,

More like a list of favorite Buddhist books than a best of list. The books don't have to be explicitly Buddhist, but can be Buddhist-like in nature as well. Please add your favorites.

1

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4.08 avg rating — 870,418 ratings
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2

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4.17 avg rating — 124,660 ratings
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3

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4.21 avg rating — 49,625 ratings
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4

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4.27 avg rating — 63,806 ratings
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5

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4.30 avg rating — 46,667 ratings
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6

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4.33 avg rating — 21,005 ratings
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7

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4.27 avg rating — 30,980 ratings
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8

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4.29 avg rating — 181,360 ratings
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9

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4.13 avg rating — 53,525 ratings
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10

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4.19 avg rating — 15,171 ratings
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11

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4.21 avg rating — 32,398 ratings
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12

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4.01 avg rating — 130,074 ratings
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13

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4.15 avg rating — 445,193 ratings
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14

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4.16 avg rating — 18,805 ratings
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15

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4.16 avg rating — 23,290 ratings
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16

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3.78 avg rating — 244,523 ratings
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17

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4.02 avg rating — 7,090 ratings
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18

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4.24 avg rating — 11,701 ratings
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19

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4.18 avg rating — 13,098 ratings
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20

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4.01 avg rating — 10,090 ratings
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21

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4.33 avg rating — 14,472 ratings
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22

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4.16 avg rating — 6,370 ratings
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23

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4.15 avg rating — 35,263 ratings
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24

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4.23 avg rating — 21,065 ratings
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25

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4.28 avg rating — 8,020 ratings
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26

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4.17 avg rating — 8,534 ratings
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27

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4.26 avg rating — 8,298 ratings
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28

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4.03 avg rating — 9,768 ratings
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29

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4.19 avg rating — 39,187 ratings
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30

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4.24 avg rating — 13,641 ratings
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31

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4.26 avg rating — 7,792 ratings
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32

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4.08 avg rating — 9,683 ratings
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33

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4.57 avg rating — 290 ratings
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34

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4.16 avg rating — 18,882 ratings
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35

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4.08 avg rating — 7,039 ratings
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36

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4.22 avg rating — 8,845 ratings
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37

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4.03 avg rating — 10,150 ratings
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38

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4.43 avg rating — 6,996 ratings
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39

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4.96 avg rating — 24 ratings
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40

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4.37 avg rating — 3,506 ratings
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41

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4.34 avg rating — 7,950 ratings
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42

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4.02 avg rating — 6,571 ratings
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43

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4.10 avg rating — 26,490 ratings
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44

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4.34 avg rating — 43,220 ratings
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45

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4.11 avg rating — 6,361 ratings
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46

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4.02 avg rating — 26,601 ratings
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47

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3.79 avg rating — 4,494 ratings
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48

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4.17 avg rating — 6,683 ratings
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49

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3.88 avg rating — 7,337 ratings
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50

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4.18 avg rating — 6,651 ratings
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51

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4.44 avg rating — 1,968 ratings
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52

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3.91 avg rating — 5,564 ratings
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53

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4.24 avg rating — 7,959 ratings
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54

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4.42 avg rating — 6,946 ratings
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55

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4.30 avg rating — 1,612 ratings
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56

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3.98 avg rating — 16,259 ratings
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57

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4.61 avg rating — 46 ratings
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58

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4.08 avg rating — 12,237 ratings
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59

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4.21 avg rating — 4,294 ratings
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60

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3.93 avg rating — 12,171 ratings
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61

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4.17 avg rating — 218,393 ratings
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62

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4.50 avg rating — 226 ratings
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63

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4.33 avg rating — 2,449,607 ratings
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64

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4.17 avg rating — 913 ratings
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65

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4.21 avg rating — 7,815 ratings
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66

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4.37 avg rating — 785 ratings
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67

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4.23 avg rating — 475 ratings
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68

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4.40 avg rating — 2,217 ratings
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69

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4.25 avg rating — 2,337 ratings
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70

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4.14 avg rating — 3,349 ratings
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71

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4.05 avg rating — 4,382 ratings
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72

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4.07 avg rating — 2,967 ratings
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73

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4.33 avg rating — 1,287 ratings
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74

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4.01 avg rating — 14,899 ratings
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75

by
4.23 avg rating — 103 ratings
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76

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3.95 avg rating — 5,318 ratings
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77

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4.50 avg rating — 1,016 ratings
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78

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4.22 avg rating — 6,282 ratings
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79

by
4.08 avg rating — 5,469 ratings
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80

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4.56 avg rating — 1,294 ratings
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81

by
4.13 avg rating — 13,795 ratings
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82

