Welcome!

The following is a guided reading approach to the basics of Buddhism. For those of you entirely new to Buddhism, it is, in essence, an entirely practical approach to fully understanding your mind, and learning how to eliminate suffering from your life.

This most likely sounds like yet another tagline for some budget bin self-help book, but Buddhism’s proof is in the pudding: for over 2500 years, it’s proven to bring countless people, regardless of race or belief or upbringing, an immense source of grounded and unwavering well-being. (Feel free to Google modern studies on the psychological effects of mindfulness/meditation if you don’t believe me.) It’s exceptionally approachable, scientific, grounded, and inclusive. It works entirely within the realm of the physical mind, requires no outright adoption/relinquishing of belief, and is incredibly accessible and tangible for almost any person (yes, even those of you with severe ADHD); and best of all, it works.

Most Buddhist practitioners and teachers will tell you, “don’t believe it until you experience it”. So, I welcome you to give it a shot; a true, real shot. At the very least, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of the incredibly deep and mind-altering world of mindfulness/meditation. At most, you’ll start on the path towards the complete and utter uprooting of suffering from your mind and life: liberation; Nirvana.

I’ve divided up “reading plans” for two camps of people: those of us who are spiritually inclined, and those of us who are not. The following books will help you gain a general yet deep understanding of Buddhist philosophy and practice, through a variety of lenses and perspectives. I’ll be doing my best to refine and update these lists and guides as I continue to read and learn. So, without further ado, pick your camp and start your journey (or, just jump right into the book list)!

The two camps:

Camp 1: “I’m skeptical of/interested in Buddhism, and don’t consider myself very spiritual.”

Great! This is the camp I was originally in. But, good news, Buddhism requires no acceptance of metaphysical or spiritual beliefs, and most often concerns itself purely with the realm of tangible, physical reality. It offers a practical, accessible, and grounded approach to entirely bettering your mental well-being, which can be experienced regardless of belief or non-belief. The Buddha himself encouraged and welcomed skepticism (even of his own teachings), so you’ll often feel right at home exploring the practice and philosophy.

For you, I’d recommend starting with the following reading path. The subsections are “optional” or “alternative” readings, if you prefer. If you’re already in the “interested in” camp, maybe skip the first book.

Waking Up by Sam Harris 10% Happier by Dan Harris Why Buddhism is True by Robert Wright Siddhartha’s Brain by James Kingsland Buddha’s Brain by Rick Hanson Buddha by Karen Armstrong What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula Other academic or practical books (see below)

Camp 2: “I’m skeptical of/interested in Buddhism, and I consider myself a spiritual person.”

Cool! Buddhism is an incredibly inclusive practice and philosophy that can coincide with any spirituality (or non-spirituality). Buddhism requires no relinquishment of spiritual/metaphysical beliefs or mantras, as it works primarily within the physical and self-introspective realm. Most spiritually-minded practitioners of Buddhism find that it vitalizes their self-understanding and spiritual nature, giving them new insight, depth of understanding, and an established sense of well-being.

For you, I’d recommend starting with the following reading path.The subsections are “optional” or “alternative” readings, if you prefer.

No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering by Thich Nhat Hanh The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation by Thich Nhat Hanh The Art of Living: Vipassana Meditation as Taught by S. N. Goenka by William Hart Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula Other academic or practical books (see below)

More links can be found on my “Free Resources for Mindfulness/Meditation” page.

BOOK LIST

(All descriptions are from Amazon.com summaries.)

INTRODUCTIONS FOR SKEPTICS:

Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion by Sam Harris

For the millions of Americans who want spirituality without religion, Sam Harris’s latest New York Times bestseller is a guide to meditation as a rational practice informed by neuroscience and psychology. (…) Waking Up is part memoir and part exploration of the scientific underpinnings of spirituality. No other book marries contemplative wisdom and modern science in this way, and no author other than Sam Harris—a scientist, philosopher, and famous skeptic—could write it.

