Books

Nisargadatta Maharaj

The foundational modern Advaita text. Dialogues with a Mumbai shopkeeper who became one of the most influential non-dual teachers of the 20th century. Direct, uncompromising pointing to awareness as the only reality.

Adi Shankara

Shankara's foundational commentary on the Brahma Sutras, establishing Advaita Vedanta as a systematic philosophical tradition. The most important philosophical text in the Advaita tradition.

Ramana Maharshi

The clearest single-volume compilation of Ramana Maharshi's teachings on self-inquiry, organized thematically. Godman's editorial work makes the teachings accessible while preserving their depth.

Gaudapada

The shortest principal Upanishad with Gaudapada's foundational karika establishing the doctrine of ajativada (non-origination). Shankara's first major commentary work.

Ramana Maharshi

Ramana's foundational text on self-inquiry, written in response to questions from a devotee. Brief but containing the essence of his teaching on turning attention to its source.

Adi Shankara

Shankara's only independent prose and verse work not commenting on another text. A complete manual of Advaita teaching methods and philosophy.

Vidyaranya

Comprehensive 14th-century manual of Advaita Vedanta in fifteen chapters covering discrimination, consciousness, and bliss. A post-Shankara classic.

Dattatreya

Medieval tantric-Advaita text highly praised by Ramana Maharshi. Teaches through stories and dialogues between Dattatreya and Parashurama.

Ribhu

44 chapters of uncompromising non-dual teaching from the Sivarahasya. Ramana Maharshi prescribed regular reading of chapter 26.

Adi Shankara

Shankara's commentary on the largest and most philosophical Upanishad. Contains the famous Yajnavalkya dialogues.

Nitya Tripta

Detailed notes from Atmananda's spiritual discourses compiled by a close student. Primary source for the direct path.

Ramana Maharshi

The best starting point for anyone new to Ramana Maharshi's teachings. The entire book focuses on the practice of self-inquiry, composed of Ramana's answers to questions from seekers.

Hui-neng

Autobiography and teachings of the Sixth Patriarch of Zen, presenting sudden awakening and the identity of prajna and dhyana. Foundational for all subsequent Zen.

Stephan Bodian

A comprehensive guide to spiritual awakening drawing on both Zen and Advaita traditions. Bodian, a former Zen monk and student of Jean Klein, offers practical guidance for recognizing and stabilizing awakened awareness.

Adyashanti

A practical manual distilling Adyashanti's core teachings into essential guidelines for spiritual awakening. Covers meditation, inquiry, and contemplation as complementary approaches.

Adyashanti

Offers a fresh approach to meditation based on the natural movement of awareness returning to itself, rather than technique or effort. Includes guided meditations.

Adyashanti

Explores the nature of suffering and the possibility of freedom through direct recognition of our true nature. Adyashanti offers insights into how to let go of struggle and fall into the grace of being.

Adyashanti

Addresses what happens after initial awakening—the 'I got it/I lost it' phenomenon, common delusions, and the difference between 'nonabiding' and 'abiding' awakening. Frank guidance for navigating post-awakening integration.

Nyogen Senzaki

Nyogen Senzaki was an early Zen teacher in America (1905 onwards)—the 'mushroom' who grew independently without temple or formal recognition. These talks reveal the early days of American Zen. Historic and inspiring.

Heinrich Dumoulin

Volume 2 covers Zen in Japan—Eisai, Dogen, Hakuin, and modern developments. Comprehensive scholarly treatment. Together with Volume 1, the most complete historical survey available. Essential reference work.

Heinrich Dumoulin

The standard academic history of Zen—comprehensive and authoritative. Volume 1 covers Indian Buddhism through Chinese Chan. Dense but essential for serious students. Dumoulin was a Jesuit priest and lifelong Zen scholar.

Dahui Zonggao

Letters from the great koan master who championed kanhua (looking at the phrase) practice. Dahui was Hongzhi's contemporary and friendly rival. Essential for understanding the development of koan practice. Practical and personal.

Stephen Addiss, Stanley Lombardo & Judith Roitman

Excellent anthology covering the full range of Zen literature—Chinese Chan, Korean Seon, and Japanese Zen. Selections from Platform Sutra, koans, Dogen, and more. Good classroom text and general introduction to the textual tradition.

John R. McRae

Scholarly rehabilitation of the 'Northern School' vilified in traditional accounts. Shows Shenxiu's tradition was more substantial than Platform Sutra propaganda suggests. Academic but important for understanding Chan's actual history.

Pema Chödrön

Guidance for working with fear, anxiety, and the painful aspects of life. Chödrön shows how difficult times can become opportunities for awakening when met with openness rather than resistance.

Pema Chödrön

Chödrön teaches that the path to freedom lies in making friends with ourselves completely, including all our seeming imperfections. Based on teachings at a month-long retreat.

