My favorite books, by my favorite teachers, are
Hahn describes his very kind approach to meditation
through mindful attention to the present moment,
and to our relationships and attitudes.
In "Peace at Every Step" his practice of Zen is to help others
through helping oneself become more loving, happy and peaceful.
His focus is to express appreciation in mindfulness,
on breathing in, "present moment", on breathing out, "wonderful moment"
or, more simply for French children, "oui, merci" (yes, thanks).
Most books by Hahn are good starting points;
his books (more than one hundred) are very practical, and useful.
Suzuki says it is impossible to attain freedom without some effort,
and describes the kinds of effort that lead toward effortless meditation.
in "Zen Mind, Beginner Mind" many of his talks
have been collected and edited as guidelines for Zen practice.
More recently, Suzuki's "Not Always So" and "Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness"
further develop mindfulness and meditation themes.
Each book represents Suzuki's understanding of Zen, Zazen, Buddhism, and living,
viewed from many possible angles, and clearly implying the inexpressable.
In over one hundred of his books and anthologies,
Krishnamurti rejects all authority and beliefs
and advocates finding for oneself, "what is Truth?"
In "Meditations" he describes experiences of the sacred in meditation
that subsume heart, mind, and consciousness,
but cannot be attained, or even invited, by effort.
Taken out of context from a variety of Krishnamurti's poems,
Meditation is