a lot of questions and is a really good "primer" on non-sectarian Buddhism.

Also, the Dalai Lama's How To Practice is not bad and is a good intro to Tibetan Buddhism, if that's your thing.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0802130313/

What the Buddha Taught is a good start. Its brief, its easy to read and gives you an overview of what Buddhism is about. If you like it from there, get a copy of the Dhammapada

http://www.amazon.com/Dhammapada-Translation-Buddhist-Classic-Annotations/dp/1590303806

> Have any of you felt this way before?

Sure, I was a member of the Church of Satan for about 5 years. Most of my egotism stemmed from an unhealthy self defense mechanism from having a narcissist for a parent. The anger from having an authoritarian as a parent. So yeah. I get what you're saying about finding peace.

> Where should I start?

You might have a go at our sidebar, there are a lot of resources there for the beginner. Particularly the "Basics" section.

There is also Rupert Gethin's excellent book, The Foundations of Buddhism

But really, in the end, a teacher of Buddhism that you can speak with and practice with face to face will be your ultimate best starting place.

Did you know Amazon will donate a portion of every purchase if you shop by going to smile.amazon.com instead? Over $50,000,000 has been raised for charity - all you need to do is change the URL!

Here are your smile-ified links:

Feeling Good: A New Mood Therapy

Change Your Thinking

---

^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly bot

I just got and have been reading Foundations of Buddhism recently and have found it a pretty good read for the topic. I looked a lot into what Buddhist books are well reviewed as an introduction and selected that one.

Many books include the story of the historical Buddha as a foundation for subsequent investigative readings. One book that has benefitted me greatly is Foundations of Buddhism by Rupert Gethin and it includes a thorough investigation into the life of the historical Buddha. This is one of the best books on Buddhism I have read and I can't recommend it enough. Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0192892231/ref=redir_mdp_mobile

> Where do the scriptures originate from that set all of these rules of karma and state that there is reincarnation

From the perspective of historical research, or from the perspective of Buddhists?

From the historical perspective: a small body of discourses given by Siddartha Gautama (the Buddha) remain that have are were very likely from the Buddha. The rest of it we can't guarantee, and a lot of it is known to have been written well after the Buddha's death.

From the perspective of Buddhism/Buddhists, the writings are considered buddhavacana ('word of the Buddha'), even if we now know they were written after-the-fact.

The Buddhist scriptures are massive. Fill a small to medium sized building, massive. Large enough that no one has read everything. The South Asian (Theravada) canon has been made partially available on Access to insight. The Vinaya is the code of conduct for monks and nuns. The Sutta pitaka is the collection of discourses, and the Abidhamma goes deeper into philosophy (and also serves as an aggregate of the Sutta pitaka's teachings).

From the Buddhist perspective of 'right' or 'superior' approach: the Buddha. In the absence of a Buddha, we trust the orders of monks and nuns. In the absence of a Buddha and the absence of monks and nuns, no one. We have to wait in the rounds or rebirth until a new Buddha arrives in our world.

Wikipedia has a very lengthy outline of Buddhism. I would suggest a more structured approach, like Rupert Gethin's "Foundations of Buddhism."

• {Scribd - free, might not be completely legal}
  
• {Amazon - must be bought, legal}

Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness: Walking the Buddha's Path

Written by the author of "Mindfulness In Plain English" ( a life long Buddhist monk ) this book is basically "The Noble Eightfold Path In Plain English" and focuses on how ordinary people can apply the Eightfold Path in daily life.

http://www.amazon.com/Fundamental-Wisdom-Middle-Way-Mlamadhyamakakrik/dp/0195093364

It will take a while to understand the book but the rewards are worth it imo. I'm just starting to read up on it myself.

Highlights from my library...

At introductory level, Skilton A Concise History of Buddhism is a good overview of Buddhism from an historical perspective.

Foundations of Buddhism by Rupert Gethin is a fairly good modern overview of Buddhist ideas.

Kalupahana A history of Buddhist philosophy - slightly eccentric, but some excellent coverage of Buddhist thought. Stops short of Tantra. However, supplement with Samuel The Origins of Yoga and Tantra.

Snellgrove Indo-Tibetan Buddhism covers late Mahāyāna and Tantra; theory oriented. Perhaps a but dated now, but non-sectarian.

