Welcome to Gaia! ::

I'm hoping that this can be a resource for all those still learning or expanding upon their current knowledge of Buddhism, meditation, etc. Perhaps, since it seems that a lot of people in this guild are not specifically Buddhist, but believe in certain principles or concepts, we can also include non-denominational/spiritual works as well.

If you have read something you thought was helpful to you, or would like to warn of books that misrepresent Buddhism, please post up here. I think it will be helpful for all of us to have a resource of writings to learn and grow from.

Reminder! When suggesting books, please only suggests books you've read, or that have been recommended to you. I would hate to compile a list of books with false or inaccurate information, and have newer Buddhist or those questioning reading inaccurate material. And also please include the correct title and author in your post as well, to make it easier on me to find a link to the book somewhere on the web. Thanks!

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Good Books on Buddhism:
A Yearbook of Buddhist Wisdom (click here)
A Buddhist Bible (click here)
Zen Flesh, Zen Bones (click here)
The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching by Thich Nhat Hanh
Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Beginner's Guide to Zen Buddhism by Jean Smith
Buddha by Osamu Tezuka
Awakening the Buddha Within by Lama Surya Das
The Dzogchen Primer by Marcia Schmidt
Build a Better Buddha by James Robbins
What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula
Introduction to Zen Buddhism by D.T. Suzuki
Manual of Zen Buddhism by D.T. Suzuki
Essays on Zen Buddhism by D.T. Suzuki
Scholar Warrior by Deng Ming-Dao
Hardcore Zen by Brad Warner
The Tibetan Book of the Dead/The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki.

Good Books on Meditation/Yoga:
14 Lessons in Yogi Philosophy by ???
An Advanced Course in Yogi Philosophy & Easter Occultism by ???
8 Mindful Steps to Happiness by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana
Autobiography of a Yogi by Parahansa Yogananda
For A Future to Be Possible: Commentaries on the 5 Mindfulness Training by Thich Nhat Hanh

Good Books on Non-denominational Practices:
The Zen Commandments (click here)
Living Buddha, Living Christ by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Dhammapada
Buddhist Scriptures by ???
Destructive Emotions (And How We Can Overcome Them) by Danial Goleman
Healing Emotions:Conversations with the Dalai Lama on Mindfulness, Emotions and Health by Daniel Goleman
Buddha by Deepak Chopra
Buddhism Without Beliefs by Stephen Batchelor

Fictional or Humorous Good Books
Buddha in Your Backpack by ???
What Would Buddha Do? by ???
The Tao of Pooh by ???
Dharma Punx by Noah Levine
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse


Bad Books on Buddhism:
(nont yet)

Bad Books on Meditation/Yoga:
(none yet)

Bad Books on Non-denominational Practices:
(none yet)

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Update: October 21, 2005
- It's been a while since I have been on Gaia or been to this board or updated this listing. Life sometimes has a way of catching you off-guard and then keeping you there for some time and I seem to just be recovering now. I thought it would be a good time to update the book listing here, as in my period away from Gaia and the Loving Kindness Guild, I have been reading many many many great spiritual books, most non-denominational or ancient pagan. A good book should always be available for when you are feeling down or depressed of just lost and confused. I have slowly been acquiring the books on this list, as has been suggested on this thread. I hope to continue updating it more often, now that life has gotten back on track. Please keep posting your suggestions as you read new works. Thanks for the help in compiling this very informative list!

"Advanced Course in Yogi Philosophy & Religion" should actually be "Advanced Course in Yogi Philosophy & Eastern Occultism". Sorry about the prior mix-up.

Also, not sure exactly where it would go, but "Living Buddha, Living Christ" by Thich Nhat Hanh should definitely be on there, probably in the non-denominational list. For that matter, anything by Thich Nhat Hanh is good in my opinion.

Really everything by Thich Nhat Hanh is worth reading. Also, "Autobiography of a Yogi" by Paramhansa Yogananda needs to be added under "Meditation/Yoga".

I don't know if this would really go into any of the topics that you have up there but...
'The Tao of Pooh'
It is a really good taoism book.
I loved it... its an easy read also.... You can finish it in a day if you try.

Actually, it's kinda...not that great. I didn't really find it too terribly good at explaining proper Tao. It's more a western reference and jump point into proper Tao studies than an actually good Tao book.

I thoroughly enjoyed Awakening the Buddha Within by Lama Surya Das (Tibetan Buddhism). I am currently reading The Dzogchen Primer by Marcia Schmidt, and Build a Better Buddha by James Robbins.

Ok, couple more additions:

"What the Buddha Taught" by Walpola Rahula

"For a Future to be Possible: Commentaries on the Five Mindfulness Trainings" by Thich Nhat Hanh

could i recommend Siddhartha by Herman Hesse