Recommended Reading
Life of the Buddha
by Bhikkhu Nanamoli
This unique biography presents the Buddha’s revolutionary solution for humanity that leads to the end of ill will, craving and delusion. Though born a prince surrounded by luxuries, Gotama the Buddha was transformed by realizing that no one escapes unhappiness. He spent the remainder of his life discovering, then imparting, the answer to the great question: “Is there a way out of the cycle of suffering?”
Light on Enlightenment
by Christopher Titmuss
Recommended by Subhana, and subtitled “Revolutionary Teachings On the Inner Life”, it provides an excellent overview of the structures (e.g. the Four Noble Truths, the Seven Factors of Enlightenment, the Five Hindrances) of the Buddha’s teachings. Available from Windhorse.
Clearing the Path
By: Nanavira Thera
Mentioned and recommended by Rena. A digital version is available at Buddhanet.
Embracing the Beloved
By: Stephen and Ondrea Levine
Mentioned by Winton.
Selling Spirituality
By: Jeremy Carrette and Richard King
One of Winton’s “favourite books”. From the cover blurb:
From feng shui to holistic medicine, from aromatherapy candles to yoga weekends, spirituality is big business. It promises to soothe away the angst of modern living, and to offer an antidote to shallow materialism. “Selling Spirituality” is a short, sharp attack on this fallacy. It shows how spirituality has in fact become a powerful commodity in the global marketplace–a cultural addiction that reflects orthodox politics, curbs self-expression and colonizes Eastern beliefs. Exposing how spirituality has today come to embody the privatization of religion in the modern West, Jeremy Carrette and Richard King reveal the people and brands who profit from this corporate hijack, and explore how spirituality can be reclaimed as a means of resistance to capitalism and its frauds.
