Reddit reviews Buddhism for Beginners

"Once someone is enlightened, there is no cause to again become confused and ignorant.... we weren't once enlightened and then fell from that state.... Although all sentient beings have Buddha nature or Buddha potential, their minds have been clouded over by ignorance since beginningless time. Each moment of ignorance was produced from the preceding moment, without beginning. No external being created it. However, although ignorance has no beginning, it does have an end. It can be removed through the wisdom realizing emptiness, the lack of fantasized ways of existing. Once we perceive reality, our minds can no longer ignorantly misconceive things." - Ven. Thubten Chodron https://www.amazon.com/Buddhism-Beginners-Thubten-Chodron/dp/1559391537


"If your mind has from the very beginning been uncreated purity and perfection, then you might ask why we wander in samsara. It is because from the very beginning we have never recognized our own nature. This is not to say that we degenerated from a former state of recognition, but rather there never was such a state of recognition.

... If the mind’s nature is recognized, that recognition and the qualities inherent within the nature of the mind are the source of everything we call nirvana: all the qualities of buddhas, of their bodies, realms, and so on. If the mind’s nature is not recognized, that lack of recognition, that ignorance, is the fundamental cause or root of all samsara, all of its suffering and lack of freedom. It is this mind that, when its nature is recognized, attains buddhahood. It is this mind that, when its nature is unrecognized and on the basis of which karma is accumulated, falls into the lower realms." - Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche https://www.lionsroar.com/vajrayana-unpacked/

FPMT.org has an excellent course titled "Discovering Buddhism" that can be taken online and does a good job of introducing Buddhism from square one. FPMT is a respected mainstream organization. Otherwise, I would recommend the book Buddhism for Beginners by Thubten Chodron. Ven. Chodron has studied extensively with the Dalai Lama and is a well-regarded Buddhist scholar.

Either of those resources would be helpful to study on your own alongside attending whatever services are nearby.

Sure!

My teacher, one of the first women to receive full monastic ordination, wrote a book called Buddhism For Beginners. She teaches in the Tibetan tradition which isn't always everyone's cup of tea as it is pretty ritualized and religion-y.

As an alternative, you might consider the exceptional book The Three Pillars of Zen.

I am still very new to Advaita Vedanta and, so far, I've mostly just watched YouTube videos and am currently reading the Bhagavad Gita which is considered to be an important text to that tradition.

Buddhism for Beginners by Thubten Chodron

Tibetan Buddhism From the Ground Up by B. Alan Wallace

The World of Tibetan Buddhism by the Dalai Lama

Personally, I am of the mind that violence begets violence. In this situation, as someone else mentioned, for each person you kill, several more are likely to take their place.

However, I found this story to be interesting (from Chapter 15 in Buddhism for Beginners):

>In a story of one of Shakyamuni Buddha's previous lives as a bodhisattva, he was the captain of a ship. He knew that the oarsman was going to kill and rob the five hundred merchants on board. He had intense compassion not only for the victims, but also for the oarsman, who would experience the torturous karmic results of killing so many people. In addition, he was willing to take upon himself any negative karmic effects of killing. He thus decided to take the oarsman's life, but because his motivation was pure, the karmic effect of killing was minimal, and he created great positive potential that propelled him on the bodhisattva path.

I can understand the logic here, though I would not be willing to undertake that karma myself. The determination of what situation justifies killing is very subjective. It seems like a slippery slope.

Uhm.. it all depends on what you want to write about!

1. Buddhism for Beginners
   
   
2. This may help too
   
   
3. This is a classic
   
   
4. Another good book
   
   Im sure google would help in your search as well

This is a good start. http://www.amazon.com/Buddhism-Beginners-Thubten-Chodron/dp/1559391537/ref=cm_lmf_tit_2

Also
http://www.amazon.com/Transforming-Mind-Dalai-Lama/dp/0722540302

This one is a good one on meditation. More of a Zen thing, still a good read though.
http://www.amazon.com/Mind-Beginners-Shambhala-Library-first/dp/B004WKAMAM/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1320336862&sr=1-2

I read this one out of curiosity. The Tibetans have an interesting view on death and the 'process' of dying.

http://www.amazon.com/Tibetan-Book-Dead-Liberation-Understanding/dp/0553370901/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1320336920&sr=1-1

https://www.amazon.com/Buddhism-Beginners-Thubten-Chodron/dp/1559391537

Buddhism for Beginners by Thubten Chodron. She's a wonderful writer with a sense of humor. http://www.amazon.com/Buddhism-For-Beginners-Thubten-Chodron/dp/1559391537/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374857471&sr=8-1&keywords=buddhism+for+beginners

The Dalai Lama has many excellent books on Tibetan Buddhism, my favorites are How To Practice: The Way to a Meaningful Life and Open Heart: Practicing Compassion in Everyday Life.

 

Lama Surya Das, Traleg Kyabgon, and Thubten Chodron all have excellent introductions written from a Tibetan perspective as well.

Also not a teenager. My advice is to seek out a local priest or monk and learn from them. Being part of a group of Buddhists (sangha) is important. You need support from others.

I also recommend you do some self-studying. It's likely your teacher gave you some misinformation either out of ignorance or time constraints. I think "Buddhism for Beginners" is a good coverage of the key points, but there are many other good books. Be careful not to be trapped in pursuing intellectual knowledge of Buddhism. You need some knowledge, but practicing the path is more important.

If you run into Zen I want to caution you that many people know very little about Zen, but think they know a lot. Not many people are going to pretend to be experts in other variants like Pure Land, but quite a few will talk about Zen like they are an expert, but they are actually quite ignorant. This goes back to why I recommend you find a priest. Learn from an expert.

Beyond finding a sangha and following the advice of your teacher, the other important step is to follow the precepts. The Five Precepts were explained to me as the minimum someone needs to do to be able to practice Buddhism. Not as a divine law that you are mandated to follow, but in the sense that not following them makes practicing the path very difficult or impossible. https://thebuddhistcentre.com/text/ethics