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3.93 avg rating — 2,277 ratings
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83

by
3.80 avg rating — 545 ratings
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84

by
4.89 avg rating — 9 ratings
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85

by
it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 9 ratings
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86

by
4.62 avg rating — 16 ratings
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87

by
4.20 avg rating — 1,181 ratings
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87

by
4.07 avg rating — 5,871 ratings
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89

by
3.97 avg rating — 4,366 ratings
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90

by
it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 17 ratings
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91

by
4.09 avg rating — 8,097 ratings
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92

by
4.25 avg rating — 1,783 ratings
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93

by
3.96 avg rating — 205 ratings
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94

by
4.14 avg rating — 311 ratings
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95

by
4.04 avg rating — 1,732 ratings
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96

by
4.06 avg rating — 5,082 ratings
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97

by
3.92 avg rating — 1,439 ratings
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98

by
3.85 avg rating — 4,619 ratings
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99

by
4.17 avg rating — 2,435 ratings
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100

by
4.11 avg rating — 212 ratings
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906 books · 1,180 voters · list created June 18th, 2008 by Gary (votes) .
944 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Gary 2558 books
73 friends
Dahlila 147 books
37 friends
Brandy 1241 books
62 friends
Gary 770 books
28 friends
Santina 343 books
18 friends
jenna 440 books
69 friends
Heather 966 books
164 friends
Robert 2007 books
27 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-33 of 33 (33 new)

dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by [deleted user] (new)

The Da Vinci Code is Buddhist??? I didn't pick up on that at all. Please explain.


message 2: by Gary (new)

Gary Fixed. Thanks for the heads-up.


message 3: by [deleted user] (new)

Gary wrote: "Fixed. Thanks for the heads-up."

Its OK! I thought maybe I missed something when I read the book.




message 4: by Thom (new)

Thom Dunn Has Buddhism anything accessible for a Young Western woman afflicted with manic depression (aka Bi-polar affective disorder).


message 5: by Gary (new)

Gary Thom wrote: "Has Buddhism anything accessible for a Young Western woman afflicted with manic depression (aka Bi-polar affective disorder)."

Thom, I do not know the answer to that, but I would think Mindfulness in Plain English might be helpful.


message 6: by Dian (last edited Apr 13, 2010 11:11PM) (new)

Dian Thom wrote: "Has Buddhism anything accessible for a Young Western woman afflicted with manic depression (aka Bi-polar affective disorder)."

Hi thom, are you Bipolar? Im studying psychology and am interested in mindfulness meditation therapy a.k.a mindful cognitive based therapy (MBCT)or mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) developed by Jon Kabat Zinn, but there are a lot of people there who taught meditation like Dr Peter Strong (www.mindfulnessmeditationtherapy.com) both are witers about meditation for therapy, u can find it in amazon.com. Me myself i practise ch'an meditation, i was taught first by a layperson after that by monks and nuns. Well, see for yourself if it can help you or not but i think u should continue taking your medication and consult first with your doctor. If there's anything ud like to discuss contact me at: livingreen2008@yahoo.com


message 7: by Thom (new)

Thom Dunn Dian wrote: "Thom wrote: "Has Buddhism anything accessible for a Young Western woman afflicted with manic depression (aka Bi-polar affective disorder)."

Hi thom, are you Bipolar? Im studying psychology and a..."


I lucked out with Dysthemia among blood relatives, but we have all sorts of diagnoses including a now-deceased bipolar aunt. I find that any vibration of the vocal chords or as I call it "chanting the blues" is helpful. and thanks for the feedback. Stay strong, L, Thom.


message 8: by Dian (new)

Dian Thom wrote: "Dian wrote: "Thom wrote: "Has Buddhism anything accessible for a Young Western woman afflicted with manic depression (aka Bi-polar affective disorder)."

Hi thom, are you Bipolar? Im studying psych..."


Ur welcome:) stay strong also. Maitri, Dian


message 9: by Matt (new)

Matt Gluber You should add "The Power of Now" to this list. Though not buddhist text, the message is the same.


message 10: by Pat (new)

Pat I agree, The Power of Now is a good instruction to daily living.


message 11: by Oznasia (last edited Mar 18, 2011 09:44PM) (new)

Oznasia Pat wrote: "I agree, The Power of Now is a good instruction to daily living." Probably any of Eckhart Tolle's books would be more relevant than one or two I see here. Have just added a couple.


message 12: by Ryan (new)

Ryan Nearly all second hand interpretion~~


message 13: by Melodious09 (new)

Melodious09  @pat ....wow I am amazed ......u hv read "Power of now " ??????


message 14: by Christina.reads (new)

Christina.reads Yes. The Power of now is really a powerful book to transform life. Another good read is a small kindle version of Laughing Buddha: The Alchemy of Euphoric Livingby a little known author. Read it and liked.


message 15: by Mickaugrec (new)

Mickaugrec Melodious09 wrote: "@pat ....wow I am amazed ......u hv read "Power of now " ??????"

