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Reddit mentions of What the Buddha Taught: Revised and Expanded Edition with Texts from Suttas and Dhammapada
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Reddit mentions: 48
We found 48 Reddit mentions of What the Buddha Taught: Revised and Expanded Edition with Texts from Suttas and Dhammapada. Here are the top ones.
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The problem with Hagen, Batchelor, and other secular Buddhist authors is that they are so insistent that Buddhism is not a religion, that they want to remove so much of what makes it such a wonderful practice. It then winds up coming across as exactly how you put it: pseudo pop Buddhism for modern Western atheists.
I personally take offense to how they feel they can completely discount the practices of millions of Buddhists around the world, myself included, and I always recommend What the Buddha Taught as the best introductory book to Buddhism.
I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder a few years ago. Buddhism helps with my anxiety in many ways:
Mark Siderits has written a wonderful introductory overview of many key features of Buddhist philosophy in a book that I would consider a must-read on the subject. It is called Buddhism as Philosophy and offers both great depth and critical examination of the arguments at play in many of the Buddhist traditions.
I would also recommend Owen Flanagan's The Bodhisatva's Brain for an insightful discussion on some of the problems facing the very hyperbolic and enthusiastic view that many contemporaries express when discussing the effects of Buddhist practice and meditation.
If you are interested in a broad and concise overview of Buddhist thought from a Buddhist scholar, I'd recommend Walpola Sri Rahula's classic What the Buddha Taught. This book is very lean in terms of metaphysical speculation and portrays the Buddhist path in a philosophically austere and precise manner.
Since there is no one universally accepted interpretation of Buddha's teaching I would highly recommend reading wide and deep on the subject. There are many contemporary philosophers who have done great work in interpreting and examining Buddhist philosophy through the lens of modern day thought. To name a few: Miri Albahari, Jonardon Ganeri, Evan Thomspon and Matthew Mackenzie. Galen Strawson has also engaged with Buddhist thought in his writing on questions of selfhood and consciousness. Have a look at their respective academia pages and you should find much ongoing discussion on the subject and recommendations for further reading in their published articles.
Hope this helps!
edit: spelling
If you're looking for an overview of the concepts of Buddhism, I think reading would be better. Perhaps the short scholarly classic What the Buddha Taught or The Buddhist Handbook, a book that Altar_Spud recently recommended that looks like a great survey of Buddhism.
If you're looking for the practical application of Buddhism, especially as it applies to meditative practices, then I recommend the teachings of Gil Fronsdal. His seven part audio series, Buddist Meditation, provides a framework for the practice. There are other series in the left column if you want to further explore core teachings. There are also podcasts under the name of Audiodharma that are updated regularly, but cover all different aspects of the practice and are less concisely organized for a beginner.
Mindfulness, The Most Fundamental Skill is a Shinzen Young talk I found on Grooveshark that explains mindfulness in beautiful simplicity.
I don't know if a computer dictionary is the best source of authority on eastern philosophy, though that definition isn't wrong per se. Karma is about cause and effect. Certain intentions produce certain actions which produce certain outcomes, which change the pattern of events in the world in subtle ways, which, gathering momentum, have the potential to affect everybody including yourself in the future. It's "what goes around comes around" in that sense, but it's basically just the truism that, if you do bad shit, you're going to increase the sum total of bad shit in the world, and therefore have to live in a shittier world as a result. It's not like, if you kill someone then at some random time in the future you'll get run over by a bus. Subtle difference but hopefully that makes it clear.
The Buddhist idea of reincarnation is related but a bit different, you have to understand their theory of mind and consciousness which is a bit weird and hard to grasp at first.
EDIT: If you're interested in a proper source on this stuff, I recommend this very readable book: What the Buddha taught
very good.
If you wish to formalize your understanding, I always recommend What the Buddha taught
It is important to meditate and see for yourself. I often consider it an ongoing experiment, 'what will I see this time' as a detached observer. The results, well, see for yourself!
