New to Buddism
 

hi all at BWB I am new to buddism, I am ex military I have had a strong interest in Buddism for many years as my wife is from Thailand. I just got back from being away and have found my self now finding the right time to study buddism has any one got any advice for some one that is new to Buddism?
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Hi Timbo,

You might like to read 'What is Buddhism' and click on the MP3 at the top of the page to listen along as well

http://www.dhammasukha.org/Study/Tal...T-MAR03-TS.htm

There's also a thread on The Four Noble Truths pinned at the beginning of the topics in this beginners forum and you might also like to browse the threads in our Study Links section near the bottom of the main forums page.

with kind wishes

Aloka http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ilies/grin.gif

For starters I would recommend reading part of the Pali Cannon since it is the accepted by scholars to contain the actual words of Buddha. If you would to move on from the Pali Cannon, I would suggest the Heart sutra. It is very short, about a page long, but is considered to be summarize Buddhist teaching.

The Beginners forum is for discussing the core teachings of the historical Buddha and I would stick to getting familiar with those first, Timbo.

The Heart Sutra, although very popular for Mahayana practitioners, is a later addition.

Ok thanks

Hello Timbo,

This can be a very friendly reading so to get well started with core concepts about Buddhist thought:

Handbook for Mankind

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thanks so much

Hi, Timbo!
I'm dharmamom and I'm new to the site but rather well read in Buddhism. Whenever somebody new to Buddhism asks me where they should start to get to know about it, my favourite recommendations are the Dhammapada, Walpola Rahula's "What the Buddha taught," Thich Nhat Hahn's "The heart of the Buddha's teaching," and David Brazier's "The feeling Buddha." I also like Pema Chödrön's "Taking the Leap" and "Start where you are." Then Mark Epstein's "Thoughts without a thinker" or Jack Kornfield's "The Wise Heart."

There are so many good books from different Buddhist schools it's hard to decide! But to begin somewhere, these should be excellent for a beginner.

i want to say hello to Timbo and wish him well, i am new to the site too and its good to meet you ...

and thank you dharmamom, for listing these books here :) i need to look up books too..

be well!

I would also suggest to find a Buddhist meditation class or teacher in the are where you live if possible. While study is an excellent foundation for understanding Buddhism, actual practice is quite important too.

Terma

Some more books for Timbo and Juju: Matthieu Ricard's "Happiness," the Dalai Lama with Howard Cutler's "The Art of Happiness," and Lama Surya Das "The big questions."

I agree with Terma that finding a Buddhist meditation class or teacher where you live is also important for actual practice is everything. Practice a lot of meditation, read a lot and develop yourselves!

BE A LIGHT ONTO YOURSERSELVES!

For newcomers to have an overview of Buddhism and what the Buddha taught, plus a little historical information about its development and the different traditions and so on, there are Buddhist Studies guides at the Buddhanet site, suitable for all ages.

This is a link to one of the pages:
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/teachings.htm

We also have resources in our Study Links section here, as well as a couple of links pinned at the beginning of the topics list for the 'Discovering Buddha's teachings' forum.