(Part 3) Best meditation books according to redditors

The word Zen has entered the pop culture lexicon to mean something that has little to do with Buddhism. The public imagination has taken the word "zen" as license to mean whatever they want it to mean.

I am not an expert on Zen but authentic Mahayana practice of any school is about becoming a Bodhisattva. It is not about being content with being lazy.

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May these resources of the Buddha's teachings be of benefit to you:

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http://ftp.budaedu.org/ebooks/pdf/EN132.pdf

https://www.readingfaithfully.org/in-the-buddhas-words-an-anthology-of-discourses-from-the-pali-canon-linked-to-suttacentral-net/

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If you want to learn about Zen practice exclusively, I would recommend this book. This author is a highly trustworthy teacher of Zen practice and of dhamma:

https://www.amazon.com/Zen-Keys-Guide-Practice/dp/0385475616

Last week I found out that my ulcerative colitis (diagnosed ten years ago) is now Crohn's disease. Prior to the colonoscopy that confirmed it I was buffeted by intense fear of death, and sat in the office watching some really intense sensations and feelings arise. I had just been reading death meditations in Ken McLeod's book Wake Up To Your Life days prior, which might have contributed to the strength and clarity to what arose. Compared to the last time I had the procedure, I was acutely aware of the fragility of the body – much of the staple somatic techniques were incredibly painful to conduct, but I chose to keep observing as preparatory training for when death finally strikes (or the inevitable health complications that arise as I continue to age). I can't deny that this week has been incredibly hard in light of this news and yet more challenges – there's a real desire for deliverance at times. That said my results are relatively positive, and I'm glad that I have the means to take care of this before it worsens – being grateful for the gifts of life goes a long way, and I'm thankful that I get to enjoy another birthday tomorrow. As such, this specific period was quite productive for practice and I'm better off for it.

Finally made it out to Dharma Ocean yesterday – many of the members have been practicing for several years, and it was great to be able to discuss the technical aspects of Reggie Ray's techniques in great depth. We sat for approximately 1.5 hours and had an in-depth discussion followed by tea and snacks. I'll continue attending and look forward to what grows from that.

Anyone can adopt Buddhist mindfulness, no matter what their religion, just don't try to shoehorn Jesus into the Buddhist dharma, it won't work.

Mindfulness is explained thus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satipatthana

You can read the original sutras like The Satipatthana Sutta
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/soma/wayof.html

but without a commentary and examples it will be tough going.

I have this book in my shelves and it is almost worn out.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Heart-Buddhist-Meditation-Satipatthna/dp/0877280738

Since you found Thich Nhat Hanh useful, I see that he also has a book on this topic.
http://www.amazon.com/Transformation-Healing-Sutra-Establishments-Mindfulness/dp/book-citations/1888375620

Start with the Four Noble Truths and move on from there. The fourth truth is "following the Noble Eightfold Path is the end of all suffering". This path is core of the whole practice and studying it is the best use of your time.

The book On the Path: An Anthology on the Noble Eightfold Path drawn from the Pāli Canon was a great read. It can be downloaded for free in a format that will work on almost any device:

http://www.dhammatalks.org/ebook_index.html

Choose the .mobi files for Kindle, .epub for iBooks, and .pdf for PCs.

Although that book is great, it is rather technical (i.e. written for students at Metta Forest Monastery). Because you are new, you might need a more gentle introduction, as I did. The first book I read about the path was Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness: Walking the Path of the Buddha. The audiobook was very well narrated. It is well worth $11.95.

For me, the best practice to deal with intrusive thoughts about things that went wrong in the past is to practice mindfulness. The easiest exercises for me are breathing exercises, like square breathing, or even more simply, breathing in for two heartbeats and out for four heartbeats. A more advanced technique I practice is imagining my thoughts as clouds and watching them pass by harmlessly without engaging them at all. I'm currently reading Mindful Games as an easy introduction to mindfulness because I still think of myself as a beginner.

You say:

>Further, not only is there no "meditation" in Zen according the likes of Alan Watts and Carl Bielefeldt (of Stanford) but there isn't any "meditation" in Buddhism either

Interesting claim! Let's see if you are right.

>Zen Buddhism is perhaps best known for its emphasis on meditation, and probably no figure in the history of Zen is more closely associated with meditation practice than the thirteenth-century Japanese master Dogen, founder of the Soto school.

-Carl Bielefeldt (Stanford)

Here's an interview with him where he talks about doing "Zen meditation" in Japan. http://sef.org/interview-with-carl-bielefeldt/

Hmmm! But what about Alan Watts? Watts once wrote a book called: Still the Mind: An Introduction to Meditation

http://www.amazon.com/Still-Mind-An-Introduction-Meditation/dp/1577312147

Suzuki never to my knowledge had those problems, but his direct successor as abbot was involved in an extra-marital affair(s). This book:

Shoes Outside the Door: Desire, Devotion, and Excess at San Francisco Zen Center

Discusses it, and in this book:

Being Upright: Zen Meditation and the Bodhisattva Precepts

Talks about this period as well as the author's own failings in not addressing Baker's behavior sooner then he did.

Yes I think so, because you're picking up new weapons and enlisting new comrades.

Not gods. Tools and friends, the same as if you were in a kitchen. The tomato and knife are not your enemy as long as they do not become more important than the meal you eat.

We're talking about an entire dimension of experience you've let languish. How can we fully be ourselves when we've castrated the multi-dimensional Ego?

"aren't the antagonisms of failure to exert my will through a narrative of magic going to be an unnecessary negation?"

Okay, one question: do you...do you talk like that, like out in the world?

Anywho yes, you might have some difficulty getting past what Robert Anton Wilson called the "psychic censor" if you've basically told yourself such things aren't possible. Much like a child locked into a wheelchair for many years you might be unable to walk.

