This bibliography of Buddhist books by Northwest authors is a work in progress. If you know of other books that should be on this list, please email George Draffan here.

Bays, Jan Chozen

Co-founder of Great Vow Zen Monastery.

• Jizo Bodhisattva: Modern Healing & Traditional Buddhist Practice
• The Vow-Powered Life: A Simple Method for Living with Purpose
• Mindful Eating on the Go: Practices for Eating with Awareness, Wherever You Ar
• Mindfulness on the Go: Simple Meditation Practices You Can Do Anywhere
• How to Train a Wild Elephant: And Other Adventures in Mindfulness
• Mindful Eating: A Guide to Rediscovering a Healthy and Joyful Relationship with Food

• Mindful Eating: A Guide to Rediscovering a Healthy and Joyful Relationship with Food

Beatty, Robert

Founding teacher at Portland Insight Meditation Community. 

• Mindfulness for a Happy Life: New Teachings of an Old Tradition for Today’s World

Benard, Elisabeth A.

Retired professor of religion at University of Puget Sound. 

• The Sakya Jetsunmas: The Hidden World of Tibetan Female Lamas
• Chinnamasta: The Aweful Buddhist and Hindu Tantric Goddess

Bennet, Holly Morris

• Sangha of Two: Eastern Thought, Western Process, Modern Seekers

Berger, Diane Rigdzin

Practitioner of Vajrayana Buddhism in the Dzogchen Longchen-Nyingtik lineage since 1989. Co-founded the Kilung Foundation with Kilung Jigme Rinpoche in 1998 and served as its managing director for thirteen years. Awakemoment.com.

•  Small Boat, Vast Ocean: My Years in Solitary Buddhist Retreat

Blumenthal, James (1967-2014)

Associate professor of Buddhist philosophy at Oregon State University and founding faculty member in Buddhist Studies at Maitripa College.  

• The Ornament of the Middle Way: A Study of the Madhyamaka Thought of Santaraksita
• Incompatible Visions: South Asian Religions in History and Culture (Editor)
• Steps on the Path: A Commentary on the “Shamatha” Chapter of Tsongkhapa’s Lamrim Chenmo (co-author and editor with Geshe Lhundup Sopa)

Braza, Jerry

Teacher in health, psychology, and mindfulness, ordained in the Plum Village tradition.  JerryBraza.com

• Practicing Mindfulness: Finding Calm and Focus in Everyday Life
• The Seeds of Love: Growing Mindful Relationships
• Moment by Moment: The Art and Practice of Mindfulness

Brunnholzl, Karl 

Translator / teacher at Nalandabodhi.

• The Heart Attack Sutra
• Straight from the Heart: Buddhist Pith Instructions
• Luminous Heart: The Third Karmapa on Consciousness, Wisdom, and Buddha Nature
• Gone Beyond: The Prajnaparamita Sutras, The Ornament of Clear Realization, and Its Commentaries in the Tibetan Kagyu Tradition (2 volumes)
• Mining for Wisdom Within Delusion: Maitreya’s Distinction Between Phenomena and the Nature of Phenomena and Its Indian and Tibetan Commentaries
• Groundless Paths: The Prajnaparamita Sutras, The Ornament of Clear Realization, and Its Commentaries in the Tibetan Nyingma Tradition
• The Center of the Sunlit Sky: Madhyamaka in the Kagyu Tradition, Pawo Rinpoche and the Eighth Karmapa Mikyö Dorje
• In Praise of Dharmadhatu, Nagarjuna, commentary by the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje

Burk, Domyo Sater

Teacher at Bright Way Zen.

Carlson, Kyogen (1948-2014)

Co-founder of Dharma Rain Zen Center.

• Zen Roots
• Zen in the American Grain: Discovering The Teachings At Home
• Evangelical Zen: A Christian’s Spiritual Travels With a Buddhist Friend, by Paul Louis Metzger and Kyogen Carlson
• You Are Still Here: Zen Teachings of Kyogen Carlson

Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche (1930–2002)

Nyingma teacher and founder of Chagdud Gonpa.

• Lord of the Dance: Autobiography of a Tibetan Lama 
• Gates to Buddhist Practice: Essential Teachings of a Tibetan Master
• Life in Relation to Death
• Change of Heart, The Bodhisattva Peace Training, by Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche and Lama Shenpen Drolma
• The Good Brother and the Bad Brother, by Chagdud Tulku, David Everest, and Sandra Serra
• Zangpo and the Turquoise Horn
• The Mouse King: Essential Teachings of a Tibetan Master

Chawla, Neha

Director of Seattle Mindfulness Center.

• Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention for Addictive Behaviors: A Clinician’s Guide, by Sarah Bowen, Neha Chawla, and G. Alan Marlatt

Conover, Sarah

Sarah Conover is a Theravada practitioner currently in the process of creating Cascade Hermitage. She is the author of several books on world religions, “The Dana Dilemma” in Buddhist Door Global, April 1, 2021  , and several articles in Tricycle. Valerie Wahl is a curator at the Northwest Museum of Arts in Spokane WA.

• Kindness: A Treasury of Buddhist Wisdom for Children and Parents by Sarah Conover and Valerie Wahl

Cox, Collett

Scholar at the Early Buddhist Manuscripts Project at the University of Washington.

• Disputed Dharmas, Early Buddhist Theories on Existence

Davenport, John T.

• (translator) Ordinary Wisdom: Sakya Pandita’s Treasury of Good Advice

Dezhung Rinpoche (1906–1987)

One of the first Tibetan teachers to live in the US, arriving in Seattle in 1960; his niece is Sakya Monastery‘s H.E. Dagmo Kusho.

• The Three Levels of Spiritual Perception: An Oral Commentary on the Three Visions of Ngorchen Konchog Lhundrub
• See also: A Saint in Seattle: The Life of the Tibetan Mystic Dezhung Rinpoche, by David P. Jackson

Dewar, Tyler

Translator at Nalandabodhi.

• Trainings in Compassion: Manuals on the Meditation of Avalokiteshvara
• The Karmapa’s Middle Way: Feast for the Fortunate, A Commentary on Chandrakirti’s Madhyamakavatara

Duncan, Doug

Teacher at Planet Dharma and Clear Sky Retreat Centre.

• Dharma If You Dare: Living Life With Abandon
• Wasteland to Pureland: Reflections on the Path to Awakening, by Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat

Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

Founder of Nalandabodhi.

• Penetrating Wisdom: The Aspiration of Samantabhadra
• Wild Awakening: The Heart of Mahamudra and Dzogchen
• Entering The Path: Outer and Inner Refuge
• Mind Beyond Death
• Emotional Rescue: How to Work with Your Emotions to Transform Hurt and Confusion into Energy That Empowers You 
• Rebel Buddha:: A Guide to a Revolution of Mind

Feng, Anita (Jeong Ji)

Guiding teacher at Blue Heron Zen Community.

• Sid: the story of Siddhartha. The story of Sid. the story of us all.

Gerhards, Paul

Founder of Parami Press. 

• Mapping the Dharma: A Concise Guide to the Middle Way of the Buddha

Gier, Nicholas F.

Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of Idaho; Senior Fellow, UI Martin Institute of Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution, 1990-2000; UI Coordinator of Religious Studies, 1980-2003. President, Idaho Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, 1982-2020. 

• The Virtue of Nonviolence: From Gautama to Gandhi
• Spiritual Titanism: Indian, Chinese, and Western Perspectives

Gold, Eva

Co-founder of Gestalt Therapy Training Center Northwest.

• Buddhist Psychology and Gestalt Therapy Integrated: Psychotherapy for the 21st Century, by Eva Gold and Steve Zahm

Hamill, Sam (1943-2018)

Translator, essayist, poet, and founder of Copper Canyon Press.

• (translator) The Spring of My Life and Selected Haiku, by Kobayashi Issa  
• (translator) Narrow Road to the Interior and Other Writings, by Matsuo Basho
• Habitation: Collected Poems 

Hammerstrom, Erik

Professor of Religion at Pacific Lutheran University and Certified Minister’s Assistant at Tacoma Buddhist Temple.

• The Huayan University Network: The Teaching and Practice of Avataṃsaka Buddhism in Twentieth-Century China
• The Science of Chinese Buddhism: Early Twentieth-Century Engagements

Jenkins, Katherine

Teacher at Edmonds Community College and blogger.

• Lessons from the Monk I Married

Johnson, Charles

Novelist, literary critic, philosopher, cartoonist, screenwriter, essayist and lecturer at the University of Washington.

• Turning the Wheel: Essays on Buddhism and Writing
• Taming the Ox: Buddhist Stories and Reflections on Politics, Race, Culture, and Spiritual Practice 

Kasl, Charlotte Sophia (1938-2021)

Missoula Montana-based counselor and the author of a series of books including If the Buddha Dated, If the Buddha Married, If the Buddha Got Stuck, and If the Buddha Had Kids. Read her obituary here.

Kaufer, Nelly 

Nelly Kaufer is lead teacher of Pine Street Sangha in Portland Oregon.

•  Reflective Meditation: Cultivating Kindness and Curiosity in the Buddha’s Company, by Nelly Kaufer and Linda Modaro (Sati Sangha)
• A Woman’s Guide to Spiritual Renewal

Kilung Rinpoche

Teacher at Pema Kilaya.

• The Relaxed Mind: A Seven-Step Method for Deepening Meditation Practice

Kramer, Gregory

Theravada-trained meditation teacher and author  GregoryKramer.org.

• Insight Dialogue: The Interpersonal Path to Freedom 
  
• Dharma Contemplation: Meditating Together with Wisdom Texts
• A Whole-life Path: A Lay Buddist’s Guide To Crafting A Dhamma-infused Life

Lenz, Timothy

Scholar at University of Washington Early Buddhist Manuscripts Project.

• A New Version of the Gandhari Dharmapada and a Collection of Previous-Birth Stories

Levitt, Peter

Founder/teacher of Salt Spring Zen Circle.

• (editor) The Heart of Understanding, by Thich Nhat Hanh
• (translator) No Beginning, No End, by Jakusho Kwong
• (translator) A Flock of Fools: Ancient Buddhist Tales of Wisdom and Laughter, with Kazuaki Tanahashi
• (editor) The Essential Dogen: Writings of the Great Zen Master, with Kazuaki Tanahashi
• (editor) Treasury of the True Dharma Eye: Zen Master Dogen’s Shobo Genzo, with Kazuaki Tanahashi
• (translator) The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan, with Kazuaki Tanahashi 

Losang Tsering (David Gonsalez)

His autobiography was published as Traceless Memories: A Brief Autobiography Of An American Buddhist. He was the author or subject of several articles in the Northwest Dharma News. Some of his many translations can be found at Dechen Ling Press, including:

• The Essence of the Vast and Profound: A Commentary on Je Tsongkhapa’s Middle-Length Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment 
• Manjushri’s Innermost Secret: A Profound Commentary of Oral Instructions on the Practice of Lama Chöpa
• The Roar of Thunder: Yamantaka Practice and Commentary 
• The Extremely Secret Dakini of Naropa: Vajrayogini Practice and Commentary 
• The Chakrasamvara Root Tantra: The Speech of Glorious Heruka 

Magden, Ronald E. (1926-2018)

Labor and oral history professor at Tacoma Community College. 

• Mukashi Mukashi (Long, Long Ago…): A History of the Seattle Buddhist Church
  
• “Buddhism Comes to Seattle” in: More Voices, New Stories: King County, Washington’s First 150 Years 

Manders, Kevin and Elizabeth Marston

The editors described their work in an article in the Northwest Dharma News.

• (editors) Transcending: Trans Buddhist Voices

Marinello, Genjo

Psychotherapist and spiritual director, and Zen teacher at Dai Bai Zan Cho Bo Zen Ji in Seattle.

• Reflections on Awakening and Maturity: For Spiritual Companions

Marlatt, G. Alan (1941-2011)

Director of the Addictive Behaviors Research Center at the University of Washington, co-founder of the Buddhist Recovery Network.

• Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention for Addictive Behaviors: A Clinician’s Guide, by Sarah Bowen, Neha Chawla, and G. Alan Marlatt
• The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Changing Old Habits for Good, by G. Alan Marlatt and Deborah S. Romaine

Marsh, Dana

Teacher at Heart of the Dharma in Boise Idaho.

• Extraordinary Freedom: Buddhist Wisdom for Modern Times

McLeod, Grace (1907-2006)

Grace McLeod produced many articles and books for the Betsuin Buddhist Temple, including translations of Rennyo Shonin’s letters, and curricula for the temple’s Dharma School, including the Buddhist Reader, “Teen Tempest” and Dharma School Teacher’s Handbook.

Norton, Edwina (Edie)

Priest at Red Cedar Zen Community.

• Autumn Light: My Fifty Years in Zen

O’Connor, Mike (1944- 2021)

Port Townsend-based poet and translator, and publisher at Empty Bowl Press. 

• Where the World Does Not Follow: Buddhist China in Picture and Poem
• When I Find You Again, It Will Be in Mountains
• The Clouds Should Know Me By Now: Buddhist Poet Monks of China

Orr, Tamra

Oregon-based author.

• My Friend Is Buddhist

Pawasarat, Catherine

Teacher at Planet Dharma and Clear Sky Retreat Centre.

