Reading List
The Best Buddhist Writers to Read
A Vietnamese monk tells his students to wash the dishes in order to wash the dishes. A Japanese priest in San Francisco reminds American beginners that in the expert’s mind there are few possibilities. A former teacher from New Mexico becomes a nun and writes the book people give each other when their lives fall apart. These twelve writers did more than anyone to carry the Buddha’s teaching from Asia to readers in the West, from the Zen and Tibetan traditions to the meditation teachers of today, and each one comes with the single book to start with.
By Lisanne Swart · 12 books · Zen, Tibetan & Theravada Buddhism · Updated October 2026
Quick answer
Start with Thich Nhat Hanh if you want gentle, practical teaching, or Pema Chödrön if you are going through a difficult time. The twelve writers below cover Zen, Tibetan Buddhism and the Theravada and insight meditation traditions, from scholars and monks to psychologists. For each one there is a short introduction and the book to read first.
The list at a glance
- 01Thich Nhat Hanh Thich Nhat Hanh
- 02Pema Chödrön Pema Chödrön
- 03The Dalai Lama The Dalai Lama
- 04Shunryu Suzuki Shunryu Suzuki
- 05D. T. Suzuki D. T. Suzuki
- 06Chögyam Trungpa Chögyam Trungpa
- 07Walpola Rahula Walpola Rahula
- 08Bhikkhu Bodhi Bhikkhu Bodhi
- 09Jack Kornfield Jack Kornfield
- 10Sharon Salzberg Sharon Salzberg
- 11Tara Brach Tara Brach
- 12Stephen Batchelor Stephen Batchelor
Twelve Buddhist writers, and where to start
Thich Nhat Hanh
A Vietnamese Zen monk and peace activist whom Martin Luther King Jr. nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967. Exiled from Vietnam, he founded the Plum Village community in France and wrote more than a hundred books on mindfulness, compassion and engaged Buddhism.
Where to startStart with The Miracle of Mindfulness (1975). Short, practical and the root of much of what is now called mindfulness.
Pema Chödrön
An American-born Buddhist nun and student of Chögyam Trungpa, and a teacher at Gampo Abbey in Nova Scotia. She writes about fear, loss and pain, and about staying with them instead of running away.
Where to startStart with When Things Fall Apart (1997). The book people pass on when life breaks open.
The Dalai Lama
Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth Dalai Lama, has lived in exile in India since 1959 and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. His many books range from Buddhist philosophy to conversations with scientists and psychologists.
Where to startStart with The Art of Happiness (1998), written with the psychiatrist Howard Cutler. The most accessible way to hear him think.
Shunryu Suzuki
A Japanese Soto Zen priest who came to San Francisco in 1959 and founded the San Francisco Zen Center. His talks to his American students became one of the most loved books on Zen practice.
Where to startStart with Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind (1970). It is about sitting, breathing and paying attention, not about theory.
D. T. Suzuki
A Japanese scholar who wrote in English and did more than anyone to introduce Zen to the West, influencing writers, artists and psychologists from Carl Jung to John Cage.
Where to startStart with An Introduction to Zen Buddhism (1934). His shortest and clearest book.
Chögyam Trungpa
A Tibetan teacher who fled to India in 1959, studied at Oxford and settled in America, where he founded Naropa University. He was a brilliant and controversial teacher, known also for heavy drinking and sexual relationships with his students.
Where to startStart with Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism (1973). A sharp warning about how the ego can hijack the spiritual path.
Walpola Rahula
A Sri Lankan monk and scholar who taught in Sri Lanka, Europe and America. His one famous book is still used as the standard short introduction to the Buddha’s teaching.
Where to startStart with What the Buddha Taught (1959). Short, exact and written from inside the tradition.
Bhikkhu Bodhi
An American monk ordained in Sri Lanka and one of the leading translators of the early Buddhist scriptures from Pali into English.
Where to startStart with In the Buddha’s Words (2005), his anthology of the early discourses. The best way to read the Buddha’s own teaching, arranged by theme.
Jack Kornfield
Trained as a monk in Thailand under Ajahn Chah, Kornfield returned to America and co-founded the Insight Meditation Society and later Spirit Rock in California. He is also a clinical psychologist.
Where to startStart with A Path with Heart (1993). A wise guide to meditation that is honest about its difficulties.
Sharon Salzberg
A co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society who has taught loving-kindness meditation for decades, in retreats, books and podcasts.
Where to startStart with Lovingkindness (1995). Kindness as a skill you can practise, not a feeling you wait for.
Tara Brach
A psychologist and meditation teacher who founded the Insight Meditation Community of Washington. She writes about shame, self-judgement and the feeling of not being good enough.
Where to startStart with Radical Acceptance (2003). For readers who are hard on themselves.
Stephen Batchelor
A former monk who trained in Tibetan Buddhism and in Korean Zen, and now one of the best-known voices of secular Buddhism: a practice without belief in rebirth or karma as articles of faith.
Where to startStart with Buddhism Without Beliefs (1997). For readers drawn to Buddhism but not to religion.
Not sure where to start?
If you want gentle, practical teaching
→ Start with Thich Nhat Hanh.
If you are going through a hard time
→ Read Pema Chödrön or Tara Brach.
If you want to know what the Buddha actually said
→ Read Walpola Rahula, then Bhikkhu Bodhi.
If you are sceptical of religion
→ Read Stephen Batchelor.
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Frequently asked questions about Buddhist writers
Who is the best Buddhist writer for beginners?
Thich Nhat Hanh, whose short books such as The Miracle of Mindfulness explain Buddhist practice in simple, everyday language. For a clear explanation of the teaching itself, read Walpola Rahula’s What the Buddha Taught.
Who are the most famous Buddhist teachers in the West?
Among the best known are Thich Nhat Hanh, the Dalai Lama, Pema Chödrön, Shunryu Suzuki and the insight meditation teachers Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg and Tara Brach.
Which Buddhist writers are women?
On this list: Pema Chödrön, Sharon Salzberg and Tara Brach.
Which Buddhist writer is best for difficult times?
Pema Chödrön’s When Things Fall Apart is the classic. Tara Brach’s Radical Acceptance is written for readers who struggle with shame and self-judgement.
Footnotes
- Thich Nhat Hanh was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King Jr. in a letter to the Nobel committee in January 1967.
- The Dalai Lama received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.
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From the bookshelf
“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.”
— Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind
More books I keep coming back to are on my personal bookshelf, and every month one of them goes out to the Night Owl Bookclub.
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I update this list as I read. New picks go to my monthly newsletter first.