If you do not practice, it will be just another belief system and will not really benefit you. You have to take intellectual wisdom, and turn it into experiential wisdom.
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
I'll second What the Buddha Taught and In the Buddha's Words. Access to Insight is also a good resource. And of course /r/buddhism!
If paying shipping doesn't bother you, check out used books on Amazon. Lots of people would rather pass a book along to the next reader than throw it away, and some people sell books just for the tiny profit they can make on Amazon's shipping fee, so there are a lot of used books that go for basically free + shipping. Here are some good deals:
What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula is a great book for the newcomer to Buddhism. If you'd like a free PDF version of it, here you go!
American Theravada monk Bhikkhu Bodhi is a well read writer and has some of works available for free on this website.
I'd also pick up a book about Therevadan buddhism as its considered the least liberal and closer to the source material (yes, this is arguable). Bodhi has a book on this subject. Rahula's "What The Buddha Taught" I find to be very readable and an easy intro into the life and teachings of Buddha.
Per usual, the wikipedia entry on him is good too.
/atheist who likes to study religion, if you're interested in my criticisms please pm me
I don't think there's anything wrong with interfaith dialogue, but reddit is probably not the best place for it. This would probably work best as a panel discussion, of which there are numerous examples on youtube.
I'm not familiar with Quaker views, but the Three marks of existence: anicca, dukkha, and anatta would make God, Christ, the soul, and salvation as presented in traditional Christianity rather moot.
What the Buddha Taught is a great book for understanding the Buddhist view. I also like chapter 3 of Meido Moore's book The Rinzai Zen Way, titled "Zen and Abrahamic Faiths" for another take on this topic.
There is indeed debate among Buddhists, but Dependent Origination, the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, and the Three Marks are difficult to dispute since the Buddha himself taught them.
How one would reconcile these teachings with traditional Christian views of an eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing God and all of the individual souls that must be "saved" is quite a puzzle. Perhaps the Quaker view is different.
First, check out the directories on DharmaNet and BuddhaNet. If you're lucky you'll find someplace close to you. If you're really lucky you'll find a good teacher who you connect with. I think that is important. My practice gained a new depth once I found a teacher.
If you're not so lucky, there are still great resources out there. Both the websites I mentioned above have a lot of good stuff on them. One of my favorites is Buddhism in a Nutshell.
If you're willing to spend the money (or have a good library system) two of my favorite books are Mindfulness in Plain English and What the Buddha Taught. Personally, I recommend buying both of them.
Mindfulness in Plain English is an amazing "how to" guide to get you meditating. In the absence of a teacher this will take you quite a ways. What the Buddha Taught is very much from the Theravada perspective and is a fantastic introduction to the most important concepts. It can be a bit textbookish at time but it well worth the read.
You're welcome. Yes, there are tons of books. A lot of people start with What the Buddha Taught, by Walpola Rahula. There's also a great webite: https://www.accesstoinsight.org/ You can find a lot of the early Buddhist suttas there, as well as essays about a very wide range of topics.
I would recommend What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula. Whatever you go with, enjoy the journey.
Mindfulness in Plain English is a good starting point for a meditation method. I recommend getting a physical copy, it's well worth it!
What the Buddha Taught is a highly recommended book to understand the principles of Buddhism.
As u/Bingo_Maru stated, you should check out local in person Buddhist center to gain proper guidance too.
Buddhism does have pretty strong currents of Asceticism (not in the self harm sense, so no worries there. The Buddha criticized that stuff a lot) so being able to follow strict rules will be important if you care about taking it seriously, but the rules are not too hard to remember.
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https://www.zen-buddhism.net/buddhist-principles/eightfold-path.html
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I think Zen as a tradition focuses the least on rigid scripture, but I could be wrong about that.
