(Part 2) Top products from r/Buddhism

Of course! Thank you for giving me an opportunity to be helpful. A couple of the links I added refer to A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life by Shantideva. There is also a commentary version by The Dalai Lama called For The Benefit of All Beings. Also of interest: The Teachings of the Compassionate Buddha and Cultivating Compassion: A Buddhist Prespective. Last but NOT least, an important summary work, which gets to the heart of Santideva's ancient treatise is Dilgo Khyentse's masterpiece, The Heart of Compassion: The Thirty-seven Verses on the Practice of a Bodhisattva. I'm providing Amazon links but please feel free to shop anywhere you like. :)

Reading is very good! These will definitely help. If I had to pick one I might go with Dilgo Khyentse's book. But it's up to you.

The best thing you can do is to begin a regular practice. A link in my previous comment talks about 6 cause meditation - and here I'm going to talk about Metta meditation - or Loving-kindness meditation. These are transformative practices that can bring a new understanding, and a new heart.

To practice loving-kindness meditation, sit in a comfortable and relaxed manner. Take two or three deep breaths with slow, long and complete exhalations. Let go of any concerns or preoccupations. For a few minutes, feel or imagine the breath moving through the center of your chest - in the area of your heart.

Metta is first practiced toward oneself, since we often have difficulty loving others without first loving ourselves. Sitting quietly, mentally repeat, slowly and steadily, the following or similar phrases:

May I be happy. May I be well. May I be safe. May I be peaceful and at ease.


While you say these phrases, allow yourself to sink into the intentions they express. Loving-kindness meditation consists primarily of connecting to the intention of wishing ourselves or others happiness. However, if feelings of warmth, friendliness, or love arise in the body or mind, connect to them, allowing them to grow as you repeat the phrases. As an aid to the meditation, you might hold an image of yourself in your mind's eye. This helps reinforce the intentions expressed in the phrases.

After a period of directing loving-kindness toward yourself, bring to mind a friend or someone in your life who has deeply cared for you. Then slowly repeat phrases of loving-kindness toward them:

May you be happy. May you be well. May you be safe. May you be peaceful and at ease.

As you say these phrases, again sink into their intention or heartfelt meaning. And, if any feelings of loving-kindness arise, connect the feelings with the phrases so that the feelings may become stronger as you repeat the words.

As you continue the meditation, you can bring to mind other friends, neighbors, acquaintances, strangers, animals, and finally people with whom you have difficulty. You can either use the same phrases, repeating them again and again, or make up phrases that better represent the loving-kindness you feel toward these beings.

This is a meditation practice you can undertake daily. This is my wish of compassion for you.

For the benefit of all sentient beings.

Feeling guilty is certainly not going to help your meditation!

I assume you're fairly young. You're going to become independent sooner or later, but this might not be the best time to break away from your parents' religion in any radical way.

Since you're in this subreddit, I assume you've come in contact with Buddhist teachings. That's great! But I would say that unless you become very deeply involved with Buddhism, it is not very important whether or not you have belief in God.

For many people, God works within meditation. You might not be aware that there is a huge tradition of Christian meditation — monks and nuns have been doing it for ages. There are even ordained Zen Buddhist priests who are also Catholic priests.

I've seen the book Living Buddha, Living Christ recommended here many times. It's written by a Vietnamese Zen master named Thich Nhat Hanh who is one of the most outstanding Buddhist masters of our time — he was even nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King, Jr.

There is also a huge wave of meditation as a completely secular activity, promoted for its many health benefits: stress reduction, deep relaxation, psychological well-being, and who knows what else.

You definitely should not have to feel guilty for wanting to meditate. It's a highly beneficial practice and a wonderful way to deepen and nourish your spiritual inclinations.

If it's at all agreeable to you — I'm not sure how you feel about Christianity — you might want to talk to your priest or somebody from your church about meditation. That might help you feel like meditation is an alright part of your life instead of something you have to hide.

You don't have to make meditation into a big thing. I meditate a lot and am very deeply interested in it — I talk about it sometimes with my closest friends, and my parents know I do it, but I don't go around announcing that I am a Buddhist, or wear funny clothes, or anything like that. It's just a healthy great thing that I love to do every morning and night.

Just curious, how'd you come in contact with meditation and Buddhism?

I think it really depends on what you want to get out of reading it. I think pretty much everything people have suggested could be/is a good choice, but interestingly they are all going to give you a very different impression of Buddhism.

What the Buddha Taught is simple but dry. Imo, doesn't convey much of the "spirit" of buddhism, but it does get the ideas across pretty directly. When I was about 18 I read this... it was pretty confusing at the time, being one of the first things I read on the subject.

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind is a classic and also written in short essays, iirc. However that's from (obviously) a Zen perspective. It's going to have some pretty different things to say about Buddhism than Walpola's book. Also, Zen can be rather enigmatic. So don't expect any kind of direct explanation if you go that route.

Awakening the Buddha Within might be a pretty good choice. Das is good for a mainstream audience. He's light and fun to read, but also gives a lot of good information on the subject.

Siddhartha is probably the suggestion I like the most. It's literature, but also pretty short, and quite interesting. I think it probably is going to give you the best idea of what Buddhism is "about."

I would also throw out there a personal favorite, [The World is Made of Stories by David Loy] (http://www.amazon.com/World-Made-Stories-David-Loy/dp/0861716159/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323643538&sr=8-1). This book makes for some very light reading and it's fun, but also very profound, imo. It's totally anecdotal, in that the whole thing is a collection of unrelated quotes strung together to convey a concept. However, don't expect any real talk about Buddhism. It really is just quotes.

Another thing that I think is worth mentioning, and might be a good choice, depending on your mentality is [Confessions of a Buddhist Atheist by Stephen Batchelor] (http://www.amazon.com/Confession-Buddhist-Atheist-Stephen-Batchelor/dp/0385527071/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323643708&sr=1-1). This book probably isn't for most people. For one thing its very polemic! And I don't necessarily agree with his ideas about the "historical Buddha" (a pretty lame concept in general, if you ask me) but reading this would definitely give you a good idea of how the western mind deals with some of the less appealing aspects of eastern thought. I think it can also show you what is at the core of Buddhism, what makes it worth translating into another culture.

Anyway, hope that helps!

>Your response implies that Theravada is like the tree-trunk, while Mahayana starts at the point the branches shoot out in various distinct directions

Not really my intent... I would say that it is better to say that Theravada is a collection of specimens taken from a particular forest at a particular place and time. The Mahayana is a much larger collection of specimens, taken from many more locations over a much larger period. The movement from oral to written tradition complicates the situation, as does Sri Lanka's geographic isolation.

>Naively, I would argue that if that is the case, then should be at least some "common ground" introduction to this collection of Sutras that "all of Mahayana" accepts.

Something like Santideva's Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life may fit best with what you are looking for- it isn't a summary of sutras, but rather a summary of the thought of a particularly prominent school of Indian Mahayana. Manuals like this are a good example of the kind of texts that emerge in the Mahayana tradition and become very important in terms of the education of monks and practitioners, maybe more so than the sutra texts. At its greatest extent, with the Mahayana we're talking about a library's worth of texts that were preserved, composed, and debated over across a large geography and a long period of time. Only a subset of those texts survived transmission to Tibet and East Asia and were then organized and collected in the ways that made sense to their interpreters and translators. A specific text might be of central importance to one tradition, and collecting dust on a shelf in the others.

>Makes one wonder whether the proliferation of teachings, texts, and orientations evident in Mahayana is principally contradicting of the Buddha's teaching.

I think this is a somewhat common sentiment among people who are impressed by the clarity of the Theravada texts, but to me it's something of an unjustified leap. Within the Theravada canon, the Buddha remarks that the teachings that he has delivered are like a handful of leaves in a forest compared with what the Tathagata actually knows and perceives. The Pali Mahaparinibbana Sutta also records that not all of the Buddha's students gathered together for the first recitation of the canon, with some groups breaking off to preserve their own version of his teachings.

The early texts have a lot of repetition and enumeration that can clearly be seen as aides to memory for oral transmission- I have some doubts that the Buddha taught that way in the first draft. The giant lists of gods and bodhisattvas in Mahayana texts are often dismissed as exaggeration, but might also reflect the real popularity and scale of the Buddhist community once the great monastic universities of India were up and running. There are also big lists of gods and worshipers in the Pali Canon in places, but that seems to be ignored- I think a Western tendency to cut out the supernatural and cosmological features of the Pali Canon makes the Mahayana canon look more strange by contrast. The Theravada texts that you mention both come out of a Sri Lankan tradition that has made an active effort since the 19th Century to de-emphasize aspects of the tradition that are challenging to Western skeptics and emphasize the rational and ethical teachings- if you add back into the Pali Canon the things that are omitted, the Theravada Canon and Mahayana Canon start to look quite a bit more alike.

