Buddhist Evangelist

Knowing I practice Buddhism, some people have expressed an interest in Buddhist ideas and thoughts. At the risk of becoming a Buddhist evangelist, here are a couple of links you might find interesting.

The teacher I have been most influenced by is the Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. He lives in a Buddhist community called Plum Village in the south of France. The website is www.plumvillage.org . If you click on the link to Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings and then Transcripts of selected Dharma Talks you will access a range of talks he has given on retreats at Plum Village. This is on http://www.plumvillage.org/teachings/DharmaTalkTranscripts/TranscriptsOfSelectedDT.htm I recommend you begin with talks from summer retreats, as these are for laypeople, not necessarily practising Buddhists or Buddhist monks and nuns.

A great introduction to Buddhism as it can be practised in everyday life is given by Jack Kornfield in his Householder Series. Jack is an American who spent years as a Buddhist monk in the Thai Forest Monk tradition. He returned to America to teach, and with his insight into Buddhist thought and the western mind, is a wonderful Buddhist teacher. Click on each of the separate 10 chapters to read this free online book. It can also be copied and downloaded.
http://www.saigon.com/~anson/ebud/jk8p/jk8p_00.htm