Book List: A Decade of Spiritual Seeking

The following is a partial list of books I have read touching on religion and spirituality over the last decade. Initially, I was still pretty hostile to organized religion, especially Christianity. I say partial for a few reasons. One, most of the book I own are in storage, and some I have read without purchasing. Hence it is possible some of them have slipped my mind. A few that have slipped by may even have been influential, but my memory is just playing tricks. For example, I know I have read at least two and possible three books by Lama Surya Das. One was definitely "Awakening the Buddha Within", but I also read one or more of the following: "Letting Go of the Person You Used to Be", "Awakening to the Sacred", and/or "Buddha Is As Buddha Does". I will have to flip through them at a bookstore sometime to be certain. The list looks waaaay to short. If I find or remember any missing texts, I will add them to the list.

I have tried to place them in approximately the order that I originally read them, but this is also somewhat inaccurate. I have devised a scheme for evaluation as well, for whatever that is worth, based on a 1-5 rating system, using II "Initial Impact", EI "Extended Impact", OI "Overall Impact". So, something may have been really crucial at a given time, but then didn't have much effect after the initial impact, so II might be 5 and EI 1. Get it? Overall impact is decided given an extended perspective, like a historical judgment of overall significance. A comment may or may not be given.

Enjoy...

Create Your Own Personal Sacred Text: Develop and Celebrate Your Spiritual Life, Bobbi Parish (II: 4 EI: 2 OI: 3) - "Important because it inspired me to read books from various sacred traditions."

Tao Te Ching, Lao-Tzu, Stephen Addiss, Stanley Lombardo, and Burton Watson (II: 4 EI: 3 OI: 4)

Dhammapada: The Sayings of the Buddha, Thomas Cleary (II: 2 EI: 2 OI: 2)

Upanishads, ??? (II: 3 EI: 1 OI: 1)

The Happy Heretic, Judith Hayes (II: 3 EI: 1 OI: 1)

The Buddha in Your Mirror: Practical Buddhism and the Search for Self, Woody Hochwender, Greg Martin, and Ted Morino (II: 4 EI: 4 OI: 4) - "I really enjoy this book, lots of good wisdom from self-help and improvement woven well with an uplifting theme; not just for SGI members. The next two are just like extensions of this book, like sequels, but this is the best."

• The Buddha in Your Rear View Mirror: A Guide to Practicing Buddhism in Modern Life, Woody Hochwender

• The Buddha Next Door, Zan Gaudioso and Greg Martin

Freedom from the Known, Jiddu Krishnamurti (II: 1 EI: 1 OI: 1) - "Didn't have the conceptual vocabulary to make sense of this at the time."

The Power on Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, Eckhart Tolle (II: 5 EI: 2 OI: 3) - "Really got me wound up at the time."

The New Buddhism, David Brazier (II: 3 EI: 1 OI: 1)

[Smaller Pure Land Sutra] (II: 4 EI: 3 OI: 4)

[Parts of the Larger Pure Land Sutra] (II: 3 EI: 2 OI: 3)

[Heart Sutra] (II: 5 EI: 4 OI: 4)

[Platform Sutra of Hui Neng] (II: 4 EI: 3 OI: 3)

[Parts of the Flower Garland Sutra] (II: 3 EI: 2 OI: 2)

Buddhism for Beginners, Thubten Chodron (II: 3 EI: 2 OI: 1)

Essence of the Heart Sutra, H.H. the Dalai Lama (II: 3 EI: 2 OI: 2) -"Joyuously confirmed many implications I had gleaned from the Heart Sutra."

Zen Shin Talks, Sensei Ogui (II: 4 EI: 3 OI: 3)

Finding Our True Home: Living in the Pure Land Here and Now, Thich Nhat Hahn (II: 4 EI: 3 OI: 3)

The Lotus Sutra, Burton Watson (II: 4 EI: 3 OI: 4)

Opening the Heart of the Cosmos: Insights on the Lotus Sutra, Thich Nhat Hahn (II: 4 EI: 3 OI: 3)

Jizo Bodhisattva: Guardian of Children, Travelers, and Other Voyagers, Jan Chozen Bays (II: 3 EI: 2 OI: 2) - "Need to go back and finish the last few chapters."

