Books! Books! Books!

This is just a little glimpse of the books I currently have fired up on my reader for this summer. Well. What do we have here?

• Heartwood of the Bodhi Tree: The Buddha’s Teachings on Voidness by Buddhadasa Bhikkhu - Oh I love books on emptiness (shunyata) because I am so confounded by it. It’s one of those concepts in Buddhism that is so sticky that the more I read about it, the better it is for my foggy little perceptual mind to grasp it. As an aside, if you watch or have watched this documentary on Buddhadasa Bhikku- let me know if it’s any good).
• Meditation on Perception: The Healing Practices by Bhante Gunaratana - As a meditation teacher, I devour any books that relate to insight meditation, perception and this book looks stellar in it’s treatment of the subject matter. Looking forward to it.
• Turning Confusion into Clarity by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche - I’m a HUGE fangirl of Rinpoche, so this is a book that I’ve been looking forward to for some time. Since his previous books, The Joy of Living and Joyful Wisdom subsequently going into retreat after their release, I’m thrilled to see this one hit my shelp and Rinpoche’s teachings continue to propagate. With a title like this, I feel like I need to start reading this one ASAP!
• Sit With Less Pain : Gentle Yoga for Meditators by Jean Erlbaum - I NEED TO READ THIS NOW! RIGHT NOW! As I sit here, hunched like a troll over my keyboard (quite common as I work as a desk jockey) and have several pre-existing gnarly injuries such as a busted up ankle and miserable, popping knees, I know that sitting meditation can seriously do a number on a person. Who’d think that simply sitting posture would be so arduous, but take it from me - IT SURE CAN BE. Mega bonus points for the author’s profile photo featuring a dog and mention in her bio of owning 2 dogs.

• Buddha’s Daughters: Teachings from Women Who Are Shaping Buddhism in the West edited by Andrea Miller- I’ve started reading this book and it is as wonderful as I imagined it to be. With a list of heavy hitters from the feminine Buddhist world, this book is packed full of wisdom and great teachings from oh let’s see who’s listed here: Pema Chodron, Ayya Khema, Sharon Salzberg, Toni Packer, Maurine Stuart, Karen Maezen Miller, Khandro Rinpoche, Jan Chozen Bays, Sister Chan Khong, Sylvia Boorstein, Pat Enkyo O’Hara, Darlene Cohen, Joanna Macy, Bonnie Myotai Treace, Tsultrim Allione, Tenzin Palmo, Tara Brach, Joan Sutherland, Carolyn Rose Gimian, Joan Halifax, and Charlotte Joko Beck. Yup. I’m really excited to read this one.

There you have it. A quick list of a few books I’m set to read this summer. Stay tuned as there are many more not on this list that will squeak in with mentions on Full Contact Enlightenment. That new Noah Levine book, the new book by Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche… and… and… and…

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