On the other hand, there are Mahayana teachings that are clearly directed at disrupting excessive attachment to the method of categories and enumeration that is found in the Agamas/Pali Canon... Something like the Diamond Sutra can be seen as a corrective to the human tendency to confuse categories for real things. The history of preservation and transmission for such a teaching might be quite different from the history of the Pali Canon, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it shouldn't be regarded as having the same authority. Whenever it was first written down, it seems to have been widely accepted by the community as having been something taught by the Buddha himself.

When we look at any sutra, we have to remember that according to our best evidence we are not seeing the verbatim words of the Buddha- more likely there was a 'seed' teaching that was preserved orally and elaborated and recorded according to the poetic and linguistic fashions of the time. Some 'seeds' may have been preserved orally longer than others, while some may have been subsequent creations by students. The early versions of the Abhidharma or 'matrika' (matrix) texts speak to this possibility.

• Are you practicing any other forms of meditation/internal body-work like Qi Qong, Tai Chi, or Kundalini yoga?
  
  I discourage you from these other practices while doing samatha-vipassana meditation. For those who do mix, it's a common complaint to have these electrical sensations, often accompanied by the sense that everything is spinning.
  
  
• The waves of pleasure. Are they accompanied by or closely associated with a sense of freedom or non-attachment with the troubles of the world and/or in your personal life? Would you describe the erections as being 100% non-sexual?
  
  The physical organism will react in surprising ways, including non-sexual erections, when something new is on the horizon. I used to have non-sexual erections when I was approaching 1st jhana. At the time I started worrying that I was possibly approaching death. (Almost twenty years later. I am still alive.)
  
  
• Overwhelming feelings of bliss.
  
  Sounds like pīti.
  
  pīti: rapture, enthusiasm (rendered also by joy, happiness); interest it is one of the mental factors or concomitants (cetasika) and belongs to the group of mental formations (saṅkhāra-kkhandha). As, in Sutta texts, it is often linked in a compound word. with 'gladness' (pāmojja) or 'happiness' (sukha), some Western translations have wrongly taken it as a synonym of these two terms. Pīti, however, is not a feeling or a sensation, and hence does not belong to the feeling-group (vedanā-kkhandha), but may be described psychologically as 'joyful interest'. As such it may be associated with wholesome as well as with unwholesome and neutral states of consciousness.
  
  A high degree of rapture is characteristic of certain stages in meditative concentration, in insight practice (vipassanā) as well as in the first two absorptions (jhāna, q.v.). In the latter it appears as one of the factors of absorption (jhānaṅga; s. jhāna) and is strongest in the 2nd absorption. Five degrees of intensity in meditative rapture are described in Vis.M. IV. 94ff. It is one of the factors of enlightenment (bojjhaṅga, q.v.). - Nyanatiloka Mahathera ~ Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines
  
  
• Rapid breathing.
  
  I have assumed you are practicing either anapanasati or mindfulness of the breath at the abdomen. Whenever your concentration strengthens there will be a shallowing and softening effect on the breath, even until the point where it will seem as if you are not breathing at all. I think your rapid breathing is an anxiety response, similar to the erections, except in this case more to do with surface anxiety.
  
  Michael Dorfman's comment about seeing a qualified teacher is important for any meditator, but doubly important for you, if you are experiencing these sensations. (I am familiar with some of these.)
  
  In meditation there are not many bodily sensations that are to be cultivated. In the great majority of instances a sensation or a phenomenon is to be got beyond. There's an easy way to do this but I can't really explain it except to tell you that when you are sufficiently concentrated you will experience all arising phenomenon at the nexus of contact-and-feeling (phassa<->vedana) and from there arising phenomena are easy enough to deal with because one could say that they haven't ripened.
  
  So find a sangha (if you haven't already.) Attend a three day or a ten day retreat. Sit for longer periods.
  
  And redouble your commitment to the Noble Eightfold Path
  
  Wings to Awakening
  
  Ayya Khema has a good series of videos on jhana and meditation.
  
  You might also have a look at Bhante Gunaratana's Beyond Mindfulness in Plain English: An Introductory guide to Deeper States of Meditation
  
  I'm sorry I can't be more helpful. In my opinion you should:
  
  
• Begin practicing walking meditation
  
• Increase your study of the dhamma.
  
• Find a sangha.
  
• Attend a residential multi-day retreat.
  
• Sit longer.
  
  Even though your limbs ache do not give up.
  
  Know that wise people of the past
  
  have walked on the same path. - Venerable Webu Sayadaw
  

My favorite copypasta:

I highly recommend In the Buddha's Words, a curated presentation of the Pali Canon with guiding essays.

Here is an excerpt on the Buddhist definition of faith that you might find useful:



>It is not only theistic religions that teach doctrines beyond the range of immediate empirical confirmation. The Buddha too taught doctrines that an ordinary person cannot directly confirm by everyday experience, and these doctrines are fundamental to the structure of his teaching. We saw, for example, in the introduction to chapters I and II, that the Nikayas envisage a universe with many domains of sentient existence spread out in boundless space and time, a universe in which sentient beings roam and wander from life to life on account of their ignorance, craving, and kamma. The Nikayas presuppose that throughout beginningless time, Buddhas without number have arisen and turned the wheel of the Dhamma, and that each Buddha attains enlightenment after cultivating spiritual perfections over long periods of cosmic time. When we approach the Dhamma we are likely to resist such beliefs and feel that they make excessive demands on our capacity for trust. Thus we inevitably run up against the question whether, if we wish to follow the Buddha’s teaching, we must take on board the entire package of classical Buddhist doctrine.

>For Early Buddhism, all the problems we face in deciding how far we should go in placing faith can be disposed of at a single stroke. That single stroke involves reverting to direct experience as the ultimate basis for judgment. One of the distinctive features of the Buddha’s teaching is the respect it accords to direct experience. The texts of Early Buddhism do not teach a secret doctrine, nor do they leave scope for anything like an esoteric path reserved for an elite of initiates and withheld form others. According to Text III,1, secrecy in a religious teaching is the hallmark of wrong views and confused thinking. The teaching of the Buddha shines openly, as radiant and brilliant as the light of the sun and moon. Freedom from the cloak of secrecy is integral to a teaching that gives primacy to direct experience, inviting each individual to test its principles in the crucible of his or her own experience.

>This does not mean that an ordinary person can fully validate the Buddha’s doctrine by direct experience without special effort. To the contrary, the teaching can only be fully realized through the achievement of certain extraordinary types of experience that are far beyond the range of the ordinary person enmeshed in the concerns of mundane life. However, in sharp contrast to revealed religion, the Buddha does not demand that we begin our spiritual quest by placing faith in doctrines that lie beyond the range of our immediate experience. Rather than ask us to wrestle with issues that, for us in our present condition, no amount of experience can decide, he instead asks us to consider a few simple questions pertaining to our immediate welfare and happiness, questions that we can answer on the basis of personal experience. I highlight the expression “for us in our present condition,” because the fact that we cannot presently validate such matters does not constitute grounds for rejecting them as invalid or even as irrelevant. It only means that we should put them aside for the time being and concern ourselves with issues that come within the range of direct experience.

>The Buddha says that his teaching is about suffering and the cessation of suffering. This statement does not mean that the Dhamma is concerned only with our experience of suffering in the present life, but it does imply that we can use our present experience, backed by intelligent observation, as a criterion for determining what is beneficial and what detrimental to our spiritual progress. Our most insistent existential demand, springing up deep within us, is the need for freedom from harm, sorrow, and distress; or, positively stated, the need to achieve well-being and happiness. However, to avoid harm and to secure our well-being, it is not sufficient for us merely to hope. We first have to understand the conditions on which they depend. According to the Buddha, whatever arises arises through appropriate causes and conditions, and this applies with equal force to suffering and happiness. Thus we must ascertain the causes and conditions that lead to harm and suffering, and likewise the causes and conditions that lead to wellbeing and happiness. Once we have extracted these two principles - the conditions leading to well-being and happiness – we have at our disposal an outline of the entire process that leads to the ultimate goal, final liberation from suffering.

>One text offering an excellent example of this approach is a short discourse in the Anguttara Nikaya popularly known as the Kalama Sutta. The Kalamas were a people living in a remote area of the Ganges plain. Various religious teachers would come to visit them and each would extol his own doctrine and tear down the doctrines of his rivals. Confused and perplexed by this conflict of belief systems, the Kalamas did not know whom to trust. When the Buddha passed through their town, they approached him and asked him to clear away their doubts. Though the text does not specify what particular issues were troubling the Kalamas, the later part of the discourse makes it clear that their perplexities revolved around the questions of rebirth and kamma.