• Wasteland to Pureland: Reflections on the Path to Awakening, by Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat

Perera, Chandra

Sri Lankan-born author and world traveler, now living in Seattle.

• Buddha in the Forest

Prescott, Jonathan

Zen teacher and facilitator at Anacortes Mindfulness Community.

• The Road To Freedom: Learning To Drive With Joy And Kindness

Red Pine, a.k.a. Bill Porter

Port Townsend-based translator and author. His Buddhist books include:

• Zen Roots: The First Thousand Years
• The Platform Sutra : the Zen teaching of Hui-neng 
• The Lankavatara Sutra: Translation and Commentary 
• The Heart Sutra: the Womb of Buddhas 
• The Diamond Sutra 
• The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma 
• The Zen Works of Stonehouse: Poems and Talks of a Fourteenth-Century Chinese 
• The Clouds Should Know Me by Now: Buddhist Poet Monks of China 
• The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain 
• P’u Ming’s Oxherding Pictures and Verses 
• Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits 
• Zen Baggage: A Pilgrimage to China 

Sakya, Jamyang (Dagmo Kusho)

• Princess in Land of Snows: The Life of Jamyang Sakya in Tibet 

Salomon, Richard

Scholar at the Early Buddhist Manuscripts Project at the University of Washington.

• Ancient Buddhist Scrolls from Gandhara: The British Library Kharosthi Fragments
• The Buddhist Literature of Ancient Gandhāra: An Introduction with Selected Translations
• A Gandhari Version of the Rhinoceros Sutra, by Richard G. Salomon and Andrew Glass
• Two Gandhari Manuscripts of the “Songs of Lake Anavatapta” (Anavatapta-gatha)

Schaaf, Kathe, Kay Lindahl, Kathleen Hurty, Rev. Guo Cheen, editors

Kathe Schaaf is a co-founder of Gather the Women Global Matrix.
Kay Lindahl, founder of The Listening Center, is author of The Sacred Art of Listening.
Kathleen Hurty is a teaching fellow at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary.
Reverend Guo Cheen is an ordained Buddhist nun.

• Women, Spirituality and Transformative Leadership: Where Grace Meets Power

Schoening, Jeffrey

Founding director of the Virupa Ecumenical Institute at Sakya Monastery.

• The Salistamba Sutra and Its Indian Commentaries
• The Religious Structures at Sa-skya, in: Reflections on Tibetan Culture, edited by L. Epstein and R. Sherburne

Shih, Bhikshuni (Sister) Jendy

Nun at American Evergreen Buddhist Association in Kirkland Washington.

• (translator) Choosing Simplicity: A Commentary on the Bhikshuni Pratimoksha, by Wu Yin (edited by Thubten Chodron) 

Smith, Rodney

Founding teacher of the Seattle Insight Meditation Society.

• Lessons from the Dying
• Awakening: A Paradigm Shift of the Heart 
• Stepping Out of Self-Deception: The Buddha’s Liberating Teaching of No-Self 
• Touching the Infinite: A New Perspective on the Buddha’s Four Foundations of Mindfulness

Stagg, Christopher (1977–2018)

Translator at Nalandabodhi.

• The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa: A New Translation
• A Guide to the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva by Ngawang Tenzin Norbu

Stamm, Joan D.

Orcas Island based writer and founder of Cold Mountain Hermitage.

• Heaven and Earth are Flowers: Reflections on Ikebana and Buddhism
• A Pilgrimage in Japan: the 33 Temples of Kannon

Stearns, Cyrus

Independent scholar whose main teachers were Dezhung Rinpoche, Chogye Trichen Rinpoche and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. 

• The Buddha from Dolpo: A Study Of The Life And Thought Of The Tibetan Master Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen 
• Hermit of Go Cliffs: Timeless Instructions from a Tibetan Mystic
• Luminous Lives: The Story of the Early Masters of the Lam ‘Bras Tradition in Tibet
• Taking the Result as the Path: Core Teachings of the Sakya Lamdre Tradition
• King of the Empty Plain: The Tibetan Iron-Bridge Builder Tangtong Gyalpo

Suh, Sharon A.

Professor of theology and religious studies at Seattle University.

• Being Buddhist in a Christian World: Gender and Community in a Korean American Temple
• Occupy This Body: A Buddhist Memoir
• Silver Screen Buddha: Buddhism in Asian and Western Film

Thompson, Evan

University of British C0lumbia, Departments of Asian Studies / Psychology

• Waking, Dreaming, Being: New Light on the Self and Consciousness from Neuroscience, Meditation, and Philosophy
• Self, No Self? Perspectives from Analytical, Phenomenological, and Indian Philosophical Traditions (co-editor)
• Mind in Life: Biology, Phenomenology, and the Sciences of Mind

Thubten Chodron

Founder of Sravasti Abbey.

