books for an apprentice

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fâtih
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books for an apprentice

Post by fâtih »

n.b, n.d, n.s

hi noble sangha, could you recommend me some books about threvada practice, philosophy, chantbook etc..

i need especially books about how to meditate, main notions of the school of elders, how to understand suttas, how can i avoid become a literalist and bigoted one, how should a lay person live according to dhamma, how can i keep orthodoxy, how can i chant, how to do metta practice, how can i preserve my faith in a muslim country, as an obssessive-compulsive disordered one, how can i benefit dhamma to cure my mental ilness etc...i don't think to read about abidhamma nowadays, but especially i need to learn some true aspects of rebirth, consciousness, kamma, other realms etc...

also i'm a gay person and need some solace that my sexuality is not an obstacle for practicing dhamma..

thank you..
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DNS
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Re: books for an apprentice

Post by DNS »

Here is an excellent introductory book:

https://goodquestiongoodanswer.net/

LGBT is accepted in buddhism especially theravada.

http://buddhisma2z.com/content.php?id=176
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Ceisiwr
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Re: books for an apprentice

Post by Ceisiwr »

fâtih wrote: Fri Oct 21, 2022 4:17 pm n.b, n.d, n.s

hi noble sangha, could you recommend me some books about threvada practice, philosophy, chantbook etc..

i need especially books about how to meditate, main notions of the school of elders, how to understand suttas, how can i avoid become a literalist and bigoted one, how should a lay person live according to dhamma, how can i keep orthodoxy, how can i chant, how to do metta practice, how can i preserve my faith in a muslim country, as an obssessive-compulsive disordered one, how can i benefit dhamma to cure my mental ilness etc...i don't think to read about abidhamma nowadays, but especially i need to learn some true aspects of rebirth, consciousness, kamma, other realms etc...

also i'm a gay person and need some solace that my sexuality is not an obstacle for practicing dhamma..

thank you..
The Visuddhimagga would be a good place to start: https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/aut ... on2011.pdf

As for being gay, it isn’t an obstacle.
“Knowing that this body is just like foam,
understanding it has the nature of a mirage,
cutting off Māra’s flower-tipped arrows,
one should go beyond the King of Death’s sight.”
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Eko Care
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Re: books for an apprentice

Post by Eko Care »

VISUDDHIMAGGA is the recommended compendium.

If you want easy language, you can read:

The Four Noble Truths (by Rerukane Chandavimal Thera)[pdf]

If you want Video Sermons or Classes on Fundamentals, Suttas, Meditation, Abhidhamma etc then try the below channel.

IIT International Institute of Theravada Global [Youtube Channel]
User13866
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Re: books for an apprentice

Post by User13866 »

There is a book called Samyutta Nikaya, it has actual words of the teacher [Buddha!]. Here an excerpt
Staying at Savatthi. "Monks, there once was a time when the Dasarahas had a large drum called 'Summoner.' Whenever Summoner was split, the Dasarahas inserted another peg in it, until the time came when Summoner's original wooden body had disappeared and only a conglomeration of pegs remained. [1]

"In the same way, in the course of the future there will be monks who won't listen when discourses that are words of the Tathagata — deep, deep in their meaning, transcendent, connected with emptiness — are being recited. They won't lend ear, won't set their hearts on knowing them, won't regard these teachings as worth grasping or mastering. But they will listen when discourses that are literary works — the works of poets, elegant in sound, elegant in rhetoric, the work of outsiders, words of disciples — are recited. They will lend ear and set their hearts on knowing them. They will regard these teachings as worth grasping & mastering.

"In this way the disappearance of the discourses that are words of the Tathagata — deep, deep in their meaning, transcendent, connected with emptiness — will come about.

"Thus you should train yourselves: 'We will listen when discourses that are words of the Tathagata — deep, deep in their meaning, transcendent, connected with emptiness — are being recited. We will lend ear, will set our hearts on knowing them, will regard these teachings as worth grasping & mastering.' That's how you should train yourselves."
There is another Theravadin book, also part of the canon (not disputed), called Anguttara Nikaya, also has words of the teacher. An excerpt
"Monks, there are these two assemblies. Which two? The assembly trained in bombast and not in cross-questioning, and the assembly trained in cross-questioning and not in bombast.