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As for books, I always recommend "What the Buddha Taught" as a good introduction. It's short and to the point.
https://www.amazon.com/What-Buddha-Taught-Expanded-Dhammapada/dp/0802130313/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1556991280&sr=8-1
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It's cheap too.
As others have said, meditation is probably the best way to really "get" Buddhism. But if you're just looking for some good books:
In The Buddha's Words - an anthology of short selections from the Theravada Buddhist canon. This is probably about as close as you can get to the Buddha's actual teachings.
What the Buddha Taught - no fluff, just the core teachings.
When Things Fall Apart - this is a little fluffier than the other two, but an absolute classic and must-read for all, Buddhist or non. The author explains the most complex and difficult to accept parts of the Buddhist worldview in a penetrating, easy-to-grasp way.
Others mentioned Alan Watts, Stephen Bachelor and Brad Warner. Their books might be worth checking out, but keep in mind that each author writes with a more personal and less traditional lean than the ones I mentioned. Not that there's anything wrong with that, obviously, but if you're trying to learn about Buddhism... starting with them would be a little like learning about Catholicism from a Protestant.
edit: Forgot to add links.
There is a slight irony to seeking an explanation to whether or not everything requires an explanation.
Putting that aside, one might need to be clear on what exactly an "explanation" is, especially when it comes to figuring out questions of "purpose". Once we are clear on what exactly explanations are, then we could compare those conditions with human capabilities or the human condition. But if we just take our intuitive understanding of an explanation, the question you pose is somewhat ambiguous. Are you asking whether or not humans have the capacity to understand or explain everything? Or are you rather asking, is there an explanation for everything, outside of human understanding (if such a thing is possible). If what you meant is the former, from an evolutionary perspective, one could argue there are limits to human understanding. Human beings as subjected to evolution are built in a particular way for a particular set of environmental conditions. Just as we have limits to how high we can jump, due to the structure of our bones and muscles etc., perhaps we have limits to what we can understand about the world (limitations on the structure of our brain for example). Indeed this is a line of thought that Noam Chomsky has expounded especially in reference to the mind-body problem. You can find some of his writing on this topic here, and a lecture here. Chomsky makes a very interesting claim. He claims that when it comes to what we take as our most fundamental understanding of the world, the ideas expressed by physicists, we have already given up on understanding the world, and instead have settled for understanding our theories of the world. He also assumes that when it comes to understanding the physical world, our criteria for intelligibility is something like the old philosophy of mechanism. If we can't see how something works in terms of colliding billiard balls, and a series of parts like that in a watch, then we can't "understand" it. Colin McGinn has a similar take when it comes to the mind-body problem as well.
If what you are asking is the latter question, i.e. is there an explanation for everything, outside of human understanding, i'm not sure where to refer you to, as i'm not sure I understand the question. Maybe what you are asking is, can something exist, like the green bottle on my table, but not have any reason or explanation for why or how it exists on my table? Not that it has an explanation that I as a human cannot understand it, but that it lacks an explanation all together, even in the eyes of God we might say. That i'm not sure about, so hopefully someone else can help out here.
This SEP article on Scientific Explanation or IEP article on Theories and Explanation, may be of interest.
>"koan" which is like a paradox that the mind is eager to understand but which is impossible to get a specific meaning
This reminds me a little of Albert Camus' characterisation of the human condition which he labels Absurd: the conflict between the desire we have to understand the world and find meaning in it, with our inability to find such an understanding or meaning. You may be interested in his book The Myth of Sisyphus, although it's not exactly an easy read, and will be something you will probably have to return to multiple times. Or watch Gregory B. Sadler's short series on the book here.
>Many buddhists claim that you don't have to seek for a purpose and apparently they don't have any meaning at all.
From my understanding of Buddhism, which is limited to the book What the Buddha Taught, and a 10 day Vipassana retreat, Buddhism does expound a purpose to human life, and that is the attainment of nirvana, the cessation of dukkha, and there is an ethic that goes along with it.
