Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a Buddhist teacher and author of six books. I started practicing Buddhist meditation in 1980 and then got sober in 1985. The fact that I needed the 12 Steps when I was already a serious meditator gives you a clue about what a mess I was. Besides addiction, I’ve struggled with depression as well. All of this makes me feel like something of an outsider in the “happy, happy” world of mindfulness and meditation. Much of my work comes from that outsider’s perspective. While five of my books focus on connecting Buddhism and recovery, the sixth comes out of my study of the suttas of the Pali Canon, the earliest preserved Buddhist teachings.


I wrote

Living Kindness: Buddhist Teachings for a Troubled World

By Kevin Griffin,

Book cover of Living Kindness: Buddhist Teachings for a Troubled World

What is my book about?

Living Kindness: Buddhist Teachings for a Troubled World gives a different perspective on the Buddhist teaching of loving-kindness. The book…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Noble Eightfold Path: Way to the End of Suffering

Kevin Griffin Why did I love this book?

The Eightfold Path is the road map to freedom laid out by the Buddha. From this derives the mindfulness and concentration practices, as well as guidance on wisdom, ethics, and morality. Bhikkhu Bodhi packs more wisdom into this short book than any other Buddhist text you will read. So dense that a single sentence can send you off on days of reflection, I come back over and over to this book for guidance and inspiration.

By Bhikkhu Bodhi,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Noble Eightfold Path as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This book offers a clear, concise account of the Eightfold Path prescribed to uproot and eliminate the deep underlying cause of suffering—ignorance. Each step of the path is believed to cultivate wisdom through mental training, and includes an enlightened and peaceful middle path that avoids extremes. The theoretical as well as practical angles of each of the paths—right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration—are illustrated through examples from contemporary life. The work's final chapter addresses the Buddhist path and its culmination in enlightenment. (Note: This title was previously published under…


Book cover of Satipatthana: The Direct Path to Realization

Kevin Griffin Why did I love this book?

The first of this great scholar’s series on the Buddha’s instructions for mindfulness, this sits as perhaps the greatest modern commentary on what has become a worldwide phenomenon. Building from the core “Satipatthana Sutta,” or “The Discourse on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness,” Analayo draws from his extensive translations and studies of both the Pali Canon and the Chinese versions of suttas that branched off long ago. While the footnotes sometimes take up more space than the text itself, every digression is worth following for those who want to truly understand what the Buddha taught. Warning: most of this book will only make sense to you if you have sat for at least a couple of ten-day meditation retreats.

By Bhikkhu Analayo,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Satipatthana as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A translation and detailed textual study of the Satipatthana Sutta, the foundational Buddhist discourse on meditation, drawing on traditional Buddhist texts, modern works, and the teachings of present-day meditation masters to make the rich implications of this text clear to all.


Book cover of The Life of the Buddha

Kevin Griffin Why did I love this book?

The early Buddhist texts do not follow any narrative or chronological order. Their purpose was not to tell us about the Buddha, but only to preserve and convey his teachings. This seminal figure of twentieth-century Buddhist scholarship takes those texts and organizes them as a story. The result is a biography infused with Theravada Buddhist teachings. This book is a great one for meeting the suttas in a more conventional form than the seemingly random order in which they are found in the Canon. Plus, you get to see the Buddha and his followers as human beings living in a particular place and time. 

By Bhikkhu Nanamoli,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Life of the Buddha as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Composed entirely of texts from the Pali canon, this unique biography presents the oldest authentic record of the Buddha’s life and revolutionary philosophy. The ancient texts are rendered here in a language marked by lucidity and dignity. A framework of narrators and voices connect the canonical texts. Vivid recollections of his personal attendant Ananda and other disciples bring the reader into the Buddha’s presence, where his example offers profound inspiration and guidance on the path to freedom.


Book cover of Food for the Heart: The Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah

Kevin Griffin Why did I love this book?

