Books on Buddhism

[Talon87]

I'm looking for a good book on Buddhism. By "good," I mean a book which ...
- is written by a serious authority on Buddhism (so scratch any Americans off the list; Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or GTFO)
- focuses on one school of thought, and is one of the major schools
- isn't a "Chicken Soup for the Soul" kind of book, but is far more instructive about what Buddhists believe, hold dear, practice, etc.
- at the same time, isn't the Buddhist equivalent of a Bible or Quran. I want more of an essay-like book than an instruction manual dotted with prose.

All the books I saw written by the Dalai Lama broke these rules. (They were either not written by him [The Art of Happiness], were Chicken Soup for the Soul in disguise [The Universe in One Atom or whatever it's called], or were waaaaay too instructional and meant for practicing Buddhists [How To Discover the Inner You or whatever it's called].) So unless you have a book by the Dalai Lama that fits my requests, don't recommend that I go on Amazon and look for His Holiness' writings. 'Cause I already did. :|

That stated, I'm actually not attached to any one particular school of Buddhist thought, so it doesn't have to be what the Tibetans believe. In fact, I wouldn't mind learning about what the people in mainland China believe. And Japan and Korea are also fair targets (if you happen to know of a good book that deals with those countries' beliefs).

It might help to know what I want to accomplish. What I'd like to get out of reading this book is a better understanding of how Chinese (or other people) view the world, view the Ideal Man, etc. I'd also like to learn more about the religion so that I can see if I might be interested in it, since I know I am not interested in "Santa Claus" religions like Christianity where I feel there is simply too much blind worship of a deity whose existence can neither be proven nor disproven. I'm more interested in a "way to live" rather than a way to worship. In fact, I don't wish to worship, and am satisfied purely with the way-to-live parts.

[Sylar]

There's this book, can't remember what it's called...

...oh wait, yeah, Wikipedia. :O

There's always this: Buddhist Epistemology. (http://www.amazon.com/Buddhist-Epistemology-Contributions-Philosophy-Bhatt/dp/0313310874) - Dunno if it's any good, but I saw it on a TV show, and the person who had it was rich. Therefore, it must be good. xD

Edit: Wow, just looked at the price. o.o; $105! xD

[Raptor Jesus]

Books on Buddhism tend to not really be so... um... specific... lol.

Buddhism isn't taken too seriously in China to my knowledge. It's not unlike Christianity.

"Do you go to Church on Sunday?" "No."
"Do you pray before going to bed?" "No."
"Do you volunteer or do acts of charity?" "No."
"Are you Christian?" "Yeah."

Chinese Folk Religion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_folk_religion) (it doesn't really have a name to my knowledge) is much more predominate.

[Talon87]

Edit: Wow, just looked at the price. o.o; $105! xD
Yeah, you hadn't made this edit by the time I clicked on the url, but you had made the edit by the time I clicked on "Reply" to scream at you. ;p :lol: :) Seriously. $105 for a book that's only 160 pages long. No wonder that rich bastard's rich! :lol:

And I probably know more about Buddhism than Wikipedia's prepared to teach me, considering that the three sects of Buddhism I studied while taking Japanese and Chinese history are sects whose pages (on Wiki) I already know what Wiki says. :| Like, the history, the messages, the differences, etc. I'm rusty, because I took the courses Fall of 2006, but if I brushed up real quick, I'd be fine. That's why I said I don't want an instruction manual to Buddhism (like a Buddhist Bible) but rather what I want is more of a "set of essays, arranged by chapter, exploring and extolling certain Buddhist virtues and beliefs." Something which compares the text of the school with 21st Century life, but without becoming too Chicken Soup for the Soul-y.

EDIT: I'm full of shit + being a little over pompous. If I knew 100% of what Wiki had on Buddhism, I'd probably not mind getting the books for Buddhist experts that the Dalai Lama's put out. I suppose what I should say is, "I'm not a complete emo high schooler" on Buddhism, and I probably know about 50% of most of the mainstream Buddhist schools' articles on Wiki, upwards to 60% for others. 100% is just a bit much. :|

[Sylar]

You could always borrow it from your local library, if they have buddhist books.

[Doppleganger]

Go to Buddhist Church and read what they've got in the aisles. During the San Francisco (?) Japanese cultural week last year I got to read some Buddhist texts because the church was left open. Now that I think about it, I should go to that again this year! Was a pretty snappy festival.

[Talon87]

That's actually a good idea, I think. I wasn't aware that Buddhists had such things as "churches," and I've only ever thought of it as a temple religion, but you're right ... how the f00k could people learn if there wasn't a place of worship to go and learn at? Hmm.

My only concern is if the Buddhists (especially in America) have the same type of people the churches here tend to have: zealots who want to indoctrinate you into their organization the moment you show even an inkling of interest, and who will try to shove you out the door the moment they realize you're only their for academic research.

[Kasumi Violet]

"How to See Yourself As You Really Are" (or something like that) by the Dalai Lama is my favorite text... of course I don't have very many texts, so *shrugs*
Heck, I can lend it to you if you promise to return it.

[Talon87]

I don't want us (as a team) to pay for shipping once, let alone twice, on a book I can check out at the bookstore.

Also, the reason I was afraid to get that book was that people said "it's more of a guide for practicing Buddhists to learn how to meditate introspectively than it is a guide for laypeople to understand what Buddhists believe and how they behave." People said it involved a lot of advice to meditate, and that's fine and all, but not what I had in mind.

[Kasumi Violet]

Really? I found it as a good introduction to Buddhist philosophy, I mean, it explains how to see yourself and how you should approach things in life. But I guess, with many books, etc, you take out of it what you're looking for in it.

I found the book very easy to read and practical, in comparison to "Mind of Clear Light" which I've struggled for months to get half-way through and most of it is completely culturally alien to me (and since it mostly talks about dying, I find it completely uninteresting).

[Talon87]

Alright then. I'll look into it the next time I go to the bookstore. :)