Meditation books best sellers
20 Best Meditation Books of All Time (March 2023)
Blog > Book Summaries > Thoughts & Emotions
by Arthur Worsley
M.A. Psychology, Oxford. McKinsey Alum. Founder & Editor at TAoL.
Looking for the best meditation books of all time?
You're in the right place!
Here's what you'll find on this page...
What You Will and Won’t Find On This List
Whether you’re looking for the best meditation books for beginners, books on the benefits of meditation or books to help you refine and perfect your daily meditation practice – you’ll find something life-changing on the list of best meditation books below.
Note 1: This list focusses specifically
on books about how to meditate. If you’re interested in mastering your thoughts and emotions more generally, you might also want to check out this list of best mindfulness books, these best books on happiness or explore the rest of TAoL‘s many book recommendations.
Note 2: This list focusses almost exclusively on the best mindfulness meditation books ever written. You won’t find many titles on e.g., movement, mantra or transcendental meditation simply because they’re too specialised to be widely read enough to rank high enough to appear on this list (for more, see the section on “Why these books on meditation and not others?” below).
New to Meditation? Start Reading Here
Not sure what I’m talking about? Not to worry!
If you’re new to meditation, The Miracle of Mindfulness (#3) by Thich Nhat Hanh, Practicing The Power of Now (#4) by Eckhart Tolle or even The Headspace Guide To Meditation (#20) are all great meditation books for beginners. Pick whichever one jumps out at you and dive in.
If you’re no stranger to mindfulness meditation and you’re looking to take your mediation practice to the next level then skim the list, trust your intuition and grab a daily meditation book that jumps out at you.
And whatever you do, thank you for being here, thank you for letting me be a part of your journey and whoever you are, wherever you’re sitting, I’ll look forward to meditating with you soon.
The 20 Best Meditation Books Ever Written
Why these best meditation books and not others? To stay objective, I rank all my book recommendations by what’s most loved (Goodreads rating), what’s most popular (Goodreads review count) and what’s proven timelessly relevant (first publication date).
This isn’t a whimsical list. It’s a data-driven, crowdsourced collection of the best meditation books ever published as decided by book lovers just like you. (Note: To maximise diversity, I only include the top ranking book from any series in a list.)
And if you think something's missing? I LOVE book recommendations so if there are any other best meditation books that you think deserve mentioning, email me and I’ll be sure to include them in the next round of updates.
Until then, enjoy this ultimate list of the 20 best meditation books of all time...
Books 1-5: The Top 5 Best Meditation Books of All Time
The top 5 best meditation books of all time are...
1. Be Here Now - Ram Dass
Published 1971 // 416 pages // Rated 4.3 over 29,800 reviews on Goodreads
2. Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind - Shunryu Suzuki
Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice
Published 1970 // 138 pages // Rated 4.2 over 41,600 reviews on Goodreads
3. The Miracle of Mindfulness - Thich Nhat Hanh
An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation
Published 1975 // 140 pages // Rated 4.2 over 29,300 reviews on Goodreads
4. Practicing the Power of Now - Eckhart Tolle
Essential Teachings, Meditations, and Exercises from the Power of Now
Published 1999 // 128 pages // Rated 4.
2 over 43,600 reviews on Goodreads
5. The Art of Living - William Hart
Vipassana Meditation: As Taught by S. N. Goenka
Published 1987 // 176 pages // Rated 4.4 over 2,800 reviews on Goodreads
Books 6-20: The Best Meditation Books to Read Next
Here are the next best meditation books from my database...
6. Meditation in Action - Chögyam Trungpa
Published 1969 // 96 pages // Rated 4.2 over 1,200 reviews on Goodreads
7. Insight Meditation - Joseph Goldstein
The Practice of Freedom
Published 1993 // 208 pages // Rated 4.3 over 1,100 reviews on Goodreads
8. The Experience of Insight - Joseph Goldstein
A Simple & Direct Guide to Buddhist Meditation
Published 1976 // 169 pages // Rated 4.2 over 600 reviews on Goodreads
9.
The Science of Enlightenment - Shinzen Young
Teachings and Meditations for Awakening Through Self-Investigation
Published 1998 // 656 pages // Rated 4.2 over 1,200 reviews on Goodreads
10. The Heart of Buddhist Meditation - Nyanaponika Thera
The Buddha's Way of Mindfulness
Published 1969 // 288 pages // Rated 4.2 over 300 reviews on Goodreads
11. The Joy of Living - Yongey Mingyur
Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness
Published 2007 // 272 pages // Rated 4.1 over 8,200 reviews on Goodreads
12. Meditation for Beginners - Jack Kornfield
Published 1998 // 93 pages // Rated 4.1 over 2,100 reviews on Goodreads
13. How to Meditate - Kathleen McDonald
A Practical Guide
Published 1984 // 269 pages // Rated 4.