>The Buddha began by assuring the Kalamas that under such circumstances it was proper for them to doubt, for the issues that troubled them were indeed common sources of doubt and perplexity. He then told them not to rely on ten sources of belief. Four of these pertain to established scriptural authority (oral tradition, lineage of teaching, hearsay, and collections of texts); four to rational grounds (logic, inferential reasoning, reasoned cogitation, and the acceptance of a view after pondering it); and two to authoritative persons (impressive speakers and respected teachers). This advice is sometimes quoted to prove that the Buddha rejected all external authorities and invited each individual to fashion his or her own personal path to truth. Read in context, however, the message of the Kalama Sutta is quite different. The Buddha is not advising the Kalamas – who, it must be stressed, had at this point not yet become his own disciples – to reject all authoritative guides to spiritual understanding and fall back solely on their personal intuition. Rather, he is offering them a simple and pragmatic outlet from the morass of doubt and perplexity in which they are immersed. By the use of skillful methods of inquiry, he leads them to understand a number of basic principles that they can verify by their own experience and thereby acquire a sure starting point for further spiritual development…

>…The fact that such texts as this sutta and the Kalama Sutta do not dwell on the doctrines of kamma and rebirth does not mean, as is sometimes assumed, that such teachings are mere cultural accretions to the Dhamma that can be deleted or explained away without losing anything essential. It means only that, at the outset, the Dhamma can be approached in ways that do not require reference to past and future lives. The Buddha’s teaching has many sides, and thus, from certain angles, it can be directly evaluated against our concern for our present well-being and happiness. Once we see that the practice of the teaching does indeed bring peach, joy, and inner security in this very life, this will inspire our trust and confidence in the Dhamma as a whole, including those aspects that lie beyond our present capacity for personal verification. If we were to undertake certain practices – practices that require highly refined skills and determined effort – we would be able to acquire the faculties needed to validate those other aspects, such as the law of kamma, the reality of rebirth, and the existence of supersensible realms


-In the Buddha’s Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon The Dalai Lama and Bhikkhu Bodhi

I was born into a Buddhist (immediate) family. So, I was always supported in my practice. However, I have extended family who are very Fundamentalist, Conservative Christian. If they were my immediate family, my experience would've been much different. As well, I have many friends who "came out" as Buddhist to their family and had pretty terrible experiences, at first (both as young people living in their families' homes and adults no longer dependent on their parents).
Your parents do not need to know right now about your spiritual pursuits. If they ask you flat out, I'm not a fan of lying. But, there are also ways of wording things to make them less 'painful' for others. Such as, "I'm looking into other paths, just to see what's out there." As opposed to "Mom, Dad, I'm a Buddhist and that's what I want and none of your business!"
I don't think you can always gauge how people will react. I've heard of instances where people thought their parents were going to freak out and instead they were completely supportive, saying that they had done some spiritual searching when they were younger, as well. Then, I've had friends who thought their parents were going to be fine, and instead their parents completely flipped out, destroying Buddhist items (malas, books, etc). I've had extended family members who have disowned me due to my religious and political beliefs, even though I've been nothing but supportive of them. You never know how difficult a lack of control is to another person.
Which is why I suggest waiting until you're more independent (in college, etc) to begin a conversation. However, it's your choice. Just be prepared for any and every possible outcome.
Fortunately, Buddhism seems to do well for you. It seems like you're becoming the person you want to be--more compassionate, empathetic, etc. So, when the conversation does happen, you'll be able to discuss this aspect of it. How you feel it's helped you become a "better" person.
I agree that finding a community of believers would be helpful for your own personal pursuits. With technology these days, that could even be online! Check around your town. There are Buddhists everywhere. Sometimes you just have to look a little harder to find them. Try a yoga class or coffee shops around a university or college (I know, super stereotypical!).
There are tons of great books out there that bridge the gap between Buddhism and Christianity. For instance, Thich Nhat Hanh's 'Living Buddha, Living Christ'. I have friends who are Christian pastors and teach meditation to their congregation. Two churches in my city (and I live in the midwest) have 'Labyrinths' for walking meditation on their premises. But, I understand that that's definitely not the mainstream or Conservative Christian perspective.
Good luck. Remember that you have plenty of time! Feel free to PM me with any questions or if you want to chat further. We're all on this crazy journey together!

Sounds like you are making great progress. Here's a couple of things to try:

• Generally, Metta meditation starts with extending loving kindness to a Benefactor, yourself, a loved one, a neutral person and then a "difficult" person. The idea is to build up Metta so that it can push through any mental boundaries we may have. In your case (and in the case of many others), you can try putting yourself last or second to last. See if that helps.
  
• The other tip is to visualize yourself as a young child. (Might help to look at a reference photo prior to sitting.) Then you connect with the fact that that little being wants love, kindness and peace just like every other being. You work on extending loving kindness to that young child free from personal narratives and some interesting stuff may happen. Note: in this case, you are working on extending the love, not accepting it. Just focus on the extending of it.
  
  ​
  
  *If you are interested, there are two other books that may be of use on your journey. Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach and Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness by Sharon Salzburg

You say,

>When I notice activity which creates a self I try to stop it

I think you are sort of fundamentally misunderstanding, and you are essentially encouraging aversion.

It's not that you 'stop' self, it's that the self never ultimately existed in the way that we might have thought. There's nothing to stop other than delusion, and that is not 'stopped' from a volitional act but rather through insight. In general, this wrong view of self is overcome with stream entry. The 4 factors related to stream entry are,

>Association with people of integrity is a factor for stream-entry.
Listening to the true Dhamma is a factor for stream-entry.
Appropriate attention is a factor for stream-entry.
Practice in accordance with the Dhamma is a factor for stream-entry.

If you think that there is a self and then you are trying to destroy the self, this is mistaken, and generally speaking leads to results like what you are saying.

In general, regarding the quote above, if you don't cause harm, then generally speaking you will find that you have less obstacles, both 'inner' and 'outer'. If you are open to the aspect of virtue, you will find that meaning, richness, etc become more and more profound, pronounced, and life will be rich in a wholesome way that is in line with the Path.

You might specifically consider the 4 immeasureables.

The Metta Sutta says,

>"Monks, for one whose awareness-release through good will is cultivated, developed, pursued, handed the reins and taken as a basis, given a grounding, steadied, consolidated, and well-undertaken, eleven benefits can be expected. Which eleven?

>"One sleeps easily, wakes easily, dreams no evil dreams. One is dear to human beings, dear to non-human beings. The devas protect one. Neither fire, poison, nor weapons can touch one. One's mind gains concentration quickly. One's complexion is bright. One dies unconfused and — if penetrating no higher — is headed for the Brahma worlds.

>"These are the eleven benefits that can be expected for one whose awareness-release through good will is cultivated, developed, pursued, handed the reins and taken as a basis, given a grounding, steadied, consolidated, and well-undertaken."

I have heard very good things about the book Loving Kindness by Sharon Salzberg, which is sort of a practical book, not just theory.

Best wishes.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Paul F Knitter wrote a book called “Without Buddha I could not be a Christian” that I (a former Christian but now in search mode) have read twice in the last 6 months. It’s unreal! It’s so good and I couldn’t help but think you a Catholic may really enjoy it, he is a former catholic university teacher too so it’s not a Protestant (which is the brand of Christianity I grew up) so his Catholicism and love for Buddhism may really connect with you. I hope you get a chance to read the book and it helps you on your journey! This post has some great comments! Glad I could read through them!

Without Buddha I Could Not Be a Christian https://www.amazon.com/dp/185168963X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_IUhMBb0DWPA4N

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

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

> Thank you for your thoughtful replies.

Sure thing.

Well, I was a Catholic for the first 19 or so years of my life. Went through confirmation, and even was on my church's parish council for awhile as a youth advisor. My parents aren't very devout (my dad is agnostic) and my mom got fed up with the church after all the pedophilia problems -- so they didn't really care what I did, so converting to Buddhism wasn't that big of a deal.

But my best advice to you is be patient. Don't let them stop you from studying Buddhism if you're interested in it.

Also, how old are you? I'm assuming you're still living at home? I wouldn't even mention it unless they bring it up. Once you're out on your own you'll have a lot more opportunity to do whatever you want.

Another book that might help you would be Thich Naht Hanh's Living Buddha, Living Christ. It might help them find some common ground.

