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**lagunaEl** · 08-06-2011, 02:07 AM

Maybe others will have suggestions, but personally I don't know of a better place to start than Access to Insight and its extensive collection of suttas. This is the closest as you're going to get to the original teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha, without later add-ons.

If you're interested in Mahayana Buddhism, I would recommend starting with a basic overview of Mahayana teachings and core doctrines. That makes it easier to understand where the teachings of particular schools/sects came from. Among the core doctrines I would include emptiness (sunyata), perfection of wisdom (prajnaparamita), Buddha nature (tathatagarbha), mind-only (Yogacara/Cittamatra), the bodhisattva path, and the concept of "buddha fields" or "pure lands".

08-06-2011, 02:07 AM	#4
lagunaEl Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 439 Senior Member	Maybe others will have suggestions, but personally I don't know of a better place to start than Access to Insight and its extensive collection of suttas. This is the closest as you're going to get to the original teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha, without later add-ons. If you're interested in Mahayana Buddhism, I would recommend starting with a basic overview of Mahayana teachings and core doctrines. That makes it easier to understand where the teachings of particular schools/sects came from. Among the core doctrines I would include emptiness (sunyata), perfection of wisdom (prajnaparamita), Buddha nature (tathatagarbha), mind-only (Yogacara/Cittamatra), the bodhisattva path, and the concept of "buddha fields" or "pure lands".
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