Books are a blessing and a curse for spiritual practitioners in this day and age. The blessing, of course, is the wide availability of so many teachings from so many traditions and teachers. The wholeness of the spectrum they present demonstrates an almost scientific proof of their validity. If you are at all concerned for the state of the world and what you can do about it, here are the best answers mankind has been able to derive. Wow, who could ask for more? What curse? Let's go!The curse is our all-too-common naïve self-assurance, which confuses intellectual facility with real understanding. We Westerners are spiritual orphans. We scarcely comprehend what we have grown up without: the long, slow process and genuine self-confidence that come from lineage and tradition. No book, however moving or inspiring, can substitute for live relations with other human beings. This is all the more true for the student-teacher relationship. "It is the job of your spiritual friend to insult you," Chogyam Trungpa said. No book can ever really do that, any more than a cookbook is a substitute for a meal.
That said, it is valuable to have some good maps of the territory. Through the years here at Turtle Hill, we have found the following works to be part of any good core curriculum.
Gesture of Balance Footsteps on the Diamond Path
books by Vidyadhara Chögyam Trungpaselections from various authorsCrazy Wisdom Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism The Myth of Freedom Info-Psychology by Timothy LearyThe Book by Alan Watts The Buddhism of Tibet by HH Dalai Lama XIV Dzogchen and Padmasambhava by Sogyal Rinpoche Food of the Gods by Terrence Mckenna Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism by Lama Anagarika Govinda Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna by M New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton Secret Oral Teachings in Tibetan Buddhist Sects by Alexandra David-Neel and Lama Yongden Tantric Practice in Nyingma by Khetsun Sangpo Rinpoche Zen Mind, Beginners Mind by Suzuki Roshi