You could also talk to them about Thomas Merton:

>Thomas Merton, O.C.S.O. (January 31, 1915 – December 10, 1968) was a 20th century Anglo-American Catholic writer. A Trappist monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani, Kentucky, he was a poet, social activist and student of comparative religion. In 1949, he was ordained to the priesthood and given the name Father Louis.[1][2][3]

>Merton wrote more than 70 books, mostly on spirituality, social justice and a quiet pacifism, as well as scores of essays and reviews, including his best-selling autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain (1948), which sent scores of disillusioned World War II veterans, students, and even teen-agers flocking to monasteries across the US,[4][5] and was also featured in National Review's list of the 100 best non-fiction books of the century.[6] Merton was a keen proponent of interfaith understanding. He pioneered dialogue with prominent Asian spiritual figures, including the Dalai Lama, the Japanese writer D.T. Suzuki, and the Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh. Merton has also been the subject of several biographies.

That being said, there definitely are some fundamental differences in what Buddhism presents and what Catholicism presents. When you get deeper into Buddhism, the Christian concepts of a creator god, eternal heaven/hell really just don't work in terms of practice and view.

My common argument for Christians who have a problem with the Buddhist path is that the whole point of the Buddhist path is to free every sentient being everywhere from all suffering. Would a compassionate God really not want me to try and do that?

If your family doesn't think the Buddhist path has the potential to make you a better person that Catholicism does, I think the best way to prove them wrong is to be quiet about Buddhism and let your actions and speech show them. Buddhist practice and study does have a transformative effect, so when they notice the changes in your they'll get curious as to why they're happening, and then it might be time for a real discussion.

Hello,

If you haven't read Be Here Now by Ram Dass, I suggest you do. It's a fantastic book, and in the back is a section titled 'Cook Book for a Sacred Life', which covers many aspects of living after "enlightenment". The section I will be referencing in this post is titled 'The Course of Sadhana'.

There are 13 points listed, but I'm only going to put a couple.

"8. At first you try. Later you just do your sadhana because, "What else is there to do?"
9. At certain stages you will take your sadhana very seriously. Later you will see the wisdom of the statement of Jesus that to seek the Lord, men need not disfigure their faces. Cosmic humor, especially about your own predicament is an important part of your journey...
12. There is, in addition to the "up and down" cycles an "in and out" cycle. That is, there are stages at which you feel pulled in to inner work and all you seek is a quiet place to meditate and to get on with it. Then there are times when you turn outward and seek to be involved in the market place. Both of these parts of the cycle are a part of one's sadhana. For what happens to you in the market place helps in your meditation and what happens to you in meditation helps you to participate in the market place without attachment."

I hope this helps you as it has helped me. I highly recommend this book to everyone, people in this sub especially, and for under 9 bucks, it is a steal.

Peace and Love.

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

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

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

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

Burns, David Feeling Good

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

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

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

Seung Sahn The Compass of Zen

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

Have a great night! =D

It sounds like you are feeling guilty about having thoughts which are judgmental. Have you ever heard of Tara Brach's RAIN method?

R-Recognize (you've already done this; way to go, it's very hard for many people to even become aware of their habits of thought.)

A-Accept (this is the stage you seem to be stuck at. You're judging yourself for having the thought, feeling guilty, etc. This is hard but you need to accept that it's just a thought, it's out of your control, that it doesn't make you a bad person. Hold it with care, love the thought, respect it.)

I-Investigate (How does the thought feel, what is the thought that comes right before the thought, what happens at the level of the body when you have the thought?)

N-Non-identifying (remembering that the thought doesn't belong to you, doesn't define you, it is not you or yours; A thought is its own thing, it's a thought, it's just out there, it just is--thoughts happen of their accord.)

You might find her book Radical Acceptance helpful. I struggled (and, lord knows, still do) with more or less the exact same problem you described.

Best of luck.

If you're really, really interested about this topic. I'd suggest you two books, even after the fact of the interview:

Living Buddha, Living Christ, by Thich Nhat Hanh, everyone's favorite :)

http://www.amazon.com/Living-Buddha-Christ-Thich-Nhat/dp/1573220183


Without Buddha I Could Not Be a Christian:

http://www.amazon.com/Without-Buddha-Could-Not-Christian/dp/185168963X


I think reading on how two perspectives try to bridge each other is the best way for someone who is surrounded by Christianity mostly will be introduced to it.

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With that being said, I was born a Christian, but I got engaged in Buddhism since high school. I do often get questions from friends about this topic. Your interview is how they did it in my high school right, as in over the internet through something like skype? If so, I could definitely try lending a voice. I try not to overflow too much about Buddhism to someone who doesn't know too much, like explaining the different sects in one sitting.

I could explain them of course, and don't feel intimidated by the information being presented here. Yes, there are many sects, and the Buddhist sects are more different than are Christian denominations towards each other, but at the end of the day, they are "Buddhist" sects for a reason.

Hi, I'm sorry for your loss.

I would advise a practical approach at this time because the philosophical side of Buddhism can be a tricky path for beginners seeking comfort. It can easily be misinterpreted and lead to nihilism rather than relief. You may find your grieving and depression lessens the more you follow simple Buddhist practices and ethics. Try to stick to the five precepts as best you can and look outward from yourself with compassion and the intention to help others. Depression and grief are very 'inward-turned' emotions, as in they make you think more about yourself and your own situation than about others. Actively trying to not think about yourself eases them, as paradoxical as it may seem.

For meditation you can try a regular routine of Vipassana and Metta. You don't have to be amazing at them, just do them. A few minutes each day, and if you can't manage a few minutes, try a few seconds and build up from there. Set a mindfulness bell app on your phone to go off randomly once every hour or two and commit to doing 30 seconds of vipassana or metta each time you hear it.

A good book for mindfulness practice that avoids trickier philosophy is John Kabat Zinn's Wherever you go, there you are.

For grieving, there are some nice books that can help without getting too into the weeds of Buddhist metaphysics. Pema Chodron's When things fall apart and Thich Nhat Hanh's Fear.

You may also find it useful to join a local school. You may be drawn towards more traditional schools such as Zen or Theravada but I would recommend, since you are grieving and experiencing depression, that you first start with a more secular school, such a non affiliated meditation center. You can look for groups in your area using Buddhanet's World Buddhist Directory

Finally, you may find some sage advice and comfort in Gil Fronsdal's wonderful free mp3 talks over at Audiodharma.net.

Hope this helps and I hope your pain eases soon. be gentle on yourself.

The teaching I always received when dealing with strong emotions that arise is to lean into it. These emotions are part of us and we are encouraged to accept them as they are, including the anger, the despair, the fear, and the vulnerability. Getting in touch with our inner feeling is a phase a lot of practitioners go through, though what arise is usually different for each of us. I would like to encourage you to sit with these feelings. Allow yourself to feel them all, to surrender to them, to die in these feelings - as one teacher put it. If these emotions are too overwhelming though, it might be a good idea to meditate with a trusted friend or a partner, a counselor, or a spiritual teacher. If you can, I would also recommend checking out "Radical Acceptance" by Tara Brach and any book/teaching from Pema Chodron about getting to know fear. They talk about what you are experiencing. I wish you the best with your practice. May you find peace and light at the end of the tunnel.

Mara is a name/title for one of the lower heaven-kings. He was said to be one of Shakyamuni Buddha's tempters to dissuade him from awakening while he sat under the bodhi tree. In sutras, he's characterized as a being too caught up in desire to practice the dharma in his current life, and at times will try to dissuade others from it as well.


On a micro-level, I'm using his title here to describe beliefs and impulses that drive me to unskillful or harmful behavior, such as the need to imagine what people think about me (it's usually not good). In cognitive behavioral therapy, this might fall under "fortune-telling" and "mind-reading", even though we obviously can't know with 100% certainty what will happen or what people are thinking.


I read somewhere that dealing with recurring issues should be like "inviting Mara for tea"; instead of suppressing bad habits and thoughts, give it a compassionate space to hear it out, try to understand what it believes and why.


Depending on a lot of things, this experience may be too shocking to handle without guidance, though. If seeing a mental health professional is not affordable at the moment, at least try seeing if this book is available at the library:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0553380990/ref=pd_aw_sbs_14_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=416XVNN6NRL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL100_SR100%2C100_&psc=1&refRID=V3T70FYAXD25W0KF59JG

Just like another user suggested, Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach may help here.


I don't really know what to recommend for you as far as practice goes, since it depends on the kind of person you are. A good recommendation was metta, and I'm the type to relate less to abstract concepts and more to qualities I can visualize in compassionate beings, so I recite names and mantras. It's about which practice(s) you have an affinity for.


I tried not to overwhelm myself though. I started with one practice (Amitabha Buddha's name) with one focus (Pureland), which still remains my foundation. Others maintain one practice for the rest of their lives. I would recommend being patient and realistic with yourself while exploring.

The Dalai Lama has many excellent books on Tibetan Buddhism, my favorites are How To Practice: The Way to a Meaningful Life and Open Heart: Practicing Compassion in Everyday Life.