"And which is the assembly trained in bombast and not in cross-questioning?

"There is the case where in any assembly when the discourses of the Tathagata — deep, deep in their meaning, transcendent, connected with emptiness — are recited, the monks don't listen, don't lend ear, don't set their hearts on knowing them; don't regard them as worth grasping or mastering. But when discourses that are literary works — the works of poets, artful in sound, artful in expression, the work of outsiders, words of disciples — are recited, they listen, they lend ear, they set their hearts on knowing them; they regard them as worth grasping & mastering. Yet when they have mastered that Dhamma, they don't cross-question one another about it, don't dissect: 'How is this? What is the meaning of this?' They don't make open what isn't open, don't make plain what isn't plain, don't dispel doubt on its various doubtful points. This is called an assembly trained in bombast, not in cross-questioning.

"And which is the assembly trained in cross-questioning and not in bombast?

"There is the case where in any assembly when discourses that are literary works — the works of poets, artful in sound, artful in rhetoric, the work of outsiders, words of disciples — are recited, the monks don't listen, don't lend ear, don't set their hearts on knowing them; don't regard them as worth grasping or mastering. But when the discourses of the Tathagata — deep, deep in their meaning, transcendent, connected with emptiness — are recited, they listen, they lend ear, they set their hearts on knowing them; they regard them as worth grasping & mastering. And when they have mastered that Dhamma, they cross-question one another about it and dissect it: 'How is this? What is the meaning of this?' They make open what isn't open, make plain what isn't plain, dispel doubt on its various doubtful points. This is called an assembly trained in cross-questioning and not in bombast."
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fâtih
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Re: books for an apprentice

Post by fâtih »

thank you all dear friends !
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mikenz66
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Re: books for an apprentice

Post by mikenz66 »

To get a good overview of the teachings, I highly recommend Bhikkhu Bodhi's sutta collection, In the Buddha's Words.

It's not an expensive book, but you can start reading the notes, and alternative translations of the suttas, here:
https://readingfaithfully.org/in-the-bu ... ntral-net/

:heart:
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mathwe23
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Re: books for an apprentice

Post by mathwe23 »

DNS wrote: Fri Oct 21, 2022 4:24 pm Here is an excellent introductory book:

https://goodquestiongoodanswer.net/

LGBT is accepted in buddhism especially theravada.

http://buddhisma2z.com/content.php?id=176
Thank you for the recommendation, I read them, really good
word hurdle
Last edited by mathwe23 on Sat Oct 22, 2022 1:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Eko Care
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Re: books for an apprentice

Post by Eko Care »

"in the course of the future there will be monks who won't listen when discourses that are words of the Tathagata — deep, deep in their meaning, transcendent, connected with emptiness — are being recited. "
If you want to learn Abhidhamma which is known as deep in meaning and analysis,
classically recommended way is to begin with ABHIDHAMMATTHASANGAHA.
Red Belly
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Re: books for an apprentice

Post by Red Belly »

Hi Fatih,

Another work I'd highly recommend is Buddhadhamma by PA Payutto. It covers just about every area of the Dhamma in a clear, methodical and very approachable way. Whilst it is technically seven volumes you could always start with the first and see what you think. It is available both as a free PDF or in an elegant paperback edition for purchase. Hope this helps!

https://buddhadhamma.github.io/
BerniceDonald
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Re: books for an apprentice

Post by BerniceDonald »

mathwe23 wrote: Sat Oct 22, 2022 1:55 am
DNS wrote: Fri Oct 21, 2022 4:24 pm Here is an excellent introductory book:

https://goodquestiongoodanswer.net/

LGBT is accepted in buddhism especially theravada.

http://buddhisma2z.com/content.php?id=176
stickman fighter
I no longer consider reading about Abidhamma, but I do need to understand some of the truths associated with rebirth, consciousness, kamma, other realms, etc.
Last edited by BerniceDonald on Tue Nov 22, 2022 3:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
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