Bibliography

Following is a list of Chögyam Trungpa's books, as well as some by his students. Unless otherwise indicated, these books are published by Shambhala Publications. Many are used as source material in courses.

Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche

Great Eastern Sun: The journey that began in Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior reaches a new level of intimacy and depth in this book, based on talks Chögyam Trungpa gave in the last ten years of his life.

The Essential Chögyam Trungpa: Chögyam Trungpa wrote more than two dozen books on Buddhism and the Shambhala path of warriorship. The Essential Chögyam Trungpa blends excerpts from bestsellers like Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior , Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism , Meditation in Action , and other titles into a concise overview of Trungpa's teachings. Forty selections from fourteen different books articulate the secular path of the Shambhala warrior as well as the Buddhist path of meditation and awakening. This "new classic" vividly demonstrates Trungpa's great appreciation of Western culture which, combined with his deep understanding of the Tibetan tradition, makes these teachings uniquely accessible to contemporary readers. It will appeal to beginning students of meditation as well as seasoned readers of Eastern religion.

The Art of Calligraphy: Joining Heaven and Earth

Born in Tibet

This is the autobiographical story of the life of Trungpa Rinpoche from his early childhood through his escape from Tibet in 1959. This edition includes an afterword that provides an update through 1976.

Crazy Wisdom

In a series of talks on the life of Padmasambhava (the teacher who first brought the Buddhist teachings to Tibet), Rinpoche presents the notion of "crazy wisdom" -- a perspective of freshness and innocence that provides practitioners a means of discovering delight in the challenges of daily existence.

Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism

This book spans the gulf between the esoteric tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and the everyday joys, sorrows and questions of spirituality in everyday modern life. This presentation of the spiritual path focuses on the role of expectation and promise of reward.

Glimpses of Abhidharma

In this book, Chögyam Trungpa shows how an examination of the formation of the ego provides us with an opportunity to develop real intelligence.

The Heart of the Buddha

This book is a series of talks and lectures which span Rinpoche's presentation of the essential buddhist teachings, as well as an overview of his teachings on a variety of other subjects.

Journey Without Goal: The Tantric Wisdom of the Buddha

Based on a course taught at The Naropa Institute in 1974, this book presents a comprehensive overview of the essential teachings on the Vajrayana.

Illusion's Game, The Life and Teaching of Naropa

This commentary on the life of the great Indian pandit Naropa examines an extraordinary journey away from conventional attitudes toward a naked encounter with reality, which still has significance for contemporary Western practitioners. Out of print.

The Lion's Roar

An introduction to the vajrayana through an in-depth discussion of the nine yanas, or vehicles, relating ancient wisdom to modern life.

Meditation in Action

This is the first comprehensive book by Rinpoche published in English. It remains one of the core sources of his teaching on the basic Buddhist journey.

First Thought Best Thought

The Vidyadhara was an accomplished and renowned poet. This book is a collection of poetry written in the late sixties through the early eighties.

Timely Rain

A selection of the Vidyadhara's poetry with a foreword by Allen Ginsberg

Mudra

A collection of early poetry and essays (out of print). See the Ox Herding selection.

The Myth of Freedom and the Way of Meditation

Our attitudes, preconceptions, and even our spiritual practices can become chains that bind us to repetitive patterns of frustration and despair. Trungpa Rinpoche explains the significant role that meditation plays in bringing into focus the causes of frustration and in allowing these negative forces to become aids in advancing towards true freedom.

Orderly Chaos: The Mandala Principle

According to the mandala principle, all phenomena are part of one's reality. Whether good or bad, happy or sad, everything is interrelated and reflects a single totality. From the perspective of the mandala principle, existence is orderly chaos. Out of print.

Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior

The quintessential teachings on Shambhala. "The Shambhala teachings are founded on the premise that there is basic human wisdom that can help to solve the world's problems. This wisdom does not belong to any one culture or religion, nor does it come only from the West or the East. Rather, it is a tradition of human warriorship that has existed in many cultures at many times throughout history." (Excerpt from Chapter One)

The Tibetan Book of the Dead

Training the Mind and Cultivating Loving Kindness

The slogans ("pithy sayings") along with commentary by Trungpa Rinpoche contained in this book are designed to awaken the heart and cultivate love and kindness towards others. They are revolutionary in that practicing them fosters abandonment of personal territory in relating to others and in understanding the world as it is.

Transcending Madness: The Experience of the Six Bardos

Out of print

Sakyong Jamgön Mipham Rinpoche

Turning the Mind Into an Ally: Many of us are slaves to our minds. Owr own ind is our worst enemy. We try to focus, and our mind wanders off. We try to keep stress at bay, but anxiety keeps us awake at night. We try to be good to the people we love, but then we forget and put ourselves first. And when we want to change our life, we dive into spiritual practice and expect to see quick results, only to lose focus when the honeymoon has worn off. We're left feeling helpless and discouraged. We all have the potential to awaken from the sleep of ignorance. We can create an alliance that allows us to actually use our minds, rather than be used by it. This is a practice anyone can do.
Smile of the Tiger: "Poetry has always been a way for me to express directly any feelings and insights that may occur. I find it exciting and challenging to take situations that seem confusing and overwhelming, and be able to simplify them to find out what is really at the root." -SMR