You have to find a way for it to fit in your head. Maybe don't think of it as magic, think of it as amplified psi. Find a road or mythology your mind can wrap itself around and ride that fucker into oblivion.

Magic is simple, children do it often. You just have to learn how to play again.

https://www.amazon.com/Tao-Craft-Talismans-Esoteric-Tradition/dp/1623170664

^ Try that on for size. It's a purely technical document, almost a "user manual" and the Taoist conception of the Universe jives very well with the liberated Ego. The "model" for how magic works found within it was so clear I printed it out and hung it in my home.

I have been reading Don't Be a Jerk and I think you may get something out of it. Someone who studied Dogen for quite a while trying to distill the message and bring it to the audience in familiar language. It's quite good so far (I'm on the 3rd chapter). Perhaps read that and apply a dudest lens to it.

I'd be down for some more philosophizing in this sub as well. Maybe I'll try to do a weekly thread or something. I'll try to put up something tonight over a Caucasian or two.

Dzogchen and Mahamudra are two different sets of practices that aim at something quite similar. Dzogchen is seen to be the pinnacle of the Nyingma (old school) and Mahamudra of the Sarma schools (Kagyu, Gelug, etc.). Open presence does play a role in such practices, depending on what you mean by "open presence" and which practice you are referring to.

There are a number of different practices in each school. Probably the best technical instructions on Mahamudra are now available in a book titled Moonbeams on Mahamudra.

Clear Dzogchen instructions are harder to find, but I like the book Perfect Clarity which has a selection of Dzogchen and Mahamudra pith instructions, at least for trekchod. Finding clear togal practice instructions is very difficult, but the main practices seem to be sky gazing, dark retreat where you see light in the darkness, seeing rainbow halos (tigles) around light sources such as the sun or a light bulb (NEVER STARE DIRECTLY INTO THE SUN, OK?), and similar things like that. But you shouldn't be practicing togal anyway until stabilizing trekchod, according to the classic instructions at least.

Now some people will tell you "you need a teacher/guru" and even "you have to complete the preliminary practices (ngondro) first." No doubt having a qualified teacher who has experienced the territory they are teaching can be useful, and some preliminary practices may benefit some people.

That said, most Dzogchen teachers are highly inaccessible. Good luck ever getting a single 1-on-1 session with one, let alone ongoing personalized support for the idiosyncrasies of your practice. So "having a teacher" in practical terms often means going to a retreat or two, never interacting with them personally, and reading their books, with them never even knowing your name. And some teachers have strange views or run cults (see Sogyal Rinpoche as an example), so you might even get messed up from following a teacher if you're not careful.

In terms of preliminaries, personally I think traditional ngondro is highly inappropriate for Westerners, and my teachers (Tsoknyi Rinpoche, Anam Thubten, etc.) agree, so I disagree that traditional preliminary practices (such as doing 100,000 prostrations and 1 million vajrasattva recitations) are necessary or even good for Westerners, with our already busy minds and achievement orientations.

There can be a practical reason for preliminaries however, which is that many people cannot simply rest their mind in an open, spacious, unwavering presence, vivid and clear and luminous, even with pointing out instructions, because their mind is too agitated or dull, or because they lack sufficient insight into emptiness. This was certainly the case for me before doing a bunch of S.N. Goenka style vipassana and some other practices that allowed me to develop sufficient concentration, clarity, and insight. Moonbeams on Mahamudra touches on the need for "common" concentration and insight before practicing "uncommon" mahamudra, and I think this is indeed important for most people.

If you want a taste of what the instructions are like, there are many pith instructions published freely on the internet. For instance, here are mahamudra instructions from the 9th Karmapa. Or here are some classic mahamudra instructions from Tilopa. The Song of Mahamudra from Saraha is great too. Here are some Dzogchen trekchod pith instructions. The Bön tradition also has Dzogchen instructions which can be found in this book.

Good luck!

Mindfulness meditation is what I practice, but there are other ones too. /r/meditation

Here is the Sea Life Sensory Solutions poster that has the calm down techniques.

And this article was really eye opening for me on ages and dis/equilibrium. Made my from March on struggles make so much more sense!.

Edit: This book has also been great! Mindful Games: Sharing Mindfulness and Meditation with Children, Teens, and Families

Not necessarily. There are quite a few translations that offer explanations to each section of the Upanishads that explain the meanings. Not to mention, with a basic understadning of Hinduism, you can unravel the meanings by yourself with a bit of deep thought and contemplation.
Anyways, I recommend this translation. I got it for an American friend who was interested in Hinduism and wanted to learn more. It gives basic explanations, while still allowing you to think on things for yourself:
https://www.amazon.com/Upanishads-Easwarans-Classics-Indian-Spirituality-ebook/dp/B004DI7R4W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498187230&sr=8-1&keywords=upanishads

Here's a link to an updated version

A list of contributors:

Ajahn Chah, Pema Chödrön, The Second Dalai Lama, Dogen, S.N. Goenka, Dainin Katagiri, Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi, Milerepa, Padmasambhava, Reginald Ray, Shunryu Suzuki, Nyanaponika Thera, Thich Nhat Hanh, Chögyam Trungpa, Bhikkhu Bodhi, and Burton Watson.

EDIT: this was my intro to Buddhism, I've read it probably 3 or 4 times, and it explains why I'm a bit of a syncretist.

Tibetan Buddhism from the Ground Up: A Practical Approach for Modern Life by B. Alan Wallace is really good.


Indestructible Truth: The Living Spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism


Wake Up to Your Life by Ken Mcleod. This one is more of a practical book grounded in a Western take on Tibetan Buddhism.

Mindfulness with breathing is a different, improved edition of the same book.