Here you go.
http://www.amazon.com/What-Buddha-Taught-Expanded-Dhammapada/dp/0802130313
I am also a lazy person, but at least I'm lazy and on my PC. ;-)
There are two books that illuminate the very core of Buddhism and belong on every Buddhist's shelf imo, they are What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula and In the Buddha's Words by Bhikkhu Bodhi.
This is maybe a broad adoption of a lot of concepts with debatable or more nebulous meaning. I had good luck with What the Buddha Taught as a simple introduction to Dharma concepts.
Regarding the cup:
>Scholar Tokusan--who was full of knowledge and opinions about the dharma--came to Ryutan and asked about Zen. At one point Ryutan re-filled his guest's teacup but did not stop pouring when the cup was full. Tea spilled out and ran over the table. "Stop! The cup is full!" said Tokusan.
>"Exactly," said Master Ryutan. "You are like this cup; you are full of ideas. You come and ask for teaching, but your cup is full; I can't put anything in. Before I can teach you, you'll have to empty your cup."
Personally, I am not familiar with the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra, and certainly it is very different than the Pali version of Gautama's Maha-parinibbana.
I am skeptical, though, because the insistence that Buddha did indeed teach of the Self is characteristic of a rather small but vehement group of Buddhists whose affiliation with any lineage I know nothing. The only presence I have surmised is a shady connection of Amazon.com reviewers who post the same exact things under different pseudonyms. See, attadipa viharathi here. Or, Denise Anderson here.
The Self-espousing is a vanishingly small but vocal community in Buddhism, and I would really like to know more about their origination.
edit: I should note that, yes, I do see the similarity between my post re: the apparent eternal mental continuum of a Buddha in the Mahayana and the 'Light of the Soul' mentioned later. However, my curiosity is centered more around the apparent discrepancy between the positive assertions of those like the Dalai Lama and the (almost) absolute lack of reference to Atman-espousing suttas throughout the entire Buddhist corpus. I mean, it is (apparently) only a small, vocal group of 'Buddhists' that hold forth these suttas in opposition to conventional Buddhist dogmas.
I also HIGHLY recommend reading What The Buddha Taught
What the Buddha Taught: Revised and Expanded Edition with Texts from Suttas and Dhammapada https://www.amazon.com/dp/0802130313/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_e4p-AbZBBBCC0
I think the best introduction to Buddhism and its tenets is "What The Buddha Taught" by Dr. Walpola Rahula.
I'm not sure I would consider myself a buddhist quite yet, but I was drawn to the teachings and this subreddit after getting into meditation and mindfulness to supplement my own anxiety treatment. I was suffering from pretty crippling panic attacks. I did therapy and medication (of the non-intoxicating variety and which I have been able to significantly reduce).
I would recommend that if your anxiety is interfering with your life, consider therapy to augment your practice. Having someone who is trained to ask the right questions is immensely helpful.
In addition, as others have said, read deeply and consider all the teachings. Following the 8 fold path and the precepts will ensure that you have fewer causes for anxiety, and that you are aware of the arising of any new anxiety.
My main book recommendation. What the Buddha Taught: Revised and Expanded Edition with Texts from Suttas and Dhammapada https://www.amazon.com/dp/0802130313/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_6t-3DbMJW7BM1
Ha, there is certainly an argument for that! I've been reading Buddhist books lately, you might find that linked one an interesting read. The Buddha said that free will is an illusion because all karmic actions are influenced by dukkha (loosely, suffering) - an enlightened one acts without karma/influence because they act from knowledge of Reality instead of the common constructed assumptions about reality.
If anyone's interested about learning about Buddhism What the Buddha Taught is a fantastic book that really explains the religion.
That said, Thai Buddhism has some very strong Hindu influences and has some interesting qualities like animism that aren't found in a lot of other practicing Buddhist countries .
