The Value of Dhamma Books

I'm moving in a couple of months and have been clearing out a bunch of things, including books. I discovered as I went through the huge collection of Dhamma books I'd put together over the years that I had outgrown almost all of them. Of the five and a half shelves of books what I ended up keeping can fit into a regular backpack.

This was an eye-opening moment for me and really drove home the point that I've heard on this site many times: the mushroom culture produces a lot of s**t, and that can make it hard to find the really true and valuable information out there.

As we look for the truth, we wade through a lot of crap. I'd kept a lot of it through inertia, and a sense that "hey, maybe this is true and I just can't see it yet." Now that I have a little experience behind me, so much of the Dhamma information I'd kept seems awful, even outright misleading.

What I'd like to know from others on the forum is this: if you were to go through this type of purge (or if you already have) what book or books would you keep? What out there has real true value?

I'd bet that the answers might be different depending on where people are on the overall path. That's just a guess, but I'd think that the arahats would choose ones that were different from a first-pather like me, and so I'm curious what people would keep for inspiration from all levels of experience. Whether certain books have a "shelf-life" in that they matter less after certain realizations, and whether certain books are rock-solid supports up to and beyond awakening.

In order of preference:
1. No books, just pay really close attention to what is going on.
2. Print off Kenneth's instructions on how to get enlightened and memorize that.
3. "what the buddha taught" by Walpola and Zen Mind, Beginners Mind.

What would I Keep? I really feel like I am at a point in my practice where not reading another book on the dharma would be acceptable. However there are a few I would suggest...

- Like Mike said What the Buddha Taught is a great introduction
- The most important Dharma writing I have found is on this site
- "Living with The Cobra" by Ajahn Chah
This is a one page transcription of a Dharma talk. It is the most powerful dharma talk I have ever heard. Please do yourself a favor and read it if you have not already www.ajahnchah.org/book/Living_With_Cobra1.php

I am encouraged to hear this. Realizing that most dharma books are worthless is a great sign haha

There are a few books which I found to be invaluable, only few of them about meditation. These are the books I find myself to recommend to people again and again. Interestingly, two of the most important are out of the Advaita Vedanta tradition. Here are some of them (in no particular order):
1. "I Am That." Nisargadatta Maharaj. (Also check out: "The ultimate medicine" by Nisargadatta Maharaj.)
2. "Talks with Ramana Maharshi". Ramana Maharshi.
I have to say, even though I extremely appreciate the Buddhist tradition and I mainly practice in this tradition, these two books alone just are beyond nearly everything else I have found. The books do not contain so much detailed instructions as what to do, but rather they are direct pointers to the truth. But then of course there are other very valuable books like the followings:
3. "Schamane in Deutschland III". Gerd-Lothar Reschke. (Book only available in German.)
4. "Das Ideenmagazin." Gerd-Lothar Reschke. (German only.)
Nobody knows this guy, but what makes them really precious is that he is in a way one of the most honest writers I have ever met. He has left behind every intention to produce great literature and arrived at such radical subjectivity as can hardly be found anywhere else. He is at the same time deeply spiritual and writes about his own problems in a way everyone experiences the world day-by-day. These books somehow have taught me to see the whole of my life as a spiritual discipline including every single aspect from eating, sleeping, making love to finding a new flat. If the first two books are about truth, the 3rd and 4th are about the soul.

Then there are the meditation instruction books which I haven't found many good ones. Maybe the two best I know are:
5. "Pointing Out the Great Way: The Stages of Meditation in the Mahamudra Tradition". Daniel P. Brown. The extremely detailed instructions make this book unparalleled as a meditation instruction manual, but of course in the mahamudra tradition.
When it comes to getting to know the Jhana states, probable the following is the best book I know:
6. "The Experience of Samadhi: An In-depth Exploration of Buddhist Meditation". By Richard Shankman. It's really only about Jhana states - but then again it's very detailed, thus it's quite useful also for meditation instruction.

