These are what I have in my bedroom and beside my recliner. Some of the books I have dipped into off and on. I do not know which one is available in your area and what you are interested in. Some of them are available through Barnes and Noble, a couple from Three Pines Press, one from the UP Press.
I am actually reading Livia Kohn’s “The Zhong-Lu System of Internal Alchemy,” one of the Taoist classical texts that have been made accessible to modern readers along with translations and commentaries by Eva Wong, Isabelle Robinet, Fabrizio Pregadio, etc. You have to be a practitioner of neidan or internal alchemy to be able to follow these esoteric procedures. I haven’t arrived at a definitive conclusion but I have found what I have read so far very informative and clear. I teach internal alchemy, so this book is a must reading for me as it should be for people who are curious about alchemy, especially the Taoist lineage. My own practice is derived from GM Mantak Chia who transmitted the formulas he studied with Yi
Yun/One Cloud Hermit in the New Territories in Hongkong. As a senior instructor, I am certified to teach alchemy up to the Enlightenment of Kan/Water and Li/Fire formulas. Do not be deceived by the word immortal in books on internal alchemy. Immortal in Chinese actually means “man of the mountain” as indicated by the characters in the word “xian.” These hermits usually live long, so they are considered immortal. Perhaps immortal may refer to them getting incarnated again and again. Take your pick.
“The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying” I read when it first came out. I am planning to re-read it as part of my collection of books on death and dying and the bardo/in-between. When I was in Bali 2 or 3 years ago, I met Karma Lhatrul Rinpoche, a lama from Bhutan. He promised to teach me phowa/the transference of consciousness in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. But he fell sick and we were not able to cover the subject. I am still looking for a teacher.
Balatik Etnoastromiya: Kalangitan sa Kabihasnang Pilipino by Dante L. Ambrosio is in Tagalog, so you have to know the language first of all. If you do, you’ll find this scholarly study a wonderful insight into the cosmology of early Filipinos. Perhaps in a way it will give you an inkling into an aspect of Philippine rituals and religion because astronomy is really a part of the ancient concept of the divine. The author does not go into the subject of whether there are correspondences between the heavens, the planets and stars with the human body. I intend to re-read the book partly because of its subject but also because I love Tagalog. Professor Ambrosio has a good handle on the language.
For those who are interested in Tai chi chuan, Wu Baolin’s book on “The Soul of Taiji” would be an important look into a version of what is supposed to be the original Taijiquan/Tai chi chuan form choreographed by Taoist Immortal Zhang San Feng. Practitioners of the art like me have often been intrigued by the question of who invented Tai chi chuan. I am skeptical of the different claims but I am open to listening to them. Perhaps one day we can come to aconclusion about these different versions. Dr. Wu also wrote the book “Eight Immortals Revolving Sword.”
I found this edition of the Gitanjali, published in India, at the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam bookstore in Saylorsburg, PA, 30 minutes up on Route 33. I have often driven up to the ashram with my friend Guru Bose, sometimes to browse, sometimes to take the free vegetarian lunch. I have bought a few of their books on the Puranas, Upanishads and the Sutras and the CDs of the mantras. I bought a 2-foot high statue of Shiva Nataraja/Lord of the Dance for my living room. This copy of Gitanjali is unlike the editions I have: it has photographs and the original Bengali version of the poems.
“Painting Enlightenment” is about the paintings of Tsuneo Iwasaki. The book is one of my favorites of all time. For those who are interested in the Heart Sutra, this is a great addition to the literature, along with the commentaries of the Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh in “The Other Shore.” There is an audio version of the “The Other Shore.”
“Listen, Slowly” by Vietnamese writer Lai is what you may call a Young Adult novel because it is a rite of passage story. It is a first-person narrative by an Americanized high school girl who returns to Vietnam and gets transformed. Thanhha Lai has written 2 other books. “In and Out &
Back Again” is a Newberry Honor Book and a National Book Award winner.
“The Poetry of TS Eliot,” 2 CDs, read by actor Jeremy Irons has brought me back to the times in my early college years when I used to spend afternoons at the Jefferson Library in Escolta. The librarian would play music or poetry on request. They had the largest collection of vinyl records I have ever seen until then. That’s where I first heard somebody reading Dylan Thomas, TS Eliot and Edith Sitwell and deepend my passion for poetry, especially the audio version of it. I believe poetry should be read and read well and in public, like the bardic tradition.
“Lincoln in the Bardo” (with audio). I have read the book and listened to the audio. They were a gift from my son Al, who found them good enough to get me a copy. I am still dipping into them every now and then.
“Sleeping, Dreaming and Dying: An Exploration of Consciousness with the Dalai Lama” edited and narrated by Francisco Varela. I read this book containing the discussion held in Dharamsala, India in 1992. I am planning to re-read parts of the text this time around. If I remember it contains ideas presented by different people from the east and west.
“The Body Papers: A Memoir,” “Ink Knows No Borders: Poems of Immigrant and Refugee Experience” and “The Displaced: Refugee Writers on Refugee Lives” I haven’t read.
“Quichotte,” a novel by Rushdie is of course kind of play on Miguel de Cervantes work. I bought it when it first came out but haven’t had the time to read it. I do not know if I’ll have the time or the interest while waiting out the pandemic. I am more interested in internal alchemy right now and sometimes I have the feeling that reading novels is a luxury at my age.
“Anthology of Asean Literature: Epics of the Philippines.” A collaborative work by several Filipinx scholars. There are 5 epics in this text. I have read only 2 of them – Aliguyon (translated by Amador T.Daguio) and Lam-ang (translated by Jovita Ventura Castro, composite text by Leopoldo Yabes). I will attempt to read one or two more during the pandemic. I acquired my
copy when I was in the Philippines in 1986.
- The Soul of Taiji: Zhang Sanfeng-Wu Baolin Taijiquan by Dr. Wu Baolin and Michael McBride
- The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche
- Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore (bilingual edition – Bengali and English)
- The Zhong-Lu System of Internal Alchemy by Livia Kohn
- Balatik Etnoastronomiya: Kalangitan sa Kabihasnang Pilipino by Dante L. Ambrosio
- Painting Enlightenment: Healing Visions of the Heart Sutra by Paula Arai
- The Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love and Wisdom by Richard Hanson
- Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (with audio CD)
- The Poetry of TS Eliot (read by Jeremy Irons)
- Quichotte by Salman Rushdie
- The Body Papers: A Memoir by Grace Talusan
- Ink Knows No Borders: Poems of Immigrant and Refugee Experience edited by Patrice Vecchione and Alyssa Raymond
- The Displaced: Refugee Writers on Refugee Lives edited by Viet Thanh Nguyen
- Listen, Slowly. By Thanhha Lai
- Asean Literature: Epics of the Philippines
- Sleeping, Dreaming, and Dying: The Exploration of Consciousness with the Dalai Lama edited and narrated by Francisco Varela