Hey all, I just looked into the Buddhism section a few moments ago and was surprised at it's size and depth; so first HELLO! Anyway what I am really here for is to find out where I can look for a comprehensive guide to Buddhism and the core concepts. I have a book called "teach yourself Buddhism" which is alright yet does not explain everything I want to know. I suppose what I want in a book is in-depth explanations of the concepts of rebirth, karma, ....(I'm feeling a bit braindead at the moment). Does such a book exist or am I better off looking these topics up seperately in Sutras or seperate books. P.S. If the Sutra thing is wrong I have no idea what I'm talking about, but I have been practicing mindfulness meditation on and off for about 6 months.
Hi mookka, I'm not aware of any books that specifically address rebirth or karma. Especially in-depth. By rebirth I'm assuming you mean re-incarnation not spiritual, or something like that, rebirth. If you are talking about re-incarnation, I think this is a very complicated subject in Budhism that requires a very deep understanding of the Buddhist views of self, interdependant nature, and......something else...I forget what...maybe cause and effect. I'm not thinking real clearly myself at the moment. The concept of karma is a little easier. I'd start maybe with Hanh, Thich Nhat, 1991. Old Path White Clouds, Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha. Berkeley, CA: Parallax Press. This is the life and teachings of the Buddha and is written in novel form. A very easy, delightful reading of the major concepts. Although I don't think it addresses karma and rebirth directly, it gives a very good base for the two concepts. It might be a good idea to start a thread about each concept and ask questions there!!
On rebirth; It's taken me about 9 months of pondering to finally work it out...My understanding of rebirth came from studying writings on 'emptiness' , karma and interdependence.But actually none of that study lead to an understanding. I think it ultimately came from my meditations on emptiness, karma and impermanence.This leads me to believe (in my opinion) that rebirth is just an obvious by-product of those. Part of the understadning of karma and interdependece, not a seperate topic. What I stress though is if you have a problem with understanding or accepting rebirth to begin with then don't worry about it. In my expereince I think the understanding simply comes naturally after time. Just remain open minded. As Meagain has stated there is no one book (that I know of) that covers karma and rebirth I think because they can't really be considered seperate subjects. I think it's important to start at the beginning with the fundamentals rather than trying to get ahead of yourself. Thich Nhat Hanh would be an excellent choice. At first his writings can seem over simplistic (at least to me) but that's actually the magic of it because once you really think about the meanings behind the words it really makes so much sense and has so much depth...Beautiful explainations of interdependence and also some charming poetry. Really a brilliant writer. The Dalai Lama is also a great writer. Maybe get 'The Essential Dalai Lama' as it's basically his writings on all subjects condensed into one book though maybe some of the content will come across too vague for 'beginners' because of this? This is also a very good forum to ask questions: http://www.lioncity.net/buddhism/index.php?act=idx Take care
Well if you decide that you feel drawn to buddhism after reading and studying the basics then maybe find a group near you with a teacher who can you started with some meditation and answer your questions in person...Doesn't really matter which tradition you start with...