10% Happier by Dan Harris

Nightline anchor Dan Harris embarks on an unexpected, hilarious, and deeply skeptical odyssey through the strange worlds of spirituality and self-help, and discovers a way to get happier that is truly achievable. (…) 10% Happier takes readers on a ride from the outer reaches of neuroscience to the inner sanctum of network news to the bizarre fringes of America’s spiritual scene, and leaves them with a takeaway that could actually change their lives.

Why Buddhism is True by Robert Wright

Robert Wright famously explained in The Moral Animal how evolution shaped the human brain. The mind is designed to often delude us, he argued, about ourselves and about the world. And it is designed to make happiness hard to sustain. (…) In Why Buddhism is True, Wright leads readers on a journey through psychology, philosophy, and a great many silent retreats to show how and why meditation can serve as the foundation for a spiritual life in a secular age. At once excitingly ambitious and wittily accessible, this is the first book to combine evolutionary psychology with cutting-edge neuroscience to defend the radical claims at the heart of Buddhist philosophy. With bracing honesty and fierce wisdom, it will persuade you not just that Buddhism is true—which is to say, a way out of our delusion—but that it can ultimately save us from ourselves, as individuals and as a species.

Buddhism Without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakening by Stephen Batchelor

In this simple but important volume, Stephen Batchelor reminds us that the Buddha was not a mystic who claimed privileged, esoteric knowledge of the universe, but a man who challenged us to understand the nature of anguish, let go of its origins, and bring into being a way of life that is available to us all. The concepts and practices of Buddhism, says Batchelor, are not something to believe in but something to do—and as he explains clearly and compellingly, it is a practice that we can engage in, regardless of our background or beliefs, as we live every day on the path to spiritual enlightenment.

INTRODUCTIONS FOR THE SPIRITUALLY INCLINED:

The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation by Thich Nhat Hanh

With poetry and clarity, Thich Nhat Hanh imparts comforting wisdom about the nature of suffering and its role in creating compassion, love, and joy – all qualities of enlightenment. (…) In The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching, now with added material and new insights, Nhat Hanh introduces us to the core teachings of Buddhism and shows us that the Buddha’s teachings are accessible and applicable to our daily lives.

No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering by Thich Nhat Hanh

The secret to happiness is to acknowledge and transform suffering, not to run away from it. In No Mud, No Lotus, Thich Nhat Hanh offers practices and inspiration transforming suffering and finding true joy. (…) Thich Nhat Hanh acknowledges that because suffering can feel so bad, we try to run away from it or cover it up by consuming. We find something to eat or turn on the television. But unless we’re able to face our suffering, we can’t be present and available to life, and happiness will continue to elude us.

ON GENERAL BUDDHISM:

Buddha by Karen Armstrong

With such bestsellers as A History of God and Islam, Karen Armstrong has consistently delivered “penetrating, readable, and prescient” (The New York Times) works that have lucidly engaged a wide range of religions and religious issues. In Buddha she turns to a figure whose thought is still reverberating throughout the world 2,500 years after his death. (…) Against the tumultuous cultural background of his world, she blends history, philosophy, mythology, and biography to create a compelling and illuminating portrait of a man whose awakening continues to inspire millions.

What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula

This comprehensive, compact, lucid, and faithful account of the Buddha’s teachings persistently enjoys great popularity in colleges, universities, and theological schools both here and abroad. “An exposition of Buddhism conceived in a resolutely modern spirit.”—from the Foreword. (…) A classic introductory book to Buddhism, What the Buddha Taught, contains a selection of illustrative texts from the original Pali texts, including the Suttas and the Dhammapada (specially translated by the author), sixteen illustrations, and a bibliography, glossary, and index.

The Art of Living: Vipassana Meditation as Taught by S. N. Goenka by William Hart

A full-length study of the teaching of S. N. Goenka, prepared under his guidance and with his approval. Useful for meditators and non-meditators alike. This was the first book to appear in English that accurately describes the practice of Vipassana at length for the general reader. It includes stories by Goenkaji as well as answers to students’ questions that convey a vivid sense of his teaching.

