Author Guide · Advaita · Non-duality
Books Written by
Before he taught non-duality, Francis Lucille studied mathematics and physics at the École Polytechnique in Paris and managed missile tests for the French armed forces. Reading J. Krishnamurti led him to leave weapons work, and in 1975 he met the Advaita teacher Jean Klein, with whom he stayed close until Klein’s death in 1998. Lucille went on to teach internationally himself; one of his students was Rupert Spira. His books are built from the meetings he holds, where people ask questions and he answers them, on the Advaita Vedanta view that there is one reality, and that what we are is the awareness in which experience appears. This guide covers his three key books, in order, and where to begin.
By Lisanne Swart · 3 key books · 2006–2009 · Updated October 2026
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Quick answer
Francis Lucille’s three key books are Eternity Now (2006), The Perfume of Silence (2006) and Truth Love Beauty (in print by 2009), all drawn from dialogues with his students. Start with Eternity Now, which opens with what to expect from his meetings and works through thirteen themed chapters. Read on for how the three fit together and how his teaching links Jean Klein to Rupert Spira.
Where to Start with Francis Lucille
If you want a structured introduction
→ Eternity Now (2006) — thirteen chapters, from “The Art of Not Expecting” to “Awakening to Immortal Splendor”.
If you want his best-known book
→ The Perfume of Silence (2006) — dialogues on happiness, love, relationships and suffering.
If you have read the other two
→ Truth Love Beauty (2009).
3 Francis Lucille Books, in Order
Eternity Now
Edited by Alan Epstein and first published by Truespeech Productions in Temecula, California, in 2006; Non-Duality Press in Salisbury, England, issued a new edition in 2009. Its thirteen chapters include “The Direct Path”, “Our True Nature Is Not an Object” and “Deep Sleep Is, Death Is Not”. The foreword starts from the way we usually identify ourselves with a mixture of thoughts, perceptions and feelings, and the first chapter opens with a question from a student about what to expect from the meetings.
The Perfume of Silence
Published by Truespeech Productions in 2006, with Rupert Spira credited on the book. It draws largely on real dialogues between Lucille and his students, on enlightenment, meditation, awareness, happiness, love, relationships and psychological suffering. It argues that the same truth appears across many traditions, naming Buddhism, Advaita Vedanta, Sufism, Taoism, Kabbalah and Gnosticism. An audiobook edition read by several readers runs to just over nine hours.
Truth Love Beauty
His third book with Truespeech Productions. The sources checked do not give its first-edition year; it was in print by 2009, when the Non-Duality Press edition of Eternity Now listed it among his books. It was later published as an ebook and translated into German as Wahrheit Liebe Schönheit.
In What Order to Read Francis Lucille
The three books do not build on each other: each gathers answers to the questions people bring to his meetings, so they can be read in any order. Eternity Now has the clearest structure, with a foreword and thirteen chapters on single themes, which makes it the easiest to start with.
The Perfume of Silence stays closer to everyday life — relationships, happiness, suffering — and Truth Love Beauty covers the same understanding again. Goodreads also lists later titles under his name, such as There Is Only One Heart and You Are Happiness, but their dates could not be confirmed, so they are not in the list above.
A reading path
1. Eternity Now (2006)
2. The Perfume of Silence (2006)
3. Truth Love Beauty (by 2009)
The years · 1975–2012
Quick facts about Francis Lucille
- Known for
- Francis Lucille is known as a teacher of Advaita Vedanta, or non-duality, in the line of Jean Klein, and as the teacher of Rupert Spira.
- 1975
- Meets Jean Klein
- 1998
- Klein dies after 23 years of close association
- 2012
- Interviewed on Buddha at the Gas Pump
- Education
- Mathematics and physics at the École Polytechnique, Paris
- Early career
- Managed missile tests for the French armed forces
- Turning point
- The writings of J. Krishnamurti, which led him to leave weapons-related work
- Teacher
- Jean Klein, from 1975 until Klein’s death in 1998
- Lineage
- Klein’s own teacher was Pandit Rao, a Sanskrit professor in Bangalore
- Student
- Rupert Spira
- Publishers
- Truespeech Productions, Temecula; Non-Duality Press, Salisbury
The red mark is 2006: The Perfume of Silence, his best-known book of dialogues.