If you're interested in tantric buddhism, I would suggest reading anything and everything by Lama Yeshe.

Here's an intro to the subject he gave. It's pretty good if memory serves.

His book gives detailed instructions for the practices that form the core of tantric meditation within Vajrayana.

Daoism and zen Buddhism helped me a lot.

Don't dismiss this as new age woo, it's whatever you make of it.

Zen creates a mind set that places you beyond yourself, and from there you can become your own puppet master.

Zen keys by Thich Nhat Hanh is really good.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0385475616/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1521050527&sr=1-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=Zen+keys

Besides that I think it's just really important to have the courage to be your own advocate. No one else but you will always be there for you as bleak as that sounds.

You have to begin seeing yourself as your own magnum opus. Your self is your ultimate creation that you continue to develop and refine and all other things extend from that.

Plato likened a person to a republic in the sense that you can be a master of the self or a slave of the self.

When you sprint at max speed your strength is dragging your weakness along. If you keep doing that you'll unify yourself more and more.

If you want the second slice of cake, you mind says no, but the body says yes.

It's that sort of a thing.

Have faith in yourself that you can be as great as you can imagine yourself to be, and any doubt you have is just the lesser man inside of you trying to snuff out the greater man.

All this talk of cope is really toxic because it is blatantly playing on your weaknesses.

I read a lot of philosophy books and random stuff that I thought could be useful. A really powerful book for me was les miserables.

That was referred to by Hugo as his religious masterpiece, only its a view of Christianity that was overriden by fundamentalism. It's Christianity as a philosophy or even better said, the science of subjectivity. There is nothing supernatural but it demonstrates how there is no need.

If you want me to break down the plot I can but I don't wanna ruin it, but it's basically a perspective on spirituality where you realize what's "true" doesn't really matter.

A person who believes something makes it real.

The subjective world is entirely our own creation.

Beyond that I'd say just read everything you're interested in and process it on two different levels.

There is the message of the author, and then a meta analysis where it's essentially just a thought exercise. You can actually learn way more than even the author intended that way and it puts you in a mindset where you are in control of how it shapes you.

Check out the book linked below. I just pick up a copy. My only criticism is they just show the final pose, not how to get into it or transitions, but if they did, it would be a five volume encyclopaedia.

https://www.amazon.com/100-Asanas-Complete-Yoga-Poses/dp/1631910108

I'll start with one of the best books Moonbeams of Mahamudra. There is also an excellent commentary on that book by Ven. Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche.

There is another real treasure available (atm, anyway): The Shenpen Ösel Magazine (From the web page:) "
Between the years of 1997 and 2003, Kagyu Shenpen Ösel Chöling published transcripted Buddhist teachings in the tri-annual magazine Shenpen Ösel.

The magazine sought to present the teachings of recognized and fully qualified lamas and teachers, with an emphasis on the Karma Kagyu and the Shangpa Kagyu lineages. The contents were derived from transcripts of teachings hosted by Kagyu Shenpen Ösel Chöling and other Kagyu Centers in North America." Just an great, great resource for teachings by Kagyu masters.

Another great Kagyu resource: The Mahamudra Meditation Center, also, not too surprisingly, created by a student of Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, Peter Barth. That site has a great Mahamudra Meditation Manual, which used to be available for free but now cost $5 on Amazon. Monks need to eat, too.

So, onto personal experience, which is all I can speak from. Buddhist teachers are definitely there for spiritual meditation questions. Your are correct that most answers on this forum are not even close to helpful. (There are some good ones and they are usually from the same people.) The best thing you can do is talk to meditation teachers. They will expect you to have read up on the material and be looking for clarifications or be asking about the correct direction to go, so to speak. Even with meditation teachers (monastics, non-monastics, etc.), quality of help can vary wildly. And the really good ones seem to get surrounded with people like us. :) So, one day at a time.

My experience has been that meditation is like learning to swim. There is no substitute for doing it. That $5 manual above is great for your practice. Also, as I also like the Gelukpa approach, the Intro to Meditation by FPMT (fpmt.org) is a great into to their meditation program. That course is free (after you register online), and the rest of that Discovering Buddhism course is not very expensive. As a "graduate" of that program, I can whole-heartedly recommend that program. (Lots of good guided meditation there.)

Hope that helps. Please do write or DM me if I can be of any more help. Good Luck!

You're welcome, glad it helped.

http://www.amazon.ca/Practicing-Jhanas-Traditional-Concentration-Meditation/dp/159030733X

I would grab a book like this. These are Pa Auk Sayadaw's students. He teaches in the tradition of the Visuddhimagga - http://www.abhidhamma.org/visuddhimagga-1.htm, which is a classic meditation manual, very comprehensive, this is a free copy.

Leigh Brasington has alot of stuff out there, but then again he couldn't hit Jhana on a Pa Auk retreat, so I tend to shy away from him, as he teaches also to nurture these jhana factors, which is opposite to what the Sayadaw as well as the Visuddhimagga teaches.

Concentration practice is very much about focusing on on one point, cultivating the factors. However, concentration is not the end of practice, there is the insight side, the Sayadaw teaches traditionally, so he starts with concentration, then the sublime abidings and then elemental and vipassana.

I too had a pre-disposition for concentration and after starting sitting (2 weeks in), I obtained full Jhana Absorption, which was profound, just using mindfulness in plain English-
http://www.vipassana.com/meditation/mindfulness_in_plain_english.php, this is mainly about mindfulness.

In the end the importance is the technique and keeping with it. Ajahn Chah said insight leads to concentration, concentration leads to insight, so whichever path you pick, stick with it. Part of the process of cultivating concentration is subduing the hinderances, which in itself can be quite insightful and freeing.

