Suggested Reading List

Below are a list of valuable reads for both the beginning meditator as well as one who has been practicing and reading contemporary books about meditation.  Each in its own way addresses from different perspectives spiritual practice in everyday life and in formal retreat. Also included in this list are source materials which are often ancient and seminal for those wishing to get to the ‘horse’s mouth’.

The first 5 titles are modern and directly address practice in everyday life while simultaneously educating the reader to the underlying philosophy of Buddhist meditation and practice.

The readings 6-10 are all modern commentaries that examine and teach us about meditation itself. 

11-12 are source material. For some they will appear archaic in style. The teachings are timeless and extraordinary in their depth.

• 1. The Noble Eightfold Path: The Way to the End of Suffering, by Bhikkhu Bodhi. BPS Pariyatti Editions, Onalaska, WA. 
• 2. The Heart of Buddhist Meditation, by Nyanaponika Thera. Special attention to the sections on Clear Comprehension. Weiser Books; Revised edition.
• 3. A Householder’s Vinaya With Home and Saṇgha Retreat Guides, by Allan Cooper. Kusinara Press, Silver City, NM.
• 4. Living This Life Fully: Stories and Teachings of Munindra, by Mirka Knaster. Shambala.
• 5. A Constitution for Living: Buddhist Principles for a Fruitful and Harmonious Life, (Including: Four Discourses on Lay Ethics). by Ven. P. A. Payutto. Creative Printers & Designers, Kandy, Sri Lanka. https://www.bps.lk/olib/bp/bp620s_Payutto_A-Constitution-For-Living.pdf 
• 6. ’A Treatise on the Paramis’: From the Commentary to the Cariyapitaka, Acariya Dhammapala, translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi.
• 7. Satipaṭṭhāna: The Direct Path to Realization, by Anālayo. Windhouse Publications.
• 8. Manual of Insight, Mahasi Sayadaw. Translated by Vipassana Mettā Foundation Translation Committee. Wisdom Publications, Somerville, MA.
• 9. In This Very Life: Liberation Teachings of the Buddha, Sayadaw U Pandita, edited by Kate Wheeler. Wisdom Publications, Boston.
• 10. Buddhist Dictionary; Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines. Nyanatiloka. edited by Nyanatiloka. Frewin & Co., Ltd., Colombo, Ceylon.
• 11. The Suttas. Many translations, many volumes. I prefer Bhikkhu Bodhi’s translations.
• 12. Visuddhi Magga, The Path of Purification, Bhadantācariya Buddhagohosa, translated by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli. Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka.
•  13. A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma, The Abhidhammattha Sangaha, Pali Text, Translation & Explanatory Guide, Bhikkhu Bodhi general editor. Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka.