Recommended Books for Beginning Buddhists?

[tmray24]

I am a newbie here and have not had a chance to read through all of the old posts. Feel free to direct me to other threads if they already exist! :)

Does anyone have an book recommendations with regard to Buddhism and Psychology/Mental Health/Social Work?

Thanks :)

-Todd

[Mayflow]

The Dhammapada (there are a variety of translations free online)

The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche

The Jataka tales (Fairy Tales about moralities)

Awakening the Buddha within (Lama Surya Das)

A Flash of Lightning in the dark of night (by Tibet's current Dalai Lama)

[dyanaprajna2011]

If you go to buddhanet.com, they have tons of books you can download for free in pdf format. They have descriptions of each one as well, so you can find one or some that suit your needs. Most of them are also categorized, but mostly by school.

[Samana]

I am a newbie here and have not had a chance to read through all of the old posts. Feel free to direct me to other threads if they already exist! :)

Does anyone have an book recommendations with regard to Buddhism and Psychology/Mental Health/Social Work?

Thanks :)

-Todd

Hi Todd,

Firstly I recommend you listen to this short talk with a read-along text "What is Buddhism'

http://www.dhammasukha.org/Study/Talks/Transcripts/WHAT-MAR03-TS.htm (http://www.spiritualforums.com/vb/redir.php?link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.spiritualforums.co m%2Fvb%2Fredir.php%3Flink%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww .dhammasukha.org%252FStudy%252FTalks%252FTranscrip ts%252FWHAT-MAR03-TS.htm)

There are also free books and talks by different teachers at this site:

http://forestsanghapublications.org/ (http://www.spiritualforums.com/vb/redir.php?link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.spiritualforums.co m%2Fvb%2Fredir.php%3Flink%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Ffor estsanghapublications.org%252F)


As far as mental health is concerned. Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy is based on Buddhist meditation methods and there's more about that at the link including book recommendations.


http://www.mbct.com/About_Main.htm (http://www.spiritualforums.com/vb/redir.php?link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.spiritualforums.co m%2Fvb%2Fredir.php%3Flink%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww .mbct.com%252FAbout_Main.htm)


As previously mentioned by dyanaprajna, there's also lots of information and downloads available at the big Buddhanet site.

You could also try putting key words into the search facility at the following link:

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/


If you work in the field of social work or mental health, then the best possible way to improve your patience and understanding is to become a Buddhist practitioner yourself !

Feel free to PM me if you need any further info.

With kind wishes


Samana

[Joshua]

I think it really depends on what form of Buddhism you are interested in. I've studied Mayahana/Tibetan Buddhism for over a decade and could suggest a plethora of books that represent that perspective. However, I couldn't tell your much or recommend much from the Theravada side.

[Samana]

Buddha's teachings of the Four Noble Truths are at the heart of all Buddhist traditions.

http://www.buddhanet.net/4noble.htm


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