I’d invite you to join the conversation as I’m looking forward to discovering more books to add to my reading list.

In case you’re interested, I’ve listed the following books as ones that hold a special place on my shelf:

Hardcore Zen
How to Be Happy
One City
Nixon Under the Bodhi Tree
You Are Not Here and Other Works of Buddhist Fiction
Transforming Problems into Happiness

So many to choose from!

I’d love any suggestions you may have for books on the topic of emptiness as I’m starting to dig in deeper in my analysis and study of this theme in Buddhism. Many thanks…

First off, this book doesn’t require you to be a Buddhist scholar or have read all of the Sci Fi/ Fantasy works cited such as: J.R.R Tolkien’s ‘Lord of the Rings‘, Phillip Pullman’s ‘His Dark Materials’ Trilogy, Ursula K. Le Guin’s ‘Earthsea’ series, Michael Ende’s ‘Momo’ and the anime film “Princess Mononoke”. The authors provide enough of a background to familiarize readers with the general themes of each piece so as not to alienate anyone from appreciating both their connection with Buddhism themes.

Loy and Goodhew examine concepts such as interdependence, renunciation, working with others, Boddhisattvic activity, karma, morality, right view, the suffering of change, the Middle Way, dualistic thinking, ecoBuddhism, letting go, life and death, selflessness, suffering, craving and our notions of reality among other topics.

“The Dharma of Dragons and Daemons” delves into the magical worlds created by these artists and provides a successful entertaining demonstration of how a segment of popular literature can be examined through a Buddhist lens. I appreciate the character analysis throughout this book and enjoy how various Buddhist masters are cited in the development of the authors thesis for each chapter.

The integration of Buddhism and Western culture is a hot topic these days and this book demonstrates how this can be successfully done by drawing on works from throughout the ages and not just those from the present day. It’s best for us not to throw the Buddha out with the bathwater in the blending of age-old dharma into that which is now hitting the bookshelves. I congratulate the authors in remaining true to the old-school works while exposing us nerds to a different way of looking at some of our favourite sci-fi/fantasy works

I do have all the best intentions to finish this lovely, geeky Buddhist book this weekend and will shun any zombie infiltrations to ensure that I stick to my guns. I’m loving what I’ve read so far and am looking so forward to reading about the author’s take on Princess Mononoke

How awesome is this?

I think it’s pretty awesome. First off, for Wisdom Publications to be listening to the opinions of “Buddhabloggers” is pretty cool in my ‘books’ (pun intended). Secondly, they are publishing books from and for audiences usually left off the radar (youth, punks, eco-greens, women and interfaith individuals).

I’m looking forward to reading Loy’s book (as well as the additional book that Joe sent along by Lama Zopa Rinpoche (which is due out in October 2008).

What a pleasant surprise for a Buddhablogger and book lover. Massive thanks go out to Wisdom Publications.

Loy writes clearly on these key topics and answers many of the misunderstandings that can arise from misinterpretation of the dharma. (Sharon Stone would take heed to read the chapter on Karma). A strong thread of socially engaged Buddhism is present in his writings and he engages the question of wwbd (what would Buddha do?) in a variety of diverse life scenarios and influences such as vegetarianism, ecology, video games, advertising and genetically modified foods.

I wholeheartedly appreciate that this book features such a wide array of topics as part of its investigation. I also do thank the author for not choosing to barrage his readers with lists of ‘things that can be done’ as a part of this “Buddhist revolution”.

“Money, Sex, War, Karma” is not a manifesto or call to arms but rather a book that puts the power in the readers hands to evaluate how best to be a socially engaged individual, awakening to the potential of what it means to be human in this age.

Please visit Wisdom Publications for more information on this and other super books by David R. Loy ***I’m particularly interested in reading Loy’s book “The Dharma of Dragons and Daemons: Buddhist Themes in Modern Fantasy” – which pretty much sounds like an awesome book for a geek like me to read!

I See Dead People['s Books] | LibraryThing

Currently (while I’m alive.. ) I have several books on the go:

Clay Shirky’s “Here Comes Everybody” - A book about organizing without organizations

Chuck Klosterman’s Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story- Laugh-out funny, weird and wonderful. I want to take a roadtrip with Chuck but would be scared of what he’d write about me and my musical taste.

Blue Pills- A Positive Love Story by Frederik Peeters- What can I say? I like my comics deep and this one is beaaautiful with such depth and exploration of what it means to be truly in love.