> I am particularly interested in Five Precepts. I have read a lot online texts and listened to some Dharma talks but I feel like I need a deeper explanation of them.

The Five Precepts are relatively straightforward and simple-to-understand. I doubt you need an entire book about them.

The wikipedia article should be enough:

> 1. I undertake the training rule to abstain from killing.
> 2. I undertake the training rule to abstain from taking what is not given.
> 3. I undertake the training rule to avoid sexual misconduct.
> 4. I undertake the training rule to abstain from false speech.
> 5. I undertake the precept to refrain from intoxicating drinks and drugs which lead to carelessness.

Quite simply:

1. No killing.
   
2. No stealing.
   
3. No lying or deceiving others.
   
4. No abuse of sexual partners, no misuse of sexuality, yours or others'.
   
5. No ingestion of psychoactive substances, i.e. no alcohol, smoking or drugs.
   
   What is the point of your questions, exactly? Academic? Personal improvement? Spiritual?
   
   For the latter 2 purposes, I'd recommend Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness by Bhante Henepola Gunarantana, which covers the entire Eightfold Path, not just the Five Precepts (which are rather basic, and many people follow anyway).

Amazon India has got it lot cheaper.

http://www.amazon.in/The-Upanishads-Eknath-Easwaran/dp/8184950918/

http://www.amazon.in/The-Upanishads-Classic-Indian-Spirituality-ebook/dp/B004DI7R4W/

Sayadaw U Tejaniya has been a game changer for me.

For introductory books for Zen, I'd recommend Robert Aitken's 'Taking the Path of Zen' (only about 170 pages), and a book you will enjoy reading every few years.

Suzuki Roshi's classic 'Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind' is another book that you will want to keep in your collection, since as you progress in your practice, the book will change with you and give you deeper insights.

I would not recommend diving into the sutras until you have a solid basic understanding of Buddhism, as you will likely just get confused. An exception being The Dhammapada (Sayings of the Buddha), which although it is part of the Khuddaka Nikaya, is quite approachable. It will leave you with questions certainly, but also with a good deal of understanding. I recommend Gil Fronsdal's superb 2005 English translation, which you can actually listen to him reading here: http://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/books-articles/dhammapada/

A general introductory book would also be helpful. 'The Buddha and His Teachings,' Bercholz/Kohn has essays from Zen practitioners, as well as distinguished practitioners from other schools, which can help you to see what approach to learning the dharma you might want to take.

Good luck with your practice!

Milarepa and other buddhists make use of tummo.

Also this book: https://www.amazon.com/Practicing-Jhanas-Traditional-Concentration-Meditation/dp/159030733X/ref=nodl_

Yeah, that definitely makes it way tougher. Can you absorb stuff by watching a video? If so, maybe you could try finding some videos of really peaceful/compassionate/enlightened monks and try to absorb their attitudes and approaches to meditation. Culadasa has some videos, as does Shinzen Young.

For working directly with defense mechanisms, you might get a lot of benefit from working through Wake Up to Your Life by Ken McLeod. It discusses a lot of how defense mechanisms function and how to take them apart just like vipassanna takes apart sensations. It's definitely slower to pick them apart, but it's still doable. Some of the material from the book is covered in this retreat summary and the rest of his website.

Good luck and hope your practice goes well.

This is a tough question to answer. I was lucky and my practice evolved naturally from more basic meditation to advanced methods without planning it that way. Looking back I would say this was a huge advantage.

I started in college doing simple mantra meditation. One word, repeated calmly with the breath. This is like TM. TM tells you that their mantra is sacred and you need to lick their buttholes and pay their car payments and then they give you a super special exotic Sanskrit mantra or something. Bullshit. You can pick any word you want. In my opinion it's better to pick a word with broad spiritual meaning as opposed to something more specific - use "God" instead of "peace," for example. When I started out I was meditating with a Benedictine monk named Fr. Laurence Freeman and he gave us the Aramaic word (actually, I guess it's a "term") "Maranatha" which means "come, Lord." I did that 20 minutes each morning and evening for a full academic year (at the Georgetown University John Main Center for Meditation as one of the founding scholars-in-residence, mind you [clears throat, pats self on back]). The regularity of those sessions coupled with the support of the group gave me a nice foundation in my practice. I would suggest finding a group if possible but it's not necessary. A $10-$20 "suggested" donation in a little basket by the door is customary. Anything else (aside from the cost of room and board on a retreat) should raise your eyebrows. I would also like to add that although I wasn't a Christian at the time I had no problem using a mantra attributed to Christ. I never thought much about the meaning of the mantra, to be honest. It's all about focusing the mind. You could use a nonsense word like "feminism" and it would work just fine (just kidding, don't do that). Here are Fr. Laurence's books: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=laurence+freeman

I was and suppose still am a Buddhist and got pretty deep into it. If you're serious about meditation I would suggest sticking to Buddhist meditation because it is far superior to all other systems. Some might argue this point but they would be wrong. I eventually discovered "concentration" or "jhanas" meditation, although most people simple call it "following the breath." All you do is pay attention to your breathing. If you get distracted internally you simply return to the breath. Now, traditionally there are a couple of ways of doing this. Either focus on the rise and fall of the abdomen or the breath as it passes that little divot just under your nose called the "anapanasati" spot. This is what I did and although it sounds weird it works great.

I went on my first retreat at this point with the authors of the book that introduced me to the method. It was incredible. The experience was quite honestly like visiting Heaven. 2 weeks in silence in the forest meditating all day, every day, until my mind was just a glowing ball of joy and wisdom. 10/10 highly recommend. Here is the book I'm talking about: https://www.amazon.com/Practicing-Jhanas-Traditional-Concentration-Meditation/dp/159030733X

Eventually I discovered Dzogchen meditation and it had very dramatic effects. Two great books to check out are "Tibetan Book of Living and Dying" and "Flight of the Garuda."