The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche

A newly revised and updated edition of the internationally bestselling spiritual classic, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, written by Sogyal Rinpoche, is the ultimate introduction to Tibetan Buddhist wisdom. An enlightening, inspiring, and comforting manual for life and death that the New York Times calls, “The Tibetan equivalent of [Dante’s] The Divine Comedy,” this is the essential work that moved Huston Smith, author of The World’s Religions, to proclaim, “I have encountered no book on the interplay of life and death that is more comprehensive, practical, and wise.”

Zen Training: Methods and Philosophy by Katsuki Sekida

Zen Training is a comprehensive handbook for zazen, seated meditation practice, and an authoritative presentation of the Zen path. The book marked a turning point in Zen literature in its critical reevaluation of the enlightenment experience, which the author believes has often been emphasized at the expense of other important aspects of Zen training. In addition, Zen Training goes beyond the first flashes of enlightenment to explore how one lives as well as trains in Zen. The author also draws many significant parallels between Zen and Western philosophy and psychology, comparing traditional Zen concepts with the theories of being and cognition of such thinkers as Heidegger and Husserl.

ON THE PRACTICE OF MEDITATION:

Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana

NOTE: This is arguably the most important practical book on meditation/mindfulness in this list. IMO, It’s the meditator’s Bible. I would recommend it first and foremost for any person taking the practice seriously.

Henepola Gunaratana, a monk from Sri Lanka and venerated teacher of Buddhism, warns us that vipassana meditation is “meant to revolutionize the whole of your life experience.” In one of the best nuts-and-bolts meditation manuals, he lays out the fundamentals of basic Buddhist meditation, the how, what, where, when, and why, including common problems and how to deal with them. His 52 years as a Buddhist monk make Mindfulness in Plain English an authority on a living tradition, and his years of teaching in America and elsewhere give it the clarity and straightforwardness that has made it so popular. If you’d like to learn the practice of meditation, you can’t do better.

Focused and Fearless: A Meditator’s Guide to States of Deep Joy, Calm, and Clarity by Shaila Catherine

With this accesssible guide, meditators (and non-meditators) can understand how to attain extraordinary states with relative ease. Blended with contemporary examples and pragmatic “how to” instructions that anyone can try, Focused and Fearless provides a wealth of tools to cultivate non-distracted attention in daily life and on retreat. Shaila Catherine has a friendly, wise approach to the meditative states (jhanas) that lead to liberating insight. (…) Focused and Fearless is about much more than merely meditation or concentration. It offers a complete path towards bliss, fearlessness, and true awakening.

Wisdom Wide and Deep: A Practical Handbook for Mastering Jhana and Vipassana by Shaila Catherine

Wisdom Wide and Deep is a comprehensive guide to an in-depth training that emphasizes the application of concentrated attention (jhana) to profound and liberating insight (vipassana). With calm, tranquility, and composure established through a practical experience of jhana meditators are able to halt the seemingly endless battle against hindrances, eliminate distraction, and facilitate a penetrative insight into the subtle nature of matter and mind. (…) Wisdom Wide and Deep follows and amplifies the teachings in Shaila Catherine’s acclaimed first book, Focused and Fearless: A Meditator’s Guide to States of Deep Joy, Calm, and Clarity. Readers will learn to develop this profound stability, sustain an in-depth examination of the nuances of mind and matter, and ultimately unravel deeply conditioned patterns that perpetuate suffering. This fully detailed manual for the mind sure to become a trusted companion to many inner explorers.

Manual of Insight by Mahasi Sayadaw

The most comprehensive manual of the practice of insight meditation (vipassana), written by one of its foremost 20th century proponents, is translated into English for the first time. (…) Authored by the master who brought insight meditation to the West and whose students include Joseph Goldstein, Jack Kornfield, and Sharon Salzberg, Manual of Insight is a veritable Bible for any practitioner of vipassana.

