5 Best Eastern Philosophy Books
We analyzed 5+ expert sources, curated book lists, and recommendations from successful people to find the 5 best eastern philosophy books according to the internet — not just one person's opinion. Each book on this list was mentioned by at least two independent sources, and the ranking is based on how frequently each title appears across all sources studied. This consensus-based approach ensures you get recommendations backed by multiple experts, not a single reviewer's bias.
Goal: Find the best Eastern Philosophy books according to the internet (not just one person's opinion).
Method:
- Search for "best eastern philosophy books" and study the top 5+ pages.
- Add only the books mentioned 2+ times.
- Rank the results neatly here.
5 Best Eastern Philosophy Books
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases (at no extra cost to you).
Tao Te Ching
Also recommended by
10 people
Rick Rubin recommended this bookRick Rubin
"Always what you need to read at that particular period of time. It’s a magic book, in that way, in that it always fits." - Rick Rubin
Rick Rubin's recommendation of this book 
Naval Ravikant recommended this bookNaval Ravikant
Naval Ravikant tweeted about this book.
Naval Ravikant's recommendation of this book 
Michael Gervais recommended this bookMichael Gervais
"[The author's] depth of teachings are complicated to decode and provide foundations for wisdom." - Michael Gervais
Michael Gervais's recommendation of this book 
Josh Waitzkin recommended this bookJosh Waitzkin
"Inspired my study of softness and receptivity as a counterpoint to my mad passions." - Josh Waitzkin
Josh Waitzkin's recommendation of this book 
Brian MacKenzie recommended this bookBrian MacKenzie
"Once you get to a certain level, it’s like, wow." - Brian MacKenzie
Brian MacKenzie's recommendation of this book 
Stewart Brand recommended this bookStewart Brand
Stewart Brand recommended this book on his "Selected Books for the Manual for Civilization" blog post.
Stewart Brand's recommendation of this book +4
More recommendations
- Jason Nemer
"Oftentimes before meditation, I’ll just open [this book] randomly to a page and read about something and then just have that be what I steep in as I sit." - Jason Nemer
- Soman Chainani
"I remember reading it and being like okay, this makes no sense. But you just keep reading it again and again and slowly, I started to get the point of it." - Soman Chainani
- Jack Dorsey
One of Jack Dorsey's answers to "what are the books that had a major influence on you?"
- Jack Ma
Jack Ma always carries a copy of this book.
- Jason Nemer
The Art Of War
Also recommended by
12 people
Jocko Willink recommended this bookJocko Willink
Jocko Willink covered this book in "Jocko Podcast" Ep. 23
Jocko Willink's recommendation of this book 
Neil deGrasse Tyson recommended this bookNeil deGrasse Tyson
"To learn that the act of killing fellow humans can be raised to an art." - Neil deGrasse Tyson
Neil deGrasse Tyson's recommendation of this book 
Marc Benioff recommended this bookMarc Benioff
"Served me well. [...] Advocates keeping one’s cool at all times." - Marc Benioff
Marc Benioff's recommendation of this book 
Evan Spiegel recommended this bookEvan Spiegel
"After meeting Mark Zuckerberg, [Evan Spiegel] immediately bought every [Snapchat] employee a copy of 'The Art Of War'." - Business Insider
Evan Spiegel's recommendation of this book 
Dave Camarillo recommended this bookDave Camarillo
"Another [book] I have to mention." - Dave Camarillo
Dave Camarillo's recommendation of this book 
Ryan Petersen recommended this bookRyan Petersen
Ryan Petersen mentioned this book on Twitter.
Ryan Petersen's recommendation of this book +6
More recommendations
- Travis Kalanick
"It became [Travis Kalanick's bible]." - Mike Isaac
- Vlad Tenev
"I like the classics such as The Republic by Plato and The Art of War by Sun Tzu." - Vlad Tenev
- Fred Wilson
"Has to get onto my list." - Fred Wilson
- Lex Fridman
Lex Fridman mentioned this book on Instagram.
- Elon Musk
"I've read [this book] many times." - Elon Musk
- Patrick Bet-David
Patrick Bet-David recommended this book on his website.
- Travis Kalanick
The Bhagavad Gita
Also recommended by
5 people
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recommended this bookAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recommended this book on Twitter.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's recommendation of this book 
Wim Hof recommended this bookWim Hof
Wim Hof's answer to "What do you give to people as gifts?"
Wim Hof's recommendation of this book - Naval Ravikant recommended this book
Naval Ravikant
Naval Ravikant tweeted about this book.
Naval Ravikant's recommendation of this book 
Mahatma Gandhi recommended this bookMahatma Gandhi
"[This book] became an infallible guide of conduct. It became my dictionary of daily reference." - Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi's recommendation of this book 
Paulo Coelho recommended this bookPaulo Coelho
"A book that everybody should read." - Paulo Coelho
Paulo Coelho's recommendation of this book
Be Here Now
Also recommended by
3 people
Steve Jobs recommended this bookSteve Jobs
"[This book] was profound. It transformed me and many of my friends." - Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs's recommendation of this book 
Jack Kornfield recommended this bookJack Kornfield
"Changed countless lives." - Jack Kornfield
Jack Kornfield's recommendation of this book 
Travis Brewer recommended this bookTravis Brewer
One of Travis Brewer's answers to "what is the book (or books) you’ve given most as a gift?"
Travis Brewer's recommendation of this book
The Analects
Sources
- 1
Top 10 Eastern Philosophy Books in Books to buy in 2021 in U.S.A | Vasthurengan.Com
vasthurengan.com
- 2
Top 18 Eastern Philosophy Books in 2023 - FindThisBest (CA)
ca.findthisbest.com
- 3
Best Chinese Philosophy Books - Five Books Expert Recommendations
fivebooks.com
- 4
Six books on eastern philosophy to help advance your UX career | by Vladimír Korbel | UX Collective
uxdesign.cc
- 5
7 essential Eastern philosophy books - Big Think
bigthink.com
Edited by
Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.
Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.
Comments
Did we miss something? Have feedback?
Help us improve this page by sharing your thoughts