Whalen's first interest in Eastern religions centered on Vedanta. Upon release from the army in 1946, he visited the Vedanta Society in Portland, but did not pursue this very far, because of the expense of attending their countryside ashram. Tibetan Buddhism also attracted him, but he found it "unnecessarily complicated." In 1952, Gary Snyder lent him books on Zen by D. T. Suzuki. With Snyder, Whalen attended a study group at the Jōdo Shinshū Buddhist Church in Berkeley.[5] Ultimately, Zen became his chosen path.[6]
The Calendar, a Book of Poems. Reed College, thesis (B.A.), Portland, Ore. 1951.
Self Portrait from Another Direction. (Broadside), Auerhahn Press, San Francisco 1959.
Memoirs of an Interglacial Age. Auerhahn Press, San Francisco 1960.
Like I Say. Totem Press/Corinth Books, New York 1960
Monday in the Evening, 21:VII:61. Pezzoli, Milan 1964
Every Day. Coyote's Journal, Eugene, Oregon 1965
Highgrade: Doodles, Poems. Coyote's Journal, San Francisco 1966
On Bear's Head. Harcourt, Brace & World/Coyote, New York 1969
Scenes of Life at the Capital. Maya, San Francisco 1970
Enough Said: Fluctuat Nec Mergitur: Poems 1974-1979. Grey Fox Press, San Francisco 1980.
Heavy Breathing: Poems 1967-1980. Grey Fox Press, San Francisco 1983
Canoeing up Cabarga Creek: Buddhist Poems 1955-1986. Parallax Press, Berkeley 1996.
Overtime: Selected Poems by Philip Whalen. Penguin, New York 1999.
The Collected Poems of Philip Whalen. Wesleyan University Press, Middletown, Connecticut 2007.
Both the Collected and Selected Poems were edited by Michael Rothenberg.
Prose
You Didn't Even Try. Coyote, San Francisco 1967. (novel)
Imaginary Speeches for a Brazen Head. Black Sparrow Press, Los Angeles 1972. (novel)
Off the Wall: Interviews with Philip Whalen. Donald Allen, editor. Grey Fox Press, Bolinas, California 1978.
The Diamond Noodle. Poltroon Press, Berkeley 1980. (memoirs)
Winning His Way, or, the Rise of William Johnson: a diverting history for the instruction & improvement of the breed. Free Print Shop, San Francisco, California, 1983.
Two Novels. Zephyr Press, Somerville, Mass. 1985.
Goof Book (for Jack Kerouac). Big Bridge Press, Guerneville, Calif. 2001. (journal)