Book Recommendations
For those who like to read
(This page was written by Meng. Opinions expressed here are his own. Please do not beat up the rest of us. Thank you.)
Use the source, Luke: the Nikāyas
If you are inspired to read the source material for yourself, good news: the Nikāyas have all been translated to English. The “gold standard” are the translations by Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi. The introduction to his translations and his footnotes are also extremely valuable (and yes, I have read each and every footnote). Quite unfortunately, Bhikkhu Bodhi did not translate the Dīgha Nikāya. For that, I found the translation by Maurice Walshe to be the best. Here they are:
The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Digha Nikaya (The Teachings of the Buddha) by Maurice Walshe. [Amazon link]
The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya (The Teachings of the Buddha) by Bhikkhu Nanamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi. [Amazon link]
The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya (The Teachings of the Buddha) by Bhikkhu Bodhi. [Amazon link]
The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha: A Complete Translation of the Anguttara Nikaya (The Teachings of the Buddha) by Bhikkhu Bodhi. [Amazon link]
The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom, by Acharya Buddharakkhita and Bhikkhu Bodhi. [Amazon link]
This book is also available for free download on the web, for example, here.
The Suttanipata: An Ancient Collection of the Buddha’s Discourses Together with Its Commentaries (The Teachings of the Buddha) by Bhikkhu Bodhi. [Amazon link]
Yes, you may have noticed that of all the books in the Khuddaka Nikāya, only the Dhammapada and Suttanipata are represented above. Fortunately, you can find all the other books, plus the entirety of the Nikāyas and the Theravadin Vinaya at SuttaCentral, for free! Kudos to Venerables Sujato and Brahmali, and their team.
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SuttaCentral: Early Buddhist texts, translations, and parallels. [link] |
The Mini-Me of Nikāyas
If the Nikāyas are too much for you to read in full, fear not, Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi has collected many of the essential suttas into these two anthologies, which I jokingly refer to as “Buddha’s Greatest Hits”.
In the Buddha’s Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon (The Teachings of the Buddha) by Bhikkhu Bodhi. [Amazon link]
Noble Truths, Noble Path: The Heart Essence of the Buddha’s Original Teachings (The Teachings of the Buddha) by Bhikkhu Bodhi. [Amazon link]
The Buddha and his disciples
Both Venerables Ñanamoli and Narada have written biographies of the Buddha that are faithful to the source materials. The best book on the life stories of the disciples of the Buddha is the one by Nyanaponika, Hecker, and Bodhi. Here they are:
The Life of the Buddha: According to the Pali Canon by Bhikkhu Ñanamoli. [Amazon link]
The Buddha And His Teachings by Narada Maha Thera. [Amazon link]
This book is also available for free download on the web, for example, here.
Great Disciples of the Buddha: Their Lives, Their Works, Their Legacy (The Teachings of the Buddha) by Nyanaponika, Hellmuth Hecker, and Bodhi. [Amazon link]
Mindfulness
If you like to understand the technical aspects of mindfulness, this is the best book.
Satipaṭṭhāna: The Direct Path to Realization, by Anālayo. [Amazon link]
If you like to appreciate the beauty of living and breathing mindfulness, this is the best book,
The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation, by Thich Nhat Hanh. [Amazon link]
If you want to learn to apply mindfulness in modern day-to-day life, I recommend this book by yours truly.
Search Inside Yourself: The Unexpected Path to Achieving Success, Happiness (and World Peace), by Chade-Meng Tan. [Amazon link]
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