• Open Heart, Clear Mind: An Introduction to the Buddha’s Teachings
• Buddhism for Beginners
• Working with Anger
• Taming the Monkey Mind
• Blossoms of the Dharma: Living as a Buddhist Nun
• Guided Buddhist Meditations: Essential Practices on the Stages of the Path 
• Awaken Every Day: 365 Buddhist Reflections to Invite Mindfulness and Joy
• The Library of Wisdom and Compassion (5 book series) by the Dalai Lama and Thubten Chodron
• Cultivating a Compassionate Heart: The Yoga Method of Chenrezig 
• How to Free Your Mind: The Practice of Tara the Liberator 
• Don’t Believe Everything You Think: Living with Wisdom and Compassion
• Good Karma: How to Create the Causes of Happiness and Avoid the Causes of Suffering
• The Compassionate Kitchen: Buddhist Practices for Eating with Mindfulness and Gratitude 

Tisdale, Sallie Jiko

Teacher at Dharma Rain Zen Center.

• Women of the Way: Discovering 2,500 Years of Buddhist Wisdom
• Advice for Future Corpses (And Those Who Love Them): A Practical Perspective on Death and Dying 
• (editor) You Are Still Here: Zen Teachings of Kyogen Carlson

Tsomo Lama (Linda Pritzker)

Lama Tsomo is an American lama, author, and co-founder of the Namchak Foundation.

• Taking a Breath: A Meditation and Reflection Journal
• Why Is the Dalai Lama Always Smiling? A Westerner’s Introduction and Guide to Tibetan Buddhist Practice
• The Lotus & The Rose: A Conversation Between Tibetan Buddhism & Mystical Christianity, by Matthew Fox and Lama Tsomo
• Why Bother?: An Introduction (Ancient Wisdom for Our Times Tibetan Buddhist Practice Series)

Unno, Mark

Fourteenth-generation Shin priest and professor of religious studies at University of Oregon.

• Shingon Refractions: Myoe and the Mantra of Light
• (editor & translator) Buddhism and Psychotherapy Across Cultures: Essays on Theories and Practices
• (editor) Deep Listening, Deep Hearing: Buddhism and Psychotherapies
• (editor & translator) The Buddhist Priest Myōe: A Life of Dreams

Vimalasara (Valerie Mason-John )

Teacher at Triratna Vancouver Buddhist Centre in British Columbia and co-founder of Mindfulness Based Addiction Recovery.

• Eight Step Recovery: Using the Buddha’s Teachings to Overcome Addiction
• Detox Your Heart: Meditations for Healing Emotional Trauma

Whitney, Kobai Scott

Buddhist chaplain working in Washington State prisons and founding member of Paramita House.

• Sitting Inside: Buddhist Practice in American Prisons

Wilhelm, Steve

Teacher at Seattle Insight Meditation Society.

• Editor of the Northwest Dharma News
• (editor) Four Noble Truths by Lama Zopa
• (editor) forthcoming book by Khenpo Sodargye Rinpoche
• (editor) Open Heart Clear Mind by Thubten Chodren
• Co-wrote “Tibetan Buddhism from the Ground Up” with B. Alan Wallace
• (editor) How to Practice Shamatha Meditation by Gen Lamrimp

Winwood, Mark S.

Winwood leads the Chenrezig Project, a Tibetan Buddhist study and practice group in Washington State.

• Am Stopping My Finger Now: Tibetan Buddhist Musings for Western Life 

Wirth, Jason

Professor of Philosophy at Seattle University and co-director at Ecosangha Seattle.

• Mountains, Rivers, and the Great Earth: Reading Gary Snyder and Dōgen in an Age of Ecological Crisis 
• Engaging Dogen’s Zen: The Philosophy of Practice as Awakening
• Nietzsche and Other Buddhas: Philosophy after Comparative Philosophy
• Japanese and Continental Philosophy: Conversations with the Kyoto School

Yangsi Rinpoche

Founder of Maitripa College in Oregon.

• Practicing the Path: A Commentary on the Lamrim Chenmo

Zahm, Steve 

Co-founder of Gestalt Therapy Training Center Northwest.

• Buddhist Psychology and Gestalt Therapy Integrated: Psychotherapy for the 21st Century, by Eva Gold and Steve Zahm