 

Lama Surya Das, Traleg Kyabgon, and Thubten Chodron all have excellent introductions written from a Tibetan perspective as well.

I'm not currently sure how best to approach this interest. My advice is based a lot on research and science, and on my own experience. So take this with a grain of salt. I do however, want to volunteer with Camphill, and I'll report and share when I have my own observations.

I'm not sure what sources to share, as I have done a lot general reading and my own meditation practice. But for example, here's a study I just found after few seconds of googling: "meditation and autism"

Diet and meditation, when done properly I believe is the most transformative tools, and our efforts should be concentrated in these areas.

There's TOO much misinformed advice on nutrition, the only authoritative source I can honestly point you to is nutritionfacts.org and his book How To Not Die. Basically, humans are designed to eat purely a plant-based diet. The more you read, the more you will see the connection between these disorders and how nutrition helps with improving dysfunctional pathways in the body.

For meditation, what helped my cognitive, severe depression, social dysfunction, mania problems etc (and recent cancer in my early 20's)... is connecting to the breath. No other meditative technique really worked other than concentrating and connecting with my breathing. I practice during the day, but started off lying down on my back as I found that to be the most effective, perhaps because of my postural problems.

Then there's metta , where I know people who has had great success with this. This is a good book. But I personally struggle with this.

There is so much information and advice on things that can tremendously help people with specific problems, but the solution always comes down to universal principles and a holistic approach.

You can be your own scientific investigator and see your own observations. You can go as far as you like, or just help a little in these areas. In any case, even just a little extra nutritional support and 10 minutes of daily meditation, will at least do some good

I wrote this in another thread, sounds like it applies to your question:

​

In the Buddha's Words

https://www.amazon.com/Buddhas-Words-Anthology-Discourses-Teachings-ebook/dp/B003XF1LIO

It is an absolutely fantastic book. How many books can you say are appropriate both for people totally unfamiliar with Buddhism, and for already devout practicing Buddhists? For beginners and experts alike? A perfect balance of summary with original texts.

His (Bikkhu Bodhi) summaries of the teachings and his explanations of core concepts (such as karma) are really among the highest quality and clarity I have seen. He is truly a brilliant teacher and linguist.

One of the most profound and meaningful moments of my life was when I realized that there was nothing truly wrong with me, and that nobody was any better or worse, for we all share the same Buddha Nature and potential for enlightenment. It took quite a lot of good therapy + meditation + other spiritual development to get there.

You may want to check out a book called Radical Acceptance. It's maybe not the source I would turn to for an explanation of Buddhism per se, but I found it super helpful for building a sense of inherent worth based in compassion.

Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness by Sharon Salzburg. It helped me a lot. Metta (loving-kindness) meditation in general helped me a lot, and this is a really good introduction to it.

Honestly, it felt a bit cheezy at first. But after sticking with it for a while, I now think it's the most important part of my practice. There is a very powerful resonance between loving yourself and loving other people. In metta you cultivate both, and they enhance each other.

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

No. Buddhism is about ending suffering.

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

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

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

Hi. So first, an anecdote: I was clinically depressed with major anxiety and manic-depressive episodes. After dabbling in a sitting practice (two sessions a year at most), I started a regular sitting meditation practice. It's simple to do (in some ways), but specific. I'd seek out some guidance on that. I started with 5 minutes a day and eventually worked my way up to 30 minutes a day. It's been life mind-changing.

Second, here's a book I sent to someone when their life was on the rocks. I'm sure you're probably looking for a little immediate relief and inspiration, so it's less a foundational Buddhist text and more, for lack of a better word, self-help. The name of the book is When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron, who I believe went through a messy divorce herself, and eventually found peace and enlightment.

Hope this helps

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

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

Thanks for the correction. It seems that at least in Japan the seven Medicine Budhas ("shichibutsu Yakushi") are often portrayed as the main Medicine Buddha and his six emanations.

"The Saptabuddha Sutra is of special interest here because it describes the vows and Pure Lands of seven buddhas. The first six of these were mostly identified as emanations of Yakushi [Medicine Buddha] himself, who is the seventh on the list." https://www.amazon.com/Buddhas-Kami-Japan-Combinatory-Paradigm/dp/0415297478


"There are two sutras particularly devoted to the topic of Bhaisajyaguru - the Bhaisajyaguru Sutra, and a sutra which is best known by the short title of Saptabuddha Sutra. The latter text incorporates much of the Bhaisajyaguru Sutra, but adds a further six Buddhas to Bhaisajyaguru, giving a set of seven.... The Saptabuddha Sutra adds a mantra or dharani which can be used at times of illness, for longevity, and so on." - Paul Williams https://www.amazon.com/Mahayana-Buddhism-Doctrinal-Foundations-Religious/dp/0415356539l







"Many eons ago, seven bodhisattvas strongly prayed for the temporal and ultimate happiness of all sentient beings, that their names become wish-fulfilling in order to heal both the mental and physical sicknesses and diseases of sentient beings... They are called the Seven Medicine Buddhas, the main one is 'Lapis Buddha of Medicine, King of Light'. Buddha Shakyamuni taught the teachings on the Medicine Buddha, and according to one tradition, is also considered as one of the Medicine Buddhas, and hence the Eight Medicine Buddhas." https://kadampa-center.org/medicine-buddha-puja (an FPMT site)

There's only 1 blue-colored Medicine Buddha. https://landofmedicinebuddha.org/about-medicine-buddha/vows-of-medicine-buddhas/

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Life Of Milarepa

An Introduction To Zen Buddhism by D.T. Suzuki

The Way Of Zen by Alan Watts

Be Here Now by Ram Dass

These are just some of the better ones ive read so far, all really great starting off points into Buddhism. Zen in particular. Good luck!

You are correct that this book is intended for therapists. I think some of the ideas (especially in the first few chapters) could be helpful. They outline the theories of what is to be accomplished which could be helpful if you apply them to you situation. Basically if you are looking for a way to take positive steps in the right direction this book may lay out what needs to occur. Also if you could find a therapist that practices this kind of therapy then it may be even more helpful.

The Mindful Way Through Depression probably has similar ideas and is intended for those with depression instead of therapists. The drawback is that it wouldn't have any part of the cognitive therapy which I think could be helpful when combined with mindfulness.

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

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

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

> I know "The Way of the Bodhisattva" is a fundamental text of Mahayana Buddhism... should I start with that?

Absolutely!

> Any translations or commentaries you recommend?

I would suggest this one: by Vesna and Alan Wallace, Snow Lion Publications, 1997

> What are some good books for learning more about the path of the Bodhisattva?

The Path To Awakening

> In The Path to Awakening, Shamar Rinpoche gives his own detailed commentary on Chekawa Yeshe Dorje's Seven Points of Mind Training, a text that has been used for transformative practice in Tibetan Buddhism for close to a thousand years. Clear, accessible, and yet profound, this book is filled with practical wisdom, philosophy, and meditation instructions.

Having struggled deeply with this myself, I have found the practice of metta to be hugely powerful. By FAR the best explanation of the practice and the theory for me has been Sharon Salzberg's book "Lovingkindness."

If you're interested but don't have the resources to purchase it yourself, I would be SO happy to send a copy your way. And don't you dare say you don't deserve it! ;)

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

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

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

Not Rks1157, but I've already asked him this question, and he recommended reading as much as possible from the Buddha's original teachings, as cited in the Pali Canon.

This recommendation brought me to the most important book I've read so far (out of several): "In the Buddha's Words" by Bhikkhu Bodhi.

You can get it in digital and audio form from Amazon. I recommend the audio form, since it is so powerful to listen to these words rather than read them.

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

In the Sutta Pitaka:

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

MN 10 - Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta: Frames of Reference

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


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

Some valuable secondary reading:

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

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

Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo - Frames of Reference


Mahasi Sayadaw - Satipatthana Vipassana

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

Well I'm no meditation instructor, so the best I can do is describe and provide resources.

Śamatha, typically translated as "calm abiding," is all about bringing the mind to a calm point. Rather than a mindful-awareness practice, it is based on deep concentration. The deep states of concentration, typically on a suitable object (generally simple, like a color or one of the divine abodes), are intended to bring the mind to a point where dharmic-insight occurs spontaneously or without effort.

Advanced practice can lead to absorption, which is said to be how the Gautama Buddha delayed his death. Among the traditions that teach this method, there is some disagreement about how much depth is needed. Some say access-concentration is all that is needed to prepare for insight, others will point to any of the four rupa-jhanas as a "minimum" point. The arupa-jhanas are considered achievements; they aren't necessary.

