Questions for Buddhists.?

Question

What are some good books to learn about being buddhist and is there a book for buddhist equivalent to the bible?

Answer 1

I recommend "Buddhism without Belief" by Stephen Batchelor,
"Buddha" by Karen Armstrong, or "Wherever you go, there you are" by Jon Kabat-Zinn.

Also most books by Thich Nhat Hanh.

The Armstrong book draws upon the early Buddhist literature to describe what is thought best known about the Buddha.

While the "Tao of Pooh" is excellent, it is really about Taoism, not Buddhism. Taoism focuses in on an energy force that permeates everything. Buddhism focuses on the alleviation of suffering through the 8-fold path and through meditation.

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Answer 2

Not really a Buddhist "bible". I often recommend "The Tao of Pooh." It's buddhism explained through Winnie the Pooh. Entertaining read and pretty comprehensive about the main precepts. Your library has this one, probably. It was very popular a few years ago.

Answer 3

Well, for Theravada Buddhism (one of three major sects), there's the Pali Canon. For Mahayana Buddhists, there are the Mahayana scriptures (there are quite a few of these), and for Tibetan Buddhists, there are the Kangyur and the Tangyur (both of which are a collection of texts).

Answer 4

When learning Buddhism, go directly for the Teachings of the Lord Buddha him self (Suttas). Although Buddhism is over 2500 years old, you still can find these pure teachings of Lord Buddha well preserved without changing even a word in the Therawada Buddhism (Pali canon). The Buddhist equivalent to Bible is the 'Thripitaka' which is a collection of 3 "baskets". (Sutta pitaka alone has over 17,500 teachings).
Following links will take you to the English translations of these wonderful knowledge base found by mankind ever:
General Introduction:
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/index.html
Contents of Suttas:
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/index-sutta.html

To start with, go through the 1st teaching of the Lord Buddha "Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta" (Setting in Motion the Wheel of Truth) where the Lord Buddha exposed the 4 noble truths to this world:
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn56/sn56.011.piya.html

Do not forget to read the following wonderful suttas too and feel free to contact me if you need any help.

1. "Cula-hatthipadopama Sutta" (The Shorter Elephant Footprint Simile)
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.027.than.html

2. "Canki Sutta" (With Canki)
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.095x.than.html

3. "Chachakka Sutta" (The Six Sextets)
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.148.than.html

4. "Maha-satipatthana Sutta" (The Great Frames of Reference)
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.22.0.than.html

5. "Maha-sihanada Sutta" (The Great Discourse on the Lion's Roar)
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.012.ntbb.html

6. "Maha-parinibbana Sutta" (The Last Days of the Buddha)
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.16.5-6.than.html

May the blessings of the Triple Gem be with you!

Answer 5

The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying is a great book as is "The Buddha Within". Anything by Thich Nhat Hanh is easy to read and grasp.

Answer 6

There are many good buddhism books from this online bookstore, http://www.pariyatti.com/