The Best Books on Buddhism
People new to studying Buddhism often struggle with finding a place to start. Here’s a list of some of the best books on Buddhist studies out there.
The Top Five:
1. Harvey, P. 1990, An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices.
Harvey offers a comprehensive introduction to the Buddhist tradition covering not only its historical developments, but also its main concepts and practices. This is a huge amount of information, but the book succeeds in being highly readable and its clear structure means that the information is easy to digest.
An Introduction to Buddhism is great for anyone looking for an encyclopaedia of Buddhism to dip in and out of. However, the comprehensive picture one gains of the religion if the book is read from cover to cover should not be underestimated.
This book is at the top of the list because it serves two functions. Firstly, it is a very readable book absolutely crammed full of detailed information. Reading it will give you a very comprehensive view of Buddhism. Secondly, it is a great reference book. With a simple structure and decent index it’s great to quickly remind yourself of particular points if you’re faced with an awkward question. No one should be without it.
2. Bechert, H. & Gombrich, R. (eds) 1984, The World of Buddhism: Buddhist Monks and Nuns in Society and Culture.
This is a beautifully presented and produced book. The level of writing is academic but very clear and the illustrations are exquisite. Like many of the books here, The World of Buddhism gives a ‘big picture’ of Buddhism. No attempt has been made to be fully comprehensive in discussing the religion, but the pertinent points have been pulled out and presented in such a way as to enable easy understanding.
The World of Buddhism may be slightly outdated, now 24 years old. However, its illustrations help to give a real flavour of Buddhism in all its incarnations. This, combined with the books inherent readability and academic value, makes it a must have.
3. Gethin, R. 1998, The Foundations of Buddhism.
This is a great complement to Harvey’s book. Gethin concentrates on the ideas and practices which constitute the common heritage of the different Buddhist traditions. Starting with the narrative history of the Buddha, he analyses the textual tradition, the Four Noble Truths, Karma, rebirth, the various paths, and the interaction between monastic and lay life.
The Foundations of Buddhism is extremely easy to read and easy to understand. It is not as comprehensive as some of the other books listed, but it is certainly a page-turner. As a way into the religion you couldn’t ask for anything more readable.
4. Williams, P. & Tribe, A. 2000, Buddhist Thought: A Complete Introduction to the Indian Tradition.
Buddhist Thought is not an introduction to the religion as whole, rather it is an introduction to certain ideas and concepts that developed on the Indian subcontinent. A certain amount of background knowledge is assumed. However, the book is a valuable resource for anyone interested in taking their knowledge of Buddhism to the next level of detail.
Williams takes a historical approach and applies this to many of the common myths and beliefs traditionally held by Buddhists. This endeavour is particularly rewarding in his analysis of the origins of Mahayana.
All in all, a great book for someone wanting to delve a little deeper into Indian Buddhism.
5. Cush, D. 1994, Buddhism (A Student’s Approach to World Religions).
This book is particularly aimed at the world of RE. As such, the writing is set at a school level and the layout has a textbook feel. This means that Buddhism (A Student’s Approach to World Religions) is extremely easy to use and very readable.
The book, given its target audience, doesn’t go into as much detail as some of the other books in the list. However, it still manages to find the balance between more scholarly works and overly basic introductions and a large number of topics are covered.
If you’re in a hurry Buddhism (A Student’s Approach to World Religions) could well prove to be one of the most valuable books on your shelf.
Poker Books Online
Poker books online are everywhere designed to help you make money online. Do they really help you make money? To answer this question, yes they really do but not all of them. You have to find the right ones that will really help you and make you profitable. When playing Texas holdem online, I highly suggest you only play sit n go’s. If you do not know what a sit n go is, it is a small mini tournament usually consisting of around 9 players. The top 3 players left standing make it into the money and get paid.
The breakdown of getting paid is as follows:
1st place = 50% of the total overall prize pool
2nd place = 30% of the total overall prize pool
3rd place = 20% of the total overall prize pool
As you can see when you play sit and go’s you need to gun after first place every time. You can’t sit back and rely on making 3rd place over and over again. It just isn’t profitable or worth your time. The best poker tip I could ever tell you is to gun after first place every time. But how? When you are gunning after first place you must do the following. I am going to explain this to you at a high level but you will get the idea and understand it. When you start a sit n go, the blinds will be extremely low. On average, the first 20 hands of the poker game will be folded. If you sit back and watch, you will see at least 2 players knocked out right away maybe 3 just from playing way to aggressive at the beginning or going all in because they just don’t care.
Once you get down to around 5-6 players you need to start playing more aggressive. Playing aggressive is the best thing you can do at this point. You need to start stealing blinds and padding your chip stack to take down first place. When there is 4 players left, you definitely, I mean definitely, need to play aggressive. This is where most players go wrong. They will play way to loose, fold all their good hands, and just sit there until there is just 3 players left. It isn’t smart because they usually just hold on for 3rd when they could have gotten first and they just wasted their time. They could have played more aggressive and built up enough chips to take down first place.
An astounding poker stat is that 1 first place victory equals 3 3rd place finishes. You will absolutely waste your time by sitting there and being scared to play your good hands. You need to play your hands when there is 3 players left but that doesn’t mean you have to play them dumb. There is a difference between smart aggressive play and dumb aggressive play. When you are playing aggressive and get caught by a re raise, fold the hand and tell the person good hand. The moral of this poker article, don’t be afraid to lose! Scared money won’t make money.
Which Are the Best Books on Italy?
I have read literally thousands of books about Italy. I moved to Italy ten years ago, both before and since moving here I have been a voracious reader of all things Italian.
Since I moved to Italy many of my friends and family, not living in Italy, have asked me for tips on which books I would recommend they read. People normally tend to ask me for advice on three types of book. These are as follows:
1) Good travel guides for an upcoming vacation to Italy.
2) Eating like an Italian – which books really share the authentic recipes and cuisine of Italy.
3) The best travelogues, books in which you feel that you are right there in Italy.
One important caveat is that many books I read before moving to Italy do not reflect the reality of Italy. Many of the cook books don’t reflect authentic Italian cooking, many of the travel books don’t reflect the real Italian lifestyle.
The books I have selected are the real thing. Page after page you will find yourself transported into another world. A celebration of the extraordinary quality of life in Italy. I can assure you that the Italy you will experience in these books is little known but it is 100% genuine.
This is my first article on the subject and my first pick is the book:
The Lead Goat Veered Off
Definitely my best book about Sardinia, travel or otherwise. If you read just one book about Sardinia read this one. The book tells a very humorous tale of a three month bicycle trip around the island. Very successful at conveying a real taste of life on Sardinia – I really laughed myself silly.
If you would like to see my other picks visit: