Most people think What The Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula Thero is the best place to start, and I don't think that's bad, but it's an intense book. People want to read directly, so then the recommendation is The Dhammapada. Vision and Transformation by Sangharakshita is a nice little book about the 8 fold path.
The preliminaries:
Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg
Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach
Self Compassion by Kristin Nell
The Dark Side of the Light Chasers by Debbie Ford
All About Love by bell hooks
Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman
Pali Cannon (Sutta Pitaka plus):
(These can be hard to read without more background and because they're so ancient. The Nikayas are longer books with many sutras in them. You can access them online too.)
Dhamapada (Some people recommend your start here.)
Majjhima Nikaya
Digha Nikāya
Saṁyutta Nikāya
Anguttara Nikāya
Meditation general:
Change Your Mind by Paramananda
Meditation by Kamalashila
Anapanasati:
Breath by Breath by Larry Rosenberg
Mindfulness of Breathing by Buddhadasa (see photo below)
Brahma Viharas:
True Love by Thich Nhat Hanh (see photo below)
Boundless Heart by Christina Feldman
Living With Kindness by Sangharakshita
Theravada Buddhism writers (Wikipedia):
I've read Jack Kornfield, Ajahn Chah, Henepola Gunaratana, Analayo, Ayya Khema
What The Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula Thero is often seen as the best first book.
Loved these two books:
Venerable Acariya Mun Bhuridatta Thera, A Spiritual Biography by Acariya Maha Boowa Nanasampanno
(Can be found here, various formats for free)
Mae Chee Kaew by Bhikkhu Silaratano. You can listen to her biography here.
Living Dharma by Jack Kornfield is his first book, that goes to living teachers and summarizes their teachings.
The Heart of Buddha's Teachings by Thich Nhat Hanh
A Concise History of Buddhism by Andrew Skilton
Mahayana Buddhism by Paul Williams
A Survey of Buddhism by Sangharakshita (photo below)
Zen Buddhism:
The Three Pillars of Zen by Philip Kapleau Roshi
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryū Suzuki
Zen Flesh, Zen Bones by Paul Reps
The Circle of the Way by Barbara O'Brien
(You can listen to 3 sutras in English here)
Great books on Specific topics:
How Karma Works: The Twelve Links of Dependent Arising by Geshe Sonan Rinchen
Kukai: Major Works by Kūkai, translation by Yoshito Hakeda
Buddha Nature by Sallie B. King
The Life of the Buddha: According to the Pali Canon by Bhikkhu Ñanamoli. That's probably the best biography of the Buddha. I could write a long post about this genera of devotional writing. I like Vishvapani's biography, or not a Buddhist Karen Armstrong.
Meeting The Buddhas: A Guide to Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Tantric Deities by Vessantara
Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism by Lama Govinda.
The Art of Reflection by Ratnaguna
Great Faith, Great Wisdom by Ratnaguna
The Yogi's Joy by Sangharakshita. About Milarepa.
The Eternal Legacy by Sangharakshita. About Buddhist literature.
Nondualism by David Loy (photo below)
Poetry:
The Mountain Poems of Stonehouse translated and commentary by Red Pine
The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain by Red Pine
Ten Thousand Songs of Milarepa
My journey: I read Zen in college, couldn't understand it. I read Awakening the Buddha Within: Eight Steps to Enlightenment by Lama Surya Das, and Charlotte Joko Beck's two books before a friend signed me up for a meditation class with Triratna. Then I read Vision and Transformation about the 8 fold path, and the Dhammapada. Then I just soaked up a million books, good and bad. The above is the list of good. I did mitra study, The Bodhisattva Ideal and I ended up reading most of Sangharakshita and his disciples. I read beyond them, read Ajahn Chah complete works, and I'm still reading and rereading through the Pali Canon.
My reading has slowed down because I read really slowly now and contemplate more than I read. And I focus more on meditation. I spent 10 good years going to retreats, and seeking out teachings, developing friendships within the sangha. I'm trying to be more self reliant, and a certain point you know enough and can go off and just do the work. I blog as a way of sharing what I've learned a giving back. I'm not a lineage holder for any sect, not a teacher, just sharing my journey, answering questions I see a lot online.
Please comment if you feel there's a book you really appreciated and want to share!
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