Ajahn Chah was a Buddhist monk in the Thai Forest Tradition who taught and influenced a generation of Western Buddhist teachers, from Jack Kornfield to Ajahn Sumedho, Ajahn Amaro, and Ajahn Passano. Combining the commitment of an ascetic monk with the clarity of a Zen Master, Ajahn Chah’s teachings here are rich and alive. Far from the drier suttas of the Pali Canon, here we see Buddhism coming alive in practical and inspiring ways. Everything from how to meditate to how to be mindful in daily life is covered in stories and pithy teachings. Easy to pick up and read short passages.

By Ajahn Chah,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Food for the Heart as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Renowned for the beauty and simplicity of his teachings, Ajahn Chah was Thailand's best-known meditation teacher. His charisma and wisdom influenced many American and European seekers, and helped shape the American Vipassana community. This collection brings together for the first time Ajahn Chah's most powerful teachings, including those on meditation, liberation from suffering, calming the mind, enlightenment and the 'living dhamma'. Most of these talks have previously only been available in limited, private editions and the publication of Food for the Heart therefore represents a momentous occasion: the hugely increased accessibility of his words and wisdom. Western teachers such as…


Book cover of The Island: An Anthology of the Buddha's Teachings of Nibbana

Kevin Griffin Why did I love this book?

These two students of Ajahn Chah, one Canadian, the other English, felt that there wasn’t enough focus in Western Buddhism on enlightenment. They set about compiling and doing commentary on a wide range of suttas from the Pali Canon. The result is perhaps the most extensive and detailed explanation of the why, what, and how of awakening through the lens of the Theravada tradition. Their encouragement for students to strive to at least attain the first stage of enlightenment (of four), will have you rethinking your meditation and spiritual practice.

By Ajahn Passano, Ajahn Amaro,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Island as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An Anthology of the Buddha's Teachings of Nibbana


Explore my book 😀

Living Kindness: Buddhist Teachings for a Troubled World

By Kevin Griffin,

Book cover of Living Kindness: Buddhist Teachings for a Troubled World

What is my book about?

Living Kindness: Buddhist Teachings for a Troubled World gives a different perspective on the Buddhist teaching of loving-kindness. The book blends my personal experience with stories from the suttas. As the title suggests, I want to take this teaching out of the realm of meditation alone into the practical issues of lived application. It covers the broad elements of “metta,” the Buddhist term for lovingkindness: love of self; living with others; the poisonous nature of hatred; the struggle to maintain spiritual balance in our troubled world; traditional practices of loving-kindness; the development of concentration and mindfulness through loving-kindness meditation; working with fear and the Five Hindrances; and finally, the relationship of these teachings to environmentalism. My writing is straightforward, friendly, and tries to be practical and even entertaining.

Book cover of The Noble Eightfold Path: Way to the End of Suffering
Book cover of Satipatthana: The Direct Path to Realization
Book cover of The Life of the Buddha

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,505

readers submitted
so far, will you?

You might also like...

I Am Taurus

By Stephen Palmer,

Book cover of I Am Taurus

Ad
Stephen Palmer

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Philosopher Scholar Liberal Reader Musician

Stephen's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

The constellation we know as Taurus goes all the way back to cave paintings of aurochs at Lascaux. This book traces the story of the bull in the sky, a journey through the history of what has become known as the sacred bull.

Each of the sections is written from the perspective of the mythical Taurus, from the beginning at Lascaux to Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, and elsewhere. This is not just a history of the bull but also a view of ourselves through the eyes of the bull, illustrating our pre-literate use of myth, how the advent of writing and…

I Am Taurus

By Stephen Palmer,

What is this book about?

The constellation we know as Taurus goes all the way back to cave paintings of aurochs at Lascaux. In I Am Taurus, author Stephen Palmer traces the story of the bull in the sky, starting from that point 19,000 years ago - a journey through the history of what has become known as the sacred bull. Each of the eleven sections is written from the perspective of the mythical Taurus, from the beginning at Lascaux to Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Greece, Spain and elsewhere. This is not just a history of the bull but also an attempt to see ourselves through…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in Theravada buddishm, Buddhism, and dharma?

Buddhism 303 books
Dharma 10 books