Resources: Books

Recommended Buddhist books

• Voices of Insight, edited by Sharon Salzberg
• Any publication by Thich Nhat Hanh
• Any publication by Stephen Batchelor
• Any publication by Pema Chödrön
• Any publication by Jack Kornfield

John Kabat-Zinn's suggested reading list

Theravada tradition

• The Heart of Buddhist Meditation, Nyanaponika Thera
• Silence, Christina Feldman
• Compassion, Christina Feldman
• Breath by Breath, Larry Rosenberg
• Living in the Light of Death, Larry Rosenberg
• Mindfulness in Plain English, Bhante Gunaratana
• Loving Kindness, Sharon Salzberg
• One Dharma, Joseph Goldstein
• Seeking the Heart of Wisdom, Joseph Goldstein/Jack Kornfield
• The Mind and the Way, Ajahn Sumedho
• The Wise Heart, Jack Kornfield
• The Foundations of Buddhism, Rupert Gethin
• The Noble Eightfold Path, Bhikku Bodhi

Zen tradition

• Zen Mind, Beginners Mind, Shunryu Suzuki
• Miracle of Mindfulness, Thick Nhat Hahn
• Nothing Special: Living Zen, Charlotte Joko Beck
• Everyday Zen, Charlotte Joko Beck
• The Three Pillars of Zen, Philip Kapleau
• The Method of No-Method, Sheng Yen
• Hoofprints of the Ox, Sheng Yen
• The Silent Question, Toni Packer
• One Robe, One Bowl, Ryocan (translated by John Stevens)
• Daily Zen Calendar (print) look for it at your bookstore or by e-mail

Vajrayana-Dzogchen tradition

• Happiness, Matthiew Ricard
• The Joy of Living, Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
• Meditation in Action, Chogyam Trungpa
• Mind in Comfort and Ease, The Dalai Lama
• Tibetan Buddhism, Robert Thurman
• Carefree Dignity, Tsoknyi Rinpoche
• Present Fresh Wakefulness, Choki Nyima Rinpoche

Krishnamurti et al.

• The Awakening of Intelligence, Krishnamurti
• Freedom from the Known, Krishnamurti
• The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle
• Totality in Essence, Vimala Thakar

MBSR/MBCT

• Full Catastrophe Living, Jon Kabat-Zinn
• Coming To Our Senses, Jon Kabat-Zinn
• Heal Thy Self, Saki Santorelli
• Here For Now, Elam Rosenbaum
• The Mindful Way Through Depression, John Teasdale, et al
• The Art and Science of Mindfulness, Shapiro and Carlson
• A Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Workbook, Stahl and Goldstein
• Clinical Handbook of Mindfulness, Didonna
• Teaching Mindfulness, McCown, Reibel, and Micozzi
• Mindful Eating, Jan Chozen Bays
• Eat, Drink and Be Mindful, Susan Albera

Other

• The Heart Aroused, David Whyte
• Siddhartha, Herman Hesse
• The Awakened Heart, Stephen Mitchell
• The Awakened Mind, Stephen Mitchell
• The Tao te Ching, Stephen Mitchell
• The Second Book of the Tao, Stephen Mitchell
• Destructive Emotions, Dane Goleman
• Healing Emotions, Dan Goleman
• The Embodied Mind, Varela, Thompson and Rosch
• The Mindful Brain, Daniel Siegal

Recommendations from the Sangha

Recently, Friends of Awakening members were asked to share some of their favorite books. Here's their recommendations:

Rusty
Thich Nhat Hanh, Heart of Understanding and Diamond that Cuts Through Illusion.
Nhat Hanh's clear presentation of these ancient sutras makes them far more understandable and valuable than they would be without his help. They deal with liberation from fear and freeing our mental processes.

Teddy
Stephen Nachmanovitch, Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art.
This book introduces one to the spiritual source of creativity. It is very joyful.

Ingrid
Steve Hagen, Buddhism is Not What you Think: Finding Freedom Beyond Beliefs.
Our thoughts keep us in small concepts, like a single hair on a very large animal. This book will help you open to greater truths and not take yourself so seriously.

