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50 More Spiritual
Classics
1 Adomnan of Iona Life of St Columba (7th century)
Celebrated biography with descriptions of early monastic life on the Scot-
tish island of Iona.
2 St. Anselm Proslogion (1077)
Medieval philosopher’s famous presentation of arguments to prove the
existence of God.
3 Ibn El-Arabi Bezels of Wisdom (12th century)
Known as Sheikh Akbar (the “Greatest Master”) in the Islamic world and
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“Doctor Maximus” in the West, El-Arabi remains one of the great mystical
philosophers. Written late in his life, this book reveals divine truths
through the lives of the prophets.
4 Edwin Arnold The Light of Asia (1879)
An Englishman’s poetic masterpiece on the life of Buddha.
5 Farid Ud-Din Attar The Conference of the Birds (12th century)
A Sufi master’s beautiful allegorical poem based around a bird that can
lead others to salvation.
6 Mary Baker Eddy Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (1875)
A landmark work on healing from the founder of the Christian Science
Church.
7 Benedict of Nursia Rule of St Benedict (515)
With this book Benedict formalized the daily life of monks, including spiri-
tual exercises and physical work, creating the template for western monas-
tic life for centuries to come.
8 Helena Petrova Blavatsky Isis Unveiled (1877)
Huge work of esoteric wisdom by the Russian-born founder of the
Theosophical Society.
9 Jakob Boehme Aurora (1612)
German mystic’s influential meditations on the nature of humans and God.
10 Dietrich Bonhoeffer Letters and Papers from Prison (1953)
Covering the German pastor’s arrest by the Gestapo in 1943 to his
execution in 1945. Here he first raised his idea of “religionless Christianity.”

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50 SPIRITUAL CLASSICS

11 Paul Brunton In Search of Secret India (1935)

Fascinating account of Indian travels by the English traveler and spiritual
teacher, including his meeting with Ramana Maharishi at Arunachala.
12 Martin Buber I and Thou (1923)
Highly influential work of theology that inspires a new level of communi-
cation with God and other people.
13 John Bunyan Grace Abounding (1666)
Classic account of personal spiritual experience by the author of The
Pilgrim’s Progress.
14 The Cloud of Unknowing (14th century)
A foundational work of Christian contemplative prayer and achieving unity
with the divine. The medieval author is still unknown.
15 Lama Surya Das Awakening the Buddha Within (1997)
A perfect introduction to Tibetan Buddhism by an American who spent
years as a monk. Enlightenment for the real world.
16 John Donne Devotions upon Emergent Occasions (1624)
Devotional work by the English metaphysical poet written in the midst of
illness and following the deaths of close family.
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17 Meister Eckhart Selected Writings (13th-14th centuries)

The mystical pantheistic writings of this German Dominican priest were
too expansive for the Church of his time, but are loved by modern
readers.
18 T. S. Eliot The Four Quartets (1944)
Four poems that reveal the depth of Eliot’s spiritual understanding. He con-
sidered this his masterpiece.
19 Ralph Waldo Emerson Spiritual Laws (1841)
An essay from the great Transcendentalist on being in tune with the forces
that move the universe.
20 Richard Foster Celebration of Discipline (1978)
A modern Christian classic that rediscovers the power of spiritual disci-
plines, e.g. fasting, prayer, solitude, worship.
21 Graham Greene The Power and the Glory (1940)
A “whiskey priest” is on the run from a Mexican state that has outlawed
religion. One of the great spiritual novels of the twentieth century.
22 Mahendranath Gupta Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna (1942)
A 1,000-page record of conversations with the great sage, considered by
Indians to be a continuation of the line of Krishna and Buddha.
23 Michael Harner The Way of the Shaman (1980)
The book that created a wave of new interest in shamanistic religion,
with the author both an anthropologist and a practicing shaman
himself.