For early Buddhist texts, Gethin's selections from the Pāḷi Canon is probably a better bet than Bodhi's massive tome. It is more focussed. If you get into Pāli Suttas then get the Nikāya translations, starting with Majjhima Nikāya (the most readable). Another lesser know anthology is by Glenn Wallis Basic Teachings of the Buddha. Slightly idiosyncratic, but a very interesting perspective.

For a traditional anthology of Mahāyāna texts try the much neglected Śikṣamuccaya by Śāntideva (8th Century). I have a different edition to this link, so maybe look around.

Tantra doesn't lend itself to anthologies. I think probably the best introduction to Tantra is Hakeda Kūkai: Major Works, though it may not entirely stand alone, you'll at least know what the right questions are. I've never found any book by a Tibetan Buddhist to rival Kūkai for clarity of exposition about what Tantra Buddhism is.

In terms of practice, Buddhism is often sharply divided by sectarianism and so books on practice tend to be narrowly focussed along sectarian lines. And even on single practices within sects (such as books on Theravāda approaches to breath meditation only; Zen approaches to koan practice and so on.). Note that having asked for a comprehensive book, most of the suggestions are sectarian and ignore centuries of development of Buddhism in other directions.

Buddhism also often suffers from a theory/practice disconnect. A lot of our theory/doctrine has no practical application; while some of our practices are poorly understood and communicated.

The fact is that if you take one sect at a starting point, you will find much of what you learn contradicted when you shift to a different sectarian point of view. Sects tend to present their sectarian point of view as Buddhism without ever letting on that other brands are available. So a comprehensive outline of Buddhism is almost impossible without fudging a lot of conflict and contradiction.

Awakening the Buddha Within: Tibetan Wisdom for the Western World is my favorite book on Buddhism.

If you want what is probably the most influential book in Mahayana literature that would be Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā. Now the book I just linked includes Nagarjuna's original text with no commentary in the first section, and the second section has Garfield's commentary of the text line by line. Now in your post you said you wanted depth, and this book is definitely a heavy read. You can of course try to read Nagarjuna's text without the commentary, but if you're like me you will find yourself jumping to the commentary.

Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness by Ven. Henepola Gunaratana: A clear guide to bringing the eightfold path into your daily life.

Beautiful quote :-)

As a reference, it was Shantideva who wrote this in the The Way of the Bodhisattva (Bodhicharyavatara)

I'm talking specifically about samatha. IMHO, Zen does a fantastic job of cutting through the clutter of other schools obsessions with metaphysical speculation & endless stages of meditation. . . but often at the expense of lacking more detailed beginner- and intermediate-level instructions about how to compose the mind, how to address common obstacles, etc.

My main practice is Rinzai, but have found the precise samatha instructions of the Kamalaśīla's Stages of Meditation (as elaborated in The Mind Illuminated ) to be an extremely useful supplement.

Any book or teaching will only give you just what you get from it.

I would suggest that you read a bit about zen from various sources to get a general idea of it's foundation and practice. Then, let your expectations go and practice zazen everyday. If you have access to a teacher or zendo, all the better, but even if you don't, practice everyday.

EDIT: This is generally considered a good place to start: Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki

Padmakara Translation Group revised edition for the translation: https://www.amazon.com/Way-Bodhisattva-Bodhicaryavatara-Shambhala-Classics/dp/1590303881/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1518685960&sr=1-1&keywords=bodhisattva


The Nectar of Manjushri's Speech for a traditional and detailed commentary https://www.amazon.com/Nectar-Manjushris-Speech-Shantidevas-Bodhisattva-ebook/dp/B005LQYQJO/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1518685934&sr=1-5


If you want a lighter commentary maybe the Dalai Lama's, or Pema Chodron's.

