My Sources

Alan Watts' Recordings 🇬🇧

What has been most important to me.

Alan Watts is an English author and philosopher who greatly contributed to introducing Eastern philosophy (Hinduism, Buddhism, Zen) to the USA.

But above all: he's an exceptional speaker.

He's funny, intelligent, pedagogical, highly cultured (in both philosophy and science), and we have hundreds of hours of his recorded lectures.

I started by listening to dozens of hours of Alan Watts on the street, in waiting lines, on the subway...

But there are three problems...

First problem: the sound of his voice is inseparable from what he's saying. You need to listen to him. So I'd avoid dubbing, or worse, AI recreations. With subtitles, it can be very good.

Second problem: his family commercially exploits his recordings, so they're not freely accessible.

Third problem: these are audio recordings. So when you find clips on YouTube, they're often accompanied by images... not necessarily good ones.

So essential for me... but paid and difficult to access if you don't understand English.

Yes, he wrote books that have been translated into French, but they had less impact on me than his recordings.

Acharya Prashant's Books 🇬🇧

Acharya Prashant is an Indian guru in all his splendor (i.e.: a teacher).

The first book I read by him was one of the most important for me: Advait in Everyday Life.

If you get past the very kitschy cover (in the Indian style), don't worry about the word Advait in the title (it's non-duality, but that's not important), and skip the first chapter they recently added to the digital version (surely for marketing reasons), it's a profoundly transformative book on Eastern philosophy.

So much so that it's what pushed me to read...

The Bhagavad Gita 🇬🇧🇫🇷

The Bhagavad Gita (the "Song of God") is a very small part of the famous Mahabharata, the Indian sacred poem.

In this story, Krishna (avatar of the god Vishnu) drives King Arjuna to battle. Along the way, he explains to him... life.

The precepts he shares are the foundations of a well-lived life—therefore peaceful, yes, but without withdrawing from the world, on the contrary. It was one of Gandhi's favorite books.

However, you'll probably have difficulty tackling this text alone. It's very ancient, very Indian, and packed with references you don't have.

That's why most people—like me—read exegeses or commentaries, meaning books that contain the entire poem with, after each song, an explanation, examples, advice.

I've read several books like this, but the best, in my view, was Acharya Prashant's version—whom I mentioned just above. BUT: it's paid, in several volumes, and only in English.

However, I have no doubt you'll find plenty of French authors who've written very good books on the subject, or even many excellent translations. But you'll have to search a bit, that's part of the game.

The "Waking Up" App 🇬🇧

No, I've never tried the "Petit Bambou" app. I have nothing to say about it... except perhaps that I get the impression, through several friends who've used it, that it's... how to say... a bit "romanticized"? Many things that are supposed to be guided meditations are more like narratives, contemplations. Why not, the stories are surely very instructive, but then... is it meditation?

An app I used for a long time is "Waking Up," by Sam Harris—which is paid and in English only.

But it's interesting for two reasons:

It offers a series of guided meditations for beginners. With a certain rigor, precisely. It allows you to truly understand what meditation can be used for—which is what we need at the start.

But also: it offers dozens of hours of recordings from great masters... including Alan Watts! (Whom I mentioned above). Or Rupert Spira (whom I mention below). Or James Low (still below)!

So a wonderful way to discover other sources... but all in English.

James Low's Recordings 🇬🇧

James Low is a still-living Scotsman who, for me, followed in Alan Watts' footsteps.

I discovered his recordings in the Waking Up app, and he too possesses breathtaking intelligence and clarity.

He explains the basics of dzogchen, the principle of emptiness in Buddhism, meditation, balance in daily life (...) with such simplicity that you feel transformed just by listening to him.

But he too... only in English.

Krishnamurti's Videos and Books 🇬🇧🇫🇷

Jiddu Krishnamurti is an Indian thinker who refused to belong to any movement.

In fact, he believes there is no collective solution, and that you shouldn't trust any group or any guru. Only yourself.

As it happens, there are loads of video recordings of his talks, some of which are (sometimes poorly) subtitled. As with Alan Watts, you need to see him in the flesh. His face, his voice, his intonation.

He also has books that have been translated into French but are sometimes a bit difficult to access.

Osho's Books and Videos 🇬🇧🇫🇷

But yes, you know Osho (aka Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh)! He's the scandalous guru from the documentary Wild Wild Country!

But he's also one of the sharpest thinkers and authors on Hinduism, Eastern philosophy, and living well. And most of his books are translated!

I'm currently reading "The Book of Secrets" (for which there's a French version) and it's a revelation with every chapter. But I might not start with this if I weren't at all familiar with Eastern philosophy.

"Seeing That Frees" by Robert Burbea 🇬🇧

Speaking of fascinating books you maybe shouldn't start with, the book Seeing That Frees by Rob Burbea was very important to me.

It presents advanced meditation methods, builds a fascinating discourse on emptiness, and shows us the importance it can have for living better.

The Present with Eckhart Tolle 🇫🇷🇬🇧

However, in the "excellent introductory books that also exist in French" category, there's of course The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle.

Eckhart Tolle, with his books, his seminars, his appearance, his demeanor, has become an essential figure in spiritual development through presence.

I didn't start with him, but when I read him I found it very interesting. He also has many videos... but in English, rarely subtitled.

Rupert Spira's Books and Videos 🇫🇷🇬🇧

Rupert Spira writes books and organizes retreats in England.

His approach is based on consciousness, non-duality, and the teachings of Ramana Maharshi (like many!).

His guided meditations are always interesting (but in English). His books are also very interesting and are now translated into French.

Ramana Maharshi 🇫🇷🇬🇧

He's the source for many of the people above—including Alan Watts, Rupert Spira, etc.

As a young man, Ramana Maharshi was terrified of death. So he began to meditate... and it lasted his entire life.

He's the proverbial hermit who went to meditate alone in the mountains. Gradually, people joined him. He found himself at the center of a collective he never sought to control.

He didn't write anything himself, but many have written about him or transcribed his teachings, sometimes word for word. So you'll find many different books about him.

And Also 🇫🇷🇬🇧

Without any particular category and in the order I discovered them, these (fairly well-known) books have also helped me greatly and are often available in French:

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki, The Gateless Gate by Wumen Huikai, Zen Flesh, Zen Bones compiled by Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki (haven't read it all but interesting), Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (great! absolutely must-read), The Way of Liberation by Adyashanti (not bad, a former cyclist turned spiritual master), Journey from Many to One by Swami Bhaskarananda, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche (very well-known and very good book), The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha (not to be read in one go, but a paragraph from time to time).

And Finally 🇫🇷🇬🇧

If you're interested, I've also written short texts as I progressed. Here are my old texts (hashtag #zen). The new ones can be found right here with the hashtag #présence.

Participate!

If you find any links, translations, or interesting or freely available recordings of the content above, feel free to share them and I'll update this. Thanks!