Dharma book of the month

I like books; in fact, I love reading books and I have always got a book (or two!) on the go. I try to read books that I find spiritually uplifting, books that educate me, books that broaden my horizons, books that stimulate me, books that improve me in some way. What I enjoy reading broadly falls in to two camps: factual books that discuss people, events or discoveries in this world and Dharma books that discuss, well, the Dharma and Buddhism.

There are many, great Dharma books out there covering a bewildering array of subjects and for newcomers to the Dharma, such a choice is confusing. A quick look around Borders reveals literally hundreds of such books; I remember going to buy my first Dharma book a couple of years ago and thinking “Where do I begin?”, shutting my eyes and grabbing one at random (luckily I chose a great introduction to the Dharma that whetted my appetite for more).

Two years on, I’m still going in to book shops and being amazed by the selection in front of me: it is both overwhelming and truly wonderful to have such a choice. However, I have decided to highlight one particular book that I read a few weeks back and was bowled over by the simple beauty and truth it contains. This book is called Who Ordered This Truckload of Dung? by Ajahn Brahm, a British Buddhist now leading a centre in Australia. It is a mix of short stories and anecdotes from Ajahn Brahm’s life and insights he has had along the way. It is a book that just about every time I get to the end of a chapter, I am knocked out, shaking my head in amazement and wonderment. Most of what he writes is just so beautiful and obvious,  and yet, isn’t that typical of the Dharma – it is so beautiful and obvious, but we wander around with our eyes shut and miss it all!

I’m sure I am still wandering around with my eyes shut, but I like to think that every time I read a great book, they open just a tiny bit more.