buddhism

Open Heart, Clear Mind
$14.95
I have a small understanding of buddhism. I wanted to learn more and this book was the way to go. It's not even something that you would need to be buddhist to read. The ideas are presented very clearly as take what feels right to you and leave what doesn't. This book is helping me to become a better person. I highly recommend it.

One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps
$15.95
This book will actually dissuade you from the desire to learn Buddhism. The author even says that Buddhism alone did not solve his problems, mainly alcoholism, but he needed to rely heavily on an integration of both Buddhism and the 12 Steps of overcoming alocohol addiction, in order to obtain fulfillment. He admits the title is wrong, and that it is indeed. There are no 12 steps to Buddhism, but to an individual looking for a basic book about Buddhism fundamentals, "Buddhism and the Twelve Steps" could easily deceive the unititiated or unsuspecting person to believe that this book is indeed a book about 12 steps of Buddhism. It is not. Buddhism has 5 precepts or 8 precepts, depending on your attitude and goals for a peaceful life and mind. And while any person can characterize his Buddhism as 12 steps, this book is not such a book either. The author works tirelessly attempting to integrate alcohol addiciton recovery and Buddhism, but to those not well-informed or educated about the 12 steps of alcoholism recovery, this book leaves much to be desired. This is not a beginner's book about Buddhism at all, or even a book about the precepts of Buddhism. Rather, this book more accurately should be categorized as a book about alcohol addiction recovery, or a book about how the 12 steps of alcohol addiction recovery can be supplemented by some teachings of Buddhism. If you or one of your loved ones is suffering from alcohol addiction, or what the author says might be any type of dysfunctional behavior, and you have been immersed in and can fully appreciate what aloholism is about, and more particularly what the 12 steps of alcoholism recovery are about, then you could consider supplementing your library with this book. But if you are seeking to learn how Buddhism alone can help you solve a different type of real-world problem, say, dealing with a chronic illness, an eating disorder, anxiety, drug abuse, job stress, depression, the loss of a loved one, or bipolar, then this book is not for you. Or even if you are merely looking for an example of how Buddhism alone has worked to solve another person's problem, this book will leave you at a loss, since, again, the author stresses that fulfillment cannot be attained by Buddhism alone, but rather by only a combination of Buddhism with the 12 steps of alcohol addiction recovery.

Buddhism For Dummies (For Dummies (Religion & Spirituality))
$21.99
I have found this book to be a particularly good resource for the beginning Buddhist or one who has an interest in learning more about Buddhism. The book is well organized and indexed making it easy to locate information. The information is presented in an easy to read style and terms and concepts are explained for Westerners with little or no direct experience of Buddhism. I highly recommend this book.

An Introduction to Zen Buddhism
$12.00
Suzuki is the best source I've found for authentic Zen material. Homeboy definitely knows his stuff & puts it down as clearly as possibly, which ain't easy when dealing with Zen stuff. One page, paragraph, sentence could take days, weeks, months to understand; for me, a few quick seconds, but I'm a master, Grasshoppa. This book is a good start but frankly I haven't got much faith you're going to understand much of it at all, especially if you've never been to Asia & seen real poverty.

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