Buddhist Books

Like most folks who are discovering or rediscovering Buddhism, it can be pretty hard to figure out where to begin. Buddhism is a complicated religion and provides assumptions about the world that are all but absent in Western culture, and things can get lost in the translation somehow. Also, personally, I am leery about gurus and teachers who set themselves as having all the answers, so I personally prefer to go “back to the source” where possible. Maybe that’s just me, but I wanted to provide others a comprehensive source on where to find good, basic books about Buddhism without getting bogged down in a particular sect or teaching. If you do want to explore a certain sect, you should just visit a temple if you can and get a feel for the atmosphere there. Sometimes, the temple that suits you isn’t necessarily your first choice.

My recommendation on books is below in rough order from “basic” to “advanced”:

  1. What the Buddha Taught by Ven. Walpola Rahula. This is a classic but still one of the most solid books on basic Buddhist teachings. Too often, books that teach the basics include too much fluff, too few textual citations, and occasionally inaccuracies. This book can be a bit dry, but its compact, well-researched and comprehensive. Still one of my most favorites after all these years.
  2. The Heart of Understanding by Thich Nhat Hanh. This book is a commentary one of the most popular and widely-recited sutras: the Heart Sutra. For such a small compact book, there’s some excellent teachings here that apply to all of Buddhism.
  3. The Way to Buddhahood by Ven. Yin-Shun. This is a hefty tome of a book, but it is one of the very few books that covers such a wide range of subjects. Yin-Shun was a widely respected Chinese Buddhist scholar, and here he covers just about every aspect of Buddhism from the Four Noble Truths, the various types of precepts, different approaches to meditation, the Bodhisattva path and so on. It is not a trivial book to read, but a great reference if nothing else.
  4. Living Yogacara by Rev. Tagawa. This book is an introduction to the Buddhist philosophical school of Yogacara or “Conscious-only” teachings. Yogacara thought greatly influences much of what we know as Buddhism today, so the book provides a kind of philosophical backbone to what people practice. Short, dense, but deeply profound. You will not look at life the same way. It is still one of my top three favorites.
  5. For the last book, I recommend a pair of books together: The Lotus Sutra translated by Gene Reeves and Opening the Heart of the Cosmos by Thich Nhat Hanh. The first book is the famous Lotus Sutra, which forms the crux of East Asian or “Mahayana” Buddhism, but the sutra is not a trivial read at all, so the second book is a very handy, chapter-by-chapter commentary by Thich Nhat Hanh. The Lotus Sutra in many ways captures the spirit of Buddhism I believe, and well worth the study for any Buddhist.

Also, the The Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation in Taiwan offers many free books on Buddhism, including some of the above. I read What the Buddha Taught from a free version provided by the Foundation years ago to my local temple, and I also read Ou-I’s Commentaries on the Amitabha Sutra as well from a free copy they provided, so I know they’re good people. Consider browsing their catalog, (you can also download some books directly), and maybe make a donation if you would like others to enjoy them too.

All of these books are only just suggestions, but I hope they prove useful to you. Good luck and happy studies!

Namu Amida Butsu

8 Responses to Buddhist Books

  1. Hanzono says:

    Hi Doug

    Have read the first two books (but another read would also be good) and can really recommend them. Currently busy studying “Way to Buddahood” and the Threefold Lotus Sutra with our small sangha.

    My Taiwanese Chan teacher recommended these books so i tried them and found them very good. He gave us as a gift Honen; The Buddhist Saint” , although he prefer the Chinese Pure Land Patriachs (Shan Tao etc). Doing currently a personal study of Shan Tao . The temple close to me where I received most of my training is Nan Hua (the biggest Buddhist Temple in Africa…and perhaps in the southern hemisphere…the Aussies might just beat us at it though :-) )

    Envy you for not only staying the most beautiful city in the world (Seattle) but having all that Japanese people around you.

  2. Doug says:

    Ha ha ha, glad to someone else has read Ven. Yin-Shun. I think he’s quite underrated. :-)

  3. Paula says:

    Thanks for blogging this booklist.

  4. Doug M says:

    Hi Paula, and welcome to the JLR! Glad to be of assistance.

  5. Hi Doug,
    If you’re interested in Yogacara, you might like “Dream Conversations” by Muso Kokushi (in the 1200′s) and translated by Thomas Cleary. He was a National Teacher, and is one of the most impressive Japanese practitioners I’ve read.

    Also, Gene Reeves has a new book out that’s something of a companion for his translation of the Lotus Sutra, called “The Stories of the Lotus Sutra.”

    p.s. I love it that you have a “Dune” page on your blog!

  6. Doug M says:

    Hello Sunim and welcome! I don’t get too many visitors who are ordained, so the visits are always appreciated, along with the book advice. :) Also, nice to meet another Dune fan. ;)

    I was unable to find the “Dream Conversations” book online, but I was able to find the Gene Reeves companion which looks pretty interesting. In general, I do find Yogacara thought pretty interesting, and still have a book on my shelf that covers it in more detail, provided I ever have the time to read it. :P

    Speaking of Buddhist monks and dreams, another good book is the life of Myoe Koben, which is touched on briefly in a book called “Shingon Refractions” talking about the Mantra of Light. Great book about a pretty eclectic but sharp monk of his time (also in the 1200′s).

    Thanks and take care!

  7. Hi Doug,
    Thanks for the recommendation. I’ve seen the book around, but never got around to looking through it.
    Here’s a link to amazon’s page for the book “Dream Conversations.” He was a Yogacara monk, but the book title could just as well have been
    “Cautions for Practitioners.”

    http://www.amazon.com/Dream-Conversations-Buddhism-Muso-Kokushi/dp/157062206X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292583697&sr=1-1

  8. Doug M says:

    …and thank you for finding the “Dream” book on Amazon. I did search there, but am embarrassed to say I couldn’t find it. ;)

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