There are other takes on Jewish meditation as well, Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan has some great starter books explaining the concept. Jewish Meditation: A Practical Guide & Meditation and Kabbalah

> How do the tathāgatagarbha ideas fit into the Madhyamaka

You'll find a lot of background on this from one of the most popular Buddhist teachers around - Thich Nhat Hanh. In particular refer to his book Zen Keys, and his seminal book The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching. He also goes into quite some depth about Yogacara in his book Understanding the Mind.

Read Rabbi Kaplan's other work, "Meditation and Kabbalah"

You might also want to see "Meditation and the Bible" and "Innerspace" for background knowledge.

It is worth noting that traditional kabbalists do not recommend Kabbalistic meditation for those who are not spiritually prepared for it, even though some may at times encourage the theoretical study of it.

The more traditional path is to first be steeped in תורת הנגלה, the revealed Torah, through deep study of chazalic literature with commentaries, Rif, Rambam, Rosh, Tur and commentaries, and Shulchan Aruch. Simultaneously, one would study the process of spiritual growth through a work such as Messilas Yesharim or Chovos HaLevavos and then perhaps the Ramak's Tomar Devorah and Rav Chayim Vital's "Sha'arei Kedushah." Afterwards, there are several theoretical works on Kabbalah you would study before getting to the actual Kabbalistic meditations or כוונות (or even the Ari's works at all). B'hatzlachah in your journey!

Glad I could help. And yeah, it's good to experiment and see what kind of cool things you can get your mind and body to do, but at the same time I think it's better to do these practices within some framework. I mean, the techniques that the Hindus or the Tibetans use have been developed over centuries, so there are sure to have been people who have run into similar problems and discovered how to fix them and how to avoid them. If you're interested in energetic practices in particular (working with chakras, "chi", etc.), I think the best book I've found from a Buddhist standpoint is this one: The Bliss of Inner Fire. I believe it is one of the few books that actually gives teachings on Tummo meditation practice in English. (Note: Check your local library, or look around online, I was able to find a PDF of this book and it's available at my university's library.)

This book has pictures and descriptions of 2100 poses https://www.amazon.com/100-Asanas-Complete-Yoga-Poses/dp/1631910108

In that case you may find this book more challenging and more rewarding

http://ashintejaniya.org/books-dont-look-down-on-the-defilements


It can be a little hard to understand for people not familiar with that corner of Buddhism. The author has a new book that is a bit better for new comers:

https://www.amazon.com/When-Awareness-Becomes-Natural-Cultivating/dp/1611803071/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1504274521&sr=1-1

Pema Chodron is a Tibetan Buddhist author who has written a lot of books that are accessible for newcomers. I haven't read this one in particular, but she has a book called No Time To Lose, which is based on a highly influential classic in Mahayana Buddhism called Bodhisattvacharyavatara (A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life).

Here is the amazon link for Pema Chodron's book:

http://www.amazon.com/No-Time-Lose-Timely-Bodhisattva/dp/1590304241/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Traleg Kyabgon recently published a book all about karma and rebirth titled Karma: What It Is, What It Isn't, Why It Matters. When people ask me about emptiness, rather than a book, I prefer to direct them to this nifty little website:

http://emptinessteachings.com/introduction-to-buddhist-emptiness/

Other helpful writers are Thubten Chodron (Buddhism for Beginners), the Dalai Lama, and Mingyur Rinpoche.

If you want a heavier book that explains all the various things that Tibetan Buddhists do, you can get A Complete Guide to The Buddhist Path. I don't think you can practice much with this book, but once you're finished with it you'll be reasonably informed about how Tibetan Buddhism operates.

Understanding emptiness (sunyata) of conditioned things around you and reallizing non-self (anatta) are extremely freeing and happy states. You are magic not because the world is magical but bc you've freed yourself from the mental proliferation that most of us are blown around by like dry leaves. The sense of self which is the cause of all your confusion, suffering, whatever else is at the root of any possible agitation that can bring the mind away from a bright stillness.

You seem to have a strong desire for transcendence. This can be a hindrance. I have it, and have benefited greatly from having a good teacher. You can find them at places like IMS or your local monastery.

From Buddhadasa:
"The term "anapanasati" does not mean, as is generally interpreted, mindfulness established on in and out breathing. Actually it means mindfulness established on an object all the time with each in and out breath: Initially one establishes mindfulness on the breathing itself, then on different kinds of feeling, different states of mind, then the characteristic of impermanence… and finally on relinquishment, which is the ultimate objective of the practice."

If you'd like to try it get this book. It's incredible:
http://www.amazon.com/Mindfulness-Breathing-Manual-Serious-Beginners/dp/0861711114/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452893595&sr=8-1&keywords=anapanasati

In no particular order, I'd recommend: The Early Kabbalah, The Kabbalistic Mirror of Genesis, Meditation and Kabbalah, Lessons in Tanya, 138 Openings of Wisdom, Anatomy of the Soul, Sefer Yetzirah, and A Tapestry for the Soul.

Well first, paging /u/jamesteaking, he certainly knows much more about this than I do.

Regarding #2 specifically, I recently picked up The Tao of Craft, and while the book's definitely not focused on Neidan, it does cover Taoist consecration of tools/area, and contains other information throughout the book that could certainly be useful for establishing a sacred space. It's not an excessively traditional text in that Benebell Wen's not an ordained Taoist of any sort, but it provides well researched general methodology, with advice for personalizing it if you want to.

I was actually intending to write a small review of that book for the sub, partly as a way to go over my own thoughts on it. Been busy, but if anyone's incredibly interested in a more detailed review of it (given that I'm a relatively novice Taoist myself) let me know and I'll push that further up my to do list.

