# For those into religion and spirituality...



## Saponification (Jun 3, 2005)

There aren't any other Buddhists here that I know of, but if there are any they might know of Jack Kornfield. He was trained as a monk in Thailand, Burma and India. He was one of the major players in introducing Theravada Buddhism to the West. 

He's also one of the best writers on the subject I've come across. _After the Ecstasy, the Lanundry_ is perhaps the best book I've found on the subject. It's not aimed at a total newbie - you'll want some understanding of various religions and spiritual beliefs before picking up this book. That said, it's not alienating.

Due to Kornfield's background, the book focuses on Buddhism but it also serves as a more general text. There are annecdotes by Christians, Sufis, Hindus and Jews, something fairly rare in books like this. Kornfield is not judgemental of these other religions, which is a good thing. He lets the people speak for themselves about their spiritual journey.

Drawing on Joseph Campbell's "Hero's Journey," Kornfield discusses the spiritual journey: from discovering the religion to being "enlightened" to what happens after. It's interesting stuff. Not all of the stories are positive, either. Most are, but not all. It talks about why people are attracted to starting spiritual journies of their own, how they apply their religion to everyday life and so on.

There are a few people here who seem to like their religion debate... this is a book for them.


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## Courtjester (Feb 7, 2014)

Here are another two:



‘The Jesus Mysteries – Was the Original Jesus a Pagan God?’ by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy and
 


‘Jesus and the Lost Goddess – The Secret Teachings of the Original Christians’, its follow-up.


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