Reginald A. Ray

Volume 2 of 'The World of Tibetan Buddhism' series. Detailed presentation of tantric practice including Mahamudra and Dzogchen.

Reginald A. Ray

Comprehensive introduction to Tibetan Buddhism covering all major traditions. Volume 1 of 'The World of Tibetan Buddhism' series.

Dudjom Rinpoche

Definitive two-volume history of the Nyingma school. Covers fundamentals and history in unprecedented depth. The authoritative reference work.

Dudjom Rinpoche

Brief, essential advice for practitioners at all levels. Concise teachings on view, meditation, and conduct from a realized master.

Dudjom Rinpoche, Jigdrel Yeshe Dorje

Collected teachings from Dudjom Rinpoche (1904-1987), former head of the Nyingma school. Covers the entire Buddhist path with emphasis on Dzogchen.

Garab Dorje

Garab Dorje's Three Statements That Strike the Essential Points, the quintessence of Dzogchen. Includes commentaries by Patrul Rinpoche and others.

Padmasambhava

Translation of one of the most famous Dzogchen texts attributed to Padmasambhava. Direct introduction to rigpa through 'seeing naked awareness.'

Lama Lhanang Rinpoche and Mordy Levine

Accessible introduction to bardo teachings for modern readers. Explains core concepts without requiring prior Buddhist knowledge.

Francesca Fremantle

Understanding the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Fremantle, original translator with Trungpa, provides in-depth exploration of the text's symbolism and psychological meanings.

Padmasambhava

Detailed instructions for practice within all six bardos (life, dream, meditation, dying, dharmata, becoming). From the same terma cycle as the Tibetan Book of the Dead.

Meister Eckhart

Scholarly edition of Eckhart's German and Latin works. The foundational text of Christian non-dual mysticism, presenting the soul's unity with the Godhead.

Anthony de Mello

De Mello's final writings, presenting meditations on love, attachment, and spiritual freedom. Shows how true love arises naturally when we drop our illusions and attachments.

Anthony de Mello

Transcribed from de Mello's final retreat, these talks blend Eastern wisdom with Western psychology and Christian spirituality. With characteristic humor, de Mello points to awakening from the sleep of unconsciousness.

Thomas Keating

Keating explores the psychological and spiritual dimensions of the contemplative journey, including the 'divine therapy' that heals the false self and reveals our true nature in God.

Thomas Keating

The foundational text on Centering Prayer, the contemplative practice developed by Keating to make the contemplative tradition accessible to contemporary seekers. Introduces the method and its theological basis.

Bernadette Roberts

Roberts' systematic examination of the spiritual journey through three distinct phases: ego-self, true-self, and no-self, integrating Christian mystical theology with her nondual experience.

Bernadette Roberts

Roberts' account of her journey beyond the unitive state of traditional Christian mysticism to the experience of no-self. A rare first-person narrative of nondual realization from within the Christian contemplative tradition.

Kallistos Ware

Accessible introduction to Orthodox Christianity by the translator of The Philokalia, covering doctrine, worship, and the spiritual life with emphasis on mystical theology.

Vladimir Lossky

Influential theological study presenting Eastern Orthodox mysticism as a coherent whole, emphasizing apophatic theology and the distinction between divine essence and energies.

Julian of Norwich

Complete scholarly translation of both the Short Text and Long Text of Julian's visions, with extensive introduction. The first woman to write a book in English.

Anonymous

The Cloud author's sequel offering more intimate guidance for advanced contemplatives, published with The Cloud in Johnston's accessible translation with Huston Smith's preface.

Meister Eckhart

Scholarly translation including German sermons, Latin commentaries, and Eckhart's defense against heresy charges, with extensive introduction on his thought and historical context.

Hafiz

Popular collection of Hafiz renderings. Note: Ladinsky does not read Persian; these are creative interpretations rather than translations, criticized by scholars for departing significantly from originals.

Hafiz

Complete translation of all 791 ghazals of the beloved Persian poet, whose verses on divine love and wine mysticism have been treasured for seven centuries.

Farid ud-Din Attar

Award-winning contemporary verse translation by an Iranian-American poet, praised for capturing both the spiritual depth and the humor of Attar's masterpiece.

Farid ud-Din Attar

The great 12th-century Sufi allegorical poem in which birds journey to find the legendary Simorgh, only to discover they themselves are the Simorgh (si morgh = 'thirty birds').

William C. Chittick

Accessible introduction to Sufi thought and practice by a leading scholar, covering its history, key concepts, and relationship to Islam.

William C. Chittick

Companion volume to The Sufi Path of Knowledge, focusing on Ibn Arabi's cosmological teachings—how the One manifests as the many while remaining One.

William C. Chittick

The definitive scholarly study of Ibn Arabi's metaphysics, drawing on his magnum opus al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya (The Meccan Revelations) with extensive translated excerpts and philosophical analysis.