How Francis Lucille Writes: Answers to Questions
Lucille’s books are not written as treatises. They are edited from his meetings: The Perfume of Silence draws largely on real dialogues with his students, and Eternity Now moves from one question to the next. Its first chapter begins with a student asking what can be expected from the meetings, and Lucille’s reply is “Expect to learn not to expect.”
The starting point is ordinary experience rather than doctrine. The foreword to Eternity Now begins with the way we usually take ourselves to be a mixture of thoughts, perceptions and feelings, and the chapters work from there to the claim in one of their titles: “Our True Nature Is Not an Object”. That is non-duality in his sense: what we are is the awareness that knows thoughts and perceptions, not one of them, and that awareness is one.
He presents this as one truth shared by many traditions, from Advaita Vedanta and Buddhism to Sufism, Taoism and the Western mystics, and the reading list on his own site runs from Ramana Maharshi and Atmananda Krishna Menon to Meister Eckhart and Parmenides. The direct line, though, is Jean Klein; see Books by Jean Klein for where this way of teaching began.
Watch
Francis Lucille Interviewed on Buddha at the Gas Pump
Francis Lucille talks about non-duality and his teaching in a Buddha at the Gas Pump interview recorded on 29 October 2012. From the official Buddha at the Gas Pump® channel.
Frequently asked questions about Francis Lucille’s books
How many books has Francis Lucille written?
Three key books in English: Eternity Now (2006), The Perfume of Silence (2006) and Truth Love Beauty (in print by 2009). Goodreads lists further titles under his name, including There Is Only One Heart, You Are Happiness, There Are No Others and Beyond the Chains of Time, plus translations.
What are Francis Lucille’s books in order?
Eternity Now (Truespeech Productions, 2006; Non-Duality Press, 2009), The Perfume of Silence (Truespeech Productions, 2006) and Truth Love Beauty, whose first-edition year is not given in the sources checked but which was in print by 2009.
Where should I start with Francis Lucille?
With Eternity Now. It opens with what to expect from his meetings and is organised into thirteen chapters on single themes, such as “The Direct Path” and “Love Never Dies”.
What is Francis Lucille’s most famous book?
The Perfume of Silence (2006), the book Goodreads names first in his profile; the quotations Goodreads lists for him are taken from it. It is drawn from dialogues with his students and has an audiobook edition.
Who was Francis Lucille’s teacher?
The Advaita teacher Jean Klein, whom he met in 1975. Their close association lasted until Klein’s death in 1998. Klein’s own teacher was Pandit Rao, a Sanskrit professor in Bangalore whom Klein met in India in the 1950s.
What did Francis Lucille do before he taught?
He studied mathematics and physics at the École Polytechnique in Paris and then managed missile tests for the French armed forces. After discovering the writings of J. Krishnamurti, he left weapons-related work and began his search.
What is the connection between Francis Lucille and Rupert Spira?
Rupert Spira was Lucille’s student and is credited on The Perfume of Silence. Spira calls Lucille his teacher, and Lucille’s own reading list includes Spira’s first book, The Transparency of Things.
What does Francis Lucille mean by the Direct Path?
“The Direct Path” is the title of the second chapter of Eternity Now. In his books it means looking directly at experience to see that our true nature is awareness, not an object such as a body, thought or feeling, rather than reaching that understanding through years of practice.
Have Francis Lucille’s books been translated?
Yes. Truth Love Beauty appeared in German as Wahrheit Liebe Schönheit, and Goodreads also lists Spanish and French editions of his dialogues.
Footnotes
- Francis Lucille — Omega Institute
- Francis Lucille — Buddha at the Gas Pump, 2012
- Eternity Now, sample chapter — Stillness Speaks
- The Perfume of Silence — NNELS
- Francis Lucille — Goodreads
- Books and Publications — Francis Lucille
Bibliography last verified 9 October 2026. Where sources give different first-publication years, this page uses the year in library catalogues or the publisher’s own record.
This list was not put together by a machine.
The notes are all mine,
and the books are all his.
Lisanne x
Written by Lisanne Swart, who has curated reading lists and author guides at lisanneswart.com since 2021.
See more on her personal bookshelf.
“Expect to learn not to expect.”
— Francis Lucille, Eternity Now (2006), answering a question about what to expect from his meetings
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