What books should be on a seeker's shelf?

[Sand Dancer]

Any suggestions?

 

[Quintessence]

Good overviews of the world's religions, and perhaps a specific volume that addresses new religious movements. I'm not experted enough in those works to offer specific suggestions, but I routinely scope out whatever my local public library has to offer. Huston Smith's book is a classic, but beyond that, none of the ones I've looked at have stood out among the crowd.

 

[Vouthon]

Evelyn Underhill's, "Mysticism: A study in the nature and development of spiritual consciousness" (1911). It can be read for free online:

Mysticism Index

 

[Sand Dancer]

Good overviews of the world's religions, and perhaps a specific volume that addresses new religious movements. I'm not experted enough in those works to offer specific suggestions, but I routinely scope out whatever my local public library has to offer. Huston Smith's book is a classic, but beyond that, none of the ones I've looked at have stood out among the crowd.

The Huston Smith book is on the top 100 religious books. My library has it. Yay!

 

[dynavert2012]

scriptures like quran and bible

 

[Treks]

Tao Te Ching is good for opening up your mind.

 

[Red Panda]

His Holiness the Dalai Lama has written some good books that give an overview of Tibetan Buddhism.

 

[Marsha]

The Bible
The Bhagavad Gita
A Course in Miracles
The Nature of Reality by Jane Roberts
Book of Mormon
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
The Tao by Lao Tsze
Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda

 

[apophenia]

On Having No Head : Zen and the Rediscovery of the Obvious

Douglas Harding

 

[YmirGF]

Any suggestions?

A book of blank pages, that you fill in, as you go.

 

[LegionOnomaMoi]

"The safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato" - A. N. Whitehead

To me, philosophy is seeking. Not the discipline, but the idea behind it.

Philosophy is the inquiry into the possibility that explanations exist, and the examination of the validity of such explanations. Simply put, religion offers answers, while philosophy offers questions.

As seeking involves finding answers to questions, the route is through philosophy or the study of the questions. Which means that the best place to go is the various companion and handbooks series offered by Oxford University Press, Blackwell, Routledge, and Cambridge University Press. There one can find collections of papers on everything from The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Science to The Cambridge Companion to the Gospels and everything in between. They are the places to go for collections of papers on an enormous number of topics which will give one a brief description of some aspect of that topic and provide one with a list of sources for further reading. This holds true not just of specific religions, but specific figures in specific religions or specific texts in specific religions and the study of religion itself. Same for philosophy.

To quote "Le Mythe de Sisyphe: Essai sur l'absurde" by Camus: "Il n'y a qu'un problème philosophique vraiment sérieux : c'est le suicide. Juger que la vie vaut ou ne vaut pas la peine d'être vécue, c'est répondre à la question fondamentale de la philosophie. Le reste, si le monde a trois dimensions, si l'esprit a neuf ou douze catégories, vient ensuite."

[There is only the one truly important philosophical problem: there is suicide. To decide that life is worthwhile, or is not worth the trouble of living, is to answer the fundamental question of philosophy. The rest (whether the earth has three dimensions, whether the "mind" has nine or twelve categories) follow after.]

 

[SageTree]

"A Path With Heart" Jack Kornfield

 

[Secret Chief]

In case what you seek does not exist:

The Portable Atheist, readings selected by Christopher Hitchens.

 

[xkatz]

The Lotus Sutra

 

[methylatedghosts]

A book of blank pages, that you fill in, as you go.

Great idea!

 

[InChrist]

The Bible....:bible:

 

[Katzpur]

Any suggestions?

I'm going to recommend "The God Who Weeps" by Terryl Givens and Fiona Givens. It's subtitle is "How Mormonism Makes Sense of Life." Yes, it's by a Mormon. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, here are some comments about the book by some notable non-LDS Christians...

"I read this fine book in order better to understand what Mormons believe about divine compassion, and it certainly gave me that. But more important: I received in reading it some deeply personal lessons about the tears of God." (Richard J. Mouw, Ph.D., President and Professor of Christian Philosophy, Fuller Theological Seminary)

"A work of theological reflection that has much to offer intellectually and morally serious men and women of every religious persuasion." (Robert R. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton)

"Reading this book is like experiencing Mormonism in high definition. Whether you know a lot or a little about Latter-day Saint doctrine, this book will both educate and inspire you." (David E. Campbell, author of American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us)

"An elegant meditation on the basic tenets of the Mormon faith written with precision and poetry. The Givens' literary and religious references are unusually rich and varied, with the prose at times urgent and even soaring." (Helen Whitney, producer of The Mormons and Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero)

And my own observation... This book is excellent. It reads a lot like C.S. Lewis. Really makes you stop and think about things you've never stopped and thought about before.

 

[Me Myself]

A personal diary written by the seeker and in progress.

About anything.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

100 Essential Thinkers - Philosophy: 100 Essential Thinkers by Philip Stokes - Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists

I actually got into this book and I actually own it now (I guess since I was the only one to check it out they told me to just have it because it hasn't been used in a while)

Other than that, if you're into reading, I recommend buying anything from a Bible to a book about the Greek Gods

 

[Little Darwin]

I have always liked checking out the book sections of thrift stores or flea markets... You can end up with books you can't relate to, but it costs less than a buck to find out.

Good used book stores are available in some places... or were, it has been a while since I have seen one.

Edit: Looks like one store I used to like is still around (new & used): http://www.graywolfbooks.com/