Bhante Henepola Gunaratana (b. December 7, 1927) is an internationally recognized author and Buddhist meditation teacher.
He arrived in the United States in 1968 and later founded the Bhavana Society in West Virginia, a community of monastics and laypeople dedicated to the practice of Theravada Buddhism.
Affectionately known as “Bhante G” by his students, he offers a well-rounded approach to the Buddha’s teachings, emphasizing concentration and loving-kindness as integral elements of spiritual training. That’s why I’m sharing three best Bhante Gunaratana books on mindfulness meditation.
1. Mindfulness in Plain English
Author Bhante Gunaratana, a renowned meditation master, takes us step by step through the myths, realities, and benefits of meditation and the practice of mindfulness.
The book showcases Bhante’s trademark clarity and wit as he explores the tool of meditation, what it does, and how to make it work.
This book is:
- A best-selling introduction to mindfulness
- Full of practical advice on developing a meditation practice
- Written in approachable, clear language
- Containing chapters on loving-kindness and concentration
The reader can gain deeper understanding, inner peace, and clarity through meditation practice with the thoughtful guidance of this classic book.
Written for those without any meditation background, but also an essential handbook for established students, Mindfulness in Plain English is a must-have for anyone exploring the benefits of Buddhist meditation.
This expanded edition includes the complete text of its predecessor along with a new chapter on cultivating lovingkindness, an especially important topic in today’s world.
For anyone who is new to meditation, this is a great resource for learning how to live a more productive and peaceful life.
2. Loving-Kindness in Plain English: The Practice of Metta
With his signature clarity and warmth, Bhante Gunaratana shares with us how we can cultivate loving-kindness to live a life of joyful harmony with others.
Through personal anecdotes, step-by-step meditations, conversational renderings of the Buddha’s words in the suttas, and transformative insights into how we live in and relate to the world, we learn that peace here and now is possible—within ourselves and in all our relationships.
In Loving-Kindness in Plain English, Bhante G speaks directly to how we can cultivate loving-kindness to find emotional clarity, overcome anger, and become more peaceful—both on and off the meditation cushion.
3. The Four Foundations of Mindfulness in Plain English
Based on the classic Satipatthana Sutta, one of the most succinct yet rich explanations of meditation, Bhante’s presentation is nonetheless thoroughly modern.
The Satipatthana Sutta has become the basis of all mindfulness meditation, and Bhante unveils it to the reader in his trademark “plain English” style.
Contemplating the Four Foundations of Mindfulness—mindfulness of the body, feelings, the mind, and of phenomena themselves—is recommended for all practitioners.
Newcomers will find The Four Foundations of Mindfulness in Plain English lays a strong groundwork for mindfulness practice and gives them all they need to get started right away, and old hands will find rich subtleties and insights to help consolidate and clarify what they may have begun to see for themselves.
People at every state of the spiritual path will benefit from reading this book.
Bonus: Meditation on Perception: Ten Healing Practices to Cultivate Mindfulness
Perception — one of the basic constituents of the body and mind — can be both a source of suffering and pain, as well as a source of happiness and health.
The Buddhist tradition teaches that perception can be trained and ultimately purified through the practice of meditation.
When we understand how perception impacts our lives, we can use it, just as we do any other object of meditation, to overcome harmful ways of thinking and acting and to develop healthy states of mind instead.
In Meditation on Perception, Bhante G brings us, for the first time in English, an illuminating introduction to the unique Buddhist practice of meditation on perception as taught in the popular Girimananda Sutta.
The ten healing practices that comprise meditation on perception make up a comprehensive system of meditation, combining aspects of both tranquility and insight meditation.
Tranquility meditation is used to calm and center the mind, and insight meditation is used to understand more clearly how we ordinarily perceive ourselves and the world around us.
Alternating between these two practices, meditators cultivate purified perception as explained by the Buddha.
As a result of these efforts, we progress on the path that leads to freedom, once and for all, from illness, confusion, and other forms of physical and mental suffering.
Complement this list of best books on mindfulness by Bhante Gunaratana with our articles on how to practice breathing meditation and how to practice lovingkindness meditation.
