Reading Lists

There are so many books on spirituality, mindfulness, and Buddhism that it can be hard to know where to start. How do you know if a book on meditation is right for you? How do you tell if it’s genuine and valuable or just watered down wisdom? Which books are rooted in an authentic lineage of wisdom teachings and which are pop culture appropriation?

This list offers some guidance around where to start and how to go deeper with Buddhist meditation: from classic texts to more modern interpretations. May it be of benefit!

If you’re looking for books on Nonviolent Communication, see this section below.

Note: I recieve a small commission from book purchases made through affiliate links on this page.

Thai Forest Tradition

Turning the Wheel of the Truth: Commentary on the Buddha’s First Teaching, Ajahn Sucitto (bookshop link)

Parami: Ways to Cross Life’s Floods, Ajahn Sucitto (hard copies on demand here)

A Still Forest Pool: The Insight Meditation of Ajahn Chah (Ed. Jack Kornfield, Paul Breiter) (bookshop link)

The Sound of Silence: Selected Teachings of Ajahn Sumedho (and other titles by Ajahn Sumedho) (bookshop link)

Pure and Simple: The Extraordinary Teachings of a Thai Buddhist Lay Woman, Upasika Kee Nanayon (bookshop link)

Insight Meditation & Theravada buddhism

A Path with Heart, Jack Kornfield (bookshop link)

The Experience of Insight, Joseph Goldstein (bookshop link)

Being Nobody, Going Nowhere, (and other titles) by Ayya Khema (bookshop link)

Three Steps to Awakening, Larry Rosenberg (bookshop link)

Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness, (and other titles) Sharon Salzberg (bookshop link)

Faith: Trusting your Own Deepest Experience, Sharon Salzberg (bookshop link)

Dipa Ma: The Life and Legacy of a Buddhist Master, Amita Schmidt (bookshop link)

General Buddhism

What the Buddha Taught, Walpola Rahula (bookshop link)

Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness: Walking the Buddha’s Path, Bhante Gunaratane (bookshop link)

One Dharma, Joseph Goldstein (bookshop link)

The Issue at Hand: Essays on Buddhist Practice, Gil Fronsdal (bookshop link)

classical texts

In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon (The Teachings of the Buddha), translation by Bhikkhu Bodhi (bookshop link)

The Life of the Buddha According to the Pali Cannon, Bhikkhu Nyanamoli

The Heart of Buddhist Meditation, Nyanaponika Thera (bookshop link)

Dhammapada: New Translation by Gil Fronsdal (bookshop link)

Dhammapada, transl Ananda Maitreya

by Thich That Hanh

Peace is Every Step (bookshop link)

The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation (bookshop link)

The Sun My Heart: The Companion to The Miracle of Mindfulness

Old Path, White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha (bookshop link)

Zen and Tibetan Teachings

Zen Mind, Beginners Mind, Shunry Suzuki Roshi (bookshop link)

When Things Fall Apart, Pema Chödrön (bookshop link)

The Myth of Freedom and the Way of Meditation, Chogram Trungpa Rinpoche (bookshop link)

Carefree Dignity, Tsoknyi Rinpoche (bookshop link)

The Joy of Living, Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche (bookshop link)

Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, Sogyal Rinpoche (bookshop link)

Contemporary teachings & favorites

The Tao of Pooh, Benjamin Hoff (bookshop link)

You Belong, Sebene Selassie (bookshop link)

Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness, David Treleaven (bookshop link)

Healing Resistance, Kazu Haga (on nonviolent social change) (bookshop link)

Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation, Rev. angel Kyodo williams, Lama Rod Owens and Jasmine Syedullah Ph.D. (bookshop link)

Be the Refuge: Raising the Voices of Asian American Buddhists, Chenxing Han (bookshop link)

Nonviolent Communication

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