Recommended Books

Mindfulness meditation from the Theravada tradition for the spiritual development of people of all faiths & none. Online courses & support since 1997

Top Recommendation:

In the Buddha's Words by Bhikkhu Bodhi
(Wisdom Publications, ISBN 0861714911)

The American monk, Bhikkhu Bodhi, was president and editor of the Buddhist Publication Society in Sri Lanka for many years and is the most respected English language translator of the Pali Canon today. His editions of the Middle Length Discourses and the Connected Discourses have drawn praise from acknowledged authorities throughout the Buddhist world. This new anthology is arranged thematically - making the teachings even more accessible - and is highly recommended for its clarity. If you want a clear guide through the discourses of the Pali Canon, and to see how different themes relate to each other, this would be an excellent choice.

The Mind and the Way
Buddhist Reflections on Life by AJAHN SUMEDHO.
With warmth and a wonderful sense of humour, this American-born monk draws on the experiences of ordinary life to convey ancient Buddhist insights that for 2500 years have continued to remain vital and pertinent to our lives.

Mindfulness in Plain English
Venerable HENEPOLA GUNARATANA.
A beautifully accessible guide to meditation by one of the leading Sri Lankan teachers. Bhante Gunaratana has been resident in the US for many years, and his straightforward explanations are couched in easily understood terms.

Buddhist Scriptures
Selected and translated by EDWARD CONZE.
A wide ranging introduction to Buddhist texts from the Golden Age of Buddhist literature. Dr Conze concentrates on texts intended for the lay person rather than for monastics.

In This Very Life
The Liberation Teachings of the Buddha by Sayadaw U PANDITA.
One of Burma's greatest contemporary meditation teachers outlines in detail the techniques learned from his teacher, Mahasi Sayadaw.

Seeking the Heart of Wisdom
The Path of Insight Meditation, by JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN and JACK KORNFIELD.
A very useful manual written by two of the best loved western Buddhist teachers. Their style is clear and compassionate, and the book includes specific exercises and practices to develop the spiritual faculties.

Being Nobody, Going Nowhere
Meditations on the Buddhist Path by AYYA KHEMA.
A valuable guide to the path of calm and insight written by this extraordinary German nun, who has done so much to advance the position of women in contemporary Buddhism.

Buddhist Ethics
by Ven. HAMMALAWA SADDHATISSA.
A classic book from the great Theravadin scholar monk, which explains Buddhist moral codes and their application in daily life.

Lovingkindness
The Revolutionary Art of Happiness by SHARON SALZBERG.
A clear introduction to metta meditation and useful tools for developing this quality.

The Sutta-Nipata
Translated by Ven. H. SADDHATISSA.
A prose version of one of the oldest and most important collections of Buddhist discourses.

Heartwood of the Bodhi Tree
The Buddha's Teaching on Voidness by BUDDHADASA BHIKKHU.
One of the most influential Thai teachers introduces and explains the concept of emptiness in Buddhism.

The Long Discourses of the Buddha
A translation of the Digha Nikaya by MAURICE WALSHE.
Authoritative recent translation of a seminal collection from the Pali Canon.

A book of encouragement and inspiration for anyone on the spiritual path by one of America's most popular Buddhist teachers. Sharon Salzberg talks about the inevitable ups and downs of meditation practice, the cultivation of wisdom and compassion, and how to bring the benefits of meditation into our everyday lives. -Amazon.com

Is Buddhism too Asian, to exotic, too difficult a path to fit into turbo-charged, modern-day America? Dinty W. Moore's delightful attempts to come to grips with these questions and many others will fascinate anyone curious about the wisdom of other cultures and other religions. - Amazon.com

Drawing upon his own experience as therapist, meditator and patient, Mark Epstein, a New York-based psychiatrist trained in classical Freudian methods, attempts to integrate Western psychotherapy and the teachings of Buddhism. Repressed memories, painful emotions, narcissism and destructive energies can all be uprooted through Buddha's teaching on suffering, delusion, wisdom and non-attachment. Epstein argues that in recognizing his or her self-created mental suffering, a patient can overcome neurotic behaviors and even overcome a deeply ingrained negative sense of self. - Amazon.com

An intimate guide to self-acceptance and discovery that offers a Buddhist perspective on wholeness within the framework of a Western understanding of self. For decades, Western psychology has promised fulfillment through building and strengthening the ego. We are taught that the ideal is a strong, individuated self, constructed and reinforced over a lifetime. But Buddhist psychiatrist Mark Epstein has found a different way. Based on the premise that the Western notion of self is deeply flawed, Going to Pieces Without Falling Apart shows us that happiness doesn't come from any kind of acquisitiveness, be it material or psychological. Happiness comes from letting go.