The only really great book in the yoga tradition I own is:
7. "A Systematic Course in the Ancient Tantric Techniques of Yoga and Kriya: A Systematic Course in the Ancient Tantric Techniques". By Swami Satyananda Saraswati. It's some kind of a yoga bible. Huge, extremely rich and detailed instruction manual for everyone who wants to go really deeply into (Kriya) yoga. But it's not so much about Bhakti or Jnana Yoga. though it deals with these aspects as well.

5 to 7 are unlike the first four books. They are more sort of instruction manuals with detailed steps on what to do when. In this way, they do not give you much of a hint about the final truths or much wisdom, but they guide you step by step. And that's their value.

Finally, when it comes to a technical understanding of models of spirituality ("the big picture"), I am quite thankful for the books of both Adi Da and Ken Wilber.
8. "Enlightenment of the whole body." By Adi Da.
9. "The method of the Siddhas." By Adi Da.
10. "Sex, Ecology and Spirituality." By Ken Wilber.
But they neither tell you exactly what to do nor the final truth.

11. Oh, and by the way: Of course Daniel Ingram's book on Vipassana meditation contains a lot of information that is hard to find anywhere else. Thus I also appreciate it as a book to look up different pieces of information concerning Vipassana meditation. It is especially great giving detailed information about the Vipassana-Jhanas (not the absorption states, but the stages of insight meditation until a full cycle has been looped through).

And of course there are many other books where I gathered different little pieces of information that made up the whole collection. If you have to select only one of the books, take either Ramana Maharshi or Nisargadatta Maharaj.

I think people go through what might be called "consolation" periods, where they are interested in a certain kind of affirmative and not-too-challenging dharma book that makes them feel better about themselves and also whatever tradition or path they are fascinated with or flirting with, so to speak. Maybe these kinds of books are necessary for people to kind of get them teed up to do more serious practice?
And then there are books that are primarily about satisfying our need to find wonder, not in the present moment itself, but in the tradition, whichever one that happens to be, and so you get all of the hagiographies, extremely thorough religious histories, and magic/mythic, doctrinal kinds of works. I spent several years just being totally fascinated with the cultures and traditions and reading, reading, reading--basically indulging in exoticism. This is one of the reasons I now have a great deal of trouble even flipping through the Buddhist magazines--the ads, in particular, are just so over the top and ridiculous.
I've also grown tired of a certain mewling kind of dharma talk: "Whenever WE do this, WE find that WE experience that. But it is in those moments when WE fully ... blah blah blah."
I know a lot of this stuff falls into the sila category and can be extremely helpful to people. At this point, though, I'm with Mike. I'd print the instructions off this site and maybe my PDF of Practical Insight Meditation from that new Mahasi translation. More than enough there to work with!

I like:

I AM That (The Niz)
The mini shambala books (Teachings of the Buddha - Kornfield, The Pocket Zen Reader)
Mahasi's stuff that J-groove mentioned above
MTHCTB
Saints and Psychopaths

But... for the most part, I don't really care for my books like I used to. I find most of them to be pretty blah. This site has all you really need. I find mostly I read because I am having some sort of aversion to meditating. Better to meditate.

One thing I've been thinking about a bit, though, is the whole upaya thing. It's easy to roll your eyes at certain teachers, but I wonder if some of them have quite-consciously written the aforementioned types of books to draw people in, give them what they need/want, in hopes that they might eventually get into real practice. Jack Kornfield, for example, seems like a very serious dude to me.
If you think about the theme park-like temples that are all over Asia--some of them even have moving dioramas a'la Disney World--and all of the statues and paintings and stupas and bells and incense and comic-book like iconography, you have to see it as some kind of recognition of people's need for spiritual entertainment. Either that or it's a cynical ploy for money. I dunno.
We have a little sitting group here in Atlanta. We don't know what to do to build membership, or even if building membership should be a priority. If you play a podcast, how long is too long before people start squirming? We have no shiny wood floors, colorful cushions all lined up in a row, paintings, statues, etc. Across town, there's a Tibetan center with all of that stuff. It's packed! The neat thing about the KFD community is that it's full of people who are more interested in "warmth, coolness, itching, irritation, pressure, remembering thoughts," etc., than statues or mala beads! That's great!

