Books on Meditation

There are so many books on meditation. So this page focuses on beginner's guides and introduction to meditation.  If your favourite meditation book is not shown below please let us know in the feedback form below as we love hearing of new books on this topic.

Books on Meditation:
Meditation for Beginners: Jack Kornfield

Jack Kornfield is the ideal person to have written a beginners guide to meditation as he trained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, India and Burma and was a student of Thai monk, Ajahn Chah.  He returned to the States in 1974 where he has taught Buddhist principles. He set up the Spirit Rock Meditation Centre in 1987 where he still teaches and writes.  In this book, he teaches 6 meditation practices which can form the bedrock of your meditation practice.  There is a CD/audio download which accompanies the book.  This is very much a beginners guide to meditation and would not suit an experienced meditator.

For those in the US, there is more information on this book below by clicking on the link below

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Turning the Mind Into an Ally-Sakyong Mipham

Sakyong Mipham is the son of Chogyam Trungpa, the man responsible for bringing Tibetan Buddhism to America.  Sakyong's book is written in a clear and lucid style making it an easy but profound read.  He gives clear and practical guidance and stilling the mind and effective meditation and is perfect book for a beginner as well as being an essential text for seasoned meditators.

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The Miracle of Mindfulness-Thich Nhat Hanh

Described by the New Age Journal as "one of the best introductions to the wisdom and beauty of meditation practice", this book from the Vietnamese Buddhist guru monk and Zen master now living in exile in France in Plum Village is an essential part of your meditation library.  Thich's style in all of his books is fluid and poetic and merits repeated re-reading.  Although Thich's teaching are Buddhist, the writing in this treatise is of universal application and will form the basis of your meditation practice.  A must have for your meditation library.  Also strongly recommended is Thich Nhat Hanh's book True Love: A Practice for Awakening Your Heart which would perfectly complement this book.

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How to Meditate-Pema Chodron

Pema is a Tibetan Buddhist nun living in America and a scholar of controversial Tibetan guru, Chogyam Trungpa.   Any book which calls itself a "How To" is setting the bar high but Pema's simple guidance is perfect for the beginner looking to develop a daily mindfulness meditation practice.  Pema's book deals with the classic difficulties of taming the "monkey mind" ie. the endless chatter of thoughts that crowd our 21st Century minds but this book also tackles dealing with negative fears which might impede your effective meditation and calmness. A lot of people owe their success in developing and maintaining a sustainable meditation practice to this book.  A immensely comforting and inspiring read.  Strongly recommended.

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Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation-Sharon Salzberg

Sharon Salzberg is a notable teacher of the Vipassana (insight) movement and metta (loving-kindness) methods of meditation.  Her teachers included Anagarika Munindra and Dipa Ma and she has been leading meditation retreats around the world for the last 3 decades.  Her book "Real Happiness" includes a CD with 4 guided meditations on it.  Please note the Kindle version does not contain this audio recording.  The book is easy to read and gives very clear guidance on meditation techniques rooted in Buddhist Vipassana principles.  Most readers will find this a very easy introduction into meditation and an essential book in your meditation "armoury".

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Meditation for beginners
Yesenia Chavan

This is a brilliant book for beginners.  It is written in a crystal clear style with an explanation of everything you need to know about meditation including one of the best descriptions i have read of the different types of meditation, very detailed descriptions of how to get a daily meditation practice, a huge and detailed description of the benefits of meditation.  This is the sort of book you would re-read several times as it is so helpful.  Yesenia Chavan says that she used to be stressed, overweight, unhappy and desperate to lead the "great life" she always dreamed of but one day she decided to learn everything she could on inner peace, taking control of her life and taking control of her life.  This book represents what she learnt from her learning which has transformed her life taken her to her goal weight and tripled her income.   She has also written a book on Mindfulness written in the same clear and lucid style.  Yesenia's books are strongly recommended.

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