Buddhist lit

Same here. I've got a slim paperback copy that fits nicely in a back pocket. I've taken it with me many times while I'm out at a park.

I read it when I was in high school, borrowed it from my lit teacher, and never gave it back.

Siddhartha (and the ferryman) would have approved.

Mastering the Core Teachings of Buddha by Daniel Ingram

Any of Trungpa's books, especially Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism

Moon in the Dewdrop

Body Speech and Mind and Glimmerings of the Mystical Life by Namgyal Rinpoche

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind - Shunryu Suzuki

Hardcore Zen - brad warner

The Way of Korean Zen - Kusan Sim

Saints and Psychopaths by Bill Hamilton

Thanks for the suggestions. I found a pdf of "Mastering the Core Teachings of Buddha" so I'll start with that one. I recall reading a couple of things by Suzuki, but it couldn't hurt to go back over them since I'm apparently a bit fuzzy. Also, I meant to read "Hardcore Zen" a long time ago and forgot all about it. Thanks for the reminder!

I like the premise. Thanks!

Why did he let bees nest in his head?

like the bodhisattva, i spread the teachings of the Awakened One

two schools, Theravada and Mahayana

Theravada:
-"In the Buddha's Words" (the Nikayas)
-Dhammapada
-Ashvagosha's Acts of the Buddha

Mahayana:
-Prajnaparamita Sutras (Diamond, Heart, "perfection of wisdom")
-Lotus Sutra
-Lankavatara Sutra
-Nagarjuna's Verses of the Middle Way

what about Tantric/Vajrayana?
I know its technically not its own school but its sufficiently unique.

within the last year I've been practising tantra regularly, at work and at home.

>within the last year I've been practising tantra regularly, at work and at home

how

>I like the premise

Yeah, and there's some good stuff in there about Ram Dass getting swindled by a psychobitch fake teacher.

at hope with yoga and mediation
I have a large mandala tapestry along with sometimes just projecting various mandalas/computer geenrated scenes onto my computer or TV to aid in visualization and focus.
mantras as well

when I'm working I use mantras spoken in my head as well as intense focus on minute details to help me with tantra.

the bad thing about it is most of the information in English is new age "sexual tantra" wank.

>the bad thing about it is most of the information in English is new age "sexual tantra" wank

how did you learn about it? can you help a brother out?

what I mean is how did you filter out the bullshit?

>how did you filter out the bullshit

i'm not the guy you're talking to but the best way to "filter out bullshit" re: eastern practices is to find experienced and reliable human beings in meatspace - which can take work, unless you're lucky (i'm lucky)

also starting with tantra if you're new to this stuff is generally not recommended

honestly until you know enough to identify bullshit yourself I'd say just avoid anything by white people
not that there aren't Indian and Asian false gurus, but in general the information they have is more legitimate and not focused only on sex.
sexual tantra is legitimate but its just one dimension.
Tantra is fairly easy, its all about 'dinacharya' or daily conduct. its about bringing a rhythm into everything you do in life and syncing it up with the natural 'rhythms' that surround you in the world.
however it doesn't mean a routine (as that drains energy) even though a routine does have rhythm to it, its unbalanced and harmful to you; you can feel this when you wake up in the morning before work and feel utterly dead in your morning routine.

>also starting with tantra if you're new to this stuff is generally not recommended
its not that you can't, but its just harder to focus for some people if they have no experience with yoga or meditation, it makes it harder and people give up.
don't try to take everything at once, work on little things and build yourself up.
you wont go deadlifting 4plt on your first day in the gym.

for people asking about Tantra, try a tantric exercise
put a lot of time and effort into something (anything, but preferably artistic) be very meticulous and pay close attention to detail
don't rush through, take it slow, over days or weeks even if necessary.

when you're done bask in its glory for a short time then utterly destroy it and all traces of it. if you have the willpower to do this with true sincerity (not creating something "cheap" and lazy because you know it will be destroyed) then you've taken an important step towards overcoming the ego.
I've gotten in the habit of making mandalas of a sort weekly then destroying them at the start of a new week.

Great book from a great Indian author with many insights into Bhagavad Gita.

very sneaky but desu I like Savitri Devi
here's a copy of Lightning and the Sun
savitridevi.org/PDF/lightning.pdf

Thanks, user. I just started Defiance today and I can't put it down.

>"To the god-like Individual of our times;
the Man against Time;
the greatest European of all times;
both Sun and Lightning:
ADOLF HITLER,
as a tribute of unfailing love and loyalty, for ever and ever."
I'll pass, thanks. At least at this time

most of the best western writers on Indian faith have been fascists or right wing.

Yes, that's nice. Still doesn't compel me to read anything that praises a dictator. Also, this thread is about Buddhist literature, not Hindu or Hindu-inspired literature.

What is wrong with what it says though?

>"Oh no, this makes me feel like I'm doing something wrong! Nazis are evil!"