Weaving together the accumulated wisdom of his two worlds--Buddhism and Western psychotherapy--Epstein shows how "the happiness that we seek depends on our ability to balance the ego's need to do with our inherent capacity to be." He encourages us to relax the ever-vigilant mind in order to experience the freedom that comes only from relinquishing control. Drawing on events in his own life and stories from his patients, Epstein leads us through a series of intimate and emotionally resonant chapters that explore key psychological and spiritual experiences such as emptiness, connection, passion, and relief. Highly personal and engaging, Going to Pieces Without Falling Apart teaches us that only by letting go can we start on the path to a more peaceful and spiritually satisfying life. -Amazon.com

You can imagine how their eyes grow round when Ayya Khema's students are treated to tidbits of her life. "There was that time with the anaconda in Brazil.... We crashed on a cliffside Himalayan road on our way to meet the mir of Hunza.... Torched by rebels, and I had to decide what to do with my nuns on our island..." Of course, her students badger her to write a book. The Jewish/German refugee, California housewife, Australian farmer, global nomad, and Buddhist nun comes through with a quiet, methodical story, that, if written in any other way, would seem more hyperbole than biography.

At the age of 55, when most people are mulling how many tulip bulbs to plant for next spring, Ayya Khema took Buddhist vows. She then established three monasteries, arranged Buddhist women's conferences, and gave teachings on a lost meditation technique at venues around the world. And that's only the second half of the book. With 25 titles to her credit and an established reputation, Ayya Khema hardly needed more publicity. Fortunately, she gave in to her students' goading, offering not only a fast-paced story but a model of freedom, energy, and accomplishment. --Brian Bruya, Amazon.com

One of the best-known American-born meditation teachers draws from the most popular sources of Indian, Tibetan, Chinese, and Japanese writings to create a treasury of essential sayings and teachings from Buddhist literature that will appeal to anyone interested in the wisdom of the East. - Amazon.com

Buddhism's message of peace is emphasized over and over again in this book which shows how the compassion and tolerance that will make the world a better place begins at home. Contributors include the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh, Jack Kornfield, and others. - Amazon.com

This poignant biography portrays the human side of Buddha's nature, first as a boy named Siddhartha, then as a man who leaves home in search of truth, and finally as an elderly teacher. - Amazon.com

St. Ruth explains specific techniques, such as counting breaths and walking meditation, in addition to providing helpful illustrations of postures and sitting styles. The author emphasizes that through the regular practice of Buddhist meditation a person can come to know "the way of liberation from suffering and the realization of genuine happiness". - Amazon.com

Miracle of Mindfulness is a sly commentary on the Anapanasati Sutra, the Sutra on Breath to Maintain Mindfulness. "Sly" because it doesn't read like a dry commentary at all. One of Thich Nhat Hanh's most popular books, Miracle of Mindfulness is about how to take hold of your consciousness and keep it alive to the present reality, whether eating a tangerine, playing with your children, or washing the dishes. A world-renowned Zen master, Nhat Hanh weaves practical instruction with anecdotes and other stories to show how the meditative mind can be achieved at all times and how it can help us all "reveal and heal." Nhat Hanh is a master at helping us find a calm refuge within ourselves and teaching us how to reach out from there to the rest of the world. --Brian Bruya, Amazon.com

A practical Buddhist meditation guide that clearly explains traditional Buddhist meditation practice and deals with various problems encountered in meditation. Ayya Khema, author of the bestselling BEING NOBODY, GOING NOWHERE, is our guide along the path of the oldest Buddhist meditative tradition. - Amazon.com

