Guides
Wayfinders for our collections, tools, and servicesBuddhism and Asian religions: Find Western-language primary sources
This guide is intended to help students, faculty, and researchers locate and access sources and reference tools for the study of Buddhism and other Asian religions.
Find Western-language primary sources
Select one of the subpage links on the left to view resources for finding primary sources in Chinese/Japanese/Korean languages, Indo-Tibetan languages, or to find digital images.
To find English or other Western-language translations of Asian religious texts, start with SearchWorks. Published translations are generally higher quality, as they are more likely to have been reviewed by other scholars in the field, and to contain scholarly apparatus (notes, critical editions, etc.). However, there are several organizations that are publishing quality translations of Buddhist texts and making them freely available online:
- 84000: Translating the Words of the BuddhaTranslations of canonical Tibetan Buddhist texts.
- Access to Insight TipitakaTranslations of texts from the Pali Canon.
- BDK English TripitakaTranslations of Sino-Japanese Buddhist texts produced by the Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai, many available as PDF downloads.
- Bibliography of Translations from the Chinese Buddhist CanonWorking bibliography of translations of Chinese Buddhist texts mainly from the Taishō edition of the canon, compiled by Prof. Marcus Bingenheimer.
- The Collected Works of Korean BuddhismPublished by the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, this is the first comprehensive collection of Korean Buddhist materials ever to appear in a European language.
- Lotsawa HouseLotsawa House is a virtual library of translations from Tibetan, including works by Indian Buddhist masters preserved in the Tibetan language. Currently contains over 2,500 texts in nine different languages.
