Nothing Special (Charlotte Joko Beck)

Full Title: Nothing Special: Living Zen
Major Topic: Direct awareness, experience without conception or projection.
Level: all levels
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Straightforward account of how to approach one’s life from the perspective of Zen practice. The simplicity of much Zen instruction belies its depth. Look carefully at how these instructions work internally and externally. [...]

Denial of Death (Ernest Becker)

Full Title: Denial of Death
Major Topic:
Level:
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Classic discussion of the psychology of the fear of death, including the construction of social reality. Many people have found this detailed discussion highly illuminating, shedding light on many of the problems we create for ourselves when we endeavor to ignore the fact [...]

Buddhist Ethics (Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Taye)

Full Title: Buddhist Ethics (Treasury of Knowledge)
Major Topic: The three vows (individual freedom, awakening being and knowledge holder)
Level: advanced
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Comprehensive summary of ethical systems and ordinations as practiced in the Tibetan tradition for the last thousand years; one chapter of Kongtrul’s encyclopedia of Tibetan Buddhism. This is a reference [...]

Little Book on the Human Shadow (Robert Bly)

Full Title: Little Book on the Human Shadow
Major Topic: a commentary on Wallace Steven’s poetry, illuminated by Bly’s articulation of Jungian approaches
Level: all levels
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Contemporary view on how to recognize, neutralize, and step out of the operations of projection. The section on retrieving the shadow is an excellent guide [...]

On Having No Head (Douglas E. Harding)

Full Title: On Having No Head: Zen and the Rediscovery of the Obvious
Major Topic: Direct awareness, experience without conception or projection.
Level: all levels
Douglas Harding’s offbeat approach works wonderfully. Do the exercises. You may find one or more become methods of practice for you.

Wake Up To Your Life (Ken McLeod)

Full Title: Wake Up To Your Life: Discovering the Buddhist Path of Attention
Major Topic: how to practice Buddhism
Level: all levels
A comprehensive manual, almost an encyclopedia, of practice methods, starting with basic meditation and ending with the experience of no separation. The methods are derived principally from the Tibetan tradition of Buddhism. The commentary is likely [...]

Natural Great Perfection (Nyoshul Khenpo)

Full Title: Natural Great Perfection
Major Topic: dzogchen, direct awareness
Level: all levels
Compilation of talks by contemporary Dzogchen master; clear, simple, and profound. Read and savor each of the chapters, sit with them, and let them guide your practice.

Treasury of Precious Qualities (Longchen Yeshe Dorje)

Full Title: Treasury of Precious Qualities: A Commentary on the Root Text of Jigme Lingpa
Major Topic: Tibetan form of Mahayana Buddhism
Level: all levels
Thorough exposition of the concepts and teachings at the base of all Tibetan Buddhist practice. A reference book that provides classical presentations of the path as practiced in Tibetan Buddhism.

Who Dies? (Stephen Levine)

Full Title: Who Dies?: An Investigation of Conscious Living and Conscious Dying
Major Topic: death and dying
Level: all levels
Contemporary exploration of the great matter of life and death. If soneone close to you is dying, read this book. If you are dying, read this book. Do the exercises. If you are training people in how to [...]

Verses from the Center (Stephen Batchelor)

Full Title: Verses from the Center: A Buddhist Vision of the Sublime
Major Topic: Direct awareness, experience without conception or projection.
Level: middle, experienced and advanced
Batchelor’s commentary and translation of Nagarjuna transforms a treatise on logic into precise instructions to bring the reader into non-conceptual knowing. Use this book as a practice. Take each section and bring [...]