This post is a collection of resources on meditation practice that I have found especially useful. I might update it from time to time when I learn about new resources.
Books
- The Mind Illuminated by Culadasa
- The most comprehensive guide to meditation that I know of. It focuses mostly on concentration practice and provides useful frameworks for understanding meditation. Highly recommended.
- Right Concentration: A Practical Guide to the Jhanas by Leigh Brasington
- The best book for people who want to go deep into concentration practice and give exploring the Jhanas a try.
- Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha: An Unusually Hardcore Dharma Book by Daniel M. Ingram
- The writing style and attitude of the author are not for everyone, but I found the book very interesting.
- I recommend skimming and skipping around. This is not a book to be read from front to back, IMO.
- You can find the PDF for free here.
- Mindfulness in Plain English by Henepola Gunaratana
- This was the first book I read about meditation. I remember finding it quite accessible for beginners, but it has been a few years since I read it.
- Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness by Sharon Salzberg
- About metta meditation, contains a lot of gems.
- Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment by Robert Wright
- I am not a fan of the title, but the content is solid.
- Not a guide to meditation but a science-y exploration of the subject.
- Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall B. Rosenberg
- Putting this here even though the book isn’t about meditation per se. Yet I think it is basically an applied version of important Buddhist concepts like mindfulness, metta, karuna and right speech.
Teachers
- Joseph Goldstein
- I especially recommend their series of dharma talks on the Waking Up App.
- Sharon Salzberg
- My favorite teacher for metta meditation.
- Jack Kornfield
- Yes, I am a fan of Insight Meditation Society 🙂
- Tara Brach
- I love how they often incorporate poems into their guided meditations.
- Rob Burbea
- Nikki Mirghafori
- I especially like this guided metta meditation.
- Stephen Procter
- I used to go through their Mindfulness In Daily Life series.
Apps
- Waking Up
- Overall the best meditation app that I have tried. I use it regularly and only wish it had more content on metta and concentration practice.
- You can use that link to try it for free for 30 days.
- Tell them if you can’t afford the app, and you will get a subscription for free.
- Insight Timer
- The best app if you are looking for something free or just need a timer and bell. I have been using it for years.
- Headspace
- Great for beginners, but a lot of the content stays quite shallow. I got into meditation with this app in 2017 but then moved on to other resources.
Personal blogs and other websites
- Tasshin
- Their post on Meditation Tips for a Lifetime of Practice is a great starting point.
- Nick Cammarata on Twitter
- Regularly posts great nuggets of wisdom and is generally an interesting person to follow.
- dharmaseed.org
- Seriously, this is a goldmine for valuable teachings.
- Befriending the Suttas — Tips on Reading the Pali Discourses
- Useful if you want to read some of the original Buddhist texts.
- My posts on meditation 🙂