The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service Vol.1 Eiji Otsuka, Housui Yamazaki
More comics.. Described best as per the Dark Horse website…
Your body is their business! Five young students at a Buddhist university, three guys and two girls, find little call for their job skills in today’s Tokyo . . . among the living, that is! But all that stuff in college they were told would never pay off-you know, channeling, dowsing, ESP-gives them a direct line to the dead . . . the dead who are still trapped in their corpses and can’t move on to the next reincarnation.

Oh and some good music to accompany these reads is the podcast from Wade and George from Alexisonfire and the High Minded Low Lives podcast (*warning* To listen to this, you must like punkrock and dragqueens)

Last week, I picked up a book by Steve Hagen with the same title and I must say, I like what I’m reading so far. The book focuses upon an examination of reality and how we perceive and misperceive our world.

The book starts with the following warning (which sets it apart from all of the feel-good, self improvement books that I tend to read!!) :

“This is not a feel-good, self improvement book about how to become more spiritual. It’s an intensely practical book about how to live our daily lives openly and honestly, with wisdom and compassion. It’s a book about being awake to Reality- about being human.”

The author, a Zen teacher who was a student of Dainin Katagiri Roshi is currently head teacher at Dharma Field Zen Centre

Damm I was hoping to take the easy way out by just listin’ them! But hey. I think that credit to these fine authors / teachers is due so here’s further details on why these 5 books made the cut for me.

Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior – Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche
This was one of the first Tibetan Buddhist books I was exposed to and it resonated with me from the start. It was like reading something ancient and mystical but yet grounded and simple in its approach. It posed a way of relating with the world that was real and sane – something I was looking for at the time.

Upon reading the word ‘warrior’ in the title, I was confounded. ‘Warrior? What like that gang movie? Or like putting on battle armor and preparing for war? What am I fighting against?”

It was starting to make sense.

Dharma Punx – Noah Levine
You know that feeling you get when you are at a party and you are sharing stories with someone who is so cool. They have lived through similar experiences as you. They have awesome taste in music and are a great storyteller to boot.

You keep saying, “Yeah man. I was there. I saw that show. I was in that pit. I saw suffering. I tried to escape from suffering by using some very non-effective methods. Let’s compare tats (full disclosure- I have no ink!)”

When I was younger, I was part of a local ‘organization’ called “Punx for Peace” and we put out some ‘zines. The title of the book ‘Dharma Punx’ resonated with me for that reason. Rather than the hippy-trippy association that many (myself included) had upon my first encounter with Buddhism, this book showed me that amongst the plethora of boomerbuddhist books on the market, there are some voices that sound much closer to my ‘Rebel Yell” than to what my parents grooved out to.

The Wisdom of No Escape and the Path of Loving-Kindness- Pema Chodron
I have been a control freak all my life. Familiar feelings of panic set in when heady circumstances whip out of my grasp and overtake me. I can worry with the best of them.

On the bright side, I don’t sweat the small stuff all that much anymore. Once getting over the initial panic of hearing that there is ‘no exit’ / ‘no escape’ this book helped me to acknowledge that I have no control. Never did. Never will. This makes life and it’s situations much more workable.

The Way of the Bodhisattva- Shantideva
For me… this is the quintessential guide on how to be a good person and is how I try to live out my days.

Maybe not rightfully so,I always reduced Buddhism to the simple tenet of ‘not being an asshole.” Perhaps a little too general or simplistic, but it works for me. Shantideva’s text is both poetic and gentle while also being so direct, to the point and sometimes graphic.

This book is the kick in the pants for my practice. I really do need to re-read it on a weekly basis.

This Precious Life- Tibetan Buddhist Teachings on the Path to Enlightenment- Khandro Rinpoche
Just as Shantideva’s ‘The Way of the Bodhisattva’ has been a strong influence in my practice- both on and off the cushion, Khandro Rinpoche’s ‘This Precious Life’ is a perennial favourite of mine for its clear and insigtful presentation of the 4 Reminders.

Khandro Rinpoche explains the teachings with clarity and focus and provides practices in this book which have helped me explore my various attachments, clingings and hangups.

Both of these books help me to see the urgency of using my time to be of service and for the betterment of this world and an awareness that there is no time to waste.

1. Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior – Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche-

2. Dharma Punx – Noah Levine-

3. The Wisdom of No Escape and the Path of Loving-Kindness- Pema Chodron

4. The Way of the Bodhisattva- Shantideva

5. This Precious Life- Tibetan Buddhist Teachings on the Path to Enlightenment- Khandro Rinpoche

Big thanks to those of you who shared with me your favorites.

I’m going to be bold and tag some folks whose blogs I enjoy and hold dear.

Tag goes out to-
Monkey See, Monkey Do
Zen Unbound/Blogmandu,
Integral Options Cafe
Tyson Williams
Lotus in the Mud

You’re it