Resources

How to Meditate FAQ: A definitive guide for a gratifying practice, by Tara Brach

Dear New Meditator,

You are embarking on a journey that can deeply transform and enrich your life. The most important thing to remember is to approach practice with a friendly, curious, non-judgmental attitude. There’s no one style of meditation that is “best” or fits all people. We’ve offered you some basic practices below that you can explore to see which serve you well. You might end up with two or three that you use regularly as you establish a practice. Over the weeks and months you’ll internalize the instructions and probably practice more and more regularly without the guided meditation. But at times, you’ll find they will help in gathering your attention.

With loving blessings, Tara.

Mindful Me: Mindfulness and Meditation for Kids, by Whitney Stewart

Sometimes kids’ lives can get busy and out of control, and worries can take over. When that happens, knowing how to pause and regain composure with mindfulness can help! This easily digestible guide introduces kids to mindfulness as a way to find clarity, manage stress, handle difficult emotions, and navigate personal challenges. With step-by-step instructions to over thirty breathing, relaxation, and guided meditation exercises, readers will have an entire toolkit at their disposal and writing prompts will help them process their discoveries. Clearly written and incredibly relatable, this invaluable resource provides a positive introduction to the world of self-care and mindfulness.

When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times, by Pema Chodron

Pema Chodron is a remarkable Western Buddhist nun with a great gift of touching one’s heart while showing us how to overcome difficulties. This
book demonstrates that there is a fundamental opportunity for happiness right within our reach, yet we usually miss it—ironically while we are caught up in attempts to escape pain and suffering. The approach to suffering which
has lasting benefit, Pema teaches, involves moving toward painful situations with friendliness and curiosity, relaxing into the essential groundlessness of our entire situation.

A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life, by Jack Kornfield

Jack Kornfield is an internationally renowned Buddhist teacher and meditation master, and a cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society and of
Spirit Rock Center in Northern California. A Path with Heart is a guide to reconciling Buddhist spirituality with the North American way of life and
addresses the challenges of spiritual living in the modern world. It offers guidance for bringing a sense of the sacred to everyday experience.

Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life, by Thich Nhat Hanh

Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, poet, and peacemaker who was nominated by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for the Nobel Peace Prize. Lucidly and beautifully written, Peace Is Every Step contains commentaries and meditations, personal anecdotes and stories from Nhat Hanh’s experiences as a peace activist, teacher, and community leader. It begins where the reader
already is—in the kitchen, office, driving a car, walking a part—and shows how deep meditative presence is available now. Nhat Hanh provides exercises to increase our awareness of our own body and mind through conscious breathing. This book is short and easy to read, but it is rich with profound, yet simple reminders for us to come backto the present moment.

The Experience of Insight: A Simple and Direct Guide to Buddhist Meditation, by Joseph Goldstein

Joseph Goldstein began exploring meditation as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand. Following extended meditation retreats with various teachers in India and Burma, including the renowned Buddhist meditation master Anagarika Sri
Munindra, he cofounded the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts. This book is a compilation of some of the teachings given during
his retreats. It covers the basics of practicing meditation and offers simple explanations and stories illustrating the truth and profundity of the Buddha’s teachings. It is a modern classic of unusually clear, practical instruction for the practice of Buddhist meditation: sitting and walking meditation, how one relates with the breath, feelings, thought, sense perceptions, consciousness, and everyday activities.

Meditation in Action, by Chögyam Trungpa

Chögyam Trungpa (1940–1987), Tibetan meditation master, teacher, and artist,
founded Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, the first Buddhist-inspired university in North America; the Shambhala Training program; and an
international association of meditation centers known as Shambhala International. He is the author of numerous books. This classic teaching continues to inspire both beginners and long-time practitioners of Buddhist meditation. Trungpa shows that meditation extends beyond the formal practice of sitting to build the foundation for compassion, awareness, and creativity in all aspects of life. He explores the six activities associated with meditation in action—generosity, discipline, patience, energy, clarity, and wisdom—revealing that through simple, direct experience, one can attain real wisdom: the ability to see clearly into situations and deal with them skillfully, without the self-consciousness connected with ego.

Loving-Kindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness, by Sharon Salzberg

Sharon Salzberg is one of America’s leading spiritual teachers and authors. A practitioner of Buddhist meditation for over thirty years, she is a co-founder of the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies and the Insight Meditation Society. Throughout our lives we long to love ourselves more deeply and find a greater sense of connection with others. Our fear of intimacy—both with others and with ourselves—creates feelings of pain and longing. But these feelings can also awaken in us the desire for freedom and the willingness to take up the spiritual path. The Buddhist path of lovingkindness can help us discover the radiant, joyful heart within each of us. This practice of lovingkindness is revolutionary because it has the power to radically change our lives, helping us cultivate true happiness in ourselves and genuine compassion for others.

Bom Yeoreum Gaeul Gyeoul Geurigo Bom (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter …And Spring)

It’s mostly silent. A genuinely great film that also manages to capture something of the Dharma.

Compassion and Wisdom: A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life

Imagine a serious, relevant, feature-length documentary about the path of the bodhisattva. Now imagine that film populated with “talking heads” from the worlds of academia and practice.

Doing Time, Doing Vipassana

Eilona Ariel and Ayelet Menahemi spent two weeks inside India’s Tihar Central Prison in New Delhi and Baroda Jail in Gujarat state filming meditation retreats for prisoners and prison staff. The result is this tight, effective, and often quite moving 50-minute film.

Finding Joe

“…heartwarming and soul-stirring illumination of the teachings of visionary mythologist Joseph Campbell.”

Milarepa: Magician, Murderer, Saint

“A must-see for anyone concerned about the patterns of violence and retribution consuming today’s world.” – The Guardian (UK)

My Reincarnation

A journey across the globe documenting Chogyal
Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche’s unusual effort to transplant his spiritual heritage. A creative weave of archival film, still photographs, and over 900 hours of footage shot since 1988 in more than 13 countries.

The Cup

Soccer devotion through the eyes of a young monk.

The End of Time

Seeks to introduce a timeless meditative state for viewers.

Tibet: A Buddhist Trilogy

A classic work filmed on location in India, Nepal and Ladakh over 35 years ago, and digitally mastered and edited into a spellbinding 134-minute introduction to Tibetan Buddhism.

Tulku

Inspired by filmmaker Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche (The Cup, Travellers & Magicians), Gesar Mukpo has documented his own story and those of several other tulkus in this personal and thoughtful film that asks the questions, “What does it mean to be identified as a tulku? and more broadly, “How does one live in this world, fulfill one’s destiny?” Gesar Mukpo is the son of Chogyam Trungpa.

Wheel of Time

By Werner Herzog. The film documents the Kalachakra Initiation that began in 2002 at Bodh Gaya, India, and concluded the following year at Graz, Austria. Herzog is primarily interested in the Tibetan Buddhist mandala, but Wheel of Time also offers some indelible images of pilgrimage, folk religion, and contemplative practice.

Words of My Perfect Teacher

A profile (of sorts) of Tibetan teacher and filmmaker Dzongar Jamyang Khyentse Norbu Rinpoche, director of The Cup and Travellers & Magicians…