>thread about Buddhist literature
>someone suggests a book about Hitler
gee, I wonder why I wouldn't be interested in that particular suggestion.

read the visuddhimagga

>"Adolf Hitler is a typical Man “against Time” — like Rama, like Lord
Krishna, the most widely remembered Aryan heroes who fought and ruled in
India already before, or at the dawn of, this Dark Age, and, nearer to us, like
the very noblest Figure of the Arab world, the Prophet Mohamed"
Love letter to Hitler by an admirer of Muhammad. Not my cup of tea, but maybe I'll read all of it some day.

>I'm looking for Buddhist reading
fuck off with this shit
embrace your own culture

Yes because embracing a culture of debauchery, excess, materialism, and egoism is better than "stealing" another culture

You sound like you hate yourself and your people. You're either a teenager or a progressive.

I'll indulge you. Give me the very best books, both fiction and non-fiction, that deal with spirituality from my culture. And then explain how I should be able to glean more from those than from another culture's works of spirituality.

>embrace your own culture
what is that exactly?
also Buddhist/Hindu ideas are much closer to what European spiritualism and faith used to be like before Christianity.

I don't hate myself or my people, but I do hate my culture.

Are you seriously implying that a culture with everything I said in the previous post is better than... well, anything?

enlightenment is still enlightenment regardless of the source of knowledge.
if anything acceptance of Buddhism is the rejection of semetic religious structure

here's an old Hindu story that best describes the different attitudes towards the world by the East and West;

Long ago when men didn't wear shoes, the stony ground was hard on their feet.
A great King said
>"let us sacrifice hundreds of cattle, and cover this intolerably rocky ground with their skins"
But a wise sage said
>"no sire, let us instead kill only a few cattle and take small pieces of their leather skins to bind around our feet, that way we will have protection wherever we go"

the West is like wanting to cover everything in leather, spread and change everything in the material world, to transform outward events.
while the East is like making a sandal and transforming ones own mind, creating a different mode of thought.

to see the world in a new way by altering oneself, not by changing the world.

there is no Buddhism without Hinduism, the literature and ideas are intertwined.
if anything I'd argue Buddhism is just the "mass vehicle" of Hinduism stripped of its ethic/regional particularities.

>I'd argue Buddhism is just the "mass vehicle" of Hinduism stripped of its ethic/regional particularities.
I'll gladly disagree with you on that one. They have a shared history and culture, of course, but they are different enough to warrant their being separate religions and philosophies.

Hinduism is so incredibly varied that its really hard to say that
especially Hindus consider Buddhism just one of many sects.

I'm reading Shambhala: the Sacred Path of the Warrior right now
very good book for a new or experienced reader, a bit more "secular" than other similar books and mostly focuses on getting ideas across clearly so the spiritual concepts can be built later.

but what if buddhism is true and Buddha was the most reliable religious teacher of any culture? The laws of Reality are not culture specific.

but what if christianity is true and Jesus was the most reliable religious teacher of any culture? The laws of Reality are not culture specific.

but what if islam is true and Mohammed was the most reliable religious teacher of any culture? The laws of Reality are not culture specific.

etc etc

>its about bringing a rhythm into everything you do in life and syncing it up with the natural 'rhythms' that surround you in the world.
why do people latch onto other cultures like this when theres always a perfectly good western version of the same thing? Timaeus my man.

because you reach a point when you realise these ideas are not inherently tied to a single culture but fairly universal. I don't need to give up my identity as a Westerner to become a Buddhist.
however there will always be people like you who are firmly stuck in this highly tribal worldview.
there is nothing particularly wrong with Islam or Christianity, but the structure that Abrahamic faith imposes is one that is harmful to us as outlined here its all about control or changing everything to suit your inner state
meanwhile the Buddhist merely changes himself to better fit with the world and doens't seek to dominate.

read Plato

Plato

read Plato

>.>

I've read all of Platos works and much of the Greek canon
that changes absolutely nothing
the Egyptians for example had a philosophical system that was incredibly similar to Buddhism, this is beyond culture honestly.

>I don't need to give up my identity as a Westerner to become a Buddhist.
yeah you actually do
justify your actions with respect to the western canon- i assure you nothing is missing.

then borrow from the Egyptians. everything middle-eastern is more or less cultural common heritage.

or if its beyond culture try to understand things through your own cultures lens instead of larping as a south asian

>yeah you actually do
explain how
because I really see no reasoning behind your nonsense.
all I'm hearing from you is irrational disregard for Buddhism simply because its from "the East" likely because of the 'hippie' stigma many idiots have.
the way I see it, the fact that western canon compliments and corroborates Buddhist/Indian thought only serves to legitimise it as a concept that is universal.
until you can come up with a valid reason why it is somehow not worth learning about because of some vauge attachment to "the west" then don;t bother with your blabbering.
by the way you sound like someone who has not only never read anything coming out of Eastern philosophy, but has most likely a poor understanding of Western philosophy as well.

