What Books?

[Purple]

I need some book recommendations.  I would like to read up on what the Buddha actually said and taught.  What book(s) are the best as far as studying the suttas? 

Thanx,
Purple

[Matthew]

I would start with the [amazonsearch]middle length discourses - the Majjhima Nikaya[/amazonsearch] - you can find many of them online linked from the "Dhamma: Resources and Library Section". If you want a book this one is popular:



A note on reading the Suttas: they seem repetitive because they were first passed down as an oral tradition. It is easy to form a habit of skipping the repetitive sections and I would advise reading them carefully. Often the full message or philosophical context is missed if one skips these sections.

Access to insight is a good place to start. there is a thread here.

In the Dhamma,

Matthew

[Purple]

Thank you.  I've started reading it online at Access to Insight.  Good stuff.