Although reading about the Dharma is no substitute for practicing it, a good book on Zen or Buddhism can set you on the course of practice or, when you feel stalled, kick-start it. The following list is not meant to be comprehensive; there are just too many good books on Zen and Buddhism, with more published every year. But this offers a sampling of some of our current favorites. In bold print are those we see as particularly helpful.
Title | Author/Translator | Comment | ||
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Contemporary Zen Teachings |
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Finding Your Seat: A Zen Handbook | Sensei Amala Wrightson, Kathryn Argetsinger | |||
Illuminating Silence: Insights on the Path of Chinese Zen | Chinese Zen master Sheng-yen, (John H. Crook, Ed.) | |||
The Mind of Clover: Essays in Zen Buddhist Ethics | Robert Aitken, Roshi | |||
Opening the Hand of Thought: Foundations of Zen Buddhist Practice | Kosho Uchiyama, Roshi, (Jisho Warner, Shohaku Okumura, & Thomas Wright, eds.) | |||
Sweeping Changes: Discovering the Joy of Zen in Everyday Tasks | Gary Thorp | |||
Taking the Path of Zen | Robert Aitken, Roshi | |||
The Three Pillars of Zen: Teaching, Practice, Enlightenment | Philip Kapleau, Roshi | Roshi Kjolhede’s Afterword | ||
The Way of Korean Zen | Master Kusan Sunim, (Martine Batchelor, tr. & Stephen Batchelor, ed.) | |||
Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice | Shunryu Suzuki, Roshi, (Trudy Dixon, ed.) | |||
Zen: Merging of East and West | Philip Kapleau, Roshi | |||
Zen: Tradition and Transition | Kenneth Kraft, ed. | |||
Introduction to General Buddhism |
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Buddha | Karen Armstrong | |||
Buddhism: A Concise Introduction | Huston Smith & Philip Novak | |||
Buddhism: A Way of Life and Thought | Nancy Wilson Ross | |||
What the Buddha Taught | Walpola Rahula, tr. & ed. | |||
Zen Teaching Classics |
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Dream Conversations on Buddhism and Zen | Muso Kokushi, (Thomas Cleary, tr.) | 14th-century Japaneses Zen master | ||
The Essential Teachings of Zen Master Hakuin | Norman Waddell, tr. | 18th-century Japanese Zen master | ||
The Hidden Lamp: Stories from Twenty-Five Centuries of Awakened Women | Zenshin Florence Caplow and Reigetsu Susan Moon, eds. | |||
How to Cook Your Life: From the Zen Kitchen to Enlightenment | Zen Master Dogen & Kosho Uchiyama-roshi, (Thomas Wright, tr.) | |||
Instant Zen: Waking Up in the Present | Foyan, (Thomas Cleary, tr.) | 11th to 12th-century Chinese Zen master | ||
Mud and Water: A Collection of Talks by the Zen Master Bassui | Arthur Braverman, tr. | Japanese, 14th-century | ||
The Original Face: An Anthology of Rinzai Zen | Thomas Cleary, tr. | Japanese masters, 13th to 18th centuries | ||
Swampland Flowers: The Letters and Lectures of Zen Master Ta Hui | Christopher Cleary, tr. | Chinese, 12th-century | ||
Tracing Back the Radiance: Chinul’s Korean Way of Zen | Robert E. Buswell, Jr., tr. | 12th-century father of Korean Zen | ||
The Unborn: The Life and Teachings of Zen Master Bankei | Norman Waddell, tr. | Japanese, 17th-century | ||
Zen Essence: The Science of Freedom | Thomas Cleary, tr. and ed. | Chinese Zen masters of the Tang and Sung dynasties (8th to 14th centuries) | ||
Zen Letters: Teachings of Yuanwu | J.C. Cleary & Thomas Cleary, trs. | 11th to 12th-century Chinese Zen master | ||
The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma | Red Pine, tr. | the Indian-born Founder of Zen | ||
The Zen Teaching of Huang Po on the Transmission of Mind | John Blofeld, tr. | 9th-century Chinese Zen master | ||
Zen’s Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings | Andy Ferguson, tr. | a Tang Dynasty compilation | ||
Other Non-Zen Buddhist Teachings |
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Being Dharma: The Essence of the Buddha’s Teaching | Ajahn Chah | Theravada Buddhism | ||
Dhammapada | Buddha, (Eknath Easwaran, tr.) | pre-Zen Buddhism | ||
Dipa Ma: The Life and Legacy of a Buddhist Master | Amy Schmidt | Indian woman master | ||
Faces of Compassion: Classic Bodhisattva Archetypes and Their Modern Expression – An Introduction to Mahayana Buddhism | Taigen Dan Leighton | Mahayana Buddhism | ||
Fundamentals of Buddhist Ethics | Gunapala Dharmasiri | Theravada Buddhism | ||
Mindfulness in Plain English | Bhante Gunaratana | Theravada Buddhism | ||
When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times | Pema Chödrön | Tibetan Buddhism |