The Diamond that Cuts Through Illusion: Commentaries on the Prajñaparamita Diamond Sutra, Thich Naht Hahn (II:2 EI:3 OI:2)

Dharma Drum: The Life & Heart of Ch'an Practice, Ch'an Master Sheng-Yen (II: 2 EI: 1 OI: 1)

Hoofprint of the Ox: Principles of the Chan Buddhist Path as Taught by a Modern Chinese Master, Ch'an Master Sheng-Yen and Dan Stevenson (II: 2 EI: 2 OI: 1)

Buddha of Infinite Light: The Teachings of Shin Buddhism, the Japanese Way of Wisdom and Compassion, Daisetz T. Suzuki (II: 3 EI: 3 OI: 3)

Shin Buddhism: Bit of Rubble Turn Into Gold, Taitetsu Unno (II: 4 EI: 4 OI: 4)

Rivers of Fire, Rivers of Water, Taitetsu Unno (II: 4 EI: 3 OI: 4)

The Mystic Heart: Discovering a Universal Spirituality in the World’s Religions, Br. Wayne Teasdale (II: 5 EI: 5 OI: 5)

A Monk in the World: Cultivating a Spiritual Life, Br. Wayne Teasdale (II: 5 EI: 4 OI: 5)

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Buddhism, Gary Gach (II: 3 EI: 2 OI: 2)

The Universe in a Single Atom - The Convergence of Science and Spirituality, H.H. the Dalai Lama (II: 4 EI: 3 OI: 2)

Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, Marcus Borg (II: 4 EI: 3 OI: 2)

The God We Never Knew, Marcus Borg (II: 3 EI: 3 OI: 2)

The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith, Marcus Borg (II: 3 EI: 2 OI: 3)

Meditation Without Gurus: A Guide to the Heart of Practice, Clark Strand (II: 2 EI: 1 OI: 1)

**Amitabha books** (II: 3 EI: 2 OI: 2) - "A lot of books published by a Taiwanese press by Master Chin Kung distributed by the Amitabha Society."

Awakening the Buddha Within: Tibetan Wisdom for the Western World, Lama Surya Das (II: 3 EI: 3 OI: 3)

The Good Heart - A Buddhist Perspective on the Teachings of Jesus, H.H. the Dalai Lama (II: 3 EI: 1 OI: 2)

Going Home: Jesus and the Buddha as Brothers, Thich Nhat Hahn (II: 4 EI: 4 OI: 5)

Living Buddha, Living Christ, Thich Nhat Hahn (II: 3 EI: 2 OI: 2)

Manifesting God, Fr. Thomas Keating (II: 4 EI: 3 OI: 4)

Open Heart, Open Mind: The Contemplative Dimension of the Gospel, Fr. Thomas Keating (II: 4 EI: 3 OI: 3)

The Mystery of Christ: The Liturgy as Spiritual Experience, Fr. Thomas Keating (II: 3 EI: 2 OI: 2)

Dangerous Words: Talking About God in the Age of Fundamentalism, Gary Eberle (II: 4 EI: 4 OI: 5)

Prayer for People Who Think Too Much: A Guide to Everyday, Anywhere Prayer from the World's Faith Traditions, by Mitch Finley (II: 3 EI: 2 OI: 2)

A Beginner's Guide to Tibetan Buddhism, Bruce Newman (II: 3 EI: 2 OI: 2) - "Need to finish."

Unlocking the Mysteries of Birth and Death, Daisaku Ikeda (II: 4 EI: 3 OI: 4) - "Based on a wide study and synthesis of various forms of Buddhism, this comes across as a sensible overview of subtle, nuanced and sophistacted wisdom, even for non-SGI members."

No Death, No Fear, Thich Nhat Hahn (II: 3 EI: 2 OI: 2)

Whose Church?: A Concise Guide to Progressive Catholicism, Daniel C. Maguire (II: 4 EI: 2 OI: 2)

Credo, William Sloane Coffin and James Carroll (II: 3 EI: 2 OI: 3)

No One Sees God: The Dark Night of Atheists and Believers, Michael Novak (II: 3 EI: 2 OI: 2)

? Drawing a blank on this period ?

How to Believe in God (Whether or Not You Believe in Religion), Clark Strand (II: 5 EI: 4)

A Friendly Letter to Skeptics and Atheists: Musings on Why God Is Good and Faith Isn't Evil, David G. Myers (II: 3 EI: 3)

You Can Run but You Can't Hide, Duane "The Dog" Chapman (II: 4 EI: 3)

The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith, Timothy Keller (II:4)

Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical, Shane Clairborne (II: 5) - "I wish I had read this when I was about 18-19 and ready to just give up on Christianity."

Becoming Enlightened, H.H. the Dalai Lama and Jeffrey Hopkins (II: 2)
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Books I am interested in reading...

The Raft Is Not the Shore: Conversations Toward a Buddhist-Christian Awareness, Thich Nhat Hanh and Daniel Berrigan