I would strongly recommend the book "What The Buddha Taught" as a introduction to Buddhism. Its heavily cited, lays out the basic concepts and principals, and gives a overview of the idea for beginners. http://www.amazon.com/What-Buddha-Taught-Expanded-Dhammapada/dp/0802130313/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1451708006&sr=1-1&keywords=what+the+buddha+taught
A great primer for the core tenets and historical context is "What The Buddha Taught" by Walpola Pahula. It provides a wonderful explanation of the thought process and is very clearly written; a lot of colleges use it in their comparative religion courses.
I also think that reading the "Dhammapada" is particularly vital. I prefer the Eknath Easwaran translation; I feel like he did an excellent job translating it into modern laguage while retaining the meaning of the text and providing excellent discussions of each sutra without being to neurotically overbearing, like so many religious commentaries can be. He also did excellent versions of the Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads if you are interested in broader Indian spirituality.
And do you know why they're so chill and why it's not the largest religion? Because it's a lot of work.
There's this thing called desire which is the source of all of the suffering in the world. Literally, all of it. Everyone all over feels angry, lonely, jealous and frustrated because of desire. It's also what causes people to kill, steal, and destroy.
Here's an example: In the very simple case, imagine that everyday, after school, you come home at night. Everyday you're so happy because you get to eat this certain tasty pudding (it's really good). Well, imagine that one day you come home and you find that you're all out of pudding. Why? Because your sister/brother/mom/dad ate your pudding. Now how would you feel? Frustrated, right? You feel angry and bitter, "It's my pudding! I eat it every day. They had no right." And why do you feel angry or frustrated? It's because of that desire. Your desire to eat that pudding, and the fact that you can't. It's the dissonance between what you desire reality to be, and what it actually is.
What's the solution here? You let go of your desire. "Oh, no pudding today. I guess I can eat something else." And immediately, the pain and frustration vanish. In the case of the monks and statues, the monks know they are just statues; there is no desire for them to be treated any differently than what they are.
You see, it's not desire that causes the suffering; the cause of suffering is you grasping and hanging on to that desire. The wish for things to be not as they are.
And that is what Buddhism teaches. For some people, it's quite difficult to let go of their desires; we've been condition from birth to believe that they are important and normal to have. Yet, the truth is that we should reduce them as much as possible if we want to live life to its happy fullest.
If you'd like to know more, I highly recommend this easy-to-approach book "Good Question Good Answer," free download at this link: http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/gqga-5ed.pdf. And if you want to see in more depth at what Buddhism gets at, "What the Buddha Taught" is an excellent choice: http://www.amazon.com/What-Buddha-Taught-Expanded-Dhammapada/dp/0802130313
Of course, if you have more questions, I'm all ears.
If you want to learn about Buddhism, check out What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula for a fantastic overview of the teachings. Otherwise if you will have access to the internet check out Access To Insight as it has nearly the entire Tipitaka online, as well as loads of study guides, etc.
The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell is a really interesting read about comparative mythology and the basic themes of a hero's journey in nearly every story we find.
Faust by Goethe is one of the most incredible books I have ever read from a writing standpoint. I think I heard that part of the reason he wrote it was to show how beautiful of a language German can be, though that may be just a rumor, or I could have fabricated the whole idea. Regardless it truly is beautifully written.
And as others have pointed out, Hermann Hesse is a great author, and my personal favorite. Siddhartha, Steppenwolf, Demian, Narcissus and Goldmund, his Fairy Tails, and the Glass Bead Game/Magister Ludi are all incredible novels. As well as Journey to the East, but I feel like to get the most out of that story, you should read his other stuff first.
Welp, if you go on /r/Buddhism there are tons of resources and plenty of helpful folks there who don't judge and are really just there to help you with receiving teachings (either life advice, centers nearby, clarity of teachings).
>I've had a lot of past trauma, and I'm afraid of what my mind has in store for me if I let it go for just a second. :/
With the right practice these things will heal naturally. I mean if it's not serious and you believe you can overcome it yourself, meditation (when it's taught to you the right way) can help you as much as therapy, because they are the same thing in practice.
