Zen Books – Must Read Buddhism Books – A Buddhist Library

What is Zen?

It is futile to try to define Zen. It is, however, possible to define what Zen is NOT. To that end, Zen is not religion, that much is obvious to anyone who has read anything on Zen.  It is also not spirituality, although one can claim that it is closer to spirituality than it is to religion.  Zen is not a set of practices either (though practice helps strengthen one’s experience of Zen). So how does one define Zen?

1. As per Bodhidharma, Zen is the transmission of that which matters, beyond scriptures and philosophies
2. Zen is the original face we had before we were born  – Hui Neng

There are many more definitions, but Zen is ultimately, a personal journey, and everyone’s scenery will be a little different.

Compiling this List

While it took me a couple of weeks to compile this list, the actual journey of discovering these gems took over 2 decades (and is still ongoing).  I am rather proud of this list, in that, whichever title I pick at random, meets the criteria of a classic. Surprisingly, a lot of my friends who have an interest in Buddhism, are largely unaware of some of these.  Not surprisingly, I am certain that I am missing several classics that belong in this list.

Read First – Must Reads

Each of these classics is life changing in itself. Written for a western audience, these books tackle difficult subjects such as War, Food Scarcity, Sex and Karma – and provide a perspective that is mind bending.

The Three pillars of Zen

If you are new to Zen (or even if you are not), this book is one of the best resources for an introduction. Kapleau is a practicing Buddhist. He received dharma transmission (the authority to instruct others in the practice of Buddhism) from Yasutani and was ordained a monk in 1961.  Not your everyday westerner who has read a couple of Zen Books and considers themselves a zen master.

The Gods Drink Whiskey – Stumbling Toward Enlightenment in the Land of the Tattered Buddha

Using the elephant and the blind men parable, Asma points out that everyone has a different point of view. And that view is severely limited if one has never  traveled outside their comfort zone.

Stephen Asma is a gem. This is unlike any other book on Buddhism. It captures the author’s real travels (1 year) through south east Asia (Cambodia particularly), and his deep piercing observations. Just the chapter My God can beat up your God is worth the price of admission. The author spent a year in Cambodia teaching Buddhism to students. The book, though, is really about Stephen Asma and his take on the world through the lens of Buddhism and Christianity (and other religions).

Buddhism with an attitude

How to live and approach consciousness, with the ultimate goal being full awareness. More practical and less dogmatic, with a bunch of practical exercises.

Money, Sex, War, Karma – Notes for a Buddhist Revolution

Food, War, Sex…these are some of the topics covered in this set of essays. Great, powerful insights into the role  that Buddhism plays in modern society.

Buddha at the apocalypse – Awakening from a Culture of Destruction

There are some books where the introduction itself, is enthralling enough to make it worth the price of admission. This is one such book. Skipping nimbly between the Book of Revelations, Consciousness, the human brain and other topics, the introduction will want you asking for more.

Some other notable highlights:

• The discussion of “shame”, history and nakedness (Chapter 7)
• The discussion on Dharma Bums and Pu’hua.
• An NPR story on “saving the world one child at a time” was connected to being totally in the present ‘zen’ moment.

The Difficulty of being Good – Gurcharan Das – The subtle art of Dharma

This book will take you on a rollercoaster ride that will challenge everything you have believed so far. Do you think you are good and noble? It will question what that means and make you re-evaluate. And it will do so in the context of Greek and Hindu mythology. What better way to understand the current world than to lean on the classics (Mahabharatha primarily, but also a lot of Greek classics).  While not strictly about Buddhism, it deals with the Hindu concept of Dharma or Duty. We  were all born to perform our Dharma, but it’s not always easy to do so.

Gurcharan Das is a scholar who knows how to write prose. Beautiful writing that will keep you on the edge of your seat – even though this isn’t a work of fiction.

If you are not changed at least a little by this book, chances are you haven’t understood it.

Books on building your practice – From Practicing Buddhists ( Masters )

In Buddhism, it is said ‘When you are ready for a teacher, the teacher will appear…’ (or something close enough). For me, these masters, especially Dainin Katagiri (Returning to Silence) and Chogyam Trungpa (Smile at fear), appeared in this fashion.

Whenever the world around us becomes noisy, we need to retreat into ourselves, i.e. Return to a place of silence. This is what Dainin’s masterpiece title references – Returning to Silence touches upon how any transformation has to start with deep silence. Emptiness and NonThinking (what Dainin calls Thinking NonThinking) are beautifully laid out.

The Tools of bravery, Making friends with fear and  Overcoming fear as the recipe for a joyful life – are all part of Trungpa’s Smile at Fear.

Smile at Fear – Chogyam Trungpa

Our greatest and perhaps, only, enemy – is fear. So said the Buddha. And so said Dwight Eisenhower. And so says Chogyam.

But more than just informing us of this fact, Ringpoche provides a prescription on how to deal with fear. Visualize the worse possible outcome and smile – that’s right – smile at it. In the same way as you would smile at something you knew wasn’t real.  That simple smile, in itself, will acknowledge the fear, and also dissolve it.

