It is well to remember that to practise meditation one need not read anything at all. A purely intellectual understanding of Buddha Way meditation is far removed from the insight that may come through constant practice. Of course, reading some key works can help,  but if and only if one is actually practising meditation. (Reading a book about how to swim may help one to swim, but only if one is prepared to get into the water again and again. And many people swim without ever reading a book about it.)

There is nothing at all in this meditation practice which is meant to exclude insightful teachings and practices from other traditions, religions and cultures, and philosophy and science . It is completely open.

Where to begin reading?

For Beginners, two excellent books, by a Japanese and a Vietnamese master, are:

*Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice, Weatherhill, New York & Tokyo, 1st edn. 1970.

*Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfulness: A Manual on Meditation, Beacon Press, 1975 (and later editions).

A wonderful book that gently shows us how meditation makes a difference in our lives is by an American buddhist nun (of the Tibetan Vajrayana tradition):

*Pema Chodron, When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times, Shambhala, Boston & London, 2000.

The authentic teachings of the historical Buddha, or as near as we can now get to them, are to be found in the ancient Tipitaka (The Pali Canon). It is largely in an English translation ('The Teachings of the Buddha') published in several volumes by the non-profit publisher Wisdom Publications. For full details go to: http://www.wisdompubs.org

If you suffer from curiosity (don't we all) about the history of 'buddhism' (a Western concept), then consider:

*Edward Conze, Buddhism: A Short History, OneWorld, Oxford, reissued 2000
*Karen Armstrong, Buddha, Weidenfeld and Niccolson, 2000
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MBW BOOK COLLECTION

A small collection of books in all 'buddhist' traditions is available for regular participants in the Modern Buddha Way sessions.
If you are a regular participant, you may borrow a book from the table display in the lobby and record your name, book title and date of borrowing on the forms provided.  Cross off your name in the record when returning a book.
Please return a borrowed book within three weeks, for the benefit of others. If you cannot bring the borrowed book back to the Quiet Centre then post it to :

MBW
PO Box 125
West Molesey
Surrey KT8 1YE
Surrey, UK.

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Buddhism Books A-Z by Author