I'm not suggesting that you should try to cure, idk, schizophrenia with meditation, but it does alleviate a lot more than you expect.
>The closest Meditation Center is 3 hours away (and has one star fwiw). I have been to one I really liked, that it was still an hour and a half away and very expensive. There are meditation groups in my area, could you give me some keywords to look for?
Depending on the tradition there are many archives on the internet. Most of them are listed on /r/Buddhism and you can just leave a post there if you need advice from someone who lives in the area. I live in Europe, so I'm afraid I can't help.
Typically these are called meditation centers, dharmacenters or Buddhist centers (it really depends on the fantasy of those who run it); I'd actually encourage to also try to maybe just go on a retreat. On retreats you basically take vows that will limit your mundane interactions with the world and you'll spend about a week (10 days are the shortest AFAIK) just meditating and reading. That will give you the basics in the most auspicious way.
>Also, I've been researching Buddhism lately, and I'm quite interested. If you have any books or podcasts to recommend to a newbie, I would really appreciate it. :)
I think, What the Buddha Taught is a great starter book. You can probably get this free somewhere if you look hard enough. After reading the book any question you have can probably be only answer from the standpoint of one tradition, because many things are explained differently and the more popular traditions like Tibetan or Chinese or Japanese Buddhism (Mahayana and Vajrayana schools) also tend to introduce just a lot more concepts that IME has confused lots of people out there. I myself stick to the "orthodox" school, Theravada. It's often looked down upon because "it's bone dry" some might say, but IMO, you don't need more. It explains the basics and foundations clearly and gives you the freedom to find your own way in meditation.
With that being said, I can mostly just speak for my tradition. There are various great teachers out there, like Ajahn Brahm (he is very pleasant, humorous, engaging and carefree about his teachings), Bhikkhu Bodhi (technical, well-spoken, a bit rigid in his ways but he writes eloquent essays about the doctrines), Yuttadhammo Bhikkhu (mostly talks about meditation and its benefits when done regularly; lots of online guided meditations)
Make sure to ask on the sub for some centers and options in the area.
Also, don't be afraid of meditation. You'll realize eventually, that that is the only solid thing you have in this life and that the Buddha's "teachings" are essentially just insights gained from meditation and not some superficial doctrine.
Good luck and I sincerely hope you find happiness.
Uhm.. it all depends on what you want to write about!
Im sure google would help in your search as well
I'm 1/3 through What the Buddha Taught, and it's the best introduction I've (partially) read so far.
I have no qualifications to answer your question, but I went through the same search as well and was very happy to be guided toward this book by Walpola Rahula, What the Buddha Taught. It's designed to be friendly to a Western newcomer while also laying a very thorough groundwork (also includes well-translated original texts as appendices and points you toward other sources for further reading if you want to dig deeper).
PS I highly don't recommend Lodro Rinzler's book. The content is very far away from the essence and spirit of Buddhism. I'd try and read something by actual, studied monastics.
Personal favorite: http://www.amazon.com/What-Buddha-Taught-Expanded-Dhammapada/dp/0802130313
The most lucid expositions I know of for original buddhism are Walpola Rahula - What the Buddha taught and Paul Williams - Buddhist Thought: A Complete Introduction to the Indian Tradition.
I read them years ago, but I remember that what I particularly liked about them is that they are pretty clever in clearing common objections that a modern student may have, they don't dumb it down (while still being clear and concise), and they don't avoid the sides of Buddhism that may be scary for people (in other words they won't present Buddhism as a good-vibe, let's just chill out and love everybody style of life, like many books do to cater to wide audiences).
I'm waiting on a book called "What the Buddha Taught: Revised and Expanded Edition with Texts from Suttas and Dhammapada" and a black Timex watch.
I always recommend engaging with primary source works (translated, naturally...), but some people are not ready to grapple with Yuanwu's collection of koans or with Linji yet.
