Book List: Introduction to the World’s Spiritual Traditions

Since I try and pull from all the world’s spiritual traditions in my own teaching, over the years I have compiled a book list of my favorite introductory and classic texts within each of the major traditions. This list is of course entirely subjective! I welcome other suggestions or feedback on these books in the comments section.

Tibetan Buddhism
Introductory:

• Awakening the Buddha Within: Tibetan Wisdom for the Western World, Lama Surya Das
• A Journey in Ladakh: Encounters with Buddhism, Andrew Harvey
• The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, Sogyal Rinpoche

Classics:

• Buddhist Masters of Enchantment, Keith Dowman & Robert Beer
• Tibet’s Great Yogi Milarepa, W.Y. Evans-Wentz
• The Tibetan Book of the Dead, W.Y. Evans-Wentz

Zen Buddhism
Introductory:

• Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, Shunryu Suzuki

Classics:

• Zen Flesh, Zen Bones, Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki
• The Bodhidharma Anthology, Jeffrey Broughton

Hinduism
Introductory:

• Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramahansa Yogananda
• Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna : Abridged Edition, Swami Nikhilananda
• The Eternal Companion, Swami Prabhavananda

Classics:

• The Song of God: Bhagavad-Gita, Swami Prabhavananda & Christopher Isherwood
• How to Know God, Swami Prabhavananda & Christopher Isherwood

Vedanta
Introductory:

• Just Like You, Gangaji

Classics:

• Shankara’s Crest Jewel of Discrimination, Swami Prabhavananda & Christopher Isherwood
• The Spiritual Teachings of Ramana Maharshi, Ramanah Maharshi

Taoism
Introductory:

• Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life – Living the Wisdom of the Tao, Wayne Dyer

Classics:

• Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu
• I Ching or Book of Changes, C.F. Baynes, R. Wilhelm

Christianity (the emphasis here is on the practice of Christianity as a spiritual path, not religious theology)
Introductory:

• Return to Love, Marrianne Williamson
• Conversations with God, Neale Donald Walsch

Classics:

• The Gnostic Gospels, Elaine Pagels
• Beyond Belief, Elaine Pagels

Kabbalah
Introductory:

• Simple Kabbalah, Kim Zetter
• The Practical Kabbalah Guidebook, C. J. M. Hopking

Classics:

• Zohar: The Book of Enlightenment, Daniel Chanan Matt

Sufism
Introductory:

• Essential Sufism, Huston Smith, Robert Frager, and James Fadiman

Classics:

• Feeling the Shoulder of the Lion: Poetry and Teaching Stories of Rumi, Jelaluddin Rumi

For more book lists and book reviews, go to the Book category.