For in-person instructions: varies by tradition. I know Tibetan and Theravada sects will teach shamatha (it's fallen out of favor for the most popular Thai teachers). If they aren't an option, I would suggest either "With Each & Every Breath" or "Beyond Mindfulness in Plain English," which will be more familiar for anyone who read "Mindfulness in Plain English" by Bhante G.

edit: totally unrelated, but I had a lot of fun recently volunteering at a local temple's Obon festival.

• I really liked the Introduction to Meditation on Zencast.
  
  
• Kusala, an American monk in Los Angeles, has an interesting way of explaining things. I recommend his podcasts.
  
  
• It's not a podcast, but Thich Nhat Hanh's "Peace is Every Step" is an excellent book on mindfulness in daily life.

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

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

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

Get a job hippie!


Seriously though, it costs money to plant trees, let them grow, pay someone to cut them down and then turn that into paper. That's not even counting the numerous hours that someone has to dedicate to translating the sutras and their living expenses during that time. Some of the essential buddhist books cost around $60 each which is expensive, but I look at it like an investment, the greatest investment.


*PS, you will never get out of the research phase.

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

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

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

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

I too had a hard childhood, and to cope with it detached myself and was emotionally dead. I deluded myself into thinking I was doing something very Buddhist by doing this. This book certainly helped me 'open up' and realize that the detachment I was practicing was further adding to my neurosis, when Buddhism is supposed to help us deal with it, see through it, work with it. This book really helped me change my views of what I wanted out of my practice, how to deal with emotional and life issues, and gave me a healthy way of viewing my past, present, and future. Shambhala: Sacred Path of the Warrior.

I was once working as a janitor at a psychiatric institution. One of the doctors there and I got along quite well, and he would invite me to sit in on the group meditations. He had numerous copies of the book listed below, and gave one to me. Obviously there are some people who were in there that need medical help, but for the lost, scared, and confused this book seemed to help them immensely. He gave me a copy, and while I don't suffer from chronic depression, it certainly helped me through those 'bad' days. I have recommended and bought the book for every person I know that has talked to me about their depression and everyone who has read it has thanked me. I really like that Kabat-Zinn incorporates western science with eastern philosophy, and that it is very effective in treating people and their issues. Part of the problem with some people learning meditation or mindfulness from Buddhists is their preconceived notion of religion, or what Buddhism is.

A great book for depression in regards to meditation is by a renowned medical doctor, Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn. The Mindful Way through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness

Amazon Product Description:

If you’ve ever struggled with depression, take heart. Mindfulness, a simple yet powerful way of paying attention to your most difficult emotions and life experiences, can help you break the cycle of chronic unhappiness once and for all.

In The Mindful Way through Depression, four uniquely qualified experts explain why our usual attempts to “think” our way out of a bad mood or just “snap out of it” lead us deeper into the downward spiral. Through insightful lessons drawn from both Eastern meditative traditions and cognitive therapy, they demonstrate how to sidestep the mental habits that lead to despair, including rumination and self-blame, so you can face life’s challenges with greater resilience. Jon Kabat-Zinn gently and encouragingly narrates the accompanying CD of guided meditations, making this a complete package for anyone seeking to regain a sense of hope and well-being.

I really think you should read both books, and genuinely believe they will help, as they have helped me and others.

Namaste

My sister also has disassociative disorder. She calls it "unreality". I recommended the book "Peace is every step" to her. A few days later she called me and told me she that just reading the book gave her an enormous feeling of relief and happiness. It may be worth checking out.

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

In the Buddha's Words

A great translation that is well organized to highlight the core of the Buddha's teachings from the oldest records we have, the Pali Canon

It's good to give away treasures.

It's nice when they can be replaced with a facsimile for less than $10.

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

Here are your smile-ified links:

Feeling Good: A New Mood Therapy

Change Your Thinking

---

^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly bot

Zig Zag Zen discusses this at great length. One of my favorite opening paragraphs was by Lama Surya Das, who said "If you're wondering about my history with psychedelics, all you need is to look at the initials of my name."

Another commentor referenced Ram Dass' experience with Neem Karoli Baba as accounted in Be Here Now. This book, I feel, gets to the heart of the issue.

Thich Nhat Hanh's Peace Is Every Step has a lot of nice bits of outlook and meditation and daily mindfulness that are really peaceful and uplifting.

Depression is dangerous though, so if this keeps up make sure to talk about it to people that care about you and seek professional help.

Great book. I'm reading Bachelor's latest Confession of a Buddhist Atheist and having like moments. He's a stellar teacher.

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

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

Quantum and the Lotus: A Journey to the Frontiers Where Science and Buddhism Meet by Matthieu Ricard, PhD and Trinh Xuan Thuan, PhD

"Matthieu Ricard trained as a molecular biologist, working in the lab of a Nobel prize-winning scientist, but when he read some Buddhist philosophy, he became drawn to Buddhism. Eventually he left his life in science to study with Tibetan teachers, and he is now a Buddhist monk and translator for the Dalai Lama, living in the Shechen monastery near Kathmandu in Nepal. Trinh Thuan was born into a Buddhist family in Vietnam but became intrigued by the explosion of discoveries in astronomy during the 1960s. He made his way to the prestigious California Institute of Technology to study with some of the biggest names in the field and is now an acclaimed astrophysicist and specialist on how the galaxies formed.

When Matthieu Ricard and Trinh Thuan met at an academic conference in the summer of 1997, they began discussing the many remarkable connections between the teachings of Buddhism and the findings of recent science. That conversation grew into an astonishing correspondence exploring a series of fascinating questions. Did the universe have a beginning? Or is our universe one in a series of infinite universes with no end and no beginning? Is the concept of a beginning of time fundamentally flawed? Might our perception of time in fact be an illusion, a phenomenon created in our brains that has no ultimate reality? Is the stunning fine-tuning of the universe, which has produced just the right conditions for life to evolve, a sign that a “principle of creation” is at work in our world? If such a principle of creation undergirds the workings of the universe, what does that tell us about whether or not there is a divine Creator? How does the radical interpretation of reality offered by quantum physics conform to and yet differ from the Buddhist conception of reality? What is consciousness and how did it evolve? Can consciousness exist apart from a brain generating it?"

How academic do you want to get? Mahayana Buddhism: Doctrinal Foundations is a very good survey of Mahayana Buddhism, but it will be on the heavy reading side.

The Tree of Enlightenment from budaedu.org has a good summary of the basic concepts.

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

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

I lost my younger brother to suicide almost 3 years ago and understanding still eludes me. I finally realized, the desire and effort to understand were an obstacle to healing. We don't need to understand, we just need to forgive (our loved one and oneself), be compassionate and continue to love.

This book was of great help to me: Thich Nhat Hanh - No Death, No Fear

Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations is a good book on the topic of "mahayana buddhism as a whole". It's written by the scholar Paul Williams.

Mahayana is extremely diverse in terms of how it's practiced.

Jodo-shinshu is a subsect within pure land buddhism. There are many other types of pure land buddhism besides jodo-shinshu, though. If you happen to like it, you can always head over to /r/pureland , or ask /u/iPorkChop for advice (if he's no longer active on reddit he's available at DharmaWheel.net), he knows a lot about japanese pure land (jodo-shinshu and jodo-shu).

>Besides, saying the majority is right simply because they're the majority is another logical fallacy, the argumentum ad populum.

you forgot the part where i said "with reason"

>Probably Westerners who are habituated to think well of Jesus but have never actually read the Gospels.

http://www.amazon.com/Living-Buddha-Christ-Thich-Nhat/dp/1573225681

Jesus had plenty of teachings that parralled with buddha. He hung out with the sinners and tax collectors and protected some of them from being stoned.

>Translation: Closed minded = Doesn't agree with me.

you dont have to agree with me, i learn plenty from others who have different views than me. But i dont want you to preach lies to others who may be uninformed and fill them with false truths or false perceptions on truth.

I would take the Samyutta Nikaya, Bikkhu Bodhi translation. This is a great volume for a serious practitioner, and will leave you knowing Buddhism much much better. I thought it would be good for you when you said you wish to know everything there is to know. It employs a lot of repetition to pound the concepts into your head, and I can't say enough good things about it. It's pricey but on the kindle can be very light and go with you everywhere.

https://www.amazon.com/Connected-Discourses-Buddha-Translation-Samyutta/dp/0861713311/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1517947797&sr=8-1&keywords=samyutta+nikaya

With Each and Every Breath by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond by Ajahn Brahm
Right Concentration: A Practical Guide to the Jhanas by Leigh Brasington
Wisdom Wide and Deep by Shaila Catherine
Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Gunaratana
Beyond Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Gunaratana

https://www.amazon.com/Mahayana-Buddhism-Doctrinal-Foundations-Religious/dp/0415356539

Perhaps a bit academic, but this one gives a really nice overview.

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

Here's a good TED talk with Matthieu Ricard.