Some initial works to start out:
If you've worked through (one or more of) those and want more, some primary works I recommend:
That will get you to a good level.
Heyo! A little late to the thread, but I have two sources I like to point people to as an introduction to Buddhism and the Buddha himself—they're both secondary: one being a book, the other a documentary.
The book: an introduction to Buddhism, What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula. It was written, primarily, for a western audience unfamiliar with the teachings of Buddha and perceived it as part of "the other." A great starting point (was mine)!
The documentary: it is available on Netflix or on the PBS website, The Buddha by filmmaker David Grubin. It's a great informative and introductory documentary detailing the life of Buddha and his most basic teachings. The narration is wonderfully done and the visuals are titillating.
I hope these help!
http://www.amazon.com/What-Buddha-Taught-Expanded-Dhammapada/dp/0802130313
http://www.amazon.com/The-Closing-Muslim-Mind-Intellectual-ebook/dp/B00JBRUKZS
http://www.amazon.com/Philosophy-Hebrew-Scripture-Yoram-Hazony/dp/0521176670
Hey. As mentioned before, there are some different traditions so depending on your flavor of choice, there can be some minor differences. I tend to come from a Theravada approach. For me, the best intro book to Buddhism was "What the Buddha Taught" by W. Rahula (https://www.amazon.com/What-Buddha-Taught-Expanded-Dhammapada/dp/0802130313). For an online resource, my go to is Access to Insight: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/
Hope those help.
Peace,
-Dave
I got there slowly over time but I found this book on my father's bookshelf and it got me thinking differently. It's not a self-help book, more of a concise summary of this guy's philosophy but it's not difficult to read:
https://www.amazon.ca/What-Buddha-Taught-Expanded-Dhammapada/dp/0802130313
That said, different approaches work for different people. Finding a good yoga teacher (one that actually guides you through a meditation every class) can be really motivating... for others mindfulness therapy is a good option.
What it really takes is for you to demonstrate to yourself that you can change your mood and thought patterns if you need to, and then to be curious about how far you can take it.
A simple way to demonstrate this to yourself is to find a quiet place, get comfortable, and try to focus on something in the present moment (an object, your breath, a sound, etc...). You will lose focus, but that's exactly what you want. When you lose focus, just respectfully bring your attention back to your object.
By doing this you are getting better at two things: your ability to control where your attention is, and your ability to observe where your attention is. That last one is key. It elevates you above your thoughts to the level of a passive observer. That was the most life-changing tool for me. From this place, you can choose which thoughts to grab onto and which ones to let fly by. You learn to let the bad ones fly past you and let go of seemingly good thoughts that make you act badly when you entertain them. This place is my center... where i go to when i feel unbalanced.
It's important to make sure you have lots of time available, or you will get distracted by obligations. If you don't have any free time then that's probably the first thing you need to change if you want to grow in this way.
Sorry for the stream of thought, but i figured it might be helpful :)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GAyymh5-Tlmv8TtLlDEAsJ3CfpIioU7u/view?usp=sharing
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Conspiracy against the human race - Thomas Ligotti.
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As for buddhism, I recommend the book ( https://www.amazon.ca/What-Buddha-Taught-Expanded-Dhammapada/dp/0802130313 ) What the Buddha Taught, as well as this guide: https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/study/beyondcoping/index.html
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The primary thing about Buddhism, the core of Buddhist philosophy, is the Three Mark's of Existence:
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Impermanence: All things are subject to change, falling and arising based on interdependent conditions.
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Non-self: As a result of impermanence and the interdependent nature of existence, there is no essential element in existence. Nothing exists in and of itself, but always in relation to something else. This doctrine primarily counters the common belief in the 'soul', that there is some fundamental part of us that grants us autonomy and meaning or connects us to the greater world but in a very 'meaningful' way.
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Dukkha: As a result of the two above structures, life is unsatisfying, stressful, conditional, not worth clinging to. Aka, suffering. Bad things permeate existence, good things bring grief through their impermenance, we are constantly subject to the conditions of change and life and have no essential self, and are therefore constantly pulled and pushed by desire and aversion, a metaphysical rat race.
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All else follows from these three, and the beauty of this truth is it applies to all worlds. Regardless if god(s) existed, regardless if soul(s) existed, regardless of the success of progress, socialism, technology, etc, life would always be defined by these three traits for all sentients.
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The noble path described by buddhism is summed up by this truth 'All conditional phenomenon is not worth clinging to'. Everything else is attempting to achieve this dispassion/detachment in a skillful, healthy way. While the actual phenomenon of ego-death/nirvana is more a neurological trick than a definite end goal, the path still leads to peace and acceptance, although in a pessimistic way that the modern woo version of buddhism does not allow the public to realize.
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The primary means of achieving non-clinging, according to early buddhist teachings, is, for material things, to become disenchanted with objects, which is to say, to realize their insignificance and why they are worth neither pursuit nor fear or anger. One does this by deconstructing things, which is why buddism meshes really well with post modernism and science, as it shares reductionist methodology and pursuits to achieve an objective view of life.
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For emotional matters, one counters negative emotions through critical evaluation and countering the fire of anger by dousing it with compassion, and positive emotions through the deconstruction method pointed out above.
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The primary method, of course, is mediation and the active watching of these petty emotions and phenomenon naturally passing away, realizing that you do not need to be a slave to them and do not need them to be content. (Easier said than done, patience is).
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Ethical training, I believe, is important for Buddhism due to a) seeking to let go of egotistical attachments and things that could harm your training and b) because if nirvana is achieved, you essentially kill a primary high mental function and your personality will largely be set in stone, which is why it's not uncommon for enlightened people to actually be quite egotistical despite their charisma and childishness, if they are not buddhists/trained properly (such as osha, who possessed an odd aura in person despite being a materialistic twat).
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But overall, you'll find alot of Buddhist's attempts to argue for disenchantment from the world to be rooted in archiac views of the world, full of superstition, aka karma and rebirth etc. The key is replacing the old practices of corpse watching and hell realm contemplation with modern practices of nihilism, hence why pessimism/nihilism like the book above complemented buddhism well, at least for detaching from positive things. Negative things will require compassion contemplation and the kind of reductionist materialism seen in sociology (It's not his fault he became a pedophile, he was born/made to be that way!) and realization that negative emotions harm you rather than serve you. Take of that what you will.
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E: Be warned that looking into Buddhist history and topics outside the primary study of suffering will result in findings of superstition and the same kind of corruption, misogny, homophobia, status quo complacency, etc, that plagues all institutional faiths. Ignore the parts you dislike, although with careful consideration, and take the core truths that help.
What you are going through is actually pretty typical given your age and environment.
Something similar happened to me. I grew up in a liberal Catholic home and then when I became a teenager I started to think it was all non-sense. Then I studied Buddhism, and after that Hinduism because both of these religions allowed me to find spiritual meaning without the question of the existence or non-existence of God. This went on for the majority of my adult life, and I considered myself agnostic the whole time. Then a couple of years ago I started having experiences within Islam. Now, I do believe in God, and it's something that's important to me (I haven't quite converted to Islam - there's a major rule I don't think I can follow) and I work on. So don't let it stress you - in the long it'll help you discovered a lot of cool and meaningful things.
But to answer you question directly check out the book Zen Spirit, Christian Spirit. It's a good balance between Eastern and Western spirituality. And if you want to study Buddhism on its own I highly recommend What the Buddha Taught - it's probably the best primer on Buddhism that I've ever read.
Ah, so the real problem here is that you don't know anything about Buddhism and its function as a religion. Here is a good introductory book about it written by one of its best-educated scholars. And while we're at it, you may be interested in this well-known atheist's views about the difference between faith and meditation.