Voices of Insight

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Buddhism as it is practiced in the United States. - Rated
Each chapter of Voices of Insight is written by a different author, and almost all of them were born and raised in the United States. Then they trained and became ordained and legitimate lamas, abbots, Zen masters, and Buddhist teachers in India, Thailand, Japan, etc., and came back to the U.S. to teach. Buddhism is different in every country and in every historical period, and in this book we can see what modern American Buddhism is like. I think you're going to like it. I am not British, but I believe this book would be equally interesting to you.

Voices of Insight is also a good Buddhist primer. One author tells the history of Siddhartha Gotama Buddha and explains important basic ideas like nirvana and samsara. Another author covers the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. Joseph Goldstein's chapter on the science and art of meditation explains what meditation is for and what you should be doing when you're meditating more clearly than anything I've ever come across, and all by itself makes the book worth getting.

This book is helpful. It will help you develop your practice. It is not merely interesting and educational; it is practical. I'm the author of the book, Self-Help Stuff That Works, so I'm sort of an expert on applicable information. Voices of Insight is not only illuminating and enjoyable to read, it is thoroughly applicable.