Recommended Reading

Meditation

• The Art and Skill of Buddhist Meditation: Mindfulness, Concentration and Insight by Richard Shankman
• Seeking the Heart of Wisdom: The Path of Insight Meditation by Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield
• Breath by Breath: The Liberating Practice of Insight Meditation by Larry Rosenberg
• Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Gunaratana
• The Experience of Samadhi by Richard Shankman
• Insight Meditation by Joseph Goldstein
• The Experience of Insight by Joseph Goldstein
• Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening by Joseph Goldstein
• Mindfulness with Breathing: A Manual For Serious Beginners by Buddhadasa Bhikkhu
• Insight Meditation: A Step by Step Course on How to Meditate by Sharon Salzberg and Joseph Goldstein
• The Heart of Buddhist Meditation by Nyanaponika Thera

Dharma and Buddhist Teachings

• A Path with Heart by Jack Kornfield
• One Dharma: The Emerging Western Buddhismby Joseph Goldstein
• What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula
• Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness by Sharon Salzberg
• Teachings of the Buddha by Jack Kornfield
• Food for the Heart:  The Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah
• Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness: Walking the Buddha's Path by Bhante Gunaratana
• What the Buddha Thought by Richard Gombrich
• The Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology by Jack Kornfield
• Living Dharma by Jack Kornfield
• Heartwood of the Bodhi Tree by Buddhadasa Bhikkhu

Grieving, Death and Dying

• Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande
• Being with Dying: Cultivating Compassion and Fearlessness in the Presence of Death by Joan Halifax
• No Death, No Fear: Comforting Wisdom for Life by Thich Nhat Hanh
• Light in Blue Shadows by Edie Hartshorne
• Healing into Life and Death by Stephen Levine
• The Grace in Dying: How We Are Transformed Spiritually as We Die by Kathleen Dowling Singh

Illness and Pain

• Break Through Pain: A Step-by-Step Mindfulness Meditation Program for Transforming Chronic and Acute Pain by Shinzen Young
• Full Catastrophe Living:  Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness by Jon Kabat-Zinn
• When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chodron
• How to Be Sick: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide for the Chronically Ill and Their Caregivers by Toni Bernhard

Other

• Buddhism Without Beliefs by Stephen Batchelor
• Going to Pieces without Falling Apart: A Buddhist Perspective on Wholeness by Mark Epstein
• Dancing with Life: Buddhist Insights for Finding Meaning and Joy in the Face of Suffering by Phillip Moffitt
• From Emotional Chaos to Clarity by Phillip Moffitt
• Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha by Tara Brach
• True Refuge: Finding Peace and Freedom in Your Own Awakened Heart by Tara Brach

Buddhist History, Development and Teachings
 

• The Buddhist Handbook by John Snelling. Subtitle is “A Complete Guide to Buddhist Schools, Teaching, Practice and History”. Very good overview of history and development of Buddhism.
• The World of Buddhism by Heinz Bechert and Richard Gombrich, eds. Published by Thames and Hudson Ltd., 1984. Explores the entire 2500 year old history of Buddhism. Includes many photos of Buddhist art and contemporary life in Buddhist countries.
• Entering the Stream by Samuel Bercholz and Sherab Chodzin Kohn, eds. Published by Shambhala Publications, 1993. Four parts: 1) Life of the Buddha and spread of Buddhism 2) Basic Teachings 3) Teachings of the Great Vehicle (Mahayana) 4) The Tantric Teachings.
• The Life of the Buddha by Bhikkhu Nanamoli. Published by BPS Pariyatti Editions (Seattle, Washingtion), 2001, contact www.pariyatti.com (originally published by Buddhist Publication Society (Kandy, Sri Lanka), 1992).
• A History of Indian Buddhism: From Sakyamuni to Early Mahayana by Hirakawa Akira. Published by Motilal Banarsidass (January 1, 2007). Very complete although more academically oriented.
• The World of Tibetan Buddhism by The Fourteenth Dalai Lama. Published by Wisdom Publications, 1995.
• Forest Recollections: Wandering Monks in Twentieth-Century Thailand by Kamala Tiyavanich. Published by University of Hawaii Press, 1997.
• Mahayana Buddhism by Paul Williams. Published by Routledge, 2nd Ed. 2008.
   

Buddhist Texts and Commentaries

• In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon Edited and Translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi.
• The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha A translation of the Majjhima Nikaya, translated, edited and revised by Bhikkhu Bodhi from an original translation by Bhikkhu Nanamoli. Published by Wisdom Publications, 1995.
• The Long Discourses of the Buddha.  A translation of the Digha Nikaya. Translated by Maurice Walsh. Published by Wisdom Publications, 1995.
• The Connected Discourses of the Buddha A translation of the Samyutta Nikaya, translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi, in 2 volumes. Published by Wisdom Publications, 2000.
• The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha A translation of the Anguttara Nikaya. Translated and edited by Nyanaponika Thera and Bhikkhu Bodhi. Published by Wisdom Publications.
• Handful Of Leaves.  Anthology from the Pali Suttas, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.  Available for free through the Metta Forest Monastery.
• The Dhammapada.  Translated by Gil Fronsdal. Published by Shambhala Publications, 2005.
• The Sutta Nipata Translated by H. Saddhatissa. Published by Routledge.           
• The Udana and The Itivuttaka  Translated by John Ireland, Published by The Buddhist Publication Society, Sri Lanka.
• Satipatthana: The Direct Path to Realization by Bhikkhu Analayo
• Perspectives on Satipatthana by Bhikkhu Analayo