A question for Buddhists...?

There is no more best book then your self study.

Try to be enlightened.

Here are the books I recommend to people:

The Life of the Buddha by Bhikkhu Nanamoli (this book provides the life and most important teachings of the historical Buddha using passages from the Pali Canon)

The Dhammapada - I suggest the translation and commnetary by Glenn Wallis

Basic Teachings of the Buddha - a short anthology of key discourses from the Pali Canon translated by and with comments by Glenn Wallis

Faces of Compassion by Taigen Dan Leighton (an excellent intro to Mahayana thought and exemplars)

Namu Myoho Renge Kyo,

Ryuei

This is the text my teacher uses in the beginning-to-intermediate classes:

http://www.amazon.com/Liberation-Palm-Your-Hand-En...

My teacher is a Tibetan monk & geshe, having entered the Dalai Lama's monastery (Namgyal monastery in Dharamshala, India) at age 12, and assigned in his mid-40's to be the resident teacher at the Buddhist Center I attend here in Canada. This book is one of the many books of the Lam Rim (the principal text for the Gelugpa branch of Tibetan Buddhism), outlining everything a beginner to intermediate Tibetan Buddhist needs to know. At the above site, you can view the Table of Contents to see if the book interests you.

I recommend " The Buddha in Your Mirror "

http://www.amazon.com/Buddha-Your-Mirror-Practical...

From the Theravada Tradition, I have a few recommendations for you:

"Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness" by Henepola Gunaratana. This is a beginners guide to the Noble Eightfold Path and how to put it into practice.

"Mindfulness In Plain English" by Henepola Gunaratana. This is an introduction to vipassana meditation.

"Beyond Mindfulness in Plain English" by H. Gunaratana. This is an introduction jhana meditation.

"Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond" by Ajahn Brahm. This is more in depth instruction guide for jhana meditation.

"Food For the Heart" by Ajahn Chah. This is great collection of teachings by a Thai master. It is Buddhism at its most practical. A great find for anyone interested in Theravada Buddhism.

"Being No One, Going Nowhere" by Ayya Khema--an introduction to Buddhist practice and thought by a nun with a unique perspective on things. Very down to earth approach.

If you want to turn loose and go exploring, I recomment accesstoinsight.org. This site has a collection of essays by contemporary Theravada authors (both monastic and laity) from Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and the United States as well as Sutta translations, all free for distribution.

Something else you might be interested in: Ajahn Brahm gives weekly talks from his monastery in Serpentine, Australia. These talks are provided for free via podcast. If you go to dhammaloka.org.au, you can find his dhamma talks as well as pod casts of other talks (like guided meditations).

any book written by the dalai lama, he is a smart man

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jl171G9vqIU&feature...