Joel, you go, man. I think simple is better, too.

I've read very little in my yogi career. Apart from the important turnaround in my practice after reading Daniel Ingram's book, I think the most important and most beneficial written material that has made my practice take quantum leaps (if that is what we are talking about, not just a good read) are the things written here by Kenneth. All other things that I have read pale in comparison to the down to earth, actually real descriptions and instructions to awaken in this lifetime by Kenneth and some others here. There ain't much else out there in my opinion which is so important(there probably is but I haven't found any). I mean there are some great reads by Maha Boowa, but I am only relating to things written down by enlightened monks after getting a few paths under my belt.

Pre-path, well, even the pali canon confused me...sure it can be inspiring, but something about the fact that it was written thousands of years ago and in that ancient style, made me less able to relate. Whereas what Kenneth and Daniel talk about is from from direct experience, in MY language and something happening now as opposed to ages ago.

If you just had what Kenneth and Daniel wrote in your library, maybe your mind would go through intellectual masturbation withdrawals, but it would be enough to get you to 4th path pretty quickly. If you got into reading all that pali stuff and this book and that book, it could generate all sorts of confusion and promote lots of mental masturbation....I am actually talking from my own experience. This is all relative of course. Some find great benefit in what i didn't.
So each to his own

1. Daniel Ingram's book
2. The stuff written down here.
2. Kenneth's book in the making

I'm the opposite. I've read far too many books. I'd keep anything technical that I don't think is wrong or useless, anything I didn't understand or am halfway through am likely to finish and think I'll derive some benefit from (for me that's maybe three books), the Pali Suttas (I only have the Majjhima Nikaya) and anything that at one point I considered an absolute favorite. My list would fit in a small backpack.

Joel, what you said reminded me of this

"Because people want something elaborate and mysterious, so many religions have come into existence. Only those who are mature can understand the matter in its naked simplicity. The ultimate truth is so simple; it is nothing more than being in one's natural, original state. It is a great wonder that to teach such a simple truth a number of religions should be necessary, and so many disputes should go on between them as to which is the God-ordained teaching. What a pity!

Your duty is to Be, and not be this or that.

The state we call Realization is simply being one's self, not knowing anything or becoming anything. It is not a matter of becoming but of Being. Because people love mystery and not the truth, religions cater to them, eventually bringing them around to the Self."
-Ramana Maharshi

It's good to donate or sell books you don't need anymore. I do so on a fairly regular basis.

What have I kept?

1.) Jack Kornfield's books, particularly "After the Ecstasy..." This book is a major wake-up call for anyone who has experienced any degree of awakening.

2.) Some kind of collection of the Pali Suttas. I have "In The Buddha's Words," edited by Bhikkhu Bodhi, and I think it's a great compilation of some very important teachings.

3.) Books by Thai Forest teachers like Ajaan Lee, Ajaan Chah, and Ajaan Fuang. Their writings are practical and refreshing compared to the more hard-line monastic literature out there.

4.) At least one good Dzogchen book. "Quintessential Dzogchen" is one of my favorites.

5.) At least one good compilation of the writings of important Zen dudes of old. "Manual of Zen Buddhism" by D.T. Suzuki isn't bad. Though, he doesn't include any writings from Bankei, which is a shame.

6.) I'd love to get my hands on "Manual of Insight" by Mahasi Sayadaw when it's available. "Practical Insight Meditation" is a must for beginners, and I'm hoping that the new book will elaborate more on the fine points of practice and realization. *fingers crossed*

This is by no means a complete list.

~Jackson

"What I'd like to know from others on the forum is this: if you were to go through this type of purge (or if you already have) what book or books would you keep? What out there has real true value?