Zen Keys by Thich Nhat Hanh is the easiest to understand introductory to Zen philosophy and practice.

The Buddha and His Teachings by Samuel Bercholz and Sherab Chodzin Kohn was my first real introduction to Buddhism. It has a great biography of the Buddha and covers the core Buddhist teachings, as well as information on the different schools and traditions that exist in the world.

A great book that I've just finished reading and can't recommend highly enough is Indestructible Truth by Reginald A. Ray, which is a very comprehensive introduction to Tibetan Buddhism's history, theory, practise and philosophy.

I'd start off with Vipassana meditation (Great resource for this: http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma4/mpe.html) For me, it's the easiest and simplest way to go about it. I know that some people prefer the tantric way where they open their chakras and try to feel their energy, but I can't really get into that. It depends on personal preference of course but if you want to learn a bit more about the tantric way, there's a great book on Tibetan Buddhism called "The Bliss of inner fire."

http://www.amazon.com/The-Bliss-Inner-Fire-Practice/dp/086171136X

Here's a bit more info about chakras if you do decide to go down that route:
http://www.eclecticenergies.com/chakras/open.php

It's completely a personal choice, but as I mentioned earlier, I prefer Vipassana meditation.
Hope that helps.

If you are serious about figuring out your shit, here's a book that really helped me be aware of my own faults.

Mindfulness in Plain English

Rune Soup! It's great if you're into modern occulty stuff but they have individual episodes on a pretty wide variety of esoteric bullshit and whatnot. I don't remember the name of the exact episode but it's the one with the author of Tao of Craft.

Alan Watts - Still the Mind

Shunryu Suzuki - Zen, Beginner's Mind

This would be the best late, late, late birthday present of all time if you could help.
The Tree of Enchantment

Tao Te Ching

Sikhism

Grimoire of Crowley

Angel Tech

The Upanishads

And any of the Vedas pretty, pretty please? Much and thanks!!! ALSO Your link of Angels, Demons by Lon Milo DuQuette is broken, I think.

I found this and this but I'm not sure which one is better.

I love this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Mindfulness-Breathing-Manual-Serious-Beginners/dp/0861711114/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1485535004&sr=1-1&refinements=p_27%3ABuddhadasa+Bhikkhu

> I have a history of mental illness. I was also a highly emotional child and had a lot of the same issues we see with her. My family NEVER discussed feelings, nor did we ever hug or kiss and I grew up pretty messed up from that. Was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder in my early 20's, did DBT, and have been symptom free for almost a decade.

Awesome that you put in all that effort and it paid off! It's not too early to start teaching her some of those DBT skills, in kid-friendly ways, to help her regulate her own emotions. (See my other reply for some ideas). There are also some great approaches to mindfulness for kids, you might check out Sitting Still Like a Frog, Mindful Games, or Planting Seeds: Practicing Mindfulness with Children. Should have mentioned this in my other reply as well, but there's a beautiful picture book called Visiting Feelings that takes a mindfulness approach to exploring emotions as well.

You are incorrect. The path to enlightenment looks different for everyone, but Buddhism isn’t as free wheeling as it sounds like you believe. Siddhartha Buddha gave plenty of guidance on what you should and shouldn’t do, as well as what the world is like, how you should live in it, and how to go about moving toward enlightenment. The differences between countries are not because people are randomly deciding to do things differently, but because countries tend to have a dominant school, and those schools tend to either rely on different texts or interpret those texts differently. It’s essentially the same as Baptist vs. Methodist vs. Pentecostal vs. Episcopalian Christianity.

There are hundreds of rules for monastic monks, but all Buddhists live by at least 5 basic basic precepts (#1-5) while almost all Mahāyāna traditions dictate 10 (#1-10) bodhisattva precepts. Others tend to expand that list even further. Generic wording of them is:

1. No harming living beings
   
2. Do not take what is not freely offered
   
3. Do not misuse sexuality
   
4. Do not lie
   
5. Avoid intoxicants
   
6. Do not slander or gossip
   
7. Do not praise yourself at the expense of others
   
8. Do not begrudge others what is yours
   
9. Do not harbor anger
   
10. Do not speak ill of the Triple Jewel.
    
    That’s not to mention the three rules that are the Triple Jewel:
    
    
11. Take refuge in the Buddha
    
12. take refuge in the Dharma
    
13. Take refuge in the Sangha
    
    Some traditions add additional precepts. Tibetan Buddhists follow 18 major and 46 minor precepts. My tradition has “16” but they’re really the ten basic precepts, the Triple Jewel, and “do not create evil, do good, and help others do good.”
    
    Again, they vary a bit by tradition, but here are the 227 Monastic Rules for bhikkhus of the Tibetan school. Other monasteries have similar rules, to different extents and degrees of severity.
    
    Most/all major schools have a form of “taking the precepts” where you move from “interested in buddhism” to “a member of (school) Buddhism” by acknowledging the Triple Jewel and vowing to uphold the precepts.
    
    The full 10 come from the Brajmahala Sutra, which is a bit debated, but all have their core in earlier texts that are considered canon by basically everyone. Buddha himself gave plenty of guidance for our actions.
    
    The precepts are not strict rules, but they are your guidance as a Buddhist in the same way the 10 commandments are guidance and not rules. No one is going to throw you out for violating them, but it’s hard to call yourself a Buddhist if you deny them in their entirety.
    
    Further, when debating what “is or isn’t” Buddhism, remember that the Buddha’s teachings are not all there is. Other (qualified) teachers’ writings are just as valid as guideposts, and the Brajmahala is one of those teachings. Ignoring the qualified writings made after Siddhartha Buddha’s death is just as silly as a Christian ignoring the New Testament because it wasn’t written by Jesus, but rather by his disciples and his disciple’s students who did their best to remember and interpret and explain and expound on his original teachings.
    
