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Books on buddhism
BlazeFire
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I'm trying to find a book about buddhism but just to learn more about the religion, not necessarily to follow it. Browsing through the Chapters website I find a bunch, but I'm not really sure what a good starter book would be. Are the xxx for Dummies books any good?
BlazeFire on
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Is your interest isn't in following, is it comparitive to other worldviews/religions? I'm asking because what you want to learn about the religion will shape the sorts of books recommended.
I'm not quite understanding your second question. As in do I also want to learn about other world religions?
I misphrased the original post I think. I want to learn about the history, stories, etc of the religion, but also what being a follower entails. I'm looking for a "what it is to be a buddhist" not a "how to be a better buddhist".
My interest extends to other Eastern religions too. I have very little exposure to them yet would like to learn about the different ideas.
There's also Thich Nhat Hanh. Anything by him is very interesting, and also written in simple language. His method is to make anything he writes or speaks about understandable to people of all ages and comprehension levels, so he writes at a level understandable to children, but also enjoyable to adults. He very much writes like someone who has been a school teacher for young children for a little too long talks. I personally recommend Being Peace, Anger, and Living Buddha, Living Christ.
Also there's the great Buddhist website Buddhanet.net that is full of countless free articles. It's a little overwhelming, and you'll have to spend a good bit of time looking for what you're interested in, but the price is right, and the things I've read on there are all interesting.