Learning Paths

The non-dual tradition of Advaita Vedanta — from Ramana Maharshi's radical self-inquiry to Nisargadatta's uncompromising dialogues and their modern inheritors.

• Be As You Are: The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi — David Godman
• I Am That — Nisargadatta Maharaj
• Rupert Spira: The Nature of Experience — Rupert Spira
• Ramana Maharshi — Wisdom of the Masters — Samaneri Jayasāra
• Nisargadatta Maharaj — Wisdom of the Masters — Samaneri Jayasāra

A journey through Zen's core texts and teachers — from the foundational Platform Sutra through the spare aesthetics of Ryokan to the accessible brilliance of Shunryu Suzuki.

• The Platform Sutra: The Zen Teaching of Hui-neng — Red Pine
• Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind — Shunryu Suzuki
• The Way of Zen — Alan Watts
• Ryokan — Wisdom of the Masters — Samaneri Jayasāra

Mystical Christianity from the anonymous Cloud of Unknowing through Teresa of Ávila's Interior Castle to the desert prayer tradition of the Philokalia.

• The Cloud of Unknowing
• The Interior Castle — Teresa of Avila
• The Philokalia: The Eastern Christian Spiritual Texts — Allyne Smith
• Meister Eckhart — Wisdom of the Masters — Samaneri Jayasāra

Discovering Sufism through its greatest poets and practitioners — Rumi's ecstatic verse, Attar's allegorical journey, and the living tradition of devotional practice.

• The Essential Rumi — Coleman Barks
• The Conference of the Birds — Farid ud-Din Attar
• The Heart of Sufism — Hazrat Inayat Khan
• Rumi — Wisdom of the Masters — Samaneri Jayasāra

Taoism as philosophy and embodied practice — from the Tao Te Ching through tai chi and qigong to the playful wisdom of The Tao of Pooh.

• Tao Te Ching — Laozi
• The Tao of Pooh — Benjamin Hoff
• Tai Chi Classics — Waysun Liao
• The Way of Qigong — Kenneth S. Cohen

Insight meditation from its Theravada roots to the modern vipassana movement — practical guides for establishing and deepening a sitting practice.

• What the Buddha Taught — Walpola Rahula
• Mindfulness in Plain English — Bhante Gunaratana
• A Path with Heart — Jack Kornfield
• Breath by Breath — Larry Rosenberg
• Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness — Sharon Salzberg

Compassion, impermanence, and fearlessness — essential Vajrayana teachings from Chögyam Trungpa, Pema Chödrön, and Sogyal Rinpoche.

• Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism — Chogyam Trungpa
• The Places That Scare You — Pema Chödrön
• When Things Fall Apart — Pema Chödrön
• The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying — Sogyal Rinpoche

Classical yoga as a complete contemplative system — from Patanjali's Sutras through the Bhagavad Gita to the Upanishadic roots of meditation and self-knowledge.

• The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali — Patanjali
• The Bhagavad Gita — Eknath Easwaran
• The Upanishads — Eknath Easwaran
• Light on Yoga — B.K.S. Iyengar

Bridging the cushion and the world — practical wisdom on integrating contemplative practice into everyday living, relationships, and work.

• Wherever You Go, There You Are — Jon Kabat-Zinn
• Radical Acceptance — Tara Brach
• A Path with Heart — Jack Kornfield
• Full Catastrophe Living — Jon Kabat-Zinn

Esoteric and lesser-known contemplative paths — Gnosticism, Neoplatonism, Kabbalah, and the Quaker inner light tradition.

• The Gnostic Gospels — Elaine Pagels
• The Gospel of Thomas: The Gnostic Wisdom of Jesus — Jean-Yves Leloup
• The Essential Kabbalah — Daniel C. Matt
• Neoplatonism — Pauliina Remes
• A Testament of Devotion — Thomas R. Kelly

Resources that cross boundaries — exploring the common ground between contemplative traditions, from secular mindfulness to the perennial philosophy.

• Waking Up with Sam Harris — Sam Harris
• Full Catastrophe Living — Jon Kabat-Zinn
• Be Here Now — Ram Dass
• The End of Your World — Adyashanti