Tak
Albert Low, Zen and the Sutras (Tuttle Library of Enlightenment Series).
These are accessable and clear lectures on the sutras. It is written primarily in the Chinese and Zen traditions. The structural underpinning is developed in the various strands. Like the confluence of small brooks to large rivers to get to the ocean, it is important to understand what has preceded us.

Carlie
Lama Surya Das, Awakening the Buddha Within: Tibetan Wisdom for the Western World.
This is an extremely practical book. The world to holiness passes through action. How I live my life is my teaching. Also any writings of Pema Chodron. She looks at how to be curious about the things that frighten us; she deals with the issue of fear.

Angie
Arnold Kotler (compiler), Engaged Buddhist Reader: Ten Years of Engaged Buddhism.
This book is a compilation of writers on engaged Buddhism, a term coined by Thich Nhat Hahn. It is a reminder to me that buddhism does not happen only on the cushion.

Dot
Charlotte Joko Beck, Nothing Special: Living Zen.
Joko engages Buddhsim and applies it to the daily struggle of life. Very practical and accessible.

Diana E.
Sylvia Boorstein, That's Funny, You Don't Look Buddhist: On Being a Faithful Jew and A Passionate Buddhist; and
Thich Nhat Nanh, No Death, No Fear: Comforting Wisdom for Life (audio).
This tape was instrumental in helping me get though a time of turmoil after several deaths in my family. I recommend everything by Thich Nhat Hanh; every sentence has so much wisdom.

Lee
Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginners Mind Thich;
Mary Oliver's, Collected Poems;
Joan Tollifson, Bare-Bones Meditation: Waking Up from the Story of My Life;
Pema Chodron, The Places that Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times; and
Thich Nhat Nanh, Being Peace.
I received this book as a gift, it had so much luminosity. There is a story of the two acrobats; we have to take care of ourselves before we can care for others. My current favorite is Chodron's book. It helps with my own practice, my own state of mind. Also, Mary Oliver's Poetry always grounds me. And Tollifson's personal story. She was born without a hand. Living through substance abuse and anger, she finds her way to healing.

Joan
Charlotte Joko Beck, Everyday Zen: Love & Work; and
Sue Monk Kidd, The Secret Life of Bees.
I just finished this book. It was so filled with love, I just want to go there.

David
Elaine Aron, The Highly Sensitive Person and companion book, The Highly Sensitive Person in Love: Understanding and Managing Relationships When the World Overwhelms You.
These books are good for those people who walk into a room and know what others are feeling.

Charlie
Stephen Batchelor, Buddhism Without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakening; and
John Shelby Spong, Why Christianity Must Change or Die: A Bishop Speaks to Believers In Exile.
Both books are open invitations to take what you want, to participate or not. They are the opposite of the fundamentalist attitude that says, My way or the highway.

Debbie
Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying; and
Hazrat Inayat Khan, Inner Life.

Walter
D. T. Suzuki, Essays in Zen Buddhism.
This book is both introductory and comprehensive. Alan Watts said about D. T. Suzuki that he was the mindless scholar.

Barb K.
Philip Kapleau, Zen: Dawn in the West, and The Three Pillars of Zen: Teaching, Practice, and Enlightenment;
Hanshan, Red Pine, The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain; and
Matsuo Basho, Narrow Road to the Interior.
The book I always return to is Hanshan's. This is a book of poetry by a 6th century poet. It is zen and taoist. Also, Basho's work, he is the reincarnation of Han Shan.

Janet
Ken Wilber, A Brief History of Everything.

Don
Wayne Teasdale, A Monk in the World: Cultivating a Spiritual Life.

Diana
Paul Rogat Loeb, The Impossible Will Take a Little While: A Citizen's Guide to Hope in a Time of Fear (essays by Alice Walker, Desmond Tutu, and others).
Encourages perseverance.

Tom
Anthony De Mello, Awareness.
An enlightened Jesuit.

August 6, 2011