What Book(s) Changed Your Life?

I just posted an article here by a prisoner about how books changed his life.

Nearly everyone has had the experience of reading a book that gave them a new perspective, that radically changed their experience of themselves or the world. Many of us have experienced this more than once! Unlike watching television or even reading the news, there is nothing like a great book to change the course of your thinking or even your life.

What one book has changed your life? Perhaps there was a spiritual book that inspired you to begin meditation practice, or a novel that changed your ideas about human nature, or perhaps a book really woke you up to the seriousness of the prison industrial complex.

Please share your book (or books) and how it changed your life in the comments.

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Permalink Reply by Tamon Mark Uttech on November 27, 2010 at 10:39am
Onegaishimasu, very well said Ron, those turbulent times still make me shudder somewhat. The venerable Ram Dass sits tall in his wheelchair as he greets new challenges.

In gassho,

tamonmark
Permalink Reply by Chris de Ocejo on November 27, 2010 at 5:06pm
Ron,

I'm not at all suggesting that it didn't have a huge effect on an entire generation; it certainly did.

Speaking personally, though, I guess Be Here Now reminds me of when I was early-on in my spiritual practice: all LSD and I'll-be-a-Buddha-in-a-few-months and dime-store compassion. A couple years later, I had a traumatic illness that left me with permanent disabilities. It was far and away the worst experience of my life, but also far and away the most valuable. I discovered rather quickly that the spirituality I had spent years learning was complete bunk and that I needed to start over from a much more authentic place.

I get that - the sense of authenticity - from Ram Dass's later works, most especially everything post-stroke. There's a level of realness and depth to it I just don't get from Be Here Now. That's all.

But hey - like I said - that's just me, and my intention is far from trying to 'poo-poo' others' preferences, just explain what leads me to my own.
Permalink Reply by Carter (PDN Admin) on December 6, 2010 at 4:03pm
Nice list, John!

I'd say Man's Search for Meaning for me
Permalink Reply by Carter (PDN Admin) on December 6, 2010 at 5:33pm
yup, Mr. Frankl! It is indeed :)
Permalink Reply by Moreland Nicholson on December 8, 2010 at 1:34am
In prison the question of wheather or not what 
Trungpa Rinpoche and the sakyong Mipham
Refer to as "basic goodness" is an actuality or 
an ideological theory of some kind. Well, for me
the leap of faith i needed from time to time to understand
that the ultraviolent, abusive, unrepentant person sleeping 
one bunk away has basic goodness came from The Diary of Anne Frank 
Anne says that after all she went through during the war she still feels deep
Down people are basically  good.  That for me was Thee teaching
On patience and primoridial wisdom available to us all in ANY situation
Permalink Reply by Chris de Ocejo on December 8, 2010 at 11:24am
For me, the realization came from The Art of Happiness, where HH says that each and everyone one of us, on the most basic and fundamental level, wants happiness. I've taken that to many AIC (alternatives-to-incarceration) and I tend to lead with it when giving my bit. I've found that no matter who I talk to, phrasing things in that way opens the door a tiny sliver. I've had most folks shut it closed again, but I've had at least one person want to learn more, and I know that I've left another person with a question mark that'll bear fruit when and if he chooses to consider it.

The better that I remember the many destructive and painful ways in which I've groped for happiness, too, the easier it becomes for me to understand the ways that others do it. That helps start the relationship process; tonglen and just being present has helped with the rest. It's admittedly crude and not a well-honed practice of mine, but it's the best I've been able to figure out.
Permalink Reply by Susan Austin on December 8, 2010 at 2:44pm
The first book that changed my life was Somerset Maugham's The Razor's Edge. I was young and seeking something and didn't know what it was. My life with my peers was heading in an unhealthy direction. I was expected to take a conventional path in life, but I felt something was missing. I read the The Razor's Edge, and despite all the main character's hardships and "wrong" turns, the story gave me a glimpse that there was a different way of being in the world.

The next book that changed my life was Thich Nhat Hanh's Peace Is Every Step. I read the book after the first war in the Gulf and it saved me from the anger and despair and paralysis I felt from the wounding as a child during the Vietnam War. I started meditating. . .
Permalink Reply by Chris de Ocejo on December 8, 2010 at 3:03pm
Susan,

The Razor's Edge has been on my list of things to read for a while now, but I keep passing it by for other things. Would you say it's worth picking up? I'm a fan of Maugham generally; I had no idea that the book had anything to do with spiritual life until quite recently.
Permalink Reply by Susan Austin on December 8, 2010 at 3:08pm
I say, Pick it up! Especially if you're a Maugham fan. If you do read it, I'm interested in what you find.
Permalink Reply by John C. Kimbrough on December 13, 2010 at 6:08pm

There have been so many books over the years that gave me insights that I needed to understand and learn from. Some are: The Tree of Yoga, The Noble Eightfold Path of Buddhism, The Dhammapada, Raja Yoga, The Buddha's Ancient Path, In This Very Life, Patanjali Yoga Sutras, and Speaking of Yoga: A Practical Guide to Better Living. A monk in Thailand some years ago told me that I needed to study "The Big Book". When I asked him what this was, he told me that it was myself. So I would say that studying oneself through meditation and breathing and within the context and light of the Buddhist teachings is and has been the most important and useful book for me and perhaps others also. 



Permalink Reply by Pake Hall on June 8, 2011 at 8:00am

For me (after many years of reading books on buddhism on and off) I picked up "The Three Pillars of Zen" by Philip Kapleau roshi. I read it and when I put it down i felt that it was time to just do this practice myself and not just read about it. It has been an ongoing source of inspiration ever since.

 

Other very inspiring books for me have been: "Zen Mind; Beginner's Mind" by Suzuki, "The Bodhisattva Precepts" by Reb Anderson, "The Practice of Perfection" by Robert Aitken roshi, "Sex, Money, War, Karma" by David Loy, "Being Peace" and "Teachings on Love" and "Commentaries on the Heart Sutra" by Thich Nhat Hahn, "The Teachings of Bodhidharma" by Red Pine, "Moon in a Dewdrop"  by Dogen, "Wild Ivy" by Hakuin.... Well, it feels like this list is endless :)

 

_/\_

Pake

Permalink Reply by Timothy Rusk on April 26, 2012 at 8:00pm

For me, it was Pema Chodron's 'The Wisdom of No Escape'. I had a series of traumatic experiences in a very short time. Like her, I was, and still am for the most part, experiencing a feeling of being completly groundless. The title alone penetrated me to the core, and I realized quickly that my trauma was self-inflicted, and I had been trying my entire life to escape from myself. This started me on an entirely new life-path, and I am only now taking my first steps on that path. Namaste, Pema Chodron. I highly recommend it to everyone.

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