    In fact, all modern schools of Buddhism are based on these secondary interpretations. It’s why Buddhist scholars are important — their guideposts help lay people who cannot devote their entire lives to Buddhism. The teachings by these teachers — most especially those which are canon — are the teachings of Buddhism. If you hold strictly to only the Buddha’s teachings, you’re missing the point.
    
    So, to get back on topic, homosexuality is not against the ‘rules’ of Buddhism, but what this monk did absolutely was. Not only does it violate many of the rules for bhikkhus, but it also violates the five universal precepts. This is misuse of sexuality, by engaging in sexuality with people who were not able to refuse due to either his authority or the idea that he was a spiritual leader.
    
    If you’re interested in a good book on the Precepts, I recommend Being Upright by Reb Anderson it is a Mahāyāna discussion of the 10 basic precepts, but that necessarily includes the five universal precepts. It is an excellent resource.
    
    Edited to clarify use and application of pātimokkha.

Hmm, good question. I can't claim to have read a lot of Thay's work (because as you said, there's quite a bit), but my hunch based on what I have read is that where you should start depends on your current knowledge of Buddhism.

Thay seems to write two types of books: a "general audience" type book that draws on Buddhism, but only to the extent that the teachings can be practiced by anyone regardless of their background. The Miracle of Mindfulness might be an example of this, or his "one-word-title books" as I call them: Power, Savor, Fear, etc.

The other type of book he writes seems to be intended for readers who either are already Buddhist or interested in going more deeply into Buddhist teachings. To know where to start with these works, a lot depends on how familiar you already are with the Buddha's teachings. I can tell you the order I read them, which seemed to work quite well:

Started with: The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: This is Thay's overview of the core teachings of Buddhism. I see this book like this: if Buddhism was a country, this would be a map of it. It shows you all the major points of interest, and the roads connecting all of them together. After reading this, you'll have a good grasp of what the different pieces of Buddhism are and how they work together to help you toward awakening/enlightenment.

But if you've never read anything about Buddhism at all before, I'm personally not sure if this is a good first book as it's not exactly a light read. Don't get me wrong: it's written with Thay's usual elegance and clarity, but it's packed with a lot of stuff (in the best sense). I was already somewhat familiar with the basics of Buddhism, so for me it was easy to build on that; but for someone brand new, I think the "general audience" books would still be a better start.

After that first book: In the first book itself, Thay recommends three sutras every serious practitioner should study regularly: the Bhaddekaratta Sutra, the Anapatasati Sutra, and the Satipatthana Sutra. Thankfully, Thay has translated and written commentaries on all three sutras and my links go to his books on these sutras.

Not much more I can share given that I'm about halfway through Thay's book on the Anapanasati Sutra. What I can say is that I can see why he says these are sutras to be studied throughout your life. They have some really powerful teachings that I have no doubt will take me years to grasp and practice properly.

Hope that helps. I'm sure others have read far more of Thay's work than I have, and can either correct my attempt here or give better recommendations.

Here's an idea for a christmas gift ;) It's also freely available online if I'm not mistaken.

I suggest the Satipatthana Sutta with a practice-oriented commentary. It's probably the most comprehensive sutta.

Here are a couple good ones:

Transformation and Healing: Sutra on the Four Establishments of Mindfulness (Thich Nhat Hanh)

Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening (Joseph Goldstein)

Then there's the Anapanasati Sutta, which is also considered to be very authentic and comprehensive. In it the Buddha shows how he used the breath to practice the four establishments of mindfulness to achieve full awakening. Here are a couple good commentaries:

Breathe, You Are Alive: The Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing (Thich Nhat Hanh)


Breath by Breath: The Liberating Practice of Insight Meditation (Larry Rosenberg)

Get a nice book perhaps? I enjoyed Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness: Walking the Path of the Buddha .

You can try Buddhism for Beginners by Thubten Chodron, a highly reviewed book with recommendations from leading Buddhist figures like the Dalai Lama. Once you're a little more familiar with basic Buddhist concepts, you can try more in-depth books such as The World of Tibetan Buddhism: An Overview of Its Philosophy and Practice by the Dalai Lama, if you're interested in more detailed philosophical explanations of Buddhism. For lighter books that focus on applying a few core Buddhist concepts to everyday life, there's quite a few bestsellers by the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh to check out. If you eventually take an interest in the Vajrayana aspect of Buddhism, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche is the author to go - he also has an intro to Buddhism-ish book called What Makes You NOT a Buddhist, which is another highly reviewed & recommended book.

Edit: https://studybuddhism.com/ is also a great source, founded by a longtime Western student of the Dalai Lama.

Source: Longtime Buddhist practitioner with exposure to both the Chinese & Tibetan Buddhist traditions. I tend to suggest books by authors who are both highly experienced in the philosophy and practice of a certain lineage, because I feel that a lot of books where the author is only knowledgeable about philosophy are just... really lacking in quality, to be honest. Buddhist philosophy is great, but it's the practice of it that really brings these philosophies alive.

If you're interested in reading a really great book about both the relative and ultimate meaning of these precepts, I wholeheartedly recommend Being Upright: Zen Meditation and the Bodhisattva Precepts by Reb Anderson.

I'm taking a class at my local Soto Zen center about these precepts as well, and am sewing my rakusu in preparation of formally taking them.