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

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

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

This article was written by my teacher and is titled "Practicing Buddhism in daily life". There's also some fantastic "Related Posts" at the bottom, too.

If you're looking for an actual book to acquire and read, I'd suggest Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh

Bhikkhu Bodhi's collection of sutras.

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

http://www.amazon.com/The-Middle-Length-Discourses-Buddha/dp/086171072X/ref=pd_sim_b_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0JGB8GYHNJYWS360RV6E

http://www.amazon.com/The-Connected-Discourses-Buddha-Translation/dp/0861713311/ref=pd_sim_b_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=0JGB8GYHNJYWS360RV6E

http://www.amazon.com/The-Long-Discourses-Buddha-Translation/dp/0861711033/ref=pd_sim_b_8?ie=UTF8&refRID=0JGB8GYHNJYWS360RV6E

They have commentaries, but they are seperate from the sutras themselves.

Just don't read the commentaries if you are opposed to them, but if you have questions about the meanings of the sutras, you should read the commentaries as Bhikkhu Bodhi is a very well established pali translator, and thus can discern subtle differences in the pali that don't come across in English.

Don't know which tradition you're following, but I recommend In The Buddha's Words. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003XF1LIO/

I like doing guided metta meditation, and reading this book. Just remember it happens at its own rate. It's kind of about relaxing the barriers between yourself and others, so trying to force it doesn't make much sense.

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

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

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

They are both extremely good reads.

given what i have said so far, i don't see how the age of the tradition is relevant, unless we're just to go round in circles.

some interesting readings

http://www.amazon.com/Mutual-Causality-Buddihism-General-Systems/dp/0791406377

http://www.amazon.com/Confession-Buddhist-Atheist-Stephen-Batchelor/dp/0385527071/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346351097&sr=1-1&keywords=confessions+buddhist+atheist

http://www.amazon.com/Buddhism-Science-B-Alan-Wallace/dp/0231123353/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346351200&sr=1-4&keywords=materialism+buddhism

i am a layman. if i have a sangha it would be right here, although i have in the past had association with the cambridge buddhist centre.

Middle length discourses

Long discourses

Connected Discourses


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

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

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

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

This book "The mindful way through depression" offers amazing insights into how we create and maintain depression by the way we wear ourselves out in fruitless rumination.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1593851286/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/187-3809794-7607108

I highly recommend it to you. Also, get your exercise in whatever time of day you can, it will help with mood and getting out of your rut.

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

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

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

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

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

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

You might find it helpful to check out Williams, Teasdale, Seagal, and Zinn's: The Mindful Way Through Depression.

There's plenty of Christian Buddhists. This book might be a helpful read too Knitter - Without Buddha I Could Not Be a Christian

Given your background you could find this interesting: https://www.amazon.com/Without-Buddha-Could-Not-Christian/dp/185168963X

As a Buddhist-leaning Christian, it blew me away and gave me a different perspective on both faiths.

You may have a look at When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chödrön. The product page at Amazon.com offers a preview of that book. You may also look for some of her talks being available online.

The Way of Zen, by Alan Watts

The Three Pilars of Zen, by Philip Kapleau Roshi

Confession of a Buddhist Atheist, by Stephen Batchelor.

Outside of that, most of the stuff that I read comes from brazilian monks, like Monja Coen or Monje Gensho

Pema Condron speaks candidly about relationships and attachment in When Things Fall Apart.

Interesting, but I was thinking of this one

Recommended: Without Buddha I could not be a Christian

Well, I recently picked up this book from my local Zen center. I haven't read it yet, but I think I'm going to add some self-compassion meditation to my practice starting this morning, actually.

> I was constantly bewildered by how the teachings of the church were different from the teachings of the scriptures.

there is NO difference in Buddhism, it's EXACTLY like that with rare exception. Many monastics barely know the suttas, let alone teach from them, they more often teach what their teacher taught or do their own thing.

anyways if you are interested in the suttas(discourses/scriptures), I highly suggest "In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon" (Teachings of the Buddha) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003XF1LIO/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?ie=UTF8&btkr=1

I come from a similar angle, I'm surprised no one has suggested this:

"Buddhist Without Beliefs"
http://www.amazon.com/Buddhism-Without-Beliefs-Contemporary-Awakening/dp/1573226564

"Confession of a Buddhist Atheist"
http://www.amazon.com/Confession-Buddhist-Atheist-Stephen-Batchelor/dp/0385527071/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409011759&sr=8-1&keywords=confessions+of+an+atheist+buddhist

I highly recommend "Buddhist Without Beliefs", being an atheist you will find a lot of empathy points. Buddhism it self, a lot of people argue, is atheist, not based on a deity (or group of deities), but on self realization.

This book doesn't offer much in the way of scripture or teachings, but it may be up your alley.

Awesome book that sums up all Mahayana thought, including Prajnaparamita and Madhyamaka

Ram Dass

an excerpt from Remember Be Here Now by Baba Ram Dass

Of course. There is peace in every step.

awakening the buddha within

Theravada ordained monk, Bhikkhu Bodhi, has a spectacular grasp of Buddhist concepts based on the ancient texts, the Pali Canon.

Audio Lectures

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

You might try this book:

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

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

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

https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Bodhisattva-Way-Life/dp/1559390611/ref=pd_sim_14_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1559390611&pd_rd_r=EEEMWGYAQ6ZWHYSDGF34&pd_rd_w=yGlp9&pd_rd_wg=MOkmR&psc=1&refRID=EEEMWGYAQ6ZWHYSDGF34#customerReviews

Pema Chodron - http://www.amazon.com/When-Things-Fall-Apart-Difficult/dp/1570623449/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

She motivates Buddhist philosophy through lessons she learned during difficult times. Probably similar to reasons a lot of us like buddhism...well at least me!

Sharon Salzberg's book "Lovingkindness" is a perennial favourite: https://www.amazon.com/Lovingkindness-Revolutionary-Happiness-Shambhala-Classics/dp/157062903X/

You should check out Living Buddha Living Christ.

http://www.amazon.com/Living-Buddha-Christ-Thich-Nhat/dp/1573225681

Check out Living Buddha, Living Christ by Thich Nhat Hanh.
http://www.amazon.com/Living-Buddha-Christ-Thich-Nhat/dp/1573225681

The Mindful Way Through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness

I suggest you read No Death, No Fear - Thich Nhat Hanh.

> Zen master Nhat Hanh turns his hard-earned wisdom as a survivor of war, persecution, and exile to the age-old dilemma of what happens when one dies. If the greatest fear is, as he suggests, that one becomes nothing, then how is one to live with this threat of complete annihilation? Using Buddhist parables and anecdotes, Nhat Hanh offers an alternative perspective. Buddhists see birth and death as mere concepts, not manifestations of reality. When someone dies, they are still with us, just in a different form. In this view, a continuation, a connection between people and nature persists because time is understood as being circular: nothing begins; nothing ends; it just is. Nhat Hanh's beliefs are certainly not for everyone, especially those who definitely feel most comfortable within the set rules and established doctrines of the Western traditions. Others may find his perspective on the ultimate mystery of the human condition refreshing, especially when it is expressed as calmly and matter-of-factly as Nhat Hanh expresses it. June Sawyers

Maybe reading no death, no fear can help you.

Yup. I had been through recurring depression when a therapist gave me this: http://www.amazon.com/Mindful-Way-through-Depression-Unhappiness/dp/1593851286

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy combines well with mindfulness practice. It sounds like self-help BS, but Feeling Good is a legitimate introduction to using CBT to deal with depression.

It's sad really that one cannot be open minded enough to other religions. I think a lot of it is her perception that she's not allowed, that you're not allowed to "cheat" on GOD. There was a book I saw once at Barnes and nobles, that compared Buddhism to many Christian traits, but I forget the name. But, maybe you can buy this book http://www.amazon.com/Living-Buddha-Christ-Thich-Nhat/dp/1573225681 and show her that you're not really trying to cheat on Christ but expand your spiritual being.

One of my ex's went with me to the temple, but never went inside because she was Catholic. Me on the other hand, would always go with her to church and do the whole sermon(I put up with sitting up sitting down constantly, when I goto the temple, I light an in scent and I'm done). I even went as far as got communion. (they said stand up and grab some wine and bread so I went with it lol). It was really hurtful for me too.

edit: ah duh someone already suggested the book above.

Thich Nhat Hahn's No Death, No Fear

I suggest this book. Anxiety and depression is related and this book helps me to deal with negative thoughts in a very practical way. A supplement for any kind of meditation practice.

https://www.amazon.com/Mindful-Way-Through-Depression-Unhappiness/dp/1593851286

[edit] You can also find it on goodread. Just search the book name on google.