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50 MORE SPIRITUAL CLASSICS

24 Hildegard of Bingen Scivias (1151)

The first work of German Benedictine nun, composer, poet, artist, natural-
ist, preacher and mystic visionary, who in a male-dominated age advised
kings and influenced popes.
25 Ernest Holmes Science of Mind (1938)
A “science” of spirituality discussed in terms of mental and spiritual laws.
26 John of the Cross Dark Night of the Soul (16th century)
Famous work charting the loss of spiritual connection, by a Spanish
Catholic mystic and friend of Teresa of Avila.
27 Julian of Norwich Showings (14th century)
An English anchoress’s beautiful expression of divine communion, also
known as “Revelations of Divine Love.”
28 Thomas à Kempis The Imitation of Christ (15th century)
Much-loved Christian devotional work by a German cleric.
29 Jack Kerouac The Dharma Bums (1958)
Result of the beat writer’s exploration into Zen Buddhism, published a year
after On the Road.
30 Gopi Krishna Kundalini: The Evolutionary Energy in Man (1970)
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Fascinating account of a householder’s experience of the awakening of the

“serpent power,” or kundalini energy, and its effects on his life.
31 Ramana Maharishi The Spiritual Teachings of Ramana Maharishi (various
dates, 20th century)
This famed South Indian holy man (d. 1950) emphasized self-knowledge as
the means to enlightenment.
32 Abraham Maslow Religions, Values and Peak Experiences (1964)
A great psychologist’s insightful foray into spiritual experience, in the tradi-
tion of William James.
33 Thomas Merton The Seven Storey Mountain (1946)
Bestselling autobiography of Merton’s transformation from American campus
intellectual to Trappist monk, with a growing interest in eastern spirituality.
34 P. D. Ouspensky In Search of the Miraculous (1950)
Russian mathematician’s popularization of the thinking of G. I. Gurdjieff.
35 Pirkei Avot (“Ethics of the Fathers”)
Ancient Jewish wisdom and sayings included as a part of the Mishnah, or
body of oral law.
36 Plotinus Enneads (3rd century)
One of the great minds of the classical era, Plotinus combined Platonic
ideas with the primeval notion of the oneness of the universe. Appreciated
by early Christians and Renaissance thinkers.
37 Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki Zen Flesh, Zen Bones (1957)
The spirit of Zen in a small book, including stories, koans, pictures; influ-
ential in the 1960s and still treasured.

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50 SPIRITUAL CLASSICS

38 Sogyal Rinpoche The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying (1992)

Elaboration on the original Tibetan Book of the Dead that provides an
inspiringly positive understanding of death.
39 Jalaludin Rumi Mathnavi (“Couplets of Inner Meaning”) (13th century)
A Persian poet’s masterpiece; literature designed for spiritual awakening.
40 Anne-Marie Schimmel Mystical Dimensions of Islam (1975)
Schimmel, who died in 2003 aged 80, devoted her life to furthering under-
standing of Islam; this book confirmed her as an authority on Islamic mys-
ticism and poetry.
41 Gershom Scholem Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (1941)
The first real scholarly study of Kabbalah from an academic perspective,
which sparked the revival of public interest in the field.
42 Rudolf Steiner How to Know Higher Worlds (1904–05)
A handbook for the spiritual journey by the Austrian philosopher and
founder of anthroposophy, or the science of the spirit.
43 Rabindranath Tagore Gitanjali (1913)
Beautiful spiritual verse by a Nobel prize-winning Bengali mystic and polymath.
44 Pierre Teilhard de Chardin The Phenomenon of Man (1955)
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French Jesuit and paleontologist’s sweeping view of the spiritual evolution

of humankind. See 50 Self-Help Classics.
45 St Therese of Lisieux The Story of a Soul (1898)
Popular self-told account of a French saint’s life with its theme of simple
trust in God.
46 Paul Tillich The Courage to Be (1952)
Landmark philosophical work dealing with existential questions of finding
meaning in modern life. Tillich was a German-born theologian who emi-
grated to the US after opposing the Nazis.
47 J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings (1954–55)
Good and evil do battle in Tolkien’s alternative universe.
48 Evelyn Underhill Mysticism (1911)
Classic study of the subject by an English poet and mystic.
49 Alan Watts The Wisdom of Insecurity (1951)
How to live with full acceptance of the absence of security in life, from a
western master of eastern religion.
50 The Way of a Pilgrim (19th century)
Classic of Russian spirituality that follows the path of a pilgrim who has
lost his family and learns the art of constant prayer.

This is only a sprinkling of further classics. As with the main list, another 50
or 100 worthy titles could have been included.
For a selection of more contemporary spiritual classics, see 50 Self-Help
Classics.

