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 Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 6:27 am
I'm sure something like this has been posted here before, but I could not find it.
I recently bought a book by Osho, and it seems that he is a very prominent figure in informative Buddhist writing. It's called "Buddha, His Life and Teachings and Impact on Humanity." This is the first Buddhist book I've ever bought, so I thought I'd want something informative, and I've been learning a lot. I was wondering if any of you recommend Osho and his other books, such as "Zen, Its History and Teachings," because I saw that one at the store also.
Another thing about Osho, he's created Zen tarot cards, which I thought was very interesting. I'm still not very knowledgeable about Buddhism, but I thought tarot cards were mainly exclusive to pagan and wiccan religions. I understand that Buddhism could possibly fit somewhere into paganism, but I never imagined Zen tarot cards. Does anyone have them?
Regardless of Osho's work, I would also like to know any other books about Buddhism that you guys enjoy. I saw a lot of story books about Buddhism at the bookstore, personal accounts and such. Can anyone recommend these?
Thank you ahead of time!
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Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 7:12 am
Osho seems a bit more Indian Mystic and new age philosopher than straight out Buddhist, which probably explains things like that tarot deck. He was also arrested in '85 in the US for making false claims on his Visa forms, and deported for it/fined $400,000 USD - which he could afford, given his collection of cars and the like. In all honesty, I'm a little shifty about him as a teacher because of things like that. Well, that, and the fact that he apparently blamed his failing health on 'black magic' from a follower...soo...yeah. His legit parts aside, the guy seems to have been more than a little flaky in places. Wiki. It's got sourcing.That being said, we do have a sticky for book related things, with lots of suggestions - it might be faster to check it for ideas on what to read. 3nodding
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Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 7:30 am
sweatdrop
I totally overlooked the stickys. Duh.
That's interesting about Osho. The reviews I've read online and such praise him so highly. Thank you for the information.
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Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 7:38 am
sex.drugs.and.rock sweatdrop
I totally overlooked the stickys. Duh. It happens. biggrin No worries. Quote: That's interesting about Osho. The reviews I've read online and such praise him so highly. Thank you for the information. Welcome. Nothing like going in knowing who you're dealing with. 3nodding I suppose the reviews of him and his life's work would depend on who was writing those items (some may well be his doe-eyed followers), if they had full knowledge of his history as, effectively, a cult leader who lived the high life while his people were pretty much stripped of everything, or if they're just basing it on what they glean from the one book they read. Because even a guy who gets a lot of it wrong can get it right sometimes. 3nodding
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Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 7:58 am
Byaggha Because even a guy who gets a lot of it wrong can get it right sometimes. 3nodding
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Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 9:18 am
sex.drugs.and.rock Actually, from what I've read in the book so far, I find it very insightful. I'm not sure if this is because I'm new to Buddhism and don't exactly know the ropes, or if it's because he genuinely has something good to say. Regardless, it's teaching me at least some of what Buddhism and enlightenment is about. Case in point. Dharma is everywhere; the problem becomes sorting it from the junk information, especially if you're just getting into the faith. I can honestly not claim to have read any of his stuff, but it was mainly because of my distaste for his practices over anything else. If it still holds up under scrutiny after you've learned more about Buddhism, cool. If not, chalk it up to experience and move on. 3nodding
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Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2010 9:59 pm
If you want to really learn about Buddhism, I'd go with books by prominent Buddhist Lamas, such as HH the Dalai Lama... I have many books by himself and I find them very insightful and interesting. I recommend "The Universe in a Single Atom" by him... its a very insightful book on religion and science, and how they can benefit from each other.
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Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2010 5:21 am
I was going to get a book by the Dalai Lama, but I was afraid that it would be too advanced for me. Advanced in the sense that I'm just learning Buddhism.
Do his books require advanced comprehension of Buddhism to understand?
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Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2010 3:19 pm
 No... many of his books are for those who want to learn about Buddhism... because his books are meant for those in the west, where Buddhism is just getting really known...
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Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2010 4:18 pm
I agree on some of the Dalai Lama's work; you will need to skim the books first though, because some are pretty advanced stuff. I made the mistake of buying one too advanced when I was just getting started, and I don't think I honestly made it through the thing. A sad waste on my part, and one that wouldn't have happened if I'd bothered to read a bit. biggrin
Not just lamas either - they're only really representative of one sect. For a full picture, you've got to drag in monks from other sects as well. Bhante G does some great introductory stuff like Mindfulness in Plain English for the Theravada lot, and I like Thich Nhat Hanh for Mahayana - he's pretty poetic, but he's got some good stories/methods of teaching concepts.
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Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2010 7:27 pm
@Je Good, because that's what I'm really looking for right now. A book by him may be my next purchase.
@Byaggha Oh trust me, I look through things first. It took me fifteen minutes to pick out that Osho book. I was sitting in the middle of the aisle with a pile of books around me trying to find the right one. The Buddhism section is only one small shelf on the bottom in the "New Age" section, which made me laugh.
Do you know of any books that teach of the different sects? Or is that too expansive to cover in one book?
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Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2010 7:41 pm
Hm. Honestly, I haven't really looked for one expansive volume like that. I did most of my research on the subject at Buddhanet and here. It was free. I like free. biggrin
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Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2010 7:44 pm
Hey, if it's for free, it's for me.
I guess I'm a little old fashioned, though.
The internet is convenient, but I just like having that hard copy. But I might do that.
Wouldn't it be really helpful to have something like that, though? Like a Buddhist encyclopedia!
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Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2010 7:48 pm
I agree - quite useful! But when you consider that the writings that make up Theravada alone are easily shelves of texts and not one book, and those get added to by pretty much every sect that came afterwards PLUS commentary by all their venerable masters on the subjects within, from their sect's point of view...it gets to be a LOT of literature fast.
Not that I'm adverse to owning that many books, mind, but still. xd
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Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2010 8:02 pm
But think if it were just an overview of each sect. It doesn't have to include all the literature, just a description of what makes it different from the other sects.
Sure, it'd still be a hefty book, but very useful to beginning Buddhists.
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