I would like to share the top 5 books I recommend for anyone wanting to learn about or understand Buddhism.
This excellent book is a compilation of Buddhist scriptures from every corner of the Buddhist world, and spanning the entire history of the canon, from early Buddhist to Mahayana to Tantric texts. As well as sutras, or discourses, there are monastic and ritual texts, stories, historical texts, philosophical treatises, songs and poems. An excellent commentary accompanies each chapter, which helps put each text into perspective and build the reader's knowledge of Buddhist culture, history and doctrine.
This epic book is a masterpiece of scholarship by one of the 20th Century's leading scholars in Buddhist studies, David L. Snellgrove. It is certainly not for the beginner, but for anyone truly serious about understanding Buddhist philosophy, doctrine, history and its cultural context in India and Tibet, this book is the most authoritative and rigorous academic work you can find. In particular, the author dives into great detail analysing the complicated, and very challenging concepts presented by the Mahayana philosophical schools, as well as analysing the equally challenging body of Tantric literature in great length and great detail. It is a work without equal in its precision and depth of analysis, and the true standard of measure in Buddhist studies, a subject where so many introductions that exist for the popular market are just telling people what they want to hear.
This is by far the most difficult book on the list to read through. It's a translation of the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā by Nagarjuna, the founder of the Madhyamaka philosophical school. Reading this book is a dive into the mind bending philosophy of emptiness, the radical philosophical position of total non-existence of all mental and physical phenomena. It's structured as a series of dialogues, each applying critical analysis to a particular philosophical position and attempting to destroy it, and prove the inherent paradoxes contained in our most basic assumptions about thought and the nature of reality. Reading this book you come away feeling like the ground has fallen from beneath you, but if you are able to stare into the void without fear, it is the door to understanding the transcendental path of vision and insight in Buddhism.
This beautiful little book is my favourite edition of the Dhammapada, a collection of sayings of the Buddha that is one of the most widely read and best known Buddhist scriptures. It is an excellent little book to read because it's so short, and doesn't go into any complicated philosophy or doctrine, but is rather just a collection of simple and very profound gems of wisdom that can be appreciated by a complete beginner, as well as someone who has been studying Buddhism for years. It's a book you can keep coming back to again and again, and it's a book that's great to give as a gift to someone to introduce them to Buddhism for the first time.
This anthology is a collection of discourses, or sutras, from the Pali canon, which are believed to have been spoken by the historical Buddha, and which have been preserved in their present form by the Theravada Buddhist lineage. The full Pali canon is extremely long, and runs into many volumes and thousands of pages, but this a collection of some of the most famous sutras. These cover a wide range of themes, from the Buddha's early life, his enlightenment, and his first teachings; to the establishment of the sangha, or monastic community; the foundations of Buddhist doctrine, such as the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, Dependent Origination, and the law of karma; as well as many stories and anecdotes that illustrate the Buddhist teachings in practice. These sutras provide an excellent introduction to the mythology and culture of early Buddhism, as well as being the most authoritative and original sources for understanding the foundational concepts in Buddhist doctrine.
Reading all of these books will give you an excellent foundation in understanding Buddhist doctrine, philosophy, culture and history. There are so many books out there on the market, particularly around spirituality, but I believe these will give you a true compass heading, and hopefully inspire you to start your own journey on the Buddhist path of wisdom.