{"id":31,"date":"2011-08-03T11:49:00","date_gmt":"2011-08-03T11:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2011\/08\/q-a-with-tricycle-com\/"},"modified":"2011-08-03T11:49:00","modified_gmt":"2011-08-03T11:49:00","slug":"q-a-with-tricycle-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2011\/08\/q-a-with-tricycle-com.html","title":{"rendered":"Q & A with Tricycle.com"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
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<\/a><\/div>\n

Last week I was interviewed by Emma Varvaloucas at tricycle.com and I\u2019m happy to say that yesterday the result was posted online. Have a look<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Some of it had to be cut to keep it at a reasonable length, which I can certainly appreciate. One question that was omitted asked what 5 books I thought any Buddhist scholar or practitioner should read. My answers are here, but please comment if you have a suggestion of your own: what one book (I\u2019m especially interested in those of a \u2018scholarly\u2019 nature, but practitioner books are great too) would you <\/i>recommend?\u00a0Here\u2019s my response:<\/p>\n

Oh wow. Just 5?\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Well, okay. I\u2019ll start with Peter Harvey\u2019s \u201cIntroduction to Buddhist Ethics<\/a>\"\".\u201d It is the only comprehensive survey of Buddhist ethics that I know of with incredibly well researched historical and textual analysis. Ethics really is where it\u2019s at for me. If you can get a feel for how different schools and cultures put the Buddha\u2019s teachings into practice, you can get to the heart of those traditions. (For anyone especially interested in Buddhist ethics and it\u2019s correlations with Western systems of thought, Damien Keown\u2019s \u201cThe Nature of Buddhist Ethics<\/a>\"\"\u201d is a must read.)\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Next would be Richard Gombrich\u2019s \u201cWhat the Buddha Thought<\/a>\"\".\u201d This is a book that will reward you every time you read it, from the little Background Information section in the beginning to meta-questions on methodology and a chapter called \u201cIs This Book To Be Believed?\u201d Inside you get a sense of the Buddha as a brilliant philosopher and more, as well as a view of Gombrich the academic, who even in retirement is passionate about the subject and still excited by new discoveries and insights.\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Next, I\u2019d recommend Paul Williams\u2019 \u201cMah\u0101y\u0101na Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations<\/a>\"\".\u201d This one you could read straight through if you are dedicated enough, or read a chapter or section here and there as it suits your interest. Williams is another scholar who, like Gombrich, has an amazing ability to take in and digest the latest scholarship and write about it in a comprehensive and informative way.\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Another one would be Geoffrey Samuel\u2019s \u201cCivilized Shamans: Buddhism in Tibetan Societies<\/a>\"\".\u201d This 20 year-old text is still extremely rich with historical and philosophical data for those interested in Tibetan Buddhism<\/a> (and it\u2019s a huge book!).\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I\u2019ll round it all off with \u201cA People\u2019s History of the United States<\/a>\"\"\u201d by Howard Zinn. It\u2019s not about Buddhism, but it gives us a penetrating view of where our country \u2013 and by extension much of the world \u2013 stands, and why. If you care about social action, as most Buddhists in the West today do, then you have to understand the forces you\u2019ll be dealing with.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And in case you were in doubt about my peanut butter \u2018problem\u2019 here\u2019s this week\u2019s stash:<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n

My great thanks to Emma and the good folks at Tricycle<\/a>, and be sure to read their previous Q&A; with Kyle Lovett<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week I was interviewed by Emma Varvaloucas at tricycle.com and I\u2019m happy to say that yesterday the result was posted online. Have a look. Some of it had to be cut to keep it at a reasonable length, which I can certainly appreciate. One question that was omitted asked what 5 books I thought […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nQ & A with Tricycle.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Last week I was interviewed by Emma Varvaloucas at tricycle.com and I'm happy to say that yesterday the result was posted online. 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