Eckhart Tolle sounds like something of a charlatan ... but I actually have NOT read his work. Separately: Love the list subtitle: it would seem un-Buddhist to identify "Best of --", lol! Mick


message 17: by Gary (new)

Gary ok i'm prejudiced ...


message 18: by Thom (new)

Thom Dunn Ella wrote: "Thom wrote: "Has Buddhism anything accessible for a Young Western woman afflicted with manic depression (aka Bi-polar affective disorder)."

The Tao of Pooh and the Te of Piglet was helpful for my ..."


Thank you ! I have both, and they surely won't hurt.


message 19: by Kirsten (new)

Kirsten I do see some books on this list that aren't really related to Buddhism. For instance, The Four Agreements is a really, really simple guide to daily living, but really has nothing to do with Buddhism itself. I don't want to delete that book, though, because someone might still find it helpful.


message 20: by Mickaugrec (new)

Mickaugrec Hmmmm how much more complex is Buddhism than The Four Agreements?


message 21: by Kirsten (new)

Kirsten Mickaugrec wrote: "Hmmmm how much more complex is Buddhism than The Four Agreements?"

Um, I don't know? I'm not sure complexity is an issue when it comes to a general concept like Buddhism (specific types of Buddhism may be complex, but overall you can't measure it in terms of complexity).

I can say that The Four Agreements is not complex in any way, since it's a short and simple explanation of basic human interaction meant to be readable by any person, but why does its level of complexity need to be compared to anything?


message 22: by Mickaugrec (new)

Mickaugrec That's pretty much my point:
"For instance, The Four Agreements is a really, really simple guide to daily living, but really has nothing to do with Buddhism itself."


message 23: by Kirsten (new)

Kirsten Mickaugrec: You haven't made a point. If you wish to do so, feel free, but with the brief statements you have written one can only assume that you are trying to find something or someone with which to argue to remedy your boredom. There are a lot of more appropriate places to do that than the comment section of a list on Goodreads.

That said, I have no interest in arguing over a point that has not even been expressed. I merely made a neutral comment about one book that skirts the bounds of this list's criteria.


message 24: by Thom (new)

Thom Dunn Rather than seeking to de-list rogue items, I suggest we just let them trail off the body of list items. If a book is not central to Buddhism, most likely it will garner few clicks and find itself at the bottom of the list.


message 25: by Gary (new)

Gary I do delete inappropriate books from time to time, but let's just let this one stay as it is not wholly inappropriate. NBD.


message 26: by Kirsten (new)

Kirsten Yep, as I said in my first comment -- it is similar to parts of Buddhism in some ways, as it is meant to help people learn how to interact with life and with others. So it can fall into the part of the description that says, "can be Buddhist-like in nature as well."


message 27: by Mickaugrec (new)

Mickaugrec Kirsten wrote: "Mickaugrec: You haven't made a point. If you wish to do so, feel free, but with the brief statements you have written one can only assume that you are trying to find something or someone with which..."

I am no more bored than the next person, usually engaged in life, thought and debate. I did not see you response until just now, so evidently my "remedy for boredom" works.
I challenge your self-appointment as arbiter or doyenne of Buddhism. And my comments, though brief (that's generally a GOOD thing, by the way, brevity is the henchman of wit, etc., am I right?), make that point succinctly. Perhaps more precisely, your RESPONSES do. You are free of course to enjoy or reject any book you like, but I suspect your construct of Buddhism is equally simple as 'The Four Agreements.' One can assume that you "do not know what you are talking about," putting it simply.


message 28: by Rose (new)

Rose I'm really glad this list exists! I was looking for some books to read concerning Buddhism, this should be a good start :)


message 29: by Raghavy (new)

Raghavy Roos wrote: "I'm really glad this list exists! I was looking for some books to read concerning Buddhism, this should be a good start :)"
I recommend starting with the dhammapada which is one of the most best known buddhist scriptures. It a collection of saying from the Buddha in verse form.


message 30: by Frank (new)

Frank I haven't read it, but just from looking at the title, I don't think "This Changes Everything" has anything to do with Buddhism.


message 31: by Cynda (new)

Cynda Item 44, The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom is definitely not a Buddhist book and is definitely a Toltec book. A great book but not one that belongs here.


message 32: by Gary (new)

Gary Thanks Frank and Cynda. Updated.


message 33: by Mickaugrec (new)

Mickaugrec Updated - meaning constricted at the behest of fascist Buddhists? Or dogmatic Buddhists (better those than those Buddhists who haven't even read the book they are challenging!) ... I say Don't Give in To Them. But NBD as you say, better to give in to the classification-fervor than not maintain the list at all. Thanks Gary, Cheers, Mick


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