and just for fun this pic, I imagine the Greeks didn't have the same issues you are

more greco-indian art

part of the cross-cultural evolution of Herakles into eventually becoming the Japanese god Shukongoshin
all through the vehicle of Buddhism.
in my opinion Buddhism is more in line with our pre-Christian past than Christianity ever will be.

your 'pic related' isnt greek

im not saying the ideas articulated in buddhism are necessarily bad, just that if you cant translate those ideas back into 'common parlance' (i.e. w/r/t the canon) then at worst they probably aren't worth pursuing and at best nobody is going to take you seriously.

that last transition is such a reach, and the second picture is so poor quality as to defy belief.

another note
Buddhism only adopted this realistic presentation AFTER the Greek invasions and influence.
I'm sure many people have notices the Buddhist ideas present in Christianity as well, flowing West along the trade routes. there's a reason the theory exists that Jesus was a Buddhist student during his travels abroad..

>just that if you cant translate those ideas back into 'common parlance'
of course you can, because as you said these ideas exist across cultures making it even easier.
who cares about being "taken seriously" Christians are not taken very seriously today and they were not when the faith was founded.
can you explain what this "common parlance" is exactly and why translation is not possible?
I've found all the Buddhist literature I've read to be very accessible.

While I wholeheartedly agree with you about ideas being universal and all religions being, in the end, correct, I digress with your view on Abrahamic faith (mainly Christianity) because it is misguided by the incorrect application of the holy text by so called "Christians"

Jesus really only taught one thing: be like Jesus. That's it. That's really all the message he came to Earth to bring. And then "Christians" analyze and imitate every single aspect of his coming here except what he taught. Western culture has nothing to do with what Jesus taught.

What I'm trying to say is that pure Christianity (aka literally just imitating Jesus) is as perfect a system of beliefs as Buddhism or any Eastern.

another greco-buddhist sculpture from Afghanistan
its more the myth and legends surrounding him, but his 'look' is fairly atypical as well.

the issue was Jesus was firmly within the Judaic prophet tradition, as was Muhammad, and Abrahamic faith facilitates complex "political" structures to ensure the congregation is remaining holy, this is unavoidable without majorly heretical changes.

>be like Jesus.
What is the method that Jesus tells to become like him?

True. The mere concept of "hereticism" is inherently wrong and opposed to what Jesus taught. All major Christian Churches are simply fucked beyond repair. They're in too deep in the shitstorm they created

What do you mean the method?
Jesus taught to see him do every day shit and then imitate what he does. The method? Read what Jesus did and said in the Bible, imitate that. Nothing simpler taught, and still his teachings have been distorted beyond recognition.

>All major Christian Churches are simply fucked beyond repair.
which I why I think Christianity has too much baggage to ever regain legitimacy, I think Jesus would be served better treated himself as a Buddha and incorporated into your faith that way.

I can be wrong but I honestly don't ever see any Christian of Muslim denomination ever overcoming the rotten edifice that surrounds both.
both Christianity and Islam are falling apart in different ways.

Isn't it true, though, that a lot of church thinkers who might have expressed ideas shared with Buddhism, or acted somehow like Buddhists, were still fundamentally interested in spirituality in a way that Buddhists were not? I don't mean to downplay spirituality in buddhism, I know there's plenty of weird mystical elements. But the buddhist works I've seen are dominated by careful observation about how people behave and think, and less about speculations on ultimate truth or morality. If Christian works which express the same ideas are complicated novels, and Buddhist writing is more like a how-to. Both have different virtues, and you can't exchange one for the other.

its as said here different priorities
but the Buddha was absolute concerned with ultimate truth as have latter thinkers been.

It's drawn by the father of manga himself and it's nothing like the typical anime that toned down for kids. Long, but visually complete.

What you said about Jesus being treated as a Buddha is not only accurate but also what Jesus wanted

Sad that people truly believe Jesus wanted to make a trillionaire worldwide Church that imposes restrictions on so many things and allows endless evils

that's honestly how I see him and I find it does fit better with his teachings than the "imperial" Jesus which came latter.
it also sheds an intriguing light on his claims of Godhood.

reminder there are proven Buddhist graves found in Egypt and around the Near East/Greece and the Buddha himself was spoken of by Roman writers.

>Buddha himself was spoken of by Roman writers.
source

>What you said about Jesus being treated as a Buddha is not only accurate but also what Jesus wanted

Somebody didn't read the Gospel of John.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_and_the_Roman_world

So you'd rather deify Jesus and place him on a holiest of holy pedestals to be worshipped as a god when all he really wanted was for you to be like him?

Seconded for Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind - that book is awesome for zen and meditation. I'm not sure about the others but if this user recommends Zen Mind he's cool.

I'd also recommend Wherever You Go There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn if you're interested in mindfulness/meditation

bump