Q: An "easy" Dharma book to read?

Ashley Wells, Dhr. Seven, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly QUESTIONS FOR THE EDITORS

Be sincere. The only "stupid" question is the one we are too afraid to ask.

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What the Buddha Taught

The Comments Section is open to any and all questions concerning life, the universe, and everything, but especially the Buddha's Teachings known as the Dharma (Dhamma).

Dan Eckhart asked an interesting question recently: Can you guys recommend an easy Dharma book to read?

Who Ordered This Dung?

Answer: Yes, Dan. Try Who Ordered This Truckload of Dung? by awakened Buddhist comedian-in-robes Ajahn Brahm.

• VIDEO: I want to get enlightened with Ajahn Brahm

Apparently, Dan doesn't want to get bogged down in lists and Pali and Sanskrit terminology. He's a Westerner and wants some Western straight talk. Of course, we would always recommend What the Buddha Taught by Ven. Rahula as a concise text (Theravada).

When Things... (Pema Chodron)

But an American Buddhist nun would give all male authors a run for their money with the most down to earth Tibetan Buddhist advice: When Things Fall Apart.

It's from the pen of Pema Chodron (pemachodronfoundation.org) and talks about recovery, wound healing, and developing the heart when we're all already enlightened anyway (after all, "Samsara is nirvana" in the Mahayana imagination).

Sayalay Susila: This is a simple Abhidhamma book explained by the great Pa Auk Sayadaw.

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Unraveling Mysteries Mind/Body

The back-to-basics Buddhism of Theravada (the "Teaching of the Enlightened Elders" from the time of the Buddha) imagines no such thing. Samsara (endless rebirth), in a sense, is the antithesis of nirvana.

The Path to Happiness (Susila)

That is, if anything can be the opposite since nirvana is the only thing that is not a [conditioned, compounded] "thing."

For more on that, see the work of the Malaysian Burmese Buddhist nun Sayalay Susila (sayalaysusila.net) and the book she wrote with Wisdom Quarterly's very own Dharma Editor Seven.

• Looking for Happiness? (20-May-2023 Dhamma Talk @ BMV, KL) - Appamāda Viharī Meditation Center (sayalaysusila.net)