Can you recommend a good book that is an introduction to Buddhism?
I’m interested in the history and the philosophy including The Four Noble Truths and The Noble Eightfold Path. Thanks!
Buddhism Plain & Simple by Steve Hagen. Part One covers the Four Noble Truths in depth. Part Two covers the Eightfold Path itself (fourth noble truth). Part Three gets really into how these apply to the average joe. It’s written for beginning Buddhists, but people interested in Buddhism from a more academic standpoint will find it enlightening, even if they might skim parts of it. Of course, Hagen is a Zen master, so he comes from the Mahayana School. Zen considers itself the more distilled of the Buddhist sects, as well.
The Beginner’s Guide to Zen Buddhism by Jean Smith is also pretty good. It has a less in depth analysis of the Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path, but still very informative. It also has other things about Zen, including its history and the history of Buddhism.
If you don’t mind e-books or online stuff, Buddhanet’s basic Buddhism guide is pretty good. It approaches it in more of a “what is Buddhism for folks who don’t know Buddhism” kind of a way. It’s also a bit broader as far as sect-specific views than the above two.
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/index.htm
My basic books are Zen. I read some a few years ago from the library that covered a few different sects, but once I settled on Zen as right for me, I didn’t keep up with those.
Introduction to Buddhism
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Introduction to Ngondro Practice – Feb 25, 2000
$15.00
Lama Kathy Wesleys Introduction to Ngondro Practice at the Hartford KTC in Hartford, Connecticut on February 25, 2000. This DVD contains 1 hour & 43 minutes of video.
This talk presents the meaning of Ngöndro, a brief introduction to the Ngöndro practices and the rationale for doing those practices. This teaching is based in part on a teaching on the Kagyu lineage supplication presented by Khen…
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Buddhism Without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakening
$6.65
As in all the major religions, there is a wisdom behind the theology of Buddhism that informs the believer in daily life. Stephen Batchelor would argue that the difference with Buddhism is that the wisdom is in fact independent of the theology and is not informative to believers only, but to everyone. In Buddhism Without Beliefs Batchelor lays out the major tenets of Buddhist wisdom, commenti…
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Introduction to Tantra : The Transformation of Desire
$9.79
According to Buddhism, every human being has the potential to achieve profound and lasting happiness. And according to the tantric teachings of Buddhism, this remarkable transformation can be realized very quickly if we utilize all aspects of our human energy, especially the energy of our desires. Introduction to Tantra is the best available clarification of a subject that is often misunderstood. …
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An Introduction to Zen Buddhism
$6.40
One of the worldâs leading authorities on Zen Buddhism, D. T. Suzuki was the author of more than a hundred works on the subject in both Japanese and English, and was most instrumental in bringing the teachings of Zen Buddhism to the attention of the Western world. Written in a lively, accessible, and straightforward manner, An Introduction to Zen Buddhism is illuminating for the serious stude…
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