Cowards die many times before their death. The brave taste of death but once. – Shakespeare (Julius Ceasar)

The tools of bravery, making friends with Fear and overcoming fear are the recipe ingredients for leading a joyful life.

Returning to silence – Zen Practice in daily life, Dainin Katagiri

Returning to Silence touches upon how any transformation has to start with deep silence. Emptiness and NonThinking (what Dainin calls Thinking NonThinking) are beautifully laid out.

•  Don’t expect enlightenment—just sit down!”

You have to say something – Dainin Katagiri

YOU HAVE TO SAY SOMETHING is Katagiri-roshi’s follow-up to his  Returning to Silence (Shambhala Dragon Editions) . It is a collection of short, insightful and often, humorous discourses.  A wonderful book for both the committed practitioner and the newcomer.

The Heart of Buddhist Meditation – Nyanaponika Thera

If you wanted a practical, how-to  guide to Buddhist meditation, look no further. From concepts such as Bare Attention to the true meaning of Following your breath, this is a guide par excellence.

Carefree Dignity –Discourses on Training in the Nature of Mind

Absolutely a must read for anyone interested in Tibetan Buddhism. Clear and profound. Rinpoche has mastered teaching to westerners. It has been personally useful for me in my practice and life.

Breath by Breath – Larry Rosenberg

Progressively build your breathing practice, using Larry Rosenberg’s Breath by Breath. Highly readable and accessible for all levels of practitioners.

Taking our Places – Norman Fischer

What it means to be “a grown up”  as per Buddhism.  What is true maturity ? What metrics to use to lead a fully engaged and meaningful life?

Thich Nhat Hahn (Of course, he deserves his own category)

Nhat Hanh tells of being exiled from his home country of Vietnam because the government’s thought he was a danger for teaching peace. They banned his books and kept him out for 40 years. He’s finally allowed back and the communist government tries to thwart his lectures — and he uses the techniques in this book and creates a crack in the state apparatus aligned against him, until by the end of his visit, government officials are packing his lectures to hear him speak about peace and loving kindness.

The art of power – Thich Nhat Hahn

What is power? This book is aimed at people in positions of power – world leaders, CEOs and other  power  wielders. It will come as a shock to these leaders that their power is truly minimal in the eyes of the Universe.

The inner force of peace is not just more powerful than anything they possess, it actually is what changes the world and drives world events (contrary to what these world leaders may think).

In my humble opinion, if every world leader followed the ‘power  guide’ that Thich Hahn provides in this book, wars would be a thing of the past.

Anger – Wisdom for cooling the flames, Thich Nhat Hahn

Compassionate listening and kind speech, are at the heart of this book.  It seems obvious that listening with compassion is a good thing. But the fact that it can help transform your relationship with the other person, is elaborated upon. If we can allow the other person to express herself and find relief from her suffering, then we have accomplished the one and only goal of compassionate listening.

The Blooming of a Lotus  – Thich Nhat Hahn

Imagine  being guided by Thich Nhat Hahn each time you  turn to any page of this book. Filled with simple mindful practices, this book can bring you into the present within a matter of seconds. Just follow Thich’s exercise (each page has it’s own mindfulness exercise).

How to Sit – Thich Nhat Hahn

A short, but captivating practice book. From the master himself.

The first thing to do is stop doing whatever else you are doing. As you breathe in, be aware that you are breathing in.  As you breathe out, be aware that you are breathing out. 

More Masters

Opening the Hand of Thought – Kosho Uchiyama

 

Concepts such as the Universal Self and Bodhisattva Mind are beautifully explained in this lesser known masterpiece on Zen Buddhism.  The title itself is about non-grasping. The mind grasps at thoughts – the whole idea of Zen is to allow thoughts to arrive and disappear without letting themselves attach to your mind. Just like a breeze coming in through an open window, or sound waves – simply bask  and enjoy them, as opposed to try to ‘grab’ the wind.

Listen and Think – Dharma Talks from Master Hua

I couldn’t find this on amazon.

Tibetan Buddhism

Luminuous Emptiness – Understanding the Tibetan Book of the Dead

“The Tibetan Book of the Dead, a best-seller for three decades, is one of the most widely read texts of Tibetan Buddhism. Over the years, it has been studied and cherished by Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike.”

Buddhism in the Workplace

Zen and the art of making a living

Helping you find your true calling and helping you distinguish between a ‘job’ and real ‘work’, this book is a guide of sorts. While there’s a lot to digest in here, and not all of it is about Buddhism, there’s some good ideas and quotes in here.

Awake at Work

Embrace the tyrant. How many times have we had to face a tyrant at work? Rather than run away, this book says we should embrace and understand their viewpoint. And the tyranny will stop. There’s lots more gems in here. Like a lot of the other books in this post, it highlights the fact that mindfulness is to be practiced alongside everyday life, not far away from it.

Buddhist Fiction

Siddhartha – Herman Hesse’s classic about Gautam Buddha’s real life namesake (Siddhartha).  A man whose pursuit of truth is similar to that of  the Buddha’s. An absorbing work of fiction.

Summary

As mentioned in the introduction, if you have suggestions for expanding / improving this list, please do comment.

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