The Mind Illuminated: A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science by John Yates

A revolutionary, science-based approach to meditation from a neuroscientist turned meditation master, The Mind Illuminated is an accessible, step-by-step toolkit for anyone looking to start—or improve—their daily meditation practice. (…) This innovative book offers a 10-stage program that is both deeply grounded in ancient spiritual teachings about mindfulness and holistic health, and also draws from the latest brain science to provide a roadmap for anyone interested in achieving the benefits of mindfulness. Dr. John Yates offers a new and fascinating model of how the mind works, including steps to overcome mind wandering and dullness, extending your attention span while meditating, and subduing subtle distractions.

Right Concentration: A Practical Guide to the Jhanas by Leigh Brasington

The Jhanas are the method the Buddha himself taught for achieving Right Concentration. They are a series of eight successive states, beginning with bliss and moving on toward radically nonconceptual states. The fact that they can usually be achieved only during prolonged meditation retreat tends to keep them shrouded in mystery. Leigh Brasington is here to unshroud them. He takes away the mystique and gives instructions for them in plain, accessible language, noting the various pitfalls to avoid along the way, and then providing a wealth of material on the theory of jhana practice–all geared toward the practitioner rather than the scholar.

ON THE SCIENCE OF MINDFULNESS:

Siddhartha’s Brain: Unlocking the Ancient Science of Enlightenment byJames Kingsland

A groundbreaking exploration of the “science of enlightenment,” told through the lens of the journey of Siddhartha (better known as Buddha), by Guardian science editor James Kingsland. (…) Siddhartha posited that “Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think.” As we are increasingly driven to distraction by competing demands, our ability to focus and control our thoughts has never been more challenged—or more vital. Siddhartha’s Brain offers a cutting-edge, big-picture assessment of meditation and mindfulness: how it works, what it does to our brains, and why meditative practice has never been more important.

Why Buddhism is True by Robert Wright

Robert Wright famously explained in The Moral Animal how evolution shaped the human brain. The mind is designed to often delude us, he argued, about ourselves and about the world. And it is designed to make happiness hard to sustain. (…) In Why Buddhism is True, Wright leads readers on a journey through psychology, philosophy, and a great many silent retreats to show how and why meditation can serve as the foundation for a spiritual life in a secular age. At once excitingly ambitious and wittily accessible, this is the first book to combine evolutionary psychology with cutting-edge neuroscience to defend the radical claims at the heart of Buddhist philosophy. With bracing honesty and fierce wisdom, it will persuade you not just that Buddhism is true—which is to say, a way out of our delusion—but that it can ultimately save us from ourselves, as individuals and as a species.

Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom by Rick Hanson

By combining breakthroughs in neuroscience with insights from thousands of years of mindfulness practice, you too can use your mind to shape your brain for greater happiness, love, and wisdom. Buddha’s Brain draws on the latest research to show how to stimulate your brain for more fulfilling relationships, a deeper spiritual life, and a greater sense of inner confidence and worth. Using guided meditations and mindfulness exercises, you’ll learn how to activate the brain states of calm, joy, and compassion instead of worry, sorrow, and anger. Most importantly, you will foster positive psychological growth that will literally change the way you live in your day-to-day life. (…) This book presents an unprecedented intersection of psychology, neurology, and contemplative practice, and is filled with practical tools and skills that you can use every day to tap the unused potential of your brain and rewire it over time for greater well-being and peace of mind.

ACADEMIC – FOR THE BEGINNING LEARNER:

In the Buddha’s Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon by Bhikkhu Bodhi

This landmark collection is the definitive introduction to the Buddha’s teachings – in his own words. The American scholar-monk Bhikkhu Bodhi, whose voluminous translations have won widespread acclaim, here presents selected discourses of the Buddha from the Pali Canon, the earliest record of what the Buddha taught. (…) In the Buddha’s Words allows even readers unacquainted with Buddhism to grasp the significance of the Buddha’s contributions to our world heritage. Taken as a whole, these texts bear eloquent testimony to the breadth and intelligence of the Buddha’s teachings, and point the way to an ancient yet ever-vital path. Students and seekers alike will find this systematic presentation indispensable.

