Recommended books

Recommended Books

We recommend these books, authors who are not from the Aro gTér Tradition, to anyone learning about Vajrayana Buddhism. They are written by teachers whose perspective is similar to that of the Aro gTér Tradition. The best books for beginners are first, with increasingly advanced ones toward the end.

We have another page featuring books by authors from the Aro gTér Tradition.

Clicking on a title or cover image takes you to a page with a more detailed description and links to buy on-line.

 

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Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind

Informal talks on Zen meditation and practice

By Shunryu Suzuki

A series of short, simple, and informal talks on meditation which are nevertheless luminous and profound.

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The Wisdom of No Escape

And the Path of Loving Kindness

By Pema Chödrön

A clear introduction to the path of meditation, written in a warm and encouraging style.

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Openness Mind

Self-Knowledge and Inner Peace Through Meditation

By Tarthang Tulku

An easy-to-read discussion of meditation from a perspective that speaks to Western psychological understanding, yet stays true to Buddhist principles.

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Hidden Mind of Freedom

Meditation for Compassion and Self-Healing

By Tarthang Tulku

A sequel to Openness Mind, this book goes on to cover breathing exercises, mantra, and visualisation.

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Introduction to Tantra

The Transformation of Desire

By Lama Yeshe

A straightforward, engaging, and cheerful overview of the Tantric Buddhist path.

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The Crystal and the Way of Light

Sutra, Tantra, and Dzogchen

By Chögyal Namkhai Norbu

A highly readable and highly personal introduction to Dzogchen, interwoven with stories from the life of the author—a great Nyingma Lama.

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Dzogchen

The Self-Perfected State

By Chögyal Namkhai Norbu

A brief introduction to Dzogchen in theory and practice.

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Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism

By Chögyam Trungpa

A presentation of Buddhism from point of view of Dzogchen that is sometimes painfully sharp in its clarity.

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The Myth of Freedom

and the Way of Meditation

By Chögyam Trungpa

A grand tour of the Buddhist teachings that presents a ferociously uncompromising – yet strangely comforting – view of the genuine spiritual path.

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Lord of the Dance

Autobiography of a Tibetan Lama

By Chagdud Tulku

This riveting personal account of the adventurous life of a great non-monastic Nyingma Lama provides much insight into the Tibetan cultural context of lineages like the Aro gTér Lineage.

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The Lion’s Roar

An Introduction to Tantra

By Chögyam Trungpa

A personal introduction to Tantra structured in terms of the nine yanas.

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Journey Without Goal

The Tantric Wisdom of the Buddha

By Chögyam Trungpa

An overview of Tantra from point of view of Dzogchen.

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Meditation in Action

By Chögyam Trungpa

A series of talks on meditation and the spiritual path – fresh and down-to-earth.

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Crazy Wisdom

By Chögyam Trungpa

Innate wisdom (basic sanity) can manifest as ‘crazy wisdom’, cutting through the complacent delusions of duality.

Books on special topics

These specialised books will be of interest to those who have been practicing Vajrayana Buddhism for some time and wish to explore particular topics in depth.

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Sky Dancer

The Secret Life and Songs of the Lady Yeshé Tsogyel

By Keith Dowman

A biography of Yeshé Tsogyel, the origin of the Aro gTér lineage, with an exceptionally useful commentary on her historical context and the Nyingma tradition she co-founded.

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Dream Yoga and the Practice of Natural Light

By Namkhai Norbu

We spend a third of our lives asleep – and we can use that time for spiritual practice.

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The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep

By Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

A thorough, concise, and accessible discussion not only of dream yoga but several other advanced practices.

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Buddhist Masters of Enchantment

The Lives and Legends of the Mahasiddhas

By Keith Dowman

Brief accounts of the extraordinary lives of the mahasiddhas (great Tantric yogis) illustrated with electric air-brush paintings.

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Masters of Mahamudra

Songs and Histories of the Eighty-Four Buddhist Siddhas

By Keith Dowman

Another book on the lives of the mahasiddhas, with line drawings only – but considerably more explanatory text.

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Transcending Madness

The Experience of the Six Bardos

By Chögyam Trungpa

An understanding of the continuity and discontinuity of experience – life and death – allows us to transform the madness of negative emotions into the freedom of enlightenment.

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Magic Dance

By Thinley Norbu

A poetic investigation of the nature of the five elements manifesting as the dance of the five wisdom dakinis.

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The Dawn of Tantra

By Chögyam Trungpa and Herbert V. Guenther

A collaboration between a great Lama and a Western philosopher presents Tibetan Buddhism in theory and practice.

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Illusion’s Game

The Life and Teachings of Naropa

By Chögyam Trungpa

A presentation of the view of Vajrayana through a discussion of Naropa’s encounter with his Crazy Wisdom Lama, Tilopa.

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Machig Labdrön and the Foundations of Chöd

By Jerome Edou

A scholarly history of chöd, with a biography of its founder.

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The Teacher-Student Relationship

By Jamgön Kongtrul the Great

An extensive scholarly commentary on a brief exposition of the central importance of the Lama in Vajaraya.

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Tobacco

the guide that leads the blind on a false path which ends in a precipice

By Düdjom Rinpoche

Kyabjé Düd’jom Rinpoche explains the non-ordinary visionary history which illuminates the deleterious nature of tobacco.