1 over 500 reviews on Goodreads
14. Mindfulness - Joseph Goldstein
A Practical Guide to Awakening
Published 2013 // 480 pages // Rated 4.4 over 1,500 reviews on Goodreads
15. Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha - Daniel M. Ingram
An Unusually Hardcore Dharma Book
Published 2007 // 406 pages // Rated 4.3 over 900 reviews on Goodreads
16. How to Sit - Thich Nhat Hanh
Published 2014 // 117 pages // Rated 4.3 over 2,300 reviews on Goodreads
17. Turning the Mind Into an Ally - Sakyong Mipham
Published 2003 // 234 pages // Rated 3.9 over 5,200 reviews on Goodreads
18. Mindfulness - J. Mark G. Williams
An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World
Published 2007 // 288 pages // Rated 3.
9 over 15,000 reviews on Goodreads
19. Going to Pieces Without Falling Apart - Mark Epstein
A Buddhist Perspective on Wholeness
Published 1998 // 200 pages // Rated 3.8 over 7,200 reviews on Goodreads
20. The Headspace Guide to Meditation & Mindfulness - Andy Puddicombe
How Mindfulness Can Change Your Life in Ten Minutes a Day
Published 2011 // 224 pages // Rated 4.0 over 11,600 reviews on Goodreads
More Book Recommendations
Enjoyed this list of the best meditation books of all time?
You'll also like TAoL's other book recommendations...
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Or, you can read all my book recommendations.
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Awareness Daniel Siegel
Daniel Siegel is an American professor of psychiatry and the author of several studies on brain function and mindfulness. His latest book is about meditation. In it, Siegel makes a scientific case for meditation exercises and talks about his own technique called the Wheel of Awareness.
This is not a fundamentally new practice, but rather a useful metaphor that helps to understand the basics of meditation. This is a handy tool for managing attention, emotions, thinking for beginners. An important advantage of the book is specific advice on how to use the experience gained during meditation in everyday life.
One Habit a Week by Brett Blumenthal
Brett Blumenthal is a certified lifestyle coach and consultant for leading American companies. In the bestselling book One Habit a Week, she details her "small change" methodology.
To improve the quality of life, you need to take small steps: develop one simple habit every week. One of the most important is just meditation. She has a detailed chapter. For experienced meditators, the information will not be enough, but for beginners, this is a great start. The book motivates, adjusts to success, energizes.
"Silence", Tit Nat Khan
Tit Nhat Khan is a Buddhist monk, one of the most famous spiritual leaders in the world.
During his long life he wrote dozens of books. "Silence" is dedicated to meditation as a way of life.
Tit Nat Khan offers to treat yourself and life consciously, attentively, with joy. To do this, you need to learn to stop the flow of thoughts, fight negative attitudes, listen to yourself, find a connection with other people. The author teaches to treat meditation not as a training for certain achievements, but as a pleasant activity for the soul. "Silence" is not just a useful practical guide. This is a book-meditation, already reading it relaxes, calms, teaches you to simply contemplate.
“Catch a big fish. Meditation, Mindfulness, Creativity, David Lynch
David Lynch is a well-known American director, a recognized master of cinema, the creator of the cult films Mulholland Drive, The Elephant Man and the TV series Twin Peaks. Lynch is a fan of transcendental meditation. He described his experience in the 2006 bestseller Catching a Big Fish.
Unlike classical practices, transcendental meditation does not require contemplation or concentration. This technique is characterized by minimal human control. And it is based on the natural repetition of mantras without the use of mental effort.
The main idea of Lynch's book is that all important information is already within us. Transcendental Meditation will help you look deep into yourself to "catch the big fish" - a good idea. This book is ideal for creative people and for those who are in search of inspiration. It also has a lot of autobiographical moments, which will appeal to fans of the director.
“How to turn on awareness. Techniques for Effective Practices and Meditations in the Modern World, Rohan Ganatileik
British developer Rohan Ganatileik is best known for the popular and successful meditation app Buddhify. He also wrote How to Turn on Mindfulness, a useful and practical meditation guide for busy city dwellers.
The purpose of the book is to provide simple, effective and understandable techniques for the so-called mobile meditation, adapted to modern realities. When there is not enough time, you can meditate on the subway, on a walk, while reading, in bed before going to bed. It doesn't take much effort. The author offers several dozen options for mobile meditation - everyone will find something for themselves.
Meditation and mindfulness. 10 minutes a day that will put your thoughts in order, Andy Puddicombe
Andy Puddicombe is a former Buddhist monk and promoter of meditation in the modern world. After returning from the monastery to the UK, Puddicombe founded the Headspace interactive meditation training system, and a little later he created the book Meditation and Mindfulness based on it.
This is the perfect book for beginners: it has a solid and understandable theory, some life stories to motivate you, and step-by-step exercises that only take 10 minutes a day.
There are also answers to common beginner questions that are so lacking in other books: should I feel something while meditating, that if I fall asleep during practice, do all people have the ability to concentrate? Read and find out.
Silence Speaks Eckhart Tolle
Eckhart Tolle is a German writer and philosopher, bestselling author of The Power of Now about living in the moment, awareness, inner transformation. His new work "Silence Speaks" can be called a reprint of the first. In it, the same ideas are succinctly presented in the style of ancient Indian sutras, prompting reflection and discovery with their understatement.