ACADEMIC – FOR THE ADEPT:

The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya by Bhikkhu Nanamoli

This book offers a complete translation of the Majjhima Nikaya, or Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, one of the major collections of texts in the Pali Canon, the authorized scriptures of Theravada Buddhism. (…) Combining lucidity of expression with accuracy, this translation enables the Buddha to speak across twenty-five centuries in language that addresses the most pressing concerns of the contemporary reader seeking clarification of the timeless issues of truth, value, and the proper conduct of life.

A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma: The Abhidhammattha Sangaha by Bhikkhu Bodhi

This modern translation of the Abhidhammattha Sangaha (Manual of Abhidhamma) offers an introduction to Buddhism’s fundamental philosophical psychology. Originally written in the 11th or 12th century, the Sangaha has served as the key to wisdom held in the Abhidhamma. Concisely surveyed are Abhidhamma’s central themes, including states of consciousness and mental factors, the functions and processes of the mind, the material world, dependent arising, and the methods and stages of meditation.

MISCELLANEOUS:

The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism by Fritjof Capra

Here is the book that brought the mystical implications of subatomic physics to popular consciousness for the very first time—way back in 1975. Many books have been written in the ensuing years about the connections between quantum theory and the ideas of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism, but Fritjof Capra’s Tao of Physics serves as the foundation on which the others have been built, and its wisdom has stood the test of time. (…) “Physicists do not need mysticism,” Dr. Capra says, “and mystics do not need physics, but humanity needs both.” It’s a message of timeless importance.

Engaging Buddhism: Why It Matters to Philosophy by Jay L. Garfield

This is a book for scholars of Western philosophy who wish to engage with Buddhist philosophy, or who simply want to extend their philosophical horizons. It is also a book for scholars of Buddhist studies who want to see how Buddhist theory articulates with contemporary philosophy. Engaging Buddhism: Why it Matters to Philosophy articulates the basic metaphysical framework common to Buddhist traditions. It then explores questions in metaphysics, the philosophy of mind, phenomenology, epistemology, the philosophy of language and ethics as they are raised and addressed in a variety of Asian Buddhist traditions.

The Monk and the Philosopher: A Father and Son Discuss the Meaning of Life by Jean Francois Revel (Author), Matthieu Ricard

Jean Francois-Revel, a pillar of French intellectual life in our time, became world famous for his challenges to both Communism and Christianity. Twenty-seven years ago, his son, Matthieu Ricard, gave up a promising career as a scientist to study Tibetan Buddhism — not as a detached observer but by immersing himself in its practice under the guidance of its greatest living masters.(…) Meeting in an inn overlooking Katmandu, these two profoundly thoughtful men explored the questions that have occupied humankind throughout its history. Does life have meaning? What is consciousness? Is man free? What is the value of scientific and material progress? Why is there suffering, war, and hatred? Their conversation is not merely abstract: they ask each other questions about ethics, rights, and responsibilities, about knowledge and belief, and they discuss frankly the differences in the way each has tried to make sense of his life. (…) Utterly absorbing, inspiring, and accessible, this remarkable dialogue engages East with West, ideas with life, and science with the humanities, providing wisdom on how to enrich the way we live our lives.

The Quantum and the Lotus: A Journey to the Frontiers Where Science and Buddhism Meet by Matthieu Ricard

Matthieu Ricard trained as a molecular biologist, working in the lab of a Nobel prize—winning scientist, but when he read some Buddhist philosophy, he became drawn to Buddhism. Eventually he left his life in science to study with Tibetan teachers, and he is now a Buddhist monk and translator for the Dalai Lama, living in the Shechen monastery near Kathmandu in Nepal. (…) Through the course of their dialogue, the authors reach a remarkable meeting of minds, ultimately offering a vital new understanding of the many ways in which science and Buddhism confirm and complement each other and of the ways in which, as Matthieu Ricard writes, “knowledge of our spirits and knowledge of the world are mutually enlightening and empowering.”