 | The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching by Thich Nhat Hanh
Buy new: $10.17 / Used from: $4.70 I can't tell you how many people have e-mailed for the name of "just one or two books" to start their exploration into Buddhism. This is one of a pair I always recommend.
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 | The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Buddhist Wisdom: A Complete Introduction to the Principles and Practices of Buddhism by Gill Farrer-Halls
Buy new: $25.60 / Used from: $0.99 Not an encyclopedia - ignore the title. This is the second of a pair I always recommend to beginners in Buddhism. Think: great crash course with lots of pictures. Incredibly easy-to-read overview!
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 | Buddhism Without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakening by Stephen Batchelor
Buy new: $9.36 / Used from: $5.00 The book that confirms - once and for all - that Buddhism can simply be a way of life as opposed to a religion with deities.
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 | Shopping for Buddhas by Jeff Greenwald
Buy used from: $0.69 Another one of the books that got me started. A marvellous personal account of living in Kathmandu and looking for the perfect Buddha statue.
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 | The World's Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions by Huston Smith
Buy used from: $2.45 The section on Buddhism provides an incredibly comprehensive and insightful overview of its history and its 3 principal traditions.
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 | Awakening the Buddha Within: Tibetan Wisdom for the Western World by Lama Surya Das
Buy new: $10.85 / Used from: $3.18 One of the books that made me "start the journey." A plain-spoken style of writing that's both incredibly friendly and instructional. Terrific!
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 | Siddhartha: An Indian Tale (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics) by Hermann Hesse
Buy new: $9.00 / Used from: $0.01 Hesse turns the story of the Buddha into one of the most enchanting and delicate stories of our time. (Thank you, Nicole.)
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 | Mindfulness in Plain English, Updated and Expanded Edition by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana
Buy new: $10.17 / Used from: $6.34 The only book a beginner will ever need on meditation. An easy to understand step-by-step approach - perfect for beginners!
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 | The Accidental Buddhist by Dinty W. Moore
Buy new: $10.88 / Used from: $1.75 Proof positive that being a beginner in Buddhism can be both joyful and very funny.
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 | Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness: Walking the Buddha's Path by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana
Buy new: $11.53 / Used from: $8.56 An incredibly well written and clearly explained book on the essence of Buddhism. This is the second "must have" for beginners.
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 | Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness by Sharon Salzberg
Buy used from: $0.30 No book better explains, nor embodies, the value and importance of compassion in Buddhism than this simple and elegant work.
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 | What the Buddha Taught: Revised and Expanded Edition with Texts from Suttas and Dhammapada by Walpola Rahula
Buy new: $10.08 / Used from: $5.50 An internationally recognized classic. Selections of Buddhism's core scriptures -- translated and interpreted in plain English with astonishing clarity by a great scholar. The 3rd "must have."
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 | Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living by Pema Chodron
Buy used from: $1.46 Buddhism stresses two key values. Wisdom and compassion. This book is a masterpiece that gently takes you by the hand to teach you about Buddhist compassion.
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