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Chronological list of
titles
St. Augustine Confessions (400)
Epictetus Enchiridion (1st century)
Chuang Tzu The Book of Chuang Tzu (4th century)
Ghazzali The Alchemy of Happiness (1097)
Margery Kempe The Book of Margery Kempe (1436)
Teresa of Avila Interior Castle (1570)
Emanuel Swedenborg Heaven and Hell (1758)
Richard Maurice Bucke Cosmic Consciousness (1901)
William James The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902)
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G. K. Chesterton St Francis of Assisi (1922)
Hermann Hesse Siddartha (1922)
Kahlil Gibran The Prophet (1923)
Mohandas Gandhi An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with
Truth (1927)
Black Elk Black Elk Speaks (1932)
C. S. Lewis The Screwtape Letters (1942)
W. Somerset Maugham The Razor’s Edge (1944)
Paramahansa Yogananda Autobiography of a Yogi (1946)
Abraham Joshua Heschel The Sabbath: Its Meaning for Modern Man (1951)
Muhammad Asad The Road to Mecca (1954)
Aldous Huxley The Doors of Perception (1954)
Carl Gustav Jung Memories, Dreams, Reflections (1955)
G. I. Gurdjieff Meetings with Remarkable Men (1960)
Dag Hammarskjöld Markings (1963)
J. Krishnamurti Think on These Things (1964)
Malcolm X The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1964)
Idries Shah The Way of the Sufi (1968)
Richard Bach Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1970)
Shunryu Suzuki Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind: Informal Talks on Zen
Meditation and Practice (1970)
Ram Dass Be Here Now (1971)
Carlos Castaneda Journey to Ixtlan (1972)
Chögyam Trungpa Cutting through Spiritual Materialism (1973)

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50 SPIRITUAL CLASSICS

Robert M. Pirsig Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (1974)

Thich Nhat Hanh The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice
of Meditation (1975)
Fritjof Capra The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels between
Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism (1976)
Helen Schucman & William Thetford A Course in Miracles (1976)
Starhawk The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great
Goddess (1979)
Simone Weil Waiting for God (1979)
Dan Millman The Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book that Changes Lives
(1989)
Gary Zukav The Seat of the Soul: An Inspiring Vision of Humanity’s Spiritual
Destiny (1990)
Daniel C. Matt The Essential Kabbalah: The Heart of Jewish Mysticism
(1994)
Michael Newton Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life between Lives (1994)
James Redfield The Celestine Prophecy: An Adventure (1994)
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Mother Teresa A Simple Path (1994)
Miguel Ruiz The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom
(1997)
John O’Donohue Anam Cara: Spiritual Wisdom from the Celtic World (1998)
Eckhart Tolle The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment (1998)
Neale Donald Walsch Conversations with God: An Uncommon Dialogue
(1998)
Ken Wilber A Theory of Everything: An Integral Vision for Business, Politics,
Science and Spirituality (2000)
Pema Chödrön The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult
Times (2001)
Rick Warren The Purpose-Driven Life (2002)

317
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Credits
The dates given here are the date of publication of these editions. Original
publication dates are stated in each of the 50 commentaries.

Asad, M. (1954) The Road to Mecca, New York: Simon & Schuster.
The Confessions of Saint Augustine (1983) trans. E. M. Blaiklock, London:
Hodder & Stoughton.
Bach, R. (1973) Jonathan Livingston Seagull, London: Pan Books.
Black Elk, N. and Neihardt, J. G. (2000) Black Elk Speaks, Lincoln: University
of Nebraska Press.
Bucke, R. M. (1991) Cosmic Consciousness, London: Arkana.
Capra, F. (1989) The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels between
Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism, London: Flamingo
Castaneda, C. (1972) Journey to Ixtlan, London: Bodley Head.
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Chesterton, G. K. (2001) St Francis of Assisi, Thirsk: House of Stratus.
Chödrön, P. (2003) The Places that Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in
Difficult Times, London: Element.
The Book of Chuang Tzu (1996) trans Martin Palmer with Elizabeth Breuilly,
Chang Wai Ming, & Jay Ramsay, London: Penguin.
Cleary, T. (1992) The Essential Tao: An Initiation in the Heart of Taoism
through the Authentic Tao Te Ching and the Inner Teachings of Chuang-
Tzu, New Jersey: Castle Books.
Dass, R. (1978) Be Here Now, Albuquerque: Hanuman Foundation.
Epictetus (1909) A Selection from the Discourses of Epictetus with The
Encheiridion, trans. George Long, Project Gutenberg,
www.gutenberg.org.
Gandhi, M. (1957) An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with
Truth, Beacon Press.
Muhammad Al-Ghazzali (1909) The Alchemy of Happiness, trans. Claud
Field, London: J. Murray; also at www.sacred-texts.com.
Gibran, K. (1970) The Prophet, London: Heinemann.
Gurdjieff, G. I. (1978) Meetings with Remarkable Men, London: Picador.
Hammarskjöld, D. (1964) Markings, trans. W. H. Auden & L. Sjoberg,
London: Faber and Faber.
Heschel, A. J. (1975) The Sabbath: Its Meaning for Modern Man, New York:
Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Hesse, H. (2000) Siddhartha, Boston: Shambhala Classics.
Huxley, A. (1994) The Doors of Perception, London: Flamingo.
James, W. (undated) The Varieties of Religious Experience, New York:
Dolphin Doubleday.