I'd bet that the answers might be different depending on where people are on the overall path. That's just a guess, but I'd think that the arahats would choose ones that were different from a first-pather like me, and so I'm curious what people would keep for inspiration from all levels of experience. Whether certain books have a "shelf-life" in that they matter less after certain realizations, and whether certain books are rock-solid supports up to and beyond awakening. "

A purge... now there's an idea. At the moment, the idea of dumping a lot of stuff, not just books, is very enticing to me. My overall mood seems to be swinging toward some kind of renunciation trip (again)

I'd keep my stack of print-out of Dan's book, and give away the bound copy. I'd get rid of all the rest of the Dhamma and related philosophy/religion stuff.

I've been re-reading my collection of Terry Pratchett books. If that guy isn't at least somewhat enlightened, I'll eat my..., oh, never mind. "Thief of Time" is the most obvious because of the scenery, but hey - an entire series of novels about the human condition, with Death as the main character, how big can a hint get?

Somehow, the idea of a dedicated "Dhamma book" is becoming more and more absurd to me - like a cookbook with only the weights and measures in it.

But there was certainly a time when I found reading Dhamma books very helpful and reassuring. Maybe some day I'll grow tired of Discworld novels, too.

Cheers,
Florian

I love the Dune series and am even a fan of Frank Herbert's son's attempt at sequels and prequels. I always imagined enlightenment to be like becoming a Bene Gesserit witch. Damn it, where are my lightening fast reflexes and the Voice????

The liturgy of fear is kind of dhammic!

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

Maybe it should read;
"I" must not identify with fear, Fear is the mind-killer, Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face and note this impermanent, not-self fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only ISness.


For he IS the kwisatz Hadderach!!!!

"I love the Dune series and am even a fan of Frank Herbertt's attempt at sequels and prequels. I always imagined enlightenment to be like becoming a Bene Gesserit witch. Damn it, where are my lightening fast reflexes and the Voice????
"

Oh man, it's so funny how much I relate to this! Sad but true!

"I love the Dune series and am even a fan of Frank Herbertt's attempt at sequels and prequels. I always imagined enlightenment to be like becoming a Bene Gesserit witch. Damn it, where are my lightening fast reflexes and the Voice????

The liturgy of fear is kind of dhammic!

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

Maybe it should read;
"I" must not identify with fear, Fear is the mind-killer, Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face and note this impermanent, not-self fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only ISness.


For he IS the kwisatz Hadderach!!!!"

To re-post Vincent Horn:

"Nerd alert! :-0"

But seriously, I've been thinking a bit more about this topic.
I can remember a moment where I had to choose whether to subscribe to the Buddhist Geeks podcast, or listen to a little voice that said, "Dude, you've got enough dharma books. You don't need to fill the cup with any more tea. It will just be an escape." I didn't listen to that voice, obviously, but I don't think that was a mistake.
That podcast has been hugely valuable for me--through it, I discovered Daniel's and Kenneth's work, and learned through them about Bill Hamilton's ideas. I've learned a ton from Vince's essays and interviews. There is a place for study on the path. There's also a place for practice, and it's up to each of us to know when one or the other is the best move.

KFD site gives me way more than enough to read. But honorable mention could go to the late Philip Kapleau, roshi, who 45 years ago published "the 3 Pillars of Zen: Teaching, Practice & Enlightenment". It likely was the 1st hard core western Dharma book, with teacher/student interviews, detailed posture and practice instructions, several enlightenment accounts by lay Westerners, and the assertion that enlightenment is possible for anyone with practice.

The Zen Center founded by Kapleau roshi remains a power house of hard core lay practice.

I've whittled the books down even further and here are the top contenders that are staying on my shelf. There are more, but these are the ones I love:

Living Dharma Masters by Jack Kornfield
Being Nobody Going Nowhere by Ayya Khema
Who is My Self? by Ayya Khema
I Give You My Life by Ayya Khema
In This Very Life by Sayadaw U Pandita
Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha by You Know Who
Saints and Psychopaths by Bill Hamilton