We’re pleased to announce the publication of the new edition of Vessantara’s Meeting the Buddhas. If you live in the UK or Europe, you can buy it now. If you live in North America, our US distributors will be stocking it from late January, but you can pre-order it now.

To celebrate the release, we've got a great offer for you. If you buy the paperback edition of Meeting the Buddhas from our website (the first link below), you can get 40% off Vessantara's Tales of Freedom.

Buy ‘Meeting the Buddhas’ (UK & Europe)

Pre-order ‘Meeting the Buddhas’ (US & Canada)

Buy the eBook (worldwide)

Three reasons to buy Meeting the Buddhas

It's a modern Buddhist classic. The original edition, published in 1993, soon became essential reading for Buddhists from a range of traditions. Out of print for the past fourteen years, this new and improved edition will be of interest not only to those whose original copy has become dog-eared, but also to a whole new generation of practitioners.

It's beautiful. Generously illustrated with 27 full-colour plates and 37 black-and-white inline images, and printed on high-quality paper, this is a truly stunning book.

It's accessible, yet profound. Vessantara’s relaxed writing style and his skill in storytelling make the book suitable for newcomers to Buddhism. At the same time, he brings a depth that comes from more than fifty years of Buddhist practice and teaching, which makes the book equally suitable for experienced practitioners wishing to go deeper in their practice.

Praise for Meeting the Buddhas

‘An invitation to experience our lives in a completely new way – infused with imagination, light, love, power, and mystery.’ – Vidyamala Burch OBE, co-founder of The Breathworks Foundation

‘Here is a path for Buddhist practice, which engages the heart as well as the mind.’ – Dr Elizabeth English (Locana), Mindfulness Practitioner at the University of Cambridge

‘Every practitioner’s shelf needs room for it!’ – Kamalashila, author of Buddhist Meditation

About the author

Vessantara is a senior member of the Triratna Buddhist Order, who also has extensive experience of practice under the guidance of Tibetan Buddhist teachers. Vessantara is much in demand as a Buddhist teacher and has led retreats and courses around the world. He has written several books, including Tales of Freedom and two books on Buddhist meditation: The Breath and The Heart.

Vessantara on Meeting the Buddhas

‘First born in 1993, after a five-year gestation period, it flourished for fifteen years. Then, in 2008, it was dismembered and reborn as three volumes. Now, fourteen years on, Windhorse Publications are reconstituting those three into a new one-volume edition. I’m pleased about this. Once again you have everything together, to read through, or to use for reference to learn about all the main Indo-Tibetan Buddhist figures.
Apart from adding a section on Vajrakīla, I have confined myself to making hundreds of small changes. Some are stylistic, but many reflect my deepening knowledge and understanding of these figures.
Rereading the book, I’m happy to find how relevant and useful it is. Fundamentally, these extraordinary figures are timeless. They embody and convey the amazing wisdom and positive qualities of the deepest levels of our minds. Over these three decades, I have continued practising with them myself and guiding others, and I am in awe at how deeply transformative meditating on them can be.
So, in all important respects, the book is just as valuable today as it was in 1993. Love, truth and freedom never go out of style.’
– Vessantara, 2022

Christmas deliveries

If you're planning on placing an order on our website for delivery to a UK address before Christmas, we recommend you place your order as soon as possible, and at the very latest by Thursday, 8th December.

Unfortunately, due to postal strikes and other factors outside our control, we're not able to guarantee delivery in time for Christmas, even if you do place your order before the date above.