What are some good intros to budism?

What are some good intros to budism?

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a good understanding of the general cultural and religious background would be well, so the Vedas and other Hindu texts could serve to illuminate your perspective a bit more.

The only explicitly buddhist text I've read are the Tibetan Corpse Stories, which contain Tibetan stories with a Buddhist moral. Other than that, Edo period Haikus from Japan are also excellent.

>tfw those beautiful streams are probably filled with poo and garbage now

'In the Buddha's Words' published by Wisdom Publications is a thematically arranged anthology of passages from the Pali canon designed as an introduction and overview of buddhism. good place to start

The Dharmapada is the best introduction to Buddhism.

Cultivating the Mind of Love by Thich Nhat Hanh does a pretty good job of describing some tough concepts

On Mysticism: Christian and Buddhist helped me a lot, especially because Christianity provided a much more familiar jumping off point,

I would actually recommend a YouTube series called discovering Buddhism
Also
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse is a beautiful book

>Siddhartha by Herman Hesse is a beautiful book
it is but its pretty divorced from Buddhism for the sake of a story

There are so many types of Buddhism, no matter which one you choose people will say "that's not TRUE Buddhism, that's just WESTERNIZED trash!!". All the Buddhists I've met are condescending "TOO DEEP FOR YOU you just don't UNDERSTAND the incredible complexities!". That's the #1 Buddhist defense mechanism, not a well articulated arguement but "YOU JUST DONT UNDERSTAND" followed by silence. Buddhists argue with other Buddhists more than anyone else. Koans are obvious "2DEEP4YOU!!!!" trash that have no real meaning. There. I said it. Koans have no meaning, no, they are not too deep for me. They are just meant to destroy your mind and keep you submissive, and if you studied cults you would recognize this immediately.

Buddha was a narcissistic cult leader that was constantly surrounded by people. He would force his followers to let him have sex with their daughters and he would make his followers have sex with each other while he watched, all under the guise of "just do what I say man and you'll become super enlightened or something". Like all cult leaders he was a control freak that controlled every aspect of his followers life. "Oh yes just sit there very still and completely clear you mind of any critical thinking and let me explain all my kookie bullshit to you". SEEMS LEGIT. People who have practiced years of empty mind meditation will find that they have to pull over sometimes while driving because they accidentally go into their mindless state while in the car. That shit will destroy your mind. It's no wonder why other cults, like Maum Meditation and Aum Shinrikyo, use "meditation" as a means of manipulating your mind like jelly.

let go of your attachment towards and desire for aesthetic beauty :^)

What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula. Very clear writing and he writes without bias for his own strand of Buddhism.

I'm utterly shocked on most of these recommendations. OP, you should simple start with the words of the Buddha HIMSELF.

Do thisThe Dharmapada are the Buddha's words for layman. It is very short, easy to read, and will provide you with a solid introductory foundation into Buddhism.

integrateddaniel.info/book/

You sound like my mother in law when she rants about Jehovah 's witnesses.

not him but those people are fucked up desu

An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices 2nd edition
Peter Harvey


For scriptural introduction, either the short Dhammapada or "In the Buddha's words" by B Bodhi

Setting in Motion of the Wheel of the Dhamma" Sutta

youtube.com/watch?v=E9AMLEKENO8&t=1s

The Buddha never did anything like you've described.

Which Buddha?

The Buddha's criticism of a monk who broke his celibate vows—without having disrobed first—is as follows:

"'Worthless man, [sexual intercourse] is unseemly, out of line, unsuitable, and unworthy of a contemplative; improper and not to be done... Haven't I taught the Dhamma in many ways for the sake of dispassion and not for passion; for unfettering and not for fettering; for freedom from clinging and not for clinging? Yet here, while I have taught the Dhamma for dispassion, you set your heart on passion; while I have taught the Dhamma for unfettering, you set your heart on being fettered; while I have taught the Dhamma for freedom from clinging, you set your heart on clinging.

Siddhārtha Gautama

Protip: all religions are cults

the roach that shows up in a filthy place, and the butterfly that shows up in a blooming garden are both manifestations of nature doing its job.

>implying the beauty of nature is aesthetic

I recently read this. I wouldn't call it the best, but it was a decent crash course.

As said before, The dhammapadda is the best intro to Buddhism. I'm not joking when I say the wikipedia pages on some core issues of Buddhism are actually quite helpful. Look up The Four Noble Truths, The Eightfold Path, Dependent Origination, and Emptiness. Then I would recommend starting the Middle Length Discourses of the Sutta Pitaka in the Pali Cannon.

I like 'what the buddha taught' by walpola rahula
would definitely recommend

I consider myself a Buddhist, and I just wanted to add one of my favorite passages from the Pali Cannon:

"Monks, even if bandits were to carve you up savagely, limb by limb, with a two-handled saw, he among you who let his heart get angered even at that would not be doing my bidding. Even then you should train yourselves: 'Our minds will be unaffected and we will say no evil words. We will remain sympathetic, with a mind of good will, and with no inner hate. We will keep pervading these people with an awareness imbued with good will and, beginning with them, we will keep pervading the all-encompassing world with an awareness imbued with good will — abundant, expansive, immeasurable, free from hostility, free from ill will.' That's how you should train yourselves."

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