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50 SPIRITUAL CLASSICS

Jung, C. G. (1978) Memories, Dreams, Reflections, Glasgow: William Collins.

The Book of Margery Kempe (1936) trans. W. Butler-Bowdon, London:
Jonathan Cape.
Krishnamurti, J. (1970) Think on These Things, New York: Harper & Row.
Lewis, C. S. (2001) The Screwtape Letters, London: HarperCollins.
Malcolm X (2001) The Autobiography of Malcolm X, London: Penguin Classics.
Matt, D. C. (1994) The Essential Kabbalah: The Heart of Jewish Mysticism,
New York: HarperCollins.
Maugham, W. S. (2000) The Razor’s Edge, London: Vintage.
Millman, D. (2000) Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book that Changes Lives,
Tiburon: H. J. Kramer.
Newton, M. (2002) Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life Between Lives, St.
Paul: Llewellyn Publications.
Nhat Hanh, T. (1987) The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the
Practice of Meditation, trans. Mobi Ho, Boston: Beacon Press.
O'Donohue, J. (1998) Anam Cara: Spiritual Wisdom from the Celtic World,
London: Bantam.
Pirsig, R. M. (1999) Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, London: Vintage.
Redfield, J. (1993) The Celestine Prophecy: An Adventure, New York: Bantam.
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Ruiz, M. (1997) The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal

Freedom, San Rafael, CA: Amber-Allen Publishing.
Schucman, H. & Thetford, W. (1996) A Course in Miracles, New York: Viking.
Shah, I. (1990) The Way of the Sufi, London: Penguin.
Starhawk (1999) The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the
Great Goddess, New York: HarperCollins.
Suzuki, S. (2003) Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Medita-
tion and Practice, New York: Weatherhill, Inc.
Swedenborg, E. (1976) Heaven and Hell, trans. George F. Dole, New York:
Swedenborg Foundation.
Teresa of Avila (1989) Interior Castle, New York: Doubleday.
Mother Teresa (1995) A Simple Path, comp. Lucinda Vardey, London: Rider.
Tolle, E. (2001) The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment,
Sydney: Hodder.
Trungpa, C. (1987) Cutting through Spiritual Materialism, Boston: Shambhala
Dragon Editions.
Walsch, N. D. (1997) Conversations with God: An Uncommon Dialogue,
London: Hodder & Stoughton.
Warren, R. (2002) The Purpose-Driven Life, Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
Weil, S. (2001) Waiting for God, New York: HarperCollins.
Wilber, K. A. (2001) A Theory of Everything: An Integral Vision for Business,
Politics, Science and Spirituality, Dublin: Gateway.
Yogananda, P. (2001) Autobiography of a Yogi, Los Angeles: Self-Realization
Fellowship.
Zukav, G. (1991) The Seat of the Soul: An Inspiring Vision of Humanity's
Spiritual Destiny, London: Rider Books.

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Acknowledgments
I am very grateful to the following people:

Tamara Butler-Bowdon, my wife: for reading through the book and

providing valuable feedback as it came into being.

Andrew Arsenian, Marion Butler-Bowdon, Chris Holland, Deborah

Logan and Noah & Beatrice Lucas: for helping to shape particular
commentaries through their knowledge or providing crucial books.

At Nicholas Brealey Publishing: Nick Brealey for supporting the con-

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cept of the book within the 50 Classics series; Sally Lansdell for
editing and layout; Victoria Bullock for publicity and promotion in
the UK; Trish O’Hare, Chuck Dresner, and Erika Heilman in the US
office for suggestions on the classics list; and Carmen Mitchell for
North American publicity and promotion.

Also to Frances Derricourt at Allen & Unwin for publicity in Australia

and New Zealand.

And to anyone who has written to me after reading the first two books
– thanks for taking the time, I appreciate every thought and
comment.

320
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