Ditto for my anthology, what book!? ~~~ Budda poems from beat to hiphop: online for free, or as inksmeared deadtree.

Thomas, I added about 20 more meditations and exercises; there are dozens, from short to detailed, in all. I try to balance the theoretical with the practical, but of course it can’t be all things to all people.

Since Pure Land’s not often in the discourse (yet is the largest school, in the world and arguably the West), I recommend Taitetsu Unno’s <A href=”http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&field-has-strip=1&field-keywords=%26%2334%3BRiver%20of%20Fire%26%2334%3B&page=1&url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks”River’s of Fire, River of Water.

I also am fond of The Heart of Buddha’s Teaching by Thay Nhat Hanh.

For whatever it might be worth, I’d also comment [taking a big step back]: ever since movable type was invented to print the first book (400 years before Gutenberg) to promulgate dharma and generaete merit, books have been an important meme carrier of BuddhaDharma ever since; and lately, in the west, much so

.i.n.t.e.r.b.e.i.n.g.

May all beings be well.

Geshe’s book “The Diamond Cutter” is quite vernacular and illustrates the concepts of Karma & Emptiness as they can be applied to a businessperson’s life – or anyone in a fast-paced lifestyle. It’s a quick and entertaining read, but I keep it handy for the extensive descriptions of Karmic correlations.

Also highly recommended are the Dharma Essentials courses taught by Lama Sumati Marut. These are free audio teachings w/ PDF files to read along, and are all available through the Asian Classics Institute – LA website: http://www.aci-la.org/teach_marut-essential.html

Even more accessible than this are Lama Marut’s podcasts, taken from his extensive lectures: http://www.aci-la.org/mg-podcasts.html (iTunes: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=213342390 )

I found that just reading the Dhammapada was a great start.

Also, for any moms reading this, just have to throw in another recommendation – Buddhism for Mothers or Buddhism for Mothers of Young Children, both by Sarah Napthali. These are EXCELLENT introductions to Buddhism, including all the basics (Buddha’s life, Four Noble Truths, Eightfold path, etc.), and they show you how to transform your life as a mother into your Buddhist practice.

“Buddhism Plain & Simple” was one of my early favorites too. I wonder now if I’m not confusing it with my recommendation of “Buddhism Without Beliefs.” Now I wish I’d held onto it!

“Complete Idiot’s Guide to Buddhism” was also pretty good, in a “lots of facts” kind of way. Surprisingly “Buddhism for Dummies” was kinda awful, and I usually like Dummy books; skip the Dummy and go with the Idiot in this case

If you want to learn about Buddhism, as opposed to practicing it as your own religion/philosophy:
* The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Understanding Buddhism is an excellent bird’s-eye-view of Buddhism. It covers the essential history, different branches of Buddhism, etc. This is not a very good book for beginning your own practice of Buddhism — it’s more academic, and has very little hands-on content.

If you want to integrate Buddhism into your life and lean more towards a Zen approach, or one less influenced by the “cultural trappings” of Buddhism:
* Buddhism Plain and Simple, by Steve Hagen. This is a great introduction to the essential life philosophy of the Buddha’s teachings.
* Buddhism is Not What You Think, also by Steve Hagen. This book is very Zen, focusing a lot on matters of self/no-self and how we fool ourselves with our minds — or put another way, how we think ourselves into a boxed-in world of suffering. A good book for pondering, but it does lack a bit in the compassion department.

If you are interested in Tibetan Buddhism, or other traditions that can mix in a lot of mantras, chanting, praying, Buddhist spirits, etc.:
* Awakening the Buddha Within by Lama Surya Das. This is a great Westerner-friendly guidebook to the Buddha’s path, what it means for us as everyday folk, and how to gently apply Buddhism to your life.

“The Feeling Buddha” by David Brazier.