Ibn Arabi

A modern scholarly translation with extensive annotations explaining Ibn Arabi's kabbalistic symbolism and theological concepts, making this difficult text more accessible to academic readers.

Ibn Arabi

Ibn Arabi's spiritual synthesis examining divine wisdom as manifested through 27 prophets from Adam to Muhammad. Written in Damascus after a vision of the Prophet, this is his most mature mystical teaching.

Jalal al-Din Rumi

The bestselling collection of Rumi renderings that introduced his poetry to millions of Western readers, drawing from both the Masnavi and the Divan-i Shams. Note: Barks works from literal translations rather than Persian originals.

Jalal al-Din Rumi

The final and longest book (nearly 5,000 verses) focusing on self-annihilation in God (fana) and the oneness experienced by the realized mystic. Rumi completed it shortly before his death in 1273.

Jalal al-Din Rumi

Fifth book exploring themes of denying the physical to understand God's existence, with stories illustrating the path to union.

Zhuangzi

Complete translation of the Taoist classic, second only to the Tao Te Ching in influence. Playful, paradoxical teachings on spontaneity and the limits of language.

Zhuangzi

Complete translation by an eminent sinologist, rendered in accessible contemporary English with scholarly notes placing the text in its historical and philosophical context.

Zhuangzi

Fresh scholarly translation with extensive commentary drawing from Chinese philosophical traditions, particularly highlighting Zhuangzi's sophisticated epistemology and his critique of fixed perspectives.

Zhuangzi

Complete translation of all 33 chapters attributed to Zhuangzi, the only full translation by Watson, considered among the finest renderings of classical Chinese into English.

Zhuangzi

The classic translation of the seven 'inner chapters' (considered authentic to Zhuangzi) plus select outer chapters, with scholarly introduction placing the philosopher in Chinese thought.

Lao Tzu

The acclaimed novelist's personal rendering, influenced by her father's sinological work, bringing a feminist and ecological sensibility to this ancient text.

Lao Tzu

Beloved translation combining poetic simplicity with Jane English's evocative black-and-white photography, first published in 1972 and continuously in print.

Lao Tzu

Bestselling poetic rendering emphasizing the meditative quality of Lao Tzu's teachings. Mitchell prioritizes lyrical accessibility over literal accuracy.

Lao Tzu

Acclaimed translation with the Chinese text en face and extensive commentary from 2,000 years of Taoist scholarship—poets, monks, recluses, scholars, and emperors reflecting on the text.

Liu I-ming

18th-century Taoist master's commentary on spiritual cultivation using everyday images. Clear, practical wisdom from the Complete Reality school.

Lao Tzu

Beloved translation paired with calligraphy and photography. Gia-Fu Feng was a native Chinese speaker; Jane English contributes artistic vision.

Richard Wilhelm

Taoist-Buddhist meditation text with Jung's psychological commentary. Important for understanding both Chinese meditation and Jung's encounter with Eastern thought.

Rupert Spira

Essays exploring consciousness as primary reality, drawing from Advaita Vedanta and Kashmir Shaivism. Clear, contemporary presentation of non-dual understanding.

Adyashanti

Discussion of what happens after initial awakening, covering the 'I got it/I lost it' phenomenon and common pitfalls.

David R. Loy

Scholarly comparative analysis of non-dual philosophy in Advaita, Buddhism, and Taoism. Extracts and compares the 'core doctrine' across traditions.

Rupert Spira

Concise introduction to recognizing awareness as the essential nature of experience. Core practice instructions.

Rupert Spira

Two volumes in one, comprising Spira's earlier works 'Presence' and 'The Art of Peace and Happiness', exploring the nature of experience and the discovery of peace and happiness in our essential nature.

Greg Goode

Addresses what happens when the Direct Path teachings have done their work—when even the concept of awareness is seen through and all teachings become transparent.

Greg Goode

Introduction to the Direct Path approach to nondual recognition, focusing on standing as awareness rather than trying to reach it through practice.

Greg Goode

A practical guide to the Direct Path approach stemming from Atmananda Krishna Menon, showing how investigation of experience reveals that everything is awareness. Includes detailed experiments and inquiries.

Pema Chödrön

Guidance for working with fear, anxiety, and the painful aspects of life. Chödrön shows how difficult times can become opportunities for awakening when met with openness rather than resistance.

Pema Chödrön

Chödrön teaches that the path to freedom lies in making friends with ourselves completely, including all our seeming imperfections. Based on teachings at a month-long retreat.

Stephan Bodian

A comprehensive guide to spiritual awakening drawing on both Zen and Advaita traditions. Bodian, a former Zen monk and student of Jean Klein, offers practical guidance for recognizing and stabilizing awakened awareness.

Douglas Harding

A collection of Harding's experiments for directly seeing our true nature, presented as practical exercises rather than philosophical arguments.