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If you could add one book to the required reading curriculum for people under 18, what would it be? (lemmy.world)
submitted 10 months ago by to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world
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[–] 2 points 10 months ago (4 children)

Thanks for the thoughtful response!

I am an avid but slow reader. I think the main appeal for me to read many of the classic (western) books is so that I can get a better understanding of each author’s inspirations, which would hopefully finally help explain how we got to where we are today. But I think your answer is pulling me in the direction of starting with the books I want, and moving backwards in time for each book I want to delve further into, and then moving forwards when questions can’t be answered by the past.

I read more about HTRB today and it seems totally fine to just skim a full book briefly, and decide it’s not for me. So I think I’ll use that as well.

Thanks for mentioning HTRB!

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  • [–] 2 points 10 months ago (3 children)

    Welcome! Hope you enjoy.

    If you steer close to questions about metaphysics and spirituality, I highly recommend stepping outside the western paradigm. A lot of our philosophy is saturated with Christianity-influenced background assumptions, way, way more than people realize. Reaching all the way to modern psychology. It was very fascinating to recognize (and discard) them in my own thinking - and I was a basic intellectual atheist with what I incredibly naively thought was 0 Christian influence in the way I viewed the world.

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  • [–] -1 points 10 months ago (2 children)

    Yeah what you’re explaining is what I want to experience. If I want to know where to go, it would help to know where I came from.

    Any books you recommend from the non-west?

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  • [–] 2 points 10 months ago (1 child)

    These are more accessible modern works that point you to more classical works if you're interested:

    Tantra Illuminated by Christopher Wallis

    Roots of Yoga by Jim Mallinson

    Three Pillars of Zen by Philip Kapleau

    The World of Tibetan Buddhism by the Dalai Lama

    People like to recommend the Heart Sutra and Pali Suttas, and Bhagavad Gita but I'd say it's better to get some intro first so you can at least become aware of any prior assumptions you have about the world and realize those works come from a wildly different experience of being.

    Bonus: Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe The Hermetic Tradition in African Philosophy by Theophilus Okere Spell of the Sensuous by David Abram

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