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Inspired mostly by Merlin the White's thread, I was wondering what everyone here has read, is reading or will be reading in terms of books on meditation, Buddhism, et cetera. 3nodding

I have read:
Secret of the Vajra World: The Tantric Buddhism of Tibet by Reginald A. Ray [ ISBN: 157062917X ]

I am reading:
The Universe in a Single Atom by His Holiness the Dalai Lama [ ISBN: 0767920813 ]

I want to read:
Indestructible Truth: The Living Spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism by Reginald A. Ray [ ISBN: 1570629102 ]

Currently reading: Ananda Maitreya's translation of the Dhammapada

Will be reading: Gil Fronsdal's translation o the Dhammapada when it comes in the mail along with What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula along with...well...I lost count of how many and the names of them...free books from Buddhist sites. If they'll ever respond to my e-mails that is. I'm beginning to fear that titling the e-mails as 'hello' automatically sent it to their junk box. gonk

EDIT: I also intend to read Buddhism Without Beliefs when I can afford to pick up a copy.

Yes. Many sites offer free books, although a lot of them offer them 'free with a voluntary donation' or request that you pay shipping.

Check out Buddhanet, there's a free books section with links to various sites, and also check out the books thread here, I believe some links were provided there.

....I swear, if all my e-mails go through, that'll be...at least twenty. ninja

I have read: Recently? The Heart of Understanding and Old Path, White Clouds by Thich Nhat Hanh. Both are great for their own reasons - Old Path is a fantastic retelling of the Buddha's life, and the Heart of Understanding is a loving commentary on the Heart Sutra.

I'll probably go reread First Buddhist Women by Susan Murcott. It's just comforting sometimes to know that women can be just as Buddhist as men...or maybe it's sad that I need that reminder. Either way, the stories of the Therigatha are worth the read, and this is a nice volume of them.

I am reading: Two Treasures by Thich Nhat Hanh. Seeing a pattern here? xd This one's a small book that only really has the Sutra on the Eight Realizations of Great Beings and the Discourse on Happiness, but since they're such important works I figured I should add the wee volume to my library.

I want to read: Calming the Fearful Mind: A Zen Response to Terrorism by Thich Nhat Hanh. I keep bumping into it in the bookstore but never have the money when I find it. Momma Zen by Karen Maezen Miller and Buddha Mom by Jacqueline Kramer both look interesting too - I'd like to see Zen (and Buddhism on the whole) applied to motherhood.

Two more to add to the will reading in the future list since I picked them up today (both at COSTCO with the usual discount you get there!):

Stephen Batchelor -- Buddhism Without Beliefs
Thich Nhat Hanh -- Living Buddha, Living Christ (the tenth anniversary edition that just came out this month)

I'm quite sure of two things: I'll end up reading the former book sooner than the latter and that I'll strongly disagree with the author's conclusions about the similarities of the two in the latter, however, I'm sure it will be an enjoyable read. On a different note, I did help an old man out while I was there. He was looking at The Secret and I went over there to get a closer look to see if it was what I thought it was. He asked me about if I'd read it or heard about it and I informed him that I had heard of it and that it was essentially 'new age crap' (among other things, it claims that you lose weight simply by THINKING THAT YOU AREN'T FAT rolleyes ) so he left it alone. About two minutes later he comes back, asks if I know of any other books and I pointed out a biography that was supposed to be good...then he noticed I was looking at Living Buddha, Living Christ and asked me about that...said he was interested because he'd heard that a lot of people were converting to Buddhism. I assumed that he was a Christian of some variety since he was an elder Latino man (I want to say Hispanic but the accent makes me unsure) which generally means (in Texas at least) that the person is Catholic so I emphasized that it dealt with comparisons between Buddha and Jesus (and their teachings). He said that sounded like something interesting and grabbed that instead. I just thought to myself 'good karma' and chuckled...so I guess I've done my good deed for the day...and made a needlessly long post; however, I imagine at least some of you will enjoy the story and forgive me. xp

Oddly, this does work in a roundabout way. Consider, if you will, my case.

I've been trying to lose weight on and off for about three years now. The only times I really accomplish any significant losses are when I believe I can actually shed weight, when I think I'm getting thinner. I tend to stall when I think I'm not losing any weight, no matter how hard I work at it.

I'm not saying it's proof the secret is right - it's still a flawed idea in many respects - but there may be more to it than people think. biggrin After all, the first step to action is intention, yes?

I just got done reading "How to Practice" by HH The Dalai Lama, I'm currently thumbing my way through "The Pocket Buddha Reader" compiled by Anne Bancroft. I'd like to Read "Living Buddha, Living Christ" but when I was at the store to pick it up, my dad made mention that Buddha was Satan's mimic of Christ, and Buddha was some sort of anti-christ. So, that book isn't in my too near future..

Not really, he was just with us that day in the bookstore. USSUALLY I can get away with books. xD My friend lent me a copy of the Satanic Bible awhile back, and he found it. He threw it away. xP I manage to get by with books that don't just say anything really related to Buddha in the title. With "How to Practice", my dad just figured it was something to do with helping oneself to happiness. And it WAS, just, not in his idea. I've got a few religious books scattered throughout my room. I've got a dummies guide to world religions in my backpack, along with an old "Sacred Texts of The East" book, published in 1900. Basically, I've got a whole mess of books, and he rarely checks, but on occasion he's found different religious books on my computer, or scattered on my floor, and flipped out on me.