In my two nonfiction books (“Beyond the Power of Now†and “Electrical Christianityâ€), I provide a Spiritual Reading List (of Highly Recommended and Recommended texts in the “Great Traditionsâ€). I made a few changes to the List between “Beyond the Power of Now†and “Electrical Christianity,†and there will be more changes to the List in my forthcoming book “The Power of Now Meditation Guide†(which should be published later this year).
My Spiritual Reading List is divided into nine categories – Advaita Vedanta, Buddhism (Original), Buddhism (Tibetan), Buddhism (Zen), Christianity, Judaism, and Gnosticism, Daism, Hinduism (Yoga), Kashmir Shaivism, and Miscellaneous. In a nine-part series, I will, in turn, consider each category and provide its latest edition.
Herewith is the second category, Buddhism (Original), followed by my consideration.
Buddhism (Original)Â
Highly RecommendedÂ
Some Sayings of the Buddha, F.L. Woodward. (Easily the finest presentation of the Buddha’s core teachings.)
The Wings to Awakening: An Anthology from the Pali Canon, Thanissaro Bhikku. (Outstanding translation and commentary of the Buddha’s essential meditation teachings. Free download available on the Internet.)
RecommendedÂ
Buddhism: An Outline of its Teachings and Schools, Hans Wolfgang Schuman. (Solid academic book.)
In the Buddha’s Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon, Bhikku Bodhi. (Comprehensive introduction to the Buddha’s teachings.)
Mindfulness in Plain English, Venerable Henepola Gunaratana. (Considered by many as the best introductory text on insight meditation.)Â Â The Doctrine of Awakening: The Attainment of Self-Mastery According to the Earliest Buddhist Texts, Julius Evola (Unique consideration of Pali Buddhism.)
The Heart of Buddhist Meditation, Nyaponika Thera. (Classic text on insight meditation.)
The Living Thoughts of Gotama the Buddha, Ananda Coomaraswamy and I.B. Horner. (Classic text. Excellent introduction to Buddhism.)
The Way of Non-Attachment, Dhiravamsa. (Unique Krishnamurti-influenced book on insight meditation. Out of print.)
Consideration
I’ve added two books to this category since “Electrical Christianity†-- “The Wings to Awakening†and “The Doctrine of Awakening.†“The Wings to Awakening†complements “Some Sayings of the Buddha,†the other Highly Recommended text, because it provides the one thing it lacks: a detailed description of the jhanas, the samadhis that culminate in the attainment of Nirvana. It’s also serves as a fine general anthology, although it isn’t as elegantly composed as “Some Sayings of the Buddha.â€
Although I’m not a Julius Evola fan, I found “The Doctrine of Awakening†to be an inspiring read, hence I’ve included it as a Recommended text. I’m likewise not a fan of the uber-popular Bhikku Bodhi; in fact, at some point I’ll review his translation of the Pali Canon and expose him as a (for the ages) subverter of the Buddha’s esoteric teachings. However, I’ve decided to keep his “In the Buddha’s Words†on the Recommended List because it’s an exceptionally comprehensive anthology. Henepola Gunatarena, another revered Buddhism teacher/writer, is also clueless about the Buddha’s esoteric teachings; in fact, I’ll be giving his “Beyond Mindfulness in Plain English†one star when I review it at Amazon. However, Gunatarena’s “Mindfulness in Plain English†is probably the best of the bad bunch of introductory mindfulness texts, so, for now, it will remain on my Recommended List.
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If I may, Dhammapada translation by narada is a good one.
The Dhammapada is more a normative text than an esoteric one. And a large part of it can be found in the anthologies on my Reading List.