"Silence speaks" will teach you to live in the present, to find joy within yourself, to feel harmony with yourself. This book should be read thoughtfully, with pleasure, completely immersed in the process. It can be re-read many times, returning to the deepest and most exciting moments.
Ken Wilber Integral Meditation
Ken Wilber is an American thinker, the author of an integral approach system that combines all areas of life into a single model. He applied this approach to meditation, combining classical practices with new ideas about the horizontal and vertical levels of consciousness. He outlined his views in the book "Integral Meditation".
Integral meditation promotes both spiritual and personal development: it gives access to the depths of consciousness and helps to better understand oneself, while at the same time establishing relationships with the outside world. This is not a simple reading that requires mental effort. The author offers a fresh and curious approach for experienced meditation lovers.
The Art of Dreaming, Carlos Castaneda
"The Art of Dreaming" is one of the last books of the famous writer, philosopher and esotericist Carlos Castaneda.
Like the rest of his bestsellers, this is a completely non-standard and ambiguous book that baffles some readers and delights others.
The Art of Dreaming repeats already familiar terms and ideas of Castaneda, so reading the book is easier for those who are already familiar with the author's works. But this time, the writer focused on lucid dreams as a way to look at the world and yourself in a different way, in order to gain confidence and peace of mind. In this book, Castaneda, under the guidance of his teacher don Juan, masters the ability to travel in the world of his own dreams and communicate with its inhabitants. This is a comprehensive guide to mastering lucid dreams. It can also be used for mind-expanding meditative reading.
“Buddha, the brain and the neurophysiology of happiness. How to change life for the better, Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche is a Buddhist monk from Nepal.
In 2002, at the request of the Dalai Lama, he took part in a study on the neurophysiology of the brain. The research was carried out at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He combined the resulting knowledge with Buddhist wisdom and ancient meditation practices to produce the bestseller Buddha, the Brain, and the Neurophysiology of Happiness.
Mingyur Rinpoche's book is the most versatile, informative and complete of our collection. It is suitable for everyone: beginners, amateurs interested in the neurophysiology of the brain, or followers of Buddhism. An important strength of this book is its sound scientific approach: it describes in detail how and why meditation affects the human brain.
6 books on the art of meditation
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Developed 30 years ago by American biologist John Kabat-Zinn, a series of exercises includes specific breathing and concentration techniques to "mindfulness-based stress reduction.
" This healing meditation quickly showed its effectiveness, which is not surprising: the method of John Kabat-Zinn is based on fundamental scientific research in the field of neurophysiology. (Eksmo, 2013)
2. Buddha, brain and neurophysiology of happiness. How to change life for the better. Practical Guide Yongey Rinpoche
Buddhist monk Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche has been collaborating with the world's leading neurophysiologists and psychologists for the last 20 years. In this book, he talks about the basic techniques of meditation - taste, sound, surrounding objects, one's own sensations or breathing. It is worth exercising only if and only as long as it brings pleasure. There is no need to look for a quiet place to practice. You can meditate anytime and anywhere: while eating, walking, driving or before going to bed. A few short sessions a day are enough to begin to perceive our feelings consciously, to feel peace and compassion for other people, because in essence, each of us wants the same thing: happiness and harmony.
(Orientalia, 2015)
3. “8 minutes of meditation. 8 minutes a day to start a new life” Victor Devich
Lawyer Victor Devich has been meditating for almost a quarter of a century. Like no one else, he knows the arguments of those who do not dare to start meditating: “it takes a lot of time to do this”, “it is incredibly long and difficult.” But with Davich's book, you'll be meditating in less than ten minutes after you start reading. And in exactly eight minutes, with renewed vigor, you will begin mastering the 8-week program, the results of which will become tangible long before the end of the course. (Sofia, 2014)
4.Mindsight. The New Science of Personal Transformation Daniel Siegel
Mindsight is the ability to perceive and be aware of your thoughts and feelings, as well as the feelings and thoughts of others, it is the ability to turn off the “autopilot” (habitual behavior patterns) and get out of the traps of emotional reactions into which we get so often.
This bestseller is devoted to ways to develop your smart vision, which means getting rid of mood swings, obsessive states, unpleasant memories and other painful problems for many of us. (Mann, Ivanov & Ferber, 2015)
5. “Meditation. General guidance Madonna Goding
What is the purpose of this activity? How, when and in what position is it most convenient to meditate? What are the visible results of meditation and when can we expect them to appear? In addition to answering these and similar questions, the reader of Goding's book will receive an invaluable bonus: more than 140 lovingly and expertly collected and described meditation practices based on the spiritual traditions of East and West. (Kladez, 2006)
6. "Secrets of meditative breathing" Larry Rosenberg
The Buddha told his disciples: "Complete freedom from suffering is achievable, it is as close as inhaling and exhaling." Larry Rosenberg, founder of the Cambridge Insight Meditation Center (USA), reveals the essence of the practice of conscious breathing, sharing many years of learning from the Masters and observations on how breathing affects the body, feelings and mind.