A guide for people who are searching for spirituality, Lessons of the Lotus helps readers find their individual paths by exploring the nature of spirituality with ways of making it relevant to their daily lives. These ways include specific meditations, mind-body techniques, visualizations, and reflections. Beyond a rich resource of spiritual practice, this book helps people bring the fruits of their spiritual growth to their relationships, careers, and other aspects of living. Through numerous examples, readers see how the insight, patience, love, understanding, and peace of their practice can touch their daily lives and transform them forever. Each chapter includes a section called "Ask Yourself" that is designed to stimulate reflection on the topic and invite the reader to participate actively in defining their spirituality. Specific chapters cover topics such as karma, transitory death, giving, and relationships with family and loved ones. - Amazon.com

Lewis Richmond spent fifteen years as a Buddhist priest and meditation teacher, and another fifteen as a corporate executive and software entrepreneur. WORK AS A SPIRITUAL PRACTICE is a creative and innovative synthesis of these two worlds. It proposes that the workplace can be a place of spiritual opportunity and inner growth, and describes over forty specific practices and techniques, from exercises in breathing and awareness to visualization, non-judgmental listening, generosity, and gratitude, to foster that growth. Dividing workplace experience into four broad categories-Conflict, Stagnation, Inspiration, and Accomplishment-WORK AS A SPIRITUAL PRACTICE addresses issues of money, power, ambition, and greed, illustrated with numerous real-life stories from people in all walks of life. No matter what your rank and station on the job, Richmond says, you can be in charge of your own state of mind, because you are always "the boss and chief executive of your inner life." -Amazon.com

Life involves suffering. Desire is the source of our suffering. There is a way to put an end to our desire. The way out of desire is to live one's life according to eight basic principles. These four noble truths were the subject of the Buddha's first sermon and form the core of Buddhist teaching. The Dalai Lama describes these unique teachings here as he presented them to the West for the first time in 1997. - Amazon.com

From the best-selling author of Being Nobody, Going Nowhere, Ayya Khema's latest offering guides us along the path of Buddhist meditation with direct and practical advice, giving us contemplative tools to develop a healthy sense of personal being. Be an Island is at once an introduction to the teachings of Buddhism and a rich continuation of Ayya Khema's personal vision of Buddhist practice. Ayya Khema (1923-1997) authored twenty-five books in English and German on meditation and the Buddha's teachings; her books have been translated into seven other languages. During her extraordinary lifetime she establised several Buddhist practice centers around the world, including Wat Buddha Dhamma in Australia, the International Buddhist Women's Centre and Parappuduwa Nun's Island in Sri Lanka, and Buhddha-Haus and Metta Vihara in Germany. - Amazon.com

Those with an interest in Buddhism will welcome this new book by Stephen Batchelor, former monk and author of Alone With Others and The Awakening of the West. But those who are just discovering this increasingly popular practice will have much to gain as well-for Buddhism Without Beliefs serves as a solid, straightforward introduction that demystifies Buddhism and explains simply and plainly how its practice can enrich our lives. Avoiding jargon and theory, Batchelor concentrates on the concrete, making Buddhism accessible and compelling and showing how anyone can embark on this path-regardless of their religious background. - Amazon.com

"Anapanasati"--the full awareness of breathing--is a meditation method that was taught by the Buddha himself more than 2,500 years ago. It involves using the breath as the primary focus for meditation. In this book, Larry Rosenberg, one of the foremost teachers of this meditation practice, describes this method in detail . Freedom from suffering is not only possible, but the means for achieving it are completely within our grasp - literally as near to us as our own breath. This is the 2,500-year-old good news contained in the Anapanasati Sutra, the Buddha's own teaching on cultivating both tranquillity and deep insight through the full awareness of breathing. In this book, Larry Rosenberg brings this timeless meditation method to life for people today, using the insights gained from his many years of practice and teaching. - Amazon.com

The reasons why we meditate are, paradoxically, both deeply individual and profoundly universal. This is precisely why the collection of essays in Breath Sweeps Mind is such an effective tool for teaching mediation. Each unique voice, from Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh to American poet Gary Snyder, speaks eloquently from personal experience. Yet the collection hangs together by a golden thread of purpose--helping readers obtain their highest spiritual and human capacities. Breath Sweeps Mind is excellently paced and edited, clearly speaking to the nitty-gritty tools and techniques (such as which clothes to wear and what to do with your tongue and hands) as well as the inherent rewards of meditation. - Amazon.com