Ringu Tulku Rinpoche also has a great video series/course on it: https://bodhicharya.org/teachings/courses/bodhicharyavatara/

There used to be a scholar who was really active in this forum until he passed away - Michael Dorfman - and he would always recommend these two books:

The Foundations of Buddhism

An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices

Can't claim to be much of a Buddhist scholar, so I can't answer your question directly but:

I'm not sure what you've read/how you got started but I'm 24, diagnosed (major recurrent) about six months, probably "depressed" since middle school and Mindfulness in plain English (Free!: http://www.urbandharma.org/pdf/mindfulness_in_plain_english.pdf) and Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness: Walking the Buddha's Path (http://www.amazon.com/Eight-Mindful-Steps-Happiness-Walking/dp/0861711769) have been invaluable to me. I've read a lot of what was online and a few other books, but those two books stuck out for me. Also, I'm not sure how this goes over in this subreddit, but depending on the severity of what you're dealing with you may want to seek advice from a qualified professional about medication. I realize this sounds lame and believe me I basically avoided it for ten years but I can honestly say I haven't felt this way since I was a kid, and my family says its like having their son/brother back. I was the walking dead, or rather, reclusive, hiding but breathing dead until I got on anti-depressants and started trying to practice what I've learned from mindfulness/buddhism; I don't care what it is that's working or how, I just know I don't think about killing myself every minute and I don't hide myself in bed/find myself failing at the basic requirements of functioning life.

In particular for some reason the existential non-answers to Buddhism and the ability to deal with nonstop chatter of the mind were pivotal in helping me gain some control of my life. Cultivating loving-kindness also helped me, seemingly ironically, let go of a lot of stuff. I would say more than any other thing try to maintain a positive perspective and open mind. Unfortunately a lot of the core simplicity evident in some teachings is inherently antithetical to western social consciousness; we cultivate sarcasm and cynicism that naturally mocks universal concepts like love, peace, tranquility. That the teachings are often delivered in pesudo-scientific sounding "alternative medicine" or "eastern philosophy" packages with their concomitant disparaging subtext compounds this conditioned aversion. It may be going too far to say that unraveling these notions is a step towards a "deeper meaning," but perhaps not.

If your interested in Zen, I recommend Zen Mind, Beginners Mind.

Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness has become my new “intro” book that I recommend to newcomers.

Mindfulness in Plain English is an equally lucid and clear guide to meditation by the same author.

There is a wonderful academic analysis of this sutra by Ven. Analayo,: http://www.amazon.com/Satipatthana-The-Direct-Path-Realization/dp/1899579540/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332535032&sr=8-1
if you want to study it in depth.

Here's Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh's answer to your question (5th question in link).
He has written two books on this topic called "Living Buddha, Living Christ" and "Going Home: Jesus and Buddha as Brothers".
He sometimes mentions Christianity in his dharma talks, some of those are available here.

I also found Eckhart Tolle's book ["The Power of Now"] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Power-Now-Spiritual-Enlightenment-ebook/dp/B002361MLA) helpful which is about the common "essence of all religions" and is strongly influenced by Buddhism.

Here's a good TED talk with Matthieu Ricard.

|http://www.ted.com/talks/matthieu_ricard_on_the_habits_of_happiness#t-1749

Ricard is a former scientist and I found this book by him compelling.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Quantum-Lotus-Frontiers-Buddhism/dp/1400080797

I believe training yourself according to the eightfold path is the act of Buddhism. No matter what else you incorporate, the four noble truths and the eightfold path are foundational.

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/waytoend.html#ch5

https://www.amazon.com/Eight-Mindful-Steps-Happiness-Walking/dp/0861711769

Begin with virtue/ethics.

Look in the sidebar over there>>> under BASICS. Click Christian and there are a number of resources in the threads found there. Also, obligatory recommendation of this book.

Welcome!

The first book that my teacher instructed that I read is The Way of the Bodhisattva by Shantideva. In many ways, this is a foundational text across the various Tibetan traditions, and it really grounded me in my preliminary practice.

/u/DespreTine provides a great list of teachers. (A personal favorite is Bokar Rinpoche, who was my teacher's root guru and who I have developed a devotional relationship toward. He has a few books out there, but they're really more designed for practioners who have received certain empowerments/transmissions.)

The key here, of course, is that there really is no substitute for a lama/guru who you can physically go to and receive teachings from. They will guide you along the path.

One of his other books. Eight mindful steps to happiness. Very good.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Quantum-Lotus-Frontiers-Buddhism/dp/1400080797

I was going off memoryl The quantum and the lotus. Also, this is a good read too.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Universe-Single-Atom-Spirituality/dp/0767920813/ref=pd_sim_b_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=0F1EZMS2M1EFEE0YXR46

They are both extremely good reads.

