# Religious Books. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 16, 2004, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-books/234585 "2004-03-16T04:14:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Parkerz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@Parkerz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parkerz)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-books/234585/1 "2004-03-16T04:14:52Z")
I’m looking to do some research on different religions, mainly Budhism. Can you suggest some good books? ---
**Author:** ![Nanook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nanook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanook)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-books/234585/2 "2004-03-16T13:19:48Z")
Read Joseph Campbell’s Myths of Light, a slender yet cogent primer on Buddhist symbology, or Oriental Mythology, the second volume in The Masks of God series. ---
**Author:** ![CairaJade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f04885/32.png) [@CairaJade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairaJade)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-books/234585/3 "2004-03-16T13:56:07Z")
_Awakening the Buddha Within_ by Lama Suyra Das, and anything by Thich Nhat Hanh. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-books/234585/4 "2004-03-16T14:06:46Z")
> [@CairaJade](#): > > _Awakening the Buddha Within_ by Lama Suyra Das, and anything by Thich Nhat Hanh. A good choice, I had planned on recommending it too. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-books/234585/5 "2004-03-16T14:49:16Z")
My recommendation: “Nine Headed Dragon River” and “The Snow Leopard” by Peter Mathiesson. The first is a history, of sorts, of Zen Buddhism in America. The second is the author’s account of a a natural history expedition in the Himalayas, deeply informed by his own involvement in the religion. It’s wonderful. So much writing about Zen seems cold to me. The Snow Leopard really brings in the emotional experiences he had. Neither are intros to Zen, but Mathiesson is such an excellent writer, I’m sure you’ll learn a lot from both. (PS - forgive misspellings, please) ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-books/234585/6 "2004-03-16T15:07:25Z")
If you are looking for an easy to read general primer on World Religions “The Joy of Sects” Its kind of religion for dummies. Nothing too in depth. Little factoids. I doubt he got everything right, but its well researched enough to be a good place to start. ---
**Author:** ![beajerry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@beajerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beajerry)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-books/234585/7 "2004-03-16T16:36:48Z")
_The World’s Religions_ by Huston Smith is a very general overview. _Zen Buddhism: Selected Writings…_ by D.T. Suzuki is a wonderful book that explains zen well and captures the feeling of the symbology. I can’t recommend it enough. I second Campbell’s _Myths Of Light_, a great collection of lectures/writings! _Patterns in Comparative Religion_ by Mircea Eliade is good, as is everything else by him. Some other authors with good comparative mythology works are: Robert Segal, J.F. Bierlein, Wendy Doniger, Alan Watts, Phil Cousineau. And for some interesting other takes on myths see _Hamlet’s Mill_ by DeSantillana and the wonderful _Cry For Myth_ by Rollo May. Roberto Calasso’s books are artistically appealing on the subject. ---
**Author:** ![dal\_timgar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@dal\_timgar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dal_timgar)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-books/234585/8 "2004-03-16T20:06:37Z")
OLD SOULS by Tom Shroder You will have to figure out which religion it applies to tho. Dal Timgar > [@Parkerz](#): > > I’m looking to do some research on different religions, mainly Budhism. Can you suggest some good books? ---
**Author:** ![DevilDan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e495f1/32.png) [@DevilDan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DevilDan)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-books/234585/9 "2004-03-18T06:28:50Z")
> [@beajerry](#): > > _The World’s Religions_ by Huston Smith is a very general overview. Big ditto for this book. ---
**Author:** ![Drastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Drastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drastic)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-books/234585/10 "2004-03-22T08:49:44Z")
Brad Warner’s **Hardcore Zen** is quite possibly the best book on Buddhism I’ve read in quite awhile. The dude’s a former punk rocker, works in the studio that makes the Ultraman monster-stomping show, is a jen-yoo-wine certified Zen Master (“Dharma Transmission” and lineage and all, natch), and refreshingly down-to-earth about it all.