I feel for you. Suffering is no fun. What helps me:

All pain is not suffering. Pain and suffering are two different phenomena. The dialogue on the two arrows, SN 36.6, addresses this issue, and it is worth bearing this in mind. This is not to belittle your predicament, or to claim that I understand the nature of your pain, but to put pain and suffering into a beneficial perspective. A perspective that allows us to begin to work with the situation.

In a general Buddhist perspective, as you know, we are all in some kind of state of perpetuated suffering with differing degrees of temporary relief or intensity. All life is suffering, pleasure and pain experiences are equally marked by this essential truth. That being the case, we are encouraged to learn to become unattached to our deep aversion to perceived pain, and attachment to perceived pleasure. There are ways to do this in a healthy, liberating way regardless of our situation.

Bringing home the doctrine via reflection or reading alone is not going to accomplish this for you, for instance: intellectually understanding that lifting weights will make you stronger will not make you stronger, it can, however inform your practice of exercise. Meditation, Vipassana, this is what helps me deal with what I perceive as extreme pain and discomfort. It helps me to learn to hold the pain without aversion, to see through it, to gradually learn to experience it as mere sensation, and then to move beyond it entirely. I highly recommend this if you have not begun. Please do not misunderstand me, doctrinal understanding is powerful and important, but for extreme pain and suffering, nothing beats the added benefit of properly executed Vipassana. If your pain keeps you from attending a retreat, consider contacting the Vipassana Meditation people, and requesting that they help you learn their technique. They are very awesome, in my own experience, and may be willing to work with you. Just a suggestion, intended to be a happy one.

When facing the dark decision of stepping out of this life to escape the pain, I have heard that this particular consideration is beneficial:

• the predicament of suffering that you face holds no intrinsic reality of its own, it is the empty, ungraspable expression of some sort of ultimately unknowable cause.
  
• It has as its creator, blind, habitual reactivity
  
• It has as its support, blind, habitual reactivity
  
• it has as its perpetuation, blind, habitual reactivity.
  
• To eliminate the suffering born of, supported by, and perpetuated by blind, habitual reactivity, non-attached awareness in a state of equanimity must be, and can be produced. There IS a way to do this.
  
  There are deep perspectives that also suggest that if you allow the pain to move you to exit stage left, that you are creating a future seed of suffering that will be inherited by the midstream that you identify with as being you, by committing an act of volitional intention in reaction to an aversion to sensation. In other words, there will be future karma produced that will perpetuate existence in samsara. No action is inherently right or wrong, but that is not to say that there are not inheritable consequences relative to our ultimate liberation and suffering with every intentional action. There is no exception to this mechanic.
  
  To work with this, we can "offer up" our pain, and learn to reduce suffering by developing equanimity and wisdom. Reflect in the ultimate non-permanence of the pain, and do Tonglen with your own suffering, give compassion and metta to yourself. Reflect on all others going through this and develop an intention to experience the pain and the suffernig directly, to know it as it is so that you can understand it, its cause, and its cessation, and use that as a seed of compassion for others going through this experience as well, "May I experience this so that no other beings have to experience the misery of this suffering." Use it as a seed of liberation. This is a very beneficial practice.
  
  You can also understand that if this suffering is the result of a perpetuated aggregation of ultimately empty causes which are defined by blind, habitual reactivity, then what you have is an opportunity to transcend this beginning-less cycle in the here and now by developing direct insight and transcendental wisdom coupled with genuine compassion, leading to perfect liberation. Utilize this moment of difficulty as a tool leading to ultimate liberation, reclaim this purpose of your life, and move this away from the weight of it as a reason to give up and run away. There can be purpose to your suffering, even if it is purposeless in and of itself, you can make that distinction.
  
  You can do this work, it will require practice, and will not happen overnight, which is why it is called practice. You will fill a bucket drop by drop by consistent practice. This is the sure and steady way to liberation. Always remember, the way out is though, not around, not avoiding, but through.
  
  Pema Chodron is an excellent teacher, I recommend her audio-book lessons on overcoming habitual re-activity, particularly, "Getting Unstuck" and her recent teachings, "The Truth of Our Existence."
  
  Additionally, you may want to look into Jon Kabat-Zinn's Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programs, as they are based on Buddhist meditation techniques and have been clinically proven as effective tools working with "Stress" and increasing resilience. You can check out his Mindfulness for Pain program. If you are involved in a clinical rehabilitation program, consider asking them about MBSR, they may offer it, and if not, try to connect to a social worker through your clinical provider, hospital, or rehab center, depending on your situation, who may be able to help you out with a connection.
  
  Finally, just reading books on fundamental Buddhist principles like, "In the Buddha's Words" always help to increase my foundation of perspective in difficult and overwhelming times, or Shantideva's Guide To The Bodhisattva Way of Life (depending on your tradition preference).
  
  Any of the materials I listed can be found if you know how to look for them. I hope this has been, in some way, helpful, and not to long!
  
  Metta

I highly reccomend the book "No Death, No Fear" by Thich Nhat Hanh for a quick and easy read about a buddhist view of death.

https://www.amazon.com/No-Death-Fear-Comforting-Wisdom/dp/1573223336

I'm sorry to hear about your situation. I'm sure it is very difficult for you, as it would be for probably any of us. I think what you're feeling is very common, very natural, very human. It is precisely because of how common and universal this kind of suffering is that I think the Buddha felt so moved to try to help us.

The most penetrating wisdom I have ever encountered about death, teachings that for the very first time gave me glimpses of peace and fearlessness about death (both my own and others'), come from Master Thich Nhat Hanh. He has written a whole book about it, which I have not yet read, but he discusses death in other books and those passages were like moments when the sun breaks through the dark clouds of my fear and starts clearing them away. I'm sure his book specifically on the subject would be incredibly helpful to you.

His basic point about death, as I understand it, is that "death" as we conceive of it doesn't exist because "birth" as we conceive of it doesn't exist, either. Ultimately, our fear of death--our own and the deaths of those we love--originates in wrong perceptions, wrong understandings about reality.

Also, here's a short YouTube clip of him that gives you a taste of his insights on the subject.

He makes it out as if seeing Buddha-nature is the only way to destroy Khanda Mara, but the sutta he only partially quotes explains exactly how to attain Nibbana via viewing the khandhas "rightly".

Here's the full thing:

>At Savatthı. Then the Venerable Radha approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, sat down to one side, and said to him: “Venerable sir, it is said, ‘Mara, Mara.’ In what way, venerable sir, might Mara be?”

>“When there is form, Radha, there might be Mara, or the killer, or the one who is killed. Therefore, Radha, see form as Mara, see it as the killer, see it as the one who is killed. See it as a disease, as a tumour, as a dart, as misery, as real misery. Those who see it thus see rightly.

>“When there is feeling … When there is perception … When there are volitional formations … When there is consciousness, Radha, there might be Mara, or the killer, or the one who is killed. Therefore, Radha, see consciousness as Mara, see it as the killer, see it as the one who is killed. See it as a disease, as a tumour, as a dart, as misery, as real misery. Those who see it thus see rightly.”

>“What, venerable sir, is the purpose of seeing rightly?”

>“The purpose of seeing rightly, Radha, is revulsion.”

>“And what, venerable sir, is the purpose of revulsion?”

>“The purpose of revulsion is dispassion.”

>“And what, venerable sir, is the purpose of dispassion?”

>“The purpose of dispassion is liberation.”

>“And what, venerable sir, is the purpose of liberation?”

>“The purpose of liberation is Nibbana.”

>“And what, venerable sir, is the purpose of Nibbana?”

>“You have gone beyond the range of questioning, Radha. You weren’t able to grasp the limit to questioning. For, Radha, the holy life is lived with Nibbana as its ground, Nibbana as its destination, Nibbana as its final goal.” source

Thus, it is easy to see that reaching Nibbana, in this case, has nothing to do with seeing Buddha-nature. It is predicated on 1) seeing the khandhas with revulsion and 2) thus developing dispassion toward the khandhas. This is obviously taught so as to dissuade Radha from clinging to the khandhas as being precious, as being self.

Buddhism 101: clinging leads to suffering; not-clinging leads to nirvana.

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Edit

It's even more succinct just a few suttas later:

>At Savatthı. Sitting to one side, the Venerable Radha said to the Blessed One: “Venerable sir, it would be good if the Blessed One would teach me the Dhamma in brief, so that, having heard the Dhamma from the Blessed One, I might dwell alone, withdrawn, diligent, ardent, and resolute.”

>“Radha, you should abandon desire, you should abandon lust, you should abandon desire and lust, for whatever is Mara. And what, Radha, is Mara? Form is Mara. Feeling … Perception … Volitional formations … Consciousness is Mara. Seeing thus … He understands: ‘… there is no more for this state of being.’”