Middle length discourses

Long discourses

Connected Discourses


Those 3 make up the Nikayas and will keep you busy until infinity. They're also a bit pricey.

I have a copy of Buddhist Suttas that contains many of the key suttas in it.

A Buddhist Bible contains some of the more important Mahayana suttas as they relate to Zen especially.

And then of course there is the Lotus Sutra, an epic classic unto itself.

You might want to check out The Mind Illuminated (and /r/TheMindIlluminated) as well. A thorough, methodical, structured approach to samatha-vipassana meditation.

Joseph Goldstein's "Mindfulness - a practical guide to awakening" covers all your ABC - and then some :)

https://www.amazon.com/Mindfulness-Practical-Awakening-Joseph-Goldstein/dp/1622036050

Living Buddha, Living Christ is a good one.

I'm currently walking along this path and can recommend these books -

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John Yates - The Mind Illuminated

Sam Harris - Waking Up

Owen Flanagan - The Bodhisattva's Brain: Buddhism Naturalized

I'd recommend the Satipatthana Sutta with translation and commentary from Analayo, along with commentary in text and audio by Joseph Goldstein.

I see this book is highly recommended by some of the people in this thread, so I went to Amazon to get it and saw this review:

> I was looking for more information on Tibetan buddhism, but sadly this book is mostly about the author. I found it hopelessly narcissistic and pedantic.

I'll probably still get it anyway, since you guys (and most of the rest of the Amazon reviewers) recommend it so highly, but I'd appreciate it if someone could address this review.

EDIT: Actually some of the two- and three-star reviews are concerning as well...

For me I liked "Awakening the Buddha Within"
http://www.amazon.com/Awakening-Buddha-Within-Tibetan-Western/dp/0767901576

The book that I started with was the Dalai Lama's "How to Practice: The Way to a Meaningful Life" which can be found here: http://www.amazon.com/How-Practice-The-Meaningful-Life/dp/0743453360

Sorry, the title is translated differently sometimes. It is maybe more commonly known as The Way of the Bodhisattva. I liked this translation.

You're right that tonglen is not part of the Theravada tradition. Whether that means it is "counter to" Theravada is up to you, I guess. One doesn't need any special Mahayana vows or initiations to do those practices, as far as I know.

Apparently I'm not the intellectual in this crowd ;)

As someone new to Buddhism, this is my current reading list:

• Buddhism for Dummies
  
• How to Practice: The Way to a Meaningful Life by the Dalai Lama
  
• The Art of Living: Vipassana Meditation as taught by S. N. Goenka by William Hart
  
  I had started reading The Buddha in your Rearview Mirror because it said it was about living as a Buddhist in modern society. I found that I did not like its bias toward the Nichiren sect. I was looking for something a bit more general.
  
  I anticipate reading more of the Dalai Lama's books in the future.
  
  edit: added links

You might also want to take a look to Living Buddha, Living Christ

http://www.amazon.com/Living-Buddha-Christ-20th-Anniversary/dp/159448239X?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0

The Foundations of Buddhism by Rupert Gethin

Not concise, but this book :
The Foundations of Buddhism... https://www.amazon.com/dp/0192892231?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

I'd suggest you to begin with this book: http://www.amazon.com/How-Practice-The-Meaningful-Life/dp/0743453360

awakening the buddha within

Eight Mindful Steps To Happiness

Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness

Eight Mindful Steps by Bhante Gunaratana is about that.

Read The Mind Illuminated

You might try this book:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1400080797/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1427589476&sr=8-1&keywords=quantum+and+the+lotus&pi=AC_SY200_QL40&dpPl=1&dpID=41Vkky1nICL&ref=plSrch

Non-mobile: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1400080797/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1427589476&sr=8-1&keywords=quantum+and+the+lotus&pi=AC_SY200_QL40&dpPl=1&dpID=41Vkky1nICL&ref=plSrch

^That's ^why ^I'm ^here, ^I ^don't ^judge ^you. ^PM ^/u/xl0 ^if ^I'm ^causing ^any ^trouble. ^WUT?

The Mind Illuminated.

Which has it own forum at /r/TheMindIlluminated