My favorite resources on meditation

A bunch of links to useful resources

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

  • I only recently got into their teachings, but I greatly enjoy them.

  • Two excellent starting points are their jhana and metta retreats.

• 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 🙂

First published on my website.