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Recommended Reading

(Many of these books are available from our library in the Zen Center.)

Introductory

Buddhism - Core Ideas, Hsing Yun

Lotus In A Stream, Hsing Yun

What the Buddha Taught, Walpola Rahula

Everyday Zen, Charlotte Joko Beck

The Miracle of Mindfulness, Thich Nhat Hanh

The Kyosaku, Soto Zen Teachings Archive Volume I, Soyu Matsuoka-roshi

 

Intermediate

Moku-Rai, Soto Zen Teachings Archive Volume II, Soyu Matsuoka-Roshi

Opening the Hand of Thought, Uchiyama-roshi

Nothing Special - Living Zen, Charlotte Joko Beck

The Heart of Being: Moral and Ethical Teachings of Zen Buddhism, John Daido Loori-roshi

Being Upright: Zen Meditation and the Bodhisattva Precepts. Reb Anderson-roshi

The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation, Thich Nhat Hanh

Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, Shunryu Suzuki-roshi

Buddha, Karen Armstrong

At Hell’s Gate: A Soldier’s Journey from War to Peace, Claude Anshin Thomas

The Mind of Clover: Essays in Zen Buddhist Ethics, Robert Aitken

 

Advanced

Zen is Eternal Life, Jiyu Kennett-roshi

The Diamond That Cuts Through Illusion, translated and commentary by Thich Nhat Hanh

Old Path, White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha, Thich Nhat Hanh

The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, Phillip Yampolsky

How to Cook Your Life: From the Zen Kitchen to Enlightenment, Zen Master Dogen and Uchiyama-roshi

Instructions to the Cook: A Zen Master’s Lessons in Living a Life That Matters, Bernie Glassman & Rick Fields

Buddhist Wisdom: THe Diamond Sutra and the Heart Sutra, Edward Conze. Note: previous editions of the book had slightly different title

Infinite Circle: Teachings in Zen, Bernie Glassman

Bearing Witness: A Zen Master’s Lessons in Making Peace, Bernie Glassman

The Compass of Zen, Seung Sahn & Hyon Gak

The Eight Gates of Zen: A Program of Zen Training, John Daido Loori-roshi

Eloquent Silence: Nyogen Senzaki’s Gateless Gate and Other Previously Unpublished Teachings and Letters, Nyogen Senzaki (author) and  Roko Sherry Chayat (ed)

The Zen Teachings of Bodhidharma, translated by Red Pine

Master Dogen’s Shobogenzo, volumes 1-4, translated and edited by Gudo Nishijima & Chodo Cross.

The Diamond Sutra, translated and commentary by Red Pine

The Heart Sutra, translated and commentary by Red Pine

The Platform Sutra, translated and commentary by Red Pine

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Women in Zen

Being Bodies, Lenore Friedman

Bow First, Ask Questions Later: Ordination, Love and Monastic Life in Japan, Gesshin Claire Greenwood and Brad Warner

Buddhism After Patriarchy, Rita M. Gross

Buddhism Beyond Gender: Liberation From Attachment and Identity, Rita M. Gross & Judith Simmer-Brown

Buddhist Feminisms and Femininities, Karma Lekshe Tsomo

Buddhist Women On The Edge, Marianne Dresser

Daughters of Emptiness: Poems of Chinese Buddhist NunsBeata Grant

Dharma Family Treasures: Sharing Buddhism With Children, Sandra Eastoak & Diane di Prima

First Buddhist Women: Poems and Stories of Awakening, Susan Murcott

Meetings With Remarkable Women: Buddhist Teachers in America, Lenore Friedman

Receiving the Marrow: Teachings on Dogen By Soto Zen Women Priests, Eido Frances Carney

Seeds For A Boundless Life: Zen Teachings From The Heart, Zenkei Blanche Hartman & Zenju Earthlyn Manuel

Stars At Dawn: Forgotten Stories Of Women In The Buddha's Life, Wending Garling

Subtle Sound: The Zen Teachings Of Maurine Stuart, Sherry Chayat

The Hidden Lamp: Stories From Twenty-Five Years of Awakened Women, Zenshin Florence Caplow & Reigetsu Susan Moon, et al.

The Way of Tenderness: Awakening Through Race, Sexuality and Gender, Zenju Earthlyn Manuel

Walking on Lotus Flowers: Buddhist Women Living, Loving and Meditating, Martine Batchelor

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