[carpartsho]

Hey all its 37 again i hope all of you are well. So two things
I live in New Hampshire on the seacoast and i found a meditation buddhist group 20 minutes away from me. I havent checked it out but daddy said he will go with me to get information and to see it and ask questions so heres hoping that it'll be good. If any one is interested i will let you know about it
And two my mom asked what i wanted for the holidays is there any good buddhism books or books about his holiness the 14th dalai lama i could request?
Thanks guys have a good one

[Indinehon]

Hi 37islove,

Are you looking for a book by the Dalai Lama, or about the Dalai Lama?

Pico Iyer's book The Open Road is said to be very good. I haven't read it yet but have seen some of his work elsewhere and he is an excellent writer.

The Dalai Lama himself has written dozens of books. If it were me, I would probably look for his one on the Heart Sutra, but that's just one opinion.

As for Buddhist books in general, from a Mahayana perspective I think there is one book which stands out above the rest and that is Thich Nhat Hanh's Heart of the Buddha's Teachings. From a Theravada perspective, I recommend Being Nobody, Going Nowhere by Ayya Khema.

[MortgFinsJohnQ]

Hi 37islove,

Its good to hear from you again, please let us know what the offline group is like !

About books - as you are a beginner, I would recommend you avoid 'Essence of the Heart Sutra' by HH Dalai Lama (and mentioned by Lazy Eye) because I have it myself and I think it won't be suitable reading until you understand more about the basic teachings of Mahayana/Vajrayana Buddhism, if you've chosen to investigate in that direction rather than Theravada.

I would suggest:

''Opening the mind and generating a good heart'' by HH Dalai Lama in which he gives a short survey of Buddhist teachings and then a talk on kindness.

also:

"Way to Freedom" by HHDL, which are the basic teachings of Tibetan Buddhism.


I also recommend you watch his series of video teachings on YouTube "The Four Noble Truths" which are important core teachings of the Buddha which everyone involved with Buddhism should be familiar with - and are also key teachings in the Theravada tradition too, of course.


with kind wishes,

Aloka

[Gcromqgb]

Hello again 37islove,

In addition to Aloka's advice:

The Beginners Forum has some attachments about the basic teachings of Buddha.

"What is Buddhism" and "On The Four Noble Truths by Tamara Engle are good readings to get started.

As a personal recommendation "Handbook for Mankind" is also a good reading to get started in what Buddha taught before any other tradition specific reading.

Kind Wishes,

KA

[Zpxbawtz]

Hi 37islove,

Just curious,

which kind of meditation does the meditation group practice?

[Crilosajsamq]

Yes indeed, as mentioned by Kaarine, definately have a look at the basic resources at the start of the topics in this Beginners forum, which are quite short and to the point !

[DoctorWeryDolt]

Ok thanks for all the great suggestions on books i will write down the titles and have my mom look for them on amazon for the holidays and as for the group it was a dissapointment...they're not meeting any more i was so excited when i found it online to so im pretty let down but she said she will look for another one for me so im hoping to hear from her soon

[Sarah Armstrong]

Ok thanks for all the great suggestions on books i will write down the titles and have my mom look for them on amazon for the holidays
I recommend these books for gaining a basic understanding which will be useful for any tradition:

'What the Buddha Taught' - Walpola Rahula

'Being Dharma: The Essence of the Buddha's Teachings' by Ajahn Chah

[NumDusthouh]

ok thank you :-)

[HoqCBYMl]

Sorry to hear about your offline group 37. I've been looking for one myself and have found the process disappointing too. I was encouraged to read up and learn about the different types of Buddhism before I chose a particular branch to follow.

Fee

[bestworkothlo]

i hope you find one too. im moving to boston soon so i might be able to find one there...well thats what im hoping anyway.