Adyashanti: True Meditation
Aitken: Taking the Path of Zen
Akong Tulkas Rinpoche: Taming The Tiger
Batchelor, Stephen: Buddhism Without Beleifs
Beck, Charlotte Joko: Nothing Special
Becholz, Kohn & Bertolucci: Entering the Stream - Introduction to the Buddha and His Teachings
Blofield, John: Gateway to Wisdom
Bortolin, Matthew: The Dharma of Star Wars
Brazier, Caroline: Buddhist Psychology
Brazier, David: Zen Therapy
Carrington, Patricia: The Power of Letting Go
Chah, Ajahn: Reflections
Chodron: When Things Fall Apart
Chuang, Tzu: Basic Writings
Cleary, Thomas: Instant Zen - Waking Up in the Present
Conze: Buddhist Scriptures
Dalai Lama & H C Cutler: The Art of Happiness
Dalai Lama: A Flash of Lightning in the Dark of Night - Guide to Bodhisattva’s Way of Life
Dalai Lama: World of Tibetan Buddhism
Dalai Lama: Ancient Wisdom, Modern World - Ethics for a New Millennium
Dalai Lama: Four Essential Buddhist Commentaries
Dalai Lama: Healing Anger - The Power of Patience from a Buddhist Perspective
Dalai Lama: How to Practise - The Way to a Meaningful Life
Dalai Lama: Peace is Every Step - The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life
Dalai Lama: The Heart of the Buddha’s Path
Dhammika, S: Good Question, Good Answer x2 copies
Dogen and Uchiyama: From Zen Kitchen to Enlightenment
Dogen, Eihei Zenji: Shobogenzo-zuimonki
Dumoulin: Zen Enlightenment - Origins and Meanings
Epstein, Mark: Going To Pieces
Gibran, Kahlil: The Prophet
Gillett, R: Zen for Modern Living
Gyatso, Geshe Kelsang: The Meditation Handbook
Hanh, Thich Nhat: Buddha Mind, Buddha Body
Hanh, Thich Nhat: Creating True Peace
Hanh, Thich Nhat: Going Home - Buddha & Jesus as Brothers
Hanh, Thich Nhat: Heart of the Buddha's Teaching
Hanh, Thich Nhat: Peace is Every Step
Hanh, Thich Nhat: Taming the Tiger Within
Hanh, Thich Nhat: The Heart of Understanding
Hanh, Thich Nhat: The Miracle of Mindfulness
Hanh, Thich Nhat: Zen Key
Hart, William: The Art of Living
Hayes, Richard: Land of No Buddha - Reflections of A Sceptical Buddhist
Herrigel: The Method of Zen
Herrigel: Zen in the Art of Archery.
Humphreys, Christmas: Buddhism
Irvine: A Guide to Japanese Art Collections in UK
Kapleau, Roshi Philiph: Three Pillars of Zen
Kongtrul, Dzigar: Its Up To You: The Practice of Self-Reflection on the Buddhist Path
Lama Surya Das: Awakening The Buddha Within
Levine, Noah: Dharma Punks
Levine, Noah: Against The Stream
Levine, Stephen: Guided Meditations, Explorations and Healings
Loori, J Daido: The Eight Gates of Zen
Losada, I: For Tibet with Love - A Beginner's Guide to Changing the World
Mackenzie, Vicki: Cave in the Snow
Mann, Robert: Buddhism in a Foreign Land
Martin, Philip: The Zen Path Through Depression
Merton: Zen and the Birds of Appetite
Munido, Ajahn: Unexpected Freedom
Nydahl, Mahamudra: Boundless Joy & Freedom
Nydahl: The Way Things Are
Okumura: Dogen's Shobogenzo-zuimonki
Pym, Jim: You Don’t Have To Sit On The Floor
Rahula, Walpola: What the Buddha Taught
Reps, Paul: Zen Flesh, Zen Bones
Revel & Ricard: The Monk & the Philosopher
Rieker, Hams-Ulrich: The Secret of Meditation
Schaef: Meditations for Women Who Do Too Much
Scott & Doubleday: The Elements of Zen
Sheng-Yen, Ch'an Master: The Infinite Mirror
Singh, Renuka: The Dalai Lamas Book of Daily Meditation
Snelling, John: Buddhist Handbook
Sogyal, Rinpoche: The Tibetan Book of Living & Dying
St Ruth, Diana: Experience Beyond Thinking
Sumedho, Ajahn: Mindfulness - The Path to Deathlessness
Sumedho, Ajahn: Cittaviveka: Teachings From The Silent Mind
Sumedho, Ajahn: The Way It Is
Sutherland, Jon & Diane: Endless Path
Suzuki, DT: An Introduction To Zen Buddhism
Suzuki, DT: Manual of Zen Buddhism
Tolle, Eckhart: Practising the Power of Now
Trungpa, Chogyan: Meditation in Action
Tulku, Ringu: The Lazy Lama Looks at Buddhist Meditation
Van Grasdorff, G: Hostage of Beijing
Waddell: The Essential Teachings of Zen Master Hakuin
Wallace, B Alan: Tibetan Buddhism From the Ground Up
Warner, Brad: Hardcore Zen
Warner, Brad: Sit Down and Shut Up - Punk Rock Commentaries on Buddha, God, Truth, Sex, Death, and Dogen's Treasury of the Right Dharma Eye
Watts, Alan: The Way of Zen

Periodicals

The Friendly Way (Buddhapadipa Temple, Wimbledon)
SGI Quarterly (Soka Gakkai International)
Copies of 'Introduction to Practice' (Modern Buddha Way)
Copies of 'Buddhadharma'
..and numerous other magazines and journals

Organic Vegetable Gardening/Environmentalism

How to Grow More Vegetables - John Jeavons
How We Can Save The Planet - Mayer Hillman x3
I Count: Your Set To Climate Bliss
Introduction to Permaculture - Bill Mollison
More Muck and Magic: The Small Organic Garden - Sue Stickland
Organic No-Dig, No-Week Gardening - Raymond Poincelot
Rural Resettlement Handbook - written by a group!
Secrets of the soil – Peter Tompkins & Christopher Bird
Soil Care and Management - Jo Readman
Successful Organic Pest Control - Trevor Forsythe
The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight - Thom Harman
The Permaculture Way - Graham Bell
Veganic Gardening - Kenneth Dalziel O’Brien

CD and DVD

Wind Chimes Nature Sounds
Thunderstorm (Subwoofer Enhanced)
Breath of Time III - Alpha Wave Enhanced Meditation
Zeitgeist - The Movie

Miscellaneous books
Hunt, G. Whistleblowing in the Social Services
Hunt, G. & Mehta, M. Nanotechnology: Risk, Ethics & Law

Updated by Barrie 14th April 2008. Contact him if you wish to discuss any matter concerning books: library@modernbuddhaway.org