I’ve always felt that I have at least ten books in me. So far, three have been ‘birthed’, with seven more in the works — perhaps even nine. The purpose of this post is to inform you about works in progress, as well as give you links to already published material, including translations you may not yet be aware of. I will update this post whenever there are further developments on any of these projects or publications.
TANTRA ILLUMINATED: The Philosophy, History, and Practice of a Timeless Tradition
Tantra Illuminated has become a phenomenon, selling over 50,000 copies purely by word-of-mouth—which, I’m told, is unheard of for a non-fiction book. It has become the foundational work for those seeking to understand classical Tantra in a non-academic way. This book, published in 2012, is in its third edition. There will be a fourth edition, with major revisions, perhaps in 2025. It exists not only in English, but also has been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, German, and French, as well as in audiobook form.
A recent reviewer says: “I have a large library on Tantra, both scholarly and handbooks for the practitioner. Of those 30 or so volumes this is the best — full of Heart (on one side) and hard scholarship (on the other).”
2. THE RECOGNITION SUTRAS: Illuminating a 1,000-Year-Old Spiritual Masterpiece
This book, published in 2017, is a translation and commentary of the seminal Tantrik work called the Pratyabhijñā-hṛdaya. It has been translated into Portuguese (not yet published but soon will be) and German (also not yet published), and it exists in audiobook form. This book has received even more effusive praise than Tantra Illuminated, though of course it is not as well-known. One recent reviewer said: “What Wallis has done is bring this text and tradition to modern readers in an outstanding translation and a crystal clear, gripping writing style that I found irresistible. Whatever challenges one initially faces from the seemingly esoteric nature of the text and tradition melt away with Wallis’s magnificent presentation, analysis, and most importantly, his ability to present to us the exceptional relevance of this philosophy for transformative self and soul work. You would be hard pressed to read this and not find yourself awakened in so many unexpected and powerful ways.”
3. NEAR ENEMIES OF THE TRUTH: Avoid the Pitfalls of the Spiritual Life and Become Radically Free
This book, published in 2023, seeks to reach a wider audience and therefore is almost free of Sanskrit terminology and esoteric concepts. It exists in audiobook form, and is being translated into German. A recent reviewer writes: “I love Christopher Wallis’ impeccable use of language. With scholarly precision infused with love and presence, Christopher helps us unravel many of the popular spiritual ideas we hear that may be keeping us from resting at ease in our own being. He carefully breaks down the fallacies built into certain ideas in a way that makes perfect sense. This is calming to the mind. With the mind at ease, he persists then in pointing in a subtly new direction to investigate a hidden truth we might have missed. I appreciate not only the depth of his knowledge but also the clarity of his words and purity of his heart, along with a sincere dedication to help us all end suffering.”
Hard copies of two recent publications.
4. THE PRACTICE OF TANTRIK YOGA: the teachings of the Vijñāna-bhairava-tantra (provisional title; audiobook forthcoming, 2024)
This forthcoming audiobook will be more than 30 hours in length, as it will include no less than 56 guided meditations from the Vijñāna-bhairava, some of them translated correctly for the first time. I will also make available a set of 112 laminated cards giving concise practice instructions for all 112 practices of the VBT (see sample below).
The audiobook will have a corresponding ebook consisting of the identical text, but there will be no print book. Later (perhaps in four or five years) I will publish a print book with different text, namely a more scholarly analysis of this important scripture.
Front and back of a sample VBT practice card.
5 & 6. SUTRA volume one and two (2025 and 2026). Volume One will include the Yoga Sutra, the Heart Sutra, and the Recognition Sutra, while Volume Two will cover the Shiva Sutra, the Vātūlanātha Sutra, and the Kaula Sutra, with brief commentary on each accessible to the modern reader, written in a conversational style.
Contents of SUTRA volume one and two respectively.
7. A Letter to Gen Z ~ tentative title for a short book aimed at older teens and early twenty-somethings; an attempt to make key Tantrik teachings accessible to this demographic
8. A Little Light on Tantra ~ this is the tentative title for a more accessible, much shorter version of Tantra Illuminated; 2025
9. Hidden Tantra: The Secret Oral Teachings of the Tantric Yoginīs ~ focusing on the Krama teachings of the Chummā-saṅketa-prakāśa, the Vātūlanātha-sūtra, & the Kaula-sūtra, with a general introduction the Krama doctrine
10. The Philosophy of Classical Tantra (Abhinavagupta’s Tantrasāra, Chapters 1-5, 11, and possibly 22; and his Tantrāloka, Chapters 1 & 2)
11. The Innate Dynamism of Consciousness: the Spanda-kārikā, with excerpts from Kṣemarāja’s Spanda-sandoha and Spanda-nirṇaya
12. Tantric Hymns of Enlightenment ~ poems of the Krama masters, e.g. Jñānanetra, Vīranātha, Cakrabhānu, Nāga, and Prabodha
* * *
I also have purely academic publications, such as an article in this important volume:
Śaivism and the Tantric Traditions: Essays in Honour of Alexis G.J.S. Sanderson
Volume Editors: Dominic Goodall, Shaman Hatley, Harunaga Isaacson, and Srilata Raman
Academic study of the tantric traditions has blossomed in recent decades, in no small measure thanks to the magisterial contributions of Alexis G. J. S. Sanderson, until 2015 Spalding Professor of Eastern Religions and Ethics at Oxford University. This collection of essays honours him and touches several fields of Indology that he has helped to shape (or, in the case of the Śaiva religions, revolutionised): the history, ritual, and philosophies of tantric Buddhism, Śaivism and Vaiṣṇavism; religious art and architecture; and Sanskrit belles lettres. Grateful former students, joined by other experts influenced by his scholarship, here offer papers that make significant contributions to our understanding of the cultural, religious, political, and intellectual histories of premodern South and Southeast Asia.
Contributors are: Peter Bisschop, Judit Törzsök, Alex Watson, Isabelle Ratié, Christopher Wallis, Péter-Dániel Szántó, Srilata Raman, Csaba Dezső, Gergely Hidas, Nina Mirnig, John Nemec, Bihani Sarkar, Jürgen Hanneder, Diwakar Acharya, James Mallinson, Csaba Kiss, Jason Birch, Elizabeth Mills, Ryugen Tanemura, Anthony Tribe, and Parul Dave-Mukherji.
A free PDF of this work is available here; it is open-access due a substantial generous donation by an anonymous benefactor. Without such donations, academic works of this kind are unfortunately expensive, due to the for-profit nature of modern academia.