Her books recommended elsewhere in this thread, yes. But the other is the excellent Practicing the Jhanas by Snyder and Rasmussen. If you just read through the relevant bits, it's probably 80 pages. Who can sit still and read 80 pages these days though? Maybe if the book came with a 9v shocker? ;)

Well, Shaila Catherine did spend quite a bit of time with Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw, and her book "Wisdom Wide and Deep" (which the venerable one wrote the foreword to) is a very good explication of that style of Visuddhimagga practice (it is a commentary on a commentary, as it were, so just know that :)

I don't discount other folks' experience with deeper states in that style of practice. I just hope people can agree that there is a range of experience to be had with Samadhi and Jhana (again, see Shankman's book). If not, then we just disagree, no biggie. May we all know "samma samadhi" and may it be of service in our liberation.

There are lots and lots of resources out there, where you could have a read and see if the language of the system appeals to you, makes sense etc. But really, if you want to practice Mahamudra, you're really going to need a teacher with a lot of experience. This is sure in any style of meditation, but I wouldn't underestimate how well you can practice without a teacher, but also how far off piste you can deviate if you practice for a long time without proper guidance.

My number one practice text recommendation is 'Moonbeams of Mahamudra', it is Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche's translation of Tashi Namgyal's masterwork. Amazing book. - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Moonbeams-Mahamudra-Traleg-Kyabgon/dp/0980502233

Mahamudra is interesting in that it is at once presented as the ultimate teaching within certain lineages of Tibetan Buddhism, but I have also found it the clearest and most pragmatic. It really suits the western mind because it relies on much less prior theory, cultural praxis, philosophy etc than other Vajrayana systems of practice. Whilst 'Mahamudra' as a term refers to a very high view, the system of meditation could really be taught to a person who had never sat in their life. It begins with very basic shamatha training - cultivating a stability of attention - which is what most people learn at their local mindfulness class or whatever.

So don't let traditionalists put you off by telling you that Mahamudra is for people who have done decades of study, ngondro, generation/completion stage, etc etc etc. It's just not true. It is true that the traditional path provides a wonderful foundation if practice well, but it's also true that some people get lost in that traditional path and really waste years of their life doing stuff that really doesn't do much to help them or others.

If you want pragmatic, down to earth advice on Mahamudra, then Ken McLeod is probably my number one reccomention. He doesn't teach anymore, but his website has a lot of resources. He did two, three year retreats under Kalu Rinpoche, and has been through all the worst things that can happen to a meditator, and is very very open about his experience. He is clear, accurate, and stays very close to the traditional presentation without being dogmatic. Ken has been an enormous help to my own practice.

[I have to run, but I'll come back and edit this later if I remember]

Before starting on the Tibetan Book of the Dead, you might want a survey book of Buddhism. Although not at all complete, I do think the book The Buddha and His Teaching is a great academic survey covering many foundations of Buddhism including the Buddha's story, Karma, the eightfold path, ego, attachment, and meditation. It mainly follows the Tibetan model in organization: Part 1: Hinayana, Part 2: Mahayana, Part 3: Vajrayana, excluding focus on schools like Zen and Theravada. All in all, though, an excellent read.

There are also a number of contemporary readings that will explain Dharma through a modern lens. What Makes You Not a Buddhist? was recommended to me awhile back.

Also, if you'd like to get to the heart of it, start meditating. You only need 10 minutes a day of basic shamatha and vippasana practice to start becoming a student of your own mind.

Good luck

EDIT: it just dawned on me that Shamatha and Vippasana might be foreign terms to you. You can do a google search, or you can PM me and I'd be happy to help

That's a surprisingly hard question to answer. I've recommended Watts to a lot of people -- specifically Still the Mind -- and for some people it just does not compute. Watts loves metaphors, and he has a way of tangling your noodle with seemingly circular prose.

Weirdly enough, the tangling is the thing that teaches you. There's a concept he describes of the single-track logical mind versus the many-track, always-running, always-observing mind, and Zen Buddhism concerns that many-track mind. By finding ways to tangle up your single-track mind, he winds up speaking past it, directly to your many-track mind, and so a person's ability to pick up what he's putting down seems to depend entirely on their willingness or capability to let themselves feel their way to making sense of it, rather than insisting on trying (and failing) to turn it into discrete, single-track chunks.

I realize that that sounds pretty hippy-dippy, but that's Watts. Reading his work isn't like reading the newspaper or a piece of fiction; it honestly feels like meditating, in its own weird way.

Here's a link to Still the Mind on Amazon; you can use the "Look Inside" feature to get the first several pages of the book. That should be more than enough to tell you if it's a good fit.

Welcome!! My advice would be to read something about Buddhism generally (covering Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions as well as high-level Buddhist thought) and then read an introduction to meditation or use one of the more secular mindfulness apps to get your feet wet.

Intro to Buddhism: Buddhism for Beginners by Thubten Chodron
Thubten Chodron is a well-known Tibetan Buddhist nun, but this book does a great job of staying high-level and presenting Buddhism as a whole

Intro to Meditation: Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening by Joseph Goldstein
Joseph Goldstein is probably one of the world's most renowned meditation teachers, and this book is an excellent introduction that also covers Buddhist teachings more generally. Joseph's background is primarily based in the Theravada traditions.

For guided meditation apps, I have used Headspace and 10% Happier. Both are great and offer a free trial period with meditations for beginners.

Good to see him mentioned here, he also came out with a new one. I highly recommend it, even if you have the freely distributed ones.

2,100 Asanas: The Complete Yoga Poses https://www.amazon.com/dp/1631910108/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_kYTuyb1GRH3J1

I love this book. I dog ear poses that look fun, may feel good, might challenge me. You can learn the progression and make your own flow.

Why not read some Foyan as well? https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Be-Jerk-Practical-Greatest/dp/1608683885

research a bit before reading each of his books. while he's done some really solid translation-work with real buddhist texts, he has also written some 'pop' books that are arguably misleading.

you'll be fine as long as you research before diving in

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