Recommended

This section includes some of our favorite audios and videos, appropriate for all levels of practitioners. Beginners may wish to gain a bit of experience with basic mindfulness practice, however, before working with teachings on tonglen and the compassion practices. All of our chapter by chapter audio and video commentaries by Pema Chödrön on Shantideva's "Way of the Bodhisattva" are highly recommended. Students may wish to start with a commentary of chapter 5 or 6 from this book, or begin at the beginning (Chapter 1) and work all the way through in sequence.

All of the books on our site are highly recommended, so are not listed in this section. These are some which we like to have on hand to offer students because they complement our audio and video teachings. Most of them are directly recommended by Pema Chödrön. We also recommend the Sounds True and Shambhala Publications audio and video teachings by Pema Chödrön that we carry.

We recommend that all students receive in-person meditation instruction from an authorized Shambhala instructor (or from some other genuine lineage) if at all possible. You can find Shambhala centers and groups on Shambhala International's find a center page. We would be happy to answer questions about meditation practice and to help individuals gain access to such instruction.

In addition to instruction in practice, all students also can benefit from some overview of the path of meditation. Many of the audios and videos in the section provide this, and are considered classics because practitioners